II 

Calendar No. 139 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1911 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 3, 2013 

Received 

JULY 17, 2013 

Read the first time 

JULY 18, 2013 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish 

interest rates for new loans made on or after July 1, 

2013, to direct the Secretary of Education to convene 

the Advisory Committee on Improving Postsecondary 

Education Data to conduct a study on improvements 

to postsecondary education transparency at the Federal 

level, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Table of Contents. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

HR 1911 PCS

TITLE I—SMARTER SOLUTIONS FOR STUDENTS ACT 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Student loan interest rates. 

Sec. 103. Budgetary effects. 

TITLE II—IMPROVING POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION DATA FOR 

STUDENTS ACT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Study on improvements to postsecondary education transparency at 

the Federal level. 

1 TITLE I—SMARTER SOLUTIONS 

2 FOR STUDENTS ACT 

3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Smarter Solutions for 

5 Students Act’’. 

6 SEC. 102. STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATES. 

7 Section 455(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

8 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(b)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (7)— 

10 (A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 

11 ‘‘, AND BEFORE JULY 1, 2013’’ after ‘‘2006’’; 

12 (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

13 ‘‘and before July 1, 2013,’’ after ‘‘2006,’’; 

14 (C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

15 ‘‘and before July 1, 2013,’’ after ‘‘2006,’’; and 

16 (D) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

17 ‘‘and before July 1, 2013,’’ after ‘‘2006,’’; 

18 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and (9) as 

19 paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; and 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

HR 1911 PCS

1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7), the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(8) INTEREST RATE PROVISION FOR NEW

4 LOANS ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2013.— 

5 ‘‘(A) RATES FOR FDSL AND FDUSL.—Not6 withstanding the preceding paragraphs of this 

7 subsection, for Federal Direct Stafford Loans 

8 and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 

9 Loans for which the first disbursement is made 

10 on or after July 1, 2013, the applicable rate of 

11 interest shall, during any 12-month period be12 ginning on July 1 and ending on June 30, be 

13 determined on the preceding June 1 and be 

14 equal to— 

15 ‘‘(i) the high-yield 10-year Treasury 

16 notes auctioned at the final auction held 

17 prior to such June 1; plus 

18 ‘‘(ii) 2.5 percent, 

19 except that such rate shall not exceed 8.5 per20 cent. 

21 ‘‘(B) PLUS LOANS.—Notwithstanding the 

22 preceding paragraphs of this subsection, for any 

23 Federal Direct PLUS Loan for which the first 

24 disbursement is made on or after July 1, 2013, 

25 the applicable rate of interest shall, during any 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

HR 1911 PCS

1 12-month period beginning on July 1 and end2 ing on June 30, be determined on the preceding 

3 June 1 and be equal to— 

4 ‘‘(i) the high-yield 10-year Treasury 

5 notes auctioned at the final auction held 

6 prior to such June 1; plus 

7 ‘‘(ii) 4.5 percent, 

8 except that such rate shall not exceed 10.5 per9 cent. 

10 ‘‘(C) CONSOLIDATION LOANS.—Notwith11 standing the preceding paragraphs of this sub12 section, any Federal Direct Consolidation Loan 

13 for which the application is received on or after 

14 July 1, 2013, shall bear interest at an annual 

15 rate on the unpaid principal balance of the loan 

16 that is equal to the weighted average of the in17 terest rates on the loans consolidated, rounded 

18 to the nearest higher one-eighth of one per19 cent.’’. 

20 SEC. 103. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

21 (a) PAYGO SCORECARD.—The budgetary effects of 

22 this Act shall not be entered on either PAYGO scorecard 

23 maintained pursuant to section 4(d) of the Statutory Pay24 As-You-Go Act of 2010. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

HR 1911 PCS

1 (b) SENATE PAYGO SCORECARD.—The budgetary ef2 fects of this Act shall not be entered on any PAYGO score3 card maintained for purposes of section 201 of S. Con. 

4 Res. 21 (110th Congress). 

5 TITLE II—IMPROVING POSTSEC6 ONDARY EDUCATION DATA 

7 FOR STUDENTS ACT 

8 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Postsec10 ondary Education Data for Students Act’’. 

