113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1911 

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. 
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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. 

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. 

5 TITLE I—SMARTER SOLUTIONS 

6 FOR STUDENTS ACT 

7 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

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

9 Students Act’’. 

10 SEC. 102. STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATES. 

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

12 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (7)— 

14 (A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 

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

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

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

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

19 ‘‘and before July 1, 2013,’’ after ‘‘2006,’’; and 
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1 (D) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

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

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

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

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7), the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(8) INTEREST RATE PROVISION FOR NEW

8 LOANS ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2013.— 

9 ‘‘(A) RATES FOR FDSL AND FDUSL.—Not10 withstanding the preceding paragraphs of this 

11 subsection, for Federal Direct Stafford Loans 

12 and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 

13 Loans for which the first disbursement is made 

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

15 interest shall, during any 12-month period be16 ginning on July 1 and ending on June 30, be 

17 determined on the preceding June 1 and be 

18 equal to— 

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

20 notes auctioned at the final auction held 

21 prior to such June 1; plus 

22 ‘‘(ii) 2.5 percent, 

23 except that such rate shall not exceed 8.5 per24 cent. 
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1 ‘‘(B) PLUS LOANS.—Notwithstanding the 

2 preceding paragraphs of this subsection, for any 

3 Federal Direct PLUS Loan for which the first 

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

5 the applicable rate of interest shall, during any 

6 12-month period beginning on July 1 and end7 ing on June 30, be determined on the preceding 

8 June 1 and be equal to— 

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

10 notes auctioned at the final auction held 

11 prior to such June 1; plus 

12 ‘‘(ii) 4.5 percent, 

13 except that such rate shall not exceed 10.5 per14 cent. 

15 ‘‘(C) CONSOLIDATION LOANS.—Notwith16 standing the preceding paragraphs of this sub17 section, any Federal Direct Consolidation Loan 

18 for which the application is received on or after 

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

20 rate on the unpaid principal balance of the loan 

21 that is equal to the weighted average of the in22 terest rates on the loans consolidated, rounded 

23 to the nearest higher one-eighth of one per24 cent.’’. 
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1 SEC. 103. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

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

3 this Act shall not be entered on either PAYGO scorecard 

4 maintained pursuant to section 4(d) of the Statutory Pay5 As-You-Go Act of 2010. 

6 (b) SENATE PAYGO SCORECARD.—The budgetary ef7 fects of this Act shall not be entered on any PAYGO score8 card maintained for purposes of section 201 of S. Con. 

9 Res. 21 (110th Congress). 

10 TITLE II—IMPROVING POSTSEC11 ONDARY EDUCATION DATA 

12 FOR STUDENTS ACT 

13 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Postsec15 ondary Education Data for Students Act’’. 

16 SEC. 202. STUDY ON IMPROVEMENTS TO POSTSECONDARY 

17 EDUCATION TRANSPARENCY AT THE FED18 ERAL LEVEL. 

19 (a) FORMATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON IM20 PROVING POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION DATA.— 

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

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

23 Education shall convene the Advisory Committee on 

24 Improving Postsecondary Education Data (in this 

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

26 shall be comprised of 15 members who represent 
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1 economically, racially, and geographically diverse 

2 populations appointed by the Secretary in consulta3 tion with the Commissioner for Education Statistics, 

4 including— 

5 (A) individuals representing different sec6 tors of institutions of higher education, includ7 ing individuals representing undergraduate and 

8 graduate education; 

9 (B) experts in the field of higher education 

10 policy; 

11 (C) State officials; 

12 (D) students and other stakeholders from 

13 the higher education community; 

14 (E) representatives from the business com15 munity; 

16 (F) experts in choice in consumer markets; 

17 (G) privacy experts; 

18 (H) college and career counselors at sec19 ondary schools; 

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

21 use; and 

22 (J) experts in labor markets. 

23 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary shall ap24 point the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee. 
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1 (b) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Advisory Committee 

2 shall conduct a study examining— 

3 (1) the types of information, including informa4 tion related to costs of postsecondary education, 

5 sources of financial assistance (including Federal 

6 student loans), student outcomes, and 

7 postgraduation earnings, the Federal Government 

8 should collect and report on institutions of higher 

9 education to assist students and families in their 

10 search for an institution of higher education; 

11 (2) how such information should be collected 

12 and reported, including how to disaggregate infor13 mation on student outcomes by subgroups of stu14 dents, such as full-time students, part-time students, 

15 nontraditional students, first generation college stu16 dents, students who are veterans, and Federal Pell 

17 Grant recipients under subpart 1 of part A of title 

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

19 1070a); and 

20 (3) the ways in which the Federal Government 

21 may make such information more readily available 

22 to— 

23 (A) students and their families in a format 

24 that is easily accessible and understandable, 
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1 and will aid students and their families in mak2 ing decisions; and 

3 (B) States, local governments, secondary 

4 schools, individual or groups of institutions of 

5 higher education, and private-sector entities. 