11 SEC. 202. STUDY ON IMPROVEMENTS TO POSTSECONDARY 

12 EDUCATION TRANSPARENCY AT THE FED13 ERAL LEVEL. 

14 (a) FORMATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON IM15 PROVING POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION DATA.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

18 Education shall convene the Advisory Committee on 

19 Improving Postsecondary Education Data (in this 

20 Act referred to as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’), which 

21 shall be comprised of 15 members who represent 

22 economically, racially, and geographically diverse 

23 populations appointed by the Secretary in consulta24 tion with the Commissioner for Education Statistics, 

25 including— 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

HR 1911 PCS

1 (A) individuals representing different sec2 tors of institutions of higher education, includ3 ing individuals representing undergraduate and 

4 graduate education; 

5 (B) experts in the field of higher education 

6 policy; 

7 (C) State officials; 

8 (D) students and other stakeholders from 

9 the higher education community; 

10 (E) representatives from the business com11 munity; 

12 (F) experts in choice in consumer markets; 

13 (G) privacy experts; 

14 (H) college and career counselors at sec15 ondary schools; 

16 (I) experts in data policy, collection, and 

17 use; and 

18 (J) experts in labor markets. 

19 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary shall ap20 point the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee. 

21 (b) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Advisory Committee 

22 shall conduct a study examining— 

23 (1) the types of information, including informa24 tion related to costs of postsecondary education, 

25 sources of financial assistance (including Federal 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

HR 1911 PCS

1 student loans), student outcomes, and 

2 postgraduation earnings, the Federal Government 

3 should collect and report on institutions of higher 

4 education to assist students and families in their 

5 search for an institution of higher education; 

6 (2) how such information should be collected 

7 and reported, including how to disaggregate infor8 mation on student outcomes by subgroups of stu9 dents, such as full-time students, part-time students, 

10 nontraditional students, first generation college stu11 dents, students who are veterans, and Federal Pell 

12 Grant recipients under subpart 1 of part A of title 

13 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

14 1070a); and 

15 (3) the ways in which the Federal Government 

16 may make such information more readily available 

17 to— 

18 (A) students and their families in a format 

19 that is easily accessible and understandable, 

20 and will aid students and their families in mak21 ing decisions; and 

22 (B) States, local governments, secondary 

23 schools, individual or groups of institutions of 

24 higher education, and private-sector entities. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

HR 1911 PCS

1 (c) SCOPE OF STUDY.—In conducting the study 

2 under this Act, the Advisory Committee shall, at a min3 imum, examine— 

4 (1) whether the current Federal transparency 

5 initiatives on postsecondary education— 

6 (A) are reporting consistent information 

7 about individual institutions of higher education 

8 across Federal agencies; and 

9 (B) are similar to transparency initiatives 

10 on postsecondary education carried out by 

11 States, individual or groups of institutions of 

12 higher education, or private-sector entities; 

13 (2) whether— 

14 (A) the collection and reporting of 

15 postgraduation earnings by the Federal Govern16 ment is feasible, and if feasible, the options for 

17 collecting and reporting such information; 

18 (B) collecting and reporting such informa19 tion would improve the use of Federal trans20 parency initiatives and ease decisionmaking for 

21 students and their families; and 

22 (C) collecting and reporting such informa23 tion would have an impact on student privacy, 

24 and if so, how such impact may be minimized; 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

HR 1911 PCS

1 (3) whether any other information, including in2 formation relating to student outcomes or identified 

3 under the review required under subsection (d), 

4 should be collected and reported by the Federal Gov5 ernment to improve the utility of such initiatives for 

6 students and their families, and if so, how such in7 formation may be collected and reported, including 

8 whether the information should be disaggregated by 

9 subgroups of students; 

10 (4) whether any information currently collected 

11 and reported by the Federal Government on institu12 tions of higher education is not useful for students 

13 and their families and should not be so collected and 

14 reported; 

15 (5) the manner in which the information from 

16 Federal transparency initiatives is made available to 

17 students and their families, and whether format 

18 changes may help the information become more eas19 ily understood and widely utilized by students and 

20 their families; 

21 (6) any activities being carried out by the Fed22 eral Government, States, individual or groups of in23 stitutions of higher education, or private-sector enti24 ties to help inform students and their families of the 

25 availability of Federal transparency initiatives; 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

HR 1911 PCS

1 (7) the cost to institutions of higher education 

2 of reporting to the Federal Government the informa3 tion that is being collected and reported through 

4 Federal transparency initiatives, and how such cost 

5 may be minimized; and 

6 (8) the relevant research described in sub7 section (d). 