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

7 under this Act, the Advisory Committee shall, at a min8 imum, examine— 

9 (1) whether the current Federal transparency 

10 initiatives on postsecondary education— 

11 (A) are reporting consistent information 

12 about individual institutions of higher education 

13 across Federal agencies; and 

14 (B) are similar to transparency initiatives 

15 on postsecondary education carried out by 

16 States, individual or groups of institutions of 

17 higher education, or private-sector entities; 

18 (2) whether— 

19 (A) the collection and reporting of 

20 postgraduation earnings by the Federal Govern21 ment is feasible, and if feasible, the options for 

22 collecting and reporting such information; 

23 (B) collecting and reporting such informa24 tion would improve the use of Federal trans-
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1 parency initiatives and ease decisionmaking for 

2 students and their families; and 

3 (C) collecting and reporting such informa4 tion would have an impact on student privacy, 

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

6 (3) whether any other information, including in7 formation relating to student outcomes or identified 

8 under the review required under subsection (d), 

9 should be collected and reported by the Federal Gov10 ernment to improve the utility of such initiatives for 

11 students and their families, and if so, how such in12 formation may be collected and reported, including 

13 whether the information should be disaggregated by 

14 subgroups of students; 

15 (4) whether any information currently collected 

16 and reported by the Federal Government on institu17 tions of higher education is not useful for students 

18 and their families and should not be so collected and 

19 reported; 

20 (5) the manner in which the information from 

21 Federal transparency initiatives is made available to 

22 students and their families, and whether format 

23 changes may help the information become more eas24 ily understood and widely utilized by students and 

25 their families; 
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1 (6) any activities being carried out by the Fed2 eral Government, States, individual or groups of in3 stitutions of higher education, or private-sector enti4 ties to help inform students and their families of the 

5 availability of Federal transparency initiatives; 

6 (7) the cost to institutions of higher education 

7 of reporting to the Federal Government the informa8 tion that is being collected and reported through 

9 Federal transparency initiatives, and how such cost 

10 may be minimized; and 

11 (8) the relevant research described in sub12 section (d). 

13 (d) REVIEW OF RELEVANT RESEARCH.—In con14 ducting the study under this Act, the Advisory Committee 

15 shall review and consider— 

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

17 conducted to determine questions most frequently 

18 asked by students and families to help inform their 

19 search for an institution of higher education; 

20 (2) the types of information students seek be21 fore enrolling in an institution of higher education; 

22 (3) whether the availability to students and 

23 their families of additional information on institu24 tions of higher education will be beneficial or con25 fusing; 
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1 (4) results, if any, that are available from con2 sumer testing of Federal, State, institution of higher 

3 education, and private-sector transparency initiatives 

4 on postsecondary education that have been made 

5 publicly available on or after the date that is 10 

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

7 (5) any gaps in the research, studies, and re8 sults described in paragraphs (1) and (4) relating to 

9 the types of information students seek before enroll10 ing in an institution of higher education. 

11 (e) CONSULTATION.— 

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

13 under this Act, the Advisory Committee shall— 

14 (A) hold public hearings to consult with 

15 parents and students; and 

16 (B) consult with a broad range of inter17 ested parties in higher education, including ap18 propriate researchers, representatives of sec19 ondary schools (including college and career 

20 counselors) and institutions of higher education 

21 from different sectors of such institutions (in22 cluding undergraduate and graduate education), 

23 State administrators, and Federal officials. 

24 (2) CONSULTATION WITH THE AUTHORIZING

25 COMMITTEES.—The Advisory Committee shall con-
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1 sult on a regular basis with the authorizing commit2 tees in conducting the study under this Act. 

3 (f) REPORTS TO AUTHORIZING COMMITTEES.— 

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

5 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad6 visory Committee shall prepare and submit to the 

7 authorizing committees and the Secretary an interim 

8 report describing the progress made in conducting 

9 the study under this Act and any preliminary find10 ings on the topics identified under subsection (c). 

11 (2) FINAL REPORT.— 

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

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad14 visory Committee shall prepare and submit to 

15 the authorizing committees and the Secretary a 

16 final report on the study, including— 

17 (i) recommendations for legislative, 

18 regulatory, and administrative actions 

19 based on findings related to the topics 

20 identified under subsection (c); and 

21 (ii) a summary of the research de22 scribed in subsection (d). 

23 (B) CONSULTATION WITH 0NCES.—The 

24 Advisory Committee shall consult with the Com25 missioner of Education Statistics prior to mak-
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1 ing recommendations under subparagraph 

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

3 being collected and reported by the Federal 

4 Government on institutions of higher education. 

5 (g) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—The amount nec6 essary to conduct the study under this Act shall be made 

7 available from amounts available to the Secretary for ad8 ministrative expenses of the Department of Education. 

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

10 (1) AUTHORIZING COMMITTEES.—The term 

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

12 term in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 

13 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 

14 (2) FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT.— 

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

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

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

18 11(h)). 

19 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

21 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

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

23 that such term does not include institutions de24 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(C) of such section 102. 
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1 (4) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec2 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

3 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

6 the Secretary of Education. 

7 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean8 ing given the term in section 103 of the Higher 

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

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

11 (A) a prospective student; 

12 (B) a student enrolled in an institution of 

13 higher education; 

14 (C) a nontraditional student (as defined in 

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

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

17 (D) a veteran (as defined in section 

18 480(c)(1) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

19 1087vv(c)(1))) who is a student or prospective 

20 student. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 23, 2013. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

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