8 (d) REVIEW OF RELEVANT RESEARCH.—In con9 ducting the study under this Act, the Advisory Committee 

10 shall review and consider— 

11 (1) research and studies, if any, that have been 

12 conducted to determine questions most frequently 

13 asked by students and families to help inform their 

14 search for an institution of higher education; 

15 (2) the types of information students seek be16 fore enrolling in an institution of higher education; 

17 (3) whether the availability to students and 

18 their families of additional information on institu19 tions of higher education will be beneficial or con20 fusing; 

21 (4) results, if any, that are available from con22 sumer testing of Federal, State, institution of higher 

23 education, and private-sector transparency initiatives 

24 on postsecondary education that have been made 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

HR 1911 PCS

1 publicly available on or after the date that is 10 

2 years before the date of enactment of this Act; and 

3 (5) any gaps in the research, studies, and re4 sults described in paragraphs (1) and (4) relating to 

5 the types of information students seek before enroll6 ing in an institution of higher education. 

7 (e) CONSULTATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—In conducting the study 

9 under this Act, the Advisory Committee shall— 

10 (A) hold public hearings to consult with 

11 parents and students; and 

12 (B) consult with a broad range of inter13 ested parties in higher education, including ap14 propriate researchers, representatives of sec15 ondary schools (including college and career 

16 counselors) and institutions of higher education 

17 from different sectors of such institutions (in18 cluding undergraduate and graduate education), 

19 State administrators, and Federal officials. 

20 (2) CONSULTATION WITH THE AUTHORIZING

21 COMMITTEES.—The Advisory Committee shall con22 sult on a regular basis with the authorizing commit23 tees in conducting the study under this Act. 

24 (f) REPORTS TO AUTHORIZING COMMITTEES.— 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

HR 1911 PCS

1 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 180 

2 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad3 visory Committee shall prepare and submit to the 

4 authorizing committees and the Secretary an interim 

5 report describing the progress made in conducting 

6 the study under this Act and any preliminary find7 ings on the topics identified under subsection (c). 

8 (2) FINAL REPORT.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad11 visory Committee shall prepare and submit to 

12 the authorizing committees and the Secretary a 

13 final report on the study, including— 

14 (i) recommendations for legislative, 

15 regulatory, and administrative actions 

16 based on findings related to the topics 

17 identified under subsection (c); and 

18 (ii) a summary of the research de19 scribed in subsection (d). 

20 (B) CONSULTATION WITH 0NCES.—The 

21 Advisory Committee shall consult with the Com22 missioner of Education Statistics prior to mak23 ing recommendations under subparagraph 

24 (A)(i) with respect to improving the information 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

HR 1911 PCS

1 being collected and reported by the Federal 

2 Government on institutions of higher education. 

3 (g) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—The amount nec4 essary to conduct the study under this Act shall be made 

5 available from amounts available to the Secretary for ad6 ministrative expenses of the Department of Education. 

7 (h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 

8 (1) AUTHORIZING COMMITTEES.—The term 

9 ‘‘authorizing committees’’ has the meaning given the 

10 term in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 

11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 

12 (2) FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT.— 

13 The term ‘‘first generation college student’’ has the 

14 meaning given the term in section 402A(h) of the 

15 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a– 

16 11(h)). 

17 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

18 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

19 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

20 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002), except 

21 that such term does not include institutions de22 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(C) of such section 102. 

23 (4) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec24 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

HR 1911 PCS

1 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

3 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Education. 

5 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean6 ing given the term in section 103 of the Higher 

7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 

8 (7) STUDENT.—The term ‘‘student’’ includes— 

9 (A) a prospective student; 

10 (B) a student enrolled in an institution of 

11 higher education; 

12 (C) a nontraditional student (as defined in 

13 section 803(j)(2) of the Higher Education Act 

14 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161c(j)(2))); and 

15 (D) a veteran (as defined in section 

16 480(c)(1) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

17 1087vv(c)(1))) who is a student or prospective 

18 student. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 23, 2013. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS

TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 139 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1911 

AN ACT 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to esfor other purposes. education transparency at the Federal level, and duct a study on improvements to postsecondary Improving Postsecondary Education Data to con- Education to convene the Advisory Committee on after July 1, 2013, to direct the Secretary of tablish interest rates for new loans made on or 

JULY 18, 2013 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS