I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9192 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include notification and 

automatic enrollment procedures for borrowers who are delinquent on 

loans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2024 

Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. MOULTON, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. 

MCBATH, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Ms. TOKUDA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include 

notification and automatic enrollment procedures for borrowers who are delinquent on loans, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlining Income5 driven, Manageable Payments on Loans for Education 

6 Act’’ or the ‘‘SIMPLE Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NOTIFICATION AND AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT 

2 PROCEDURES FOR BORROWERS WHO ARE 

3 DELINQUENT ON LOANS AND FOR BOR4 ROWERS WHO ARE REHABILITATING DE5 FAULTED LOANS. 

6 (a) AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) NOTIFICATION AND AUTOMATIC ENROLL8 MENT PROCEDURES.—Section 455(d) of the Higher 

9 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)) is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(6) NOTIFICATION AND AUTOMATIC ENROLL12 MENT PROCEDURES FOR BORROWERS WHO ARE DE13 LINQUENT ON LOANS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN INCOME IN15 FORMATION.—The Secretary shall establish and 

16 implement, with respect to any borrower de17 scribed in subparagraph (B), procedures to— 

18 ‘‘(i) use return information of the bor19 rower (and the borrower’s spouse, if appli20 cable) disclosed under section 6103(l)(13) 

21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, pur22 suant to approval provided under section 

23 494, to determine the income and family 

24 size of the borrower (and the borrower’s 

25 spouse, if applicable) without further ac26 tion by the borrower; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) allow the borrower (or the spouse 

2 of the borrower), at any time, to opt out 

3 of disclosure under such section 

4 6103(l)(13) and instead provide such infor5 mation as the Secretary may require to de6 termine the income and family size of the 

7 borrower (and the borrower’s spouse, if ap8 plicable); and 

9 ‘‘(iii) provide the borrower with an op10 portunity to update the return information 

11 so disclosed before the determination of the 

12 income and family size of the borrower for 

13 purposes of this paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(B) BORROWER NOTIFICATION.—With re15 spect to each borrower of a covered loan who is 

16 at least 31 days delinquent on such loan and 

17 who has not been subject to the procedures 

18 under this paragraph for such loan in the pre19 ceding 120 days, the Secretary shall, as soon as 

20 practicable after such 31-day delinquency, pro21 vide to the borrower the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) Notification that the borrower is 

23 at least 31 days delinquent on at least 1 

24 covered loan, and a description of all delin25 quent covered loans, nondelinquent covered 


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1 loans, and noncovered loans of the bor2 rower. 

3 ‘‘(ii) A brief description of the repay4 ment plans for which the borrower is eligi5 ble and the covered loans and noncovered 

6 loans of the borrower that may be eligible 

7 for such plans, based on information avail8 able to the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(iii) Clear and simple instructions on 

10 how to select the repayment plans. 

11 ‘‘(iv) In the case of a borrower of a 

12 loan under section 428B, or a Federal Di13 rect PLUS Loan, that is made, insured, or 

14 guaranteed on behalf of a dependent stu15 dent, an explanation that the borrower 

16 may qualify for an income-driven repay17 ment plan if the borrower consolidates 

18 such loan into a Federal Direct Consolida19 tion Loan, and the amount of the monthly 

20 payment of such consolidation loan if the 

21 borrower does so consolidate. 

22 ‘‘(v) The amount of monthly pay23 ments for the covered and noncovered 

24 loans under the repayment plans for which 

25 the borrower is eligible, based on informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Aug 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9192.IH H9192

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1 tion available to the Secretary, including, if 

2 the income information of the borrower is 

3 available to the Secretary under subpara4 graph (A)— 

5 ‘‘(I) the amount of the monthly 

6 payment under each income-driven re7 payment plan for which the borrower 

8 is eligible for the borrower’s covered 

9 and noncovered loans, based on such 

10 income information; and 

11 ‘‘(II) the income, family size, tax 

12 filing status, and tax year information 

13 on which each monthly payment is 

14 based. 

15 ‘‘(vi) An explanation that in the case 

16 of a borrower for whom adjusted gross in17 come is unavailable— 

18 ‘‘(I) if the borrower selects to 

19 repay the covered loans of such bor20 rower pursuant to an income-driven 

21 repayment plan that defines discre22 tionary income in such a manner that 

23 an individual not required under sec24 tion 6012(a)(1) of the Internal Rev25 enue Code of 1986 to file a return 


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1 with respect to income taxes imposed 

2 by subtitle A of such Code may have 

3 a calculated monthly payment greater 

4 than $0, the borrower will be required 

5 to provide the Secretary with other 

6 documentation of income satisfactory 

7 to the Secretary, which documentation 

8 the Secretary may use to determine 

9 an appropriate repayment schedule; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) if the borrower selects to 

12 repay such loans pursuant to an in13 come-driven repayment plan that is 

14 not described in subclause (I), the 

15 borrower will not be required to pro16 vide the Secretary with such other 

17 documentation of income, and the bor18 rower will have a calculated monthly 

19 payment of $0. 

20 ‘‘(vii) An explanation that the Sec21 retary shall take the actions under sub22 paragraph (C) with respect to such bor23 rower, if— 

24 ‘‘(I) the borrower is 75 days de25 linquent on one or more covered loans 


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1 and has not selected a new repayment 

2 plan for the covered loans of the bor3 rower; and 

4 ‘‘(II) in the case of such a bor5 rower whose repayment plan for the 

6 covered loans of the borrower is not 

7 an income-driven repayment plan, the 

8 monthly payments under such repay9 ment plan are higher than such 

10 monthly payments would be under an 

11 income-driven repayment plan for 

12 such loans. 

13 ‘‘(viii) Instructions on updating the 

14 information of the borrower obtained under 

15 subparagraph (A). 

16 ‘‘(C) SECRETARY’S INITIAL SELECTION OF

17 PLAN.—With respect to each borrower de18 scribed in subparagraph (B) who has a repay19 ment plan for the covered loans of the borrower 

20 that meets the requirements of clause (vi)(II) of 

21 subparagraph (B) and has not selected a new 

22 repayment plan for such loans in accordance 

23 with the notice received under such subpara24 graph, and who is at least 75 days delinquent 


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1 on such a loan, the Secretary shall, as soon as 

2 practicable— 

3 ‘‘(i) in a case in which any of the bor4 rower’s covered loans are eligible for an in5 come-driven repayment plan— 

6 ‘‘(I)(aa) provide the borrower 

7 with the income-driven repayment 

8 plan that requires the lowest monthly 

9 payment amount for each covered loan 

10 of the borrower, compared to any 

11 other such plan for which the bor12 rower is eligible; or 

13 ‘‘(bb) if more than one income14 driven repayment plan would offer the 

15 borrower the same lowest monthly 

16 payment amount, provide the bor17 rower with the income-driven repay18 ment plan that has the most favorable 

19 terms for the borrower; 

20 ‘‘(II) if the plan selected under 

21 subclause (I) is not the income-driven 

22 repayment plan that would have the 

23 lowest monthly payment amount if the 

24 borrower were eligible for such plan 

25 for the borrower’s covered loans and 


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1 noncovered loans, notify the borrower 

2 of the actions, if any, the borrower 

3 may take to become eligible for such 

4 income-driven repayment plan; and 

5 ‘‘(III) authorize the borrower to 

6 change the Secretary’s selection of a 

7 plan under this clause to any plan de8 scribed in paragraph (1) for which the 

9 borrower is eligible; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in a case in which none of the 

11 borrower’s covered loans are eligible for an 

12 income-driven repayment plan, notify the 

13 borrower of the actions, if any, the bor14 rower may take for such loans to become 

15 eligible for such a plan. 

16 ‘‘(D) SECRETARY’S ADDITIONAL SELEC17 TION OF PLAN.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—With respect to 

19 each borrower of a covered loan who se20 lects a new repayment plan in accordance 

21 with the notice received under subpara22 graph (B) and who continues to be delin23 quent on such loan for a period described 

24 in clause (ii), the Secretary shall, as soon 

25 as practicable after such period, carry out 


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1 the procedures described in clauses (i) and 

2 (ii) of subparagraph (C) for the covered 

3 loans of the borrower, if such procedures 

4 would result in lower monthly repayment 

5 amounts on such loan. 

6 ‘‘(ii) DESCRIPTION OF PERIOD.—The 

7 duration of the period described in clause 

8 (i) shall be the amount of time that the 

9 Secretary determines is sufficient to indi10 cate that the borrower may benefit from 

11 repaying such loan under a new repayment 

12 plan, but in no case shall such period be 

13 less than 60 days. 

14 ‘‘(7) NOTIFICATION AND AUTOMATIC ENROLL15 MENT PROCEDURES FOR BORROWERS WHO ARE RE16 HABILITATING DEFAULTED LOANS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN INCOME IN18 FORMATION.—The Secretary shall establish and 

19 implement, with respect to any borrower who is 

20 rehabilitating a covered loan pursuant to sec21 tion 428F(a), procedures to— 

22 ‘‘(i) use return information of the bor23 rower (and the borrower’s spouse, if appli24 cable) disclosed section 6103(l)(13) of the 

25 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, pursuant 


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1 to approval provided under section 494, to 

2 obtain such information as is reasonably 

3 necessary regarding the income and family 

4 size of the borrower (and the borrower’s 

5 spouse, if applicable); 

6 ‘‘(ii) allow the borrower (or the spouse 

7 of the borrower), at any time, to opt out 

8 of disclosure under such section 

9 6103(l)(13) and instead provide such infor10 mation as the Secretary may require to ob11 tain such information; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) provide the borrower with an op13 portunity to update the return information 

14 so disclosed before the determination of in15 come and family size of the borrower (and 

16 the borrower’s spouse, if applicable) for 

17 purposes of this paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(B) BORROWER NOTIFICATION.—Not 

19 later than 30 days after a borrower makes the 

20 6th payment required for the loan rehabilitation 

21 described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

22 shall notify the borrower of the process under 

23 subparagraph (C) with respect to such loan. 

24 ‘‘(C) SECRETARY’S SELECTION OF PLAN.— 

25 With respect to each borrower who has made 


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1 the 9th payment required for the loan rehabili2 tation described in subparagraph (A), the Sec3 retary shall, as soon as practicable after such 

4 payment— 

5 ‘‘(i) in a case in which any of the bor6 rower’s covered loans, without regard to 

7 whether the loan has been so rehabilitated, 

8 is eligible for an income-driven repayment 

9 plan— 

10 ‘‘(I)(aa) provide the borrower 

11 with the income-driven repayment 

12 plan that requires the lowest monthly 

13 payment amount for each covered loan 

14 of the borrower, compared to any 

15 other such plan for which the bor16 rower is eligible; or 

17 ‘‘(bb) if more than one income18 driven repayment plan would offer the 

19 borrower the same lowest monthly 

20 payment amount, provide the bor21 rower with the income-driven repay22 ment plan that has the most favorable 

23 terms for the borrower; and 

24 ‘‘(II) if the plan selected under 

25 subclause (I) is not the income-driven 


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1 repayment plan that would have the 

2 lowest monthly payment amount if the 

3 borrower were eligible for such plan 

4 for the borrower’s covered loans and 

5 noncovered loans, notify the borrower 

6 of the actions, if any, the borrower 

7 may take to become eligible for such 

8 income-driven repayment plan; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) in a case in which none of the 

10 borrower’s covered loans are eligible for an 

11 income-driven repayment plan, notify the 

12 borrower of the actions, if any, the bor13 rower may take for such a loan to become 

14 eligible for such a plan.’’. 

15 (2) DEFINITIONS.—Section 455(d) of the High16 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)), as 

17 amended by paragraph (1), is further amended by 

18 adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

20 ‘‘(A) COVERED LOAN.—The term ‘covered 

21 loan’ means— 

22 ‘‘(i) a loan made under this part; 

23 ‘‘(ii) a loan purchased under section 

24 459A; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) a loan that has been assigned to 

2 the Secretary under section 428(c)(8). 

3 ‘‘(B) INCOME-DRIVEN REPAYMENT

4 PLAN.—The term ‘income-driven repayment 

5 plan’ means a plan described in subparagraph 

6 (D) or (E) of paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(C) NONCOVERED LOAN.—The term 

8 ‘noncovered loan’ means a loan made, insured, 

9 or guaranteed under this title that is not a cov10 ered loan.’’. 

11 (3) AUTOMATIC RECERTIFICATION.— 

12 (A) BORROWER FOR WHOM ADJUSTED

13 GROSS INCOME IS UNAVAILABLE.—Section 

14 455(e)(8)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 

15 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(e)(8)(A)) is amended— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

17 clause (ii); 

18 (ii) by redesignating clause (iii) as 

19 clause (iv); 

20 (iii) in clause (iv) (as so redesig21 nated), by striking the period at the end 

22 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (iv) by inserting after clause (ii), the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a borrower who 

2 has selected to repay a covered loan (as de3 fined in subsection (d)(8)) pursuant to an 

4 income contingent repayment plan that de5 fines discretionary income in such a man6 ner that the borrower would have a cal7 culated monthly payment equal to $0, not 

8 require the borrower to provide the Sec9 retary the information described in clause 

10 (i) or (ii), and ensure that the borrower 

11 will have a calculated monthly payment of 

12 $0; and’’. 

13 (B) INCLUSION OF COVERED LOANS.—Sec14 tion 455(e)(8)(B) of the Higher Education Act 

15 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(e)(8)(B)) is amended 

16 by striking ‘‘a loan made under this part’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘a covered loan (as defined in sub18 section (d)(8))’’. 

19 (4) CHANGING PLANS.—Section 493C(b)(8) of 

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

21 1098e(b)(8)) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(8) a borrower who is repaying a loan made, 

23 insured, or guaranteed under part B or D pursuant 

24 to income-based repayment may elect, at any time, 

25 to terminate repayment pursuant to income-based 


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1 repayment and repay such loan under any repay2 ment plan for which the loan is eligible in accord3 ance with the requirements of part B or part D, re4 spectively; and’’. 

5 (5) PROCEDURE AND REQUIREMENT FOR RE6 QUESTING TAX RETURN INFORMATION FROM THE

7 IRS.—Section 494(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098h(a)) is amended— 

9 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) in subparagraph (A), in the matter 

11 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘a loan 

12 under part D’’ and inserting ‘‘a covered 

13 loan (as defined in section 455(d)(8))’’; 

14 and 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

16 ‘‘a loan under part D’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

17 covered loan (as defined in section 

18 455(d)(8))’’; and 

19 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(4) LOAN DELINQUENCY AND REHABILITA21 TION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) BORROWERS DELINQUENT ON

23 LOANS.—In the case of an individual who is a 

24 borrower of a covered loan and who is at least 

25 31 days delinquent on such loan, the Secretary, 


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1 with respect to such individual and any spouse 

2 of such individual, shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) provide to such individuals the 

4 notification described in paragraph 

5 (1)(A)(i); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) require, as a condition of eligi7 bility for the notification and automatic en8 rollment procedures for borrowers who are 

9 delinquent on loans under section 

10 455(d)(6), that such individuals— 

11 ‘‘(I) affirmatively approve the 

12 disclosure described in paragraph 

13 (1)(A)(i) and agree that such approval 

14 shall serve as an ongoing approval of 

15 such disclosure until the date on 

16 which the individual elects to opt out 

17 of such disclosure under section 

18 455(d)(6)(A)(ii); or 

19 ‘‘(II) provide such information as 

20 the Secretary may require to carry 

21 out the procedures under section 

22 455(d)(6) with respect to such indi23 vidual. 

24 ‘‘(B) LOAN REHABILITATION.—In the case 

25 of any written or electronic application by an 


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1 individual for the rehabilitation of a covered 

2 loan pursuant to section 428F(a), the Sec3 retary, with respect to such individual and any 

4 spouse of such individual, shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) provide to such individuals the 

6 notification described in paragraph 

7 (1)(A)(i); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) require, as a condition of eligi9 bility for loan rehabilitation pursuant to 

10 section 428F(a), that such individuals— 

11 ‘‘(I) affirmatively approve the 

12 disclosure described in paragraph 

13 (1)(A)(i) and agree that such approval 

14 shall serve as an ongoing approval of 

15 such disclosure until the date on 

16 which the individual elects to opt out 

17 of such disclosure under section 

18 455(d)(7)(A)(ii); or 

19 ‘‘(II) provide such information as 

20 the Secretary may require to carry 

21 out the procedures under section 

22 455(d)(7) with respect to such indi23 vidual. 


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1 ‘‘(C) COVERED LOAN DEFINED.—In this 

2 paragraph, the term ‘covered loan’ has the 

3 meaning given the term in section 455(d)(8).’’. 

4 (b) SECURE DISCLOSURE OF TAX-RETURN INFOR5 MATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(l)(13) of the 

7 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redes8 ignating subparagraphs (D), (E), and (F) as para9 graphs (E), (F), and (G), respectively, and by in10 serting after subparagraph (C) the following new 

11 subparagraph: 

12 ‘‘(D) NOTIFICATION AND AUTOMATIC EN13 ROLLMENT FOR CERTAIN BORROWERS.—The 

14 Secretary shall, upon written request from the 

15 Secretary of Education, disclose to any author16 ized person, only for the purpose of (and to the 

17 extent necessary in) carrying out paragraphs 

18 (6) and (7) of section 455(d) of the Higher 

19 Education Act of 1965, return information de20 scribed in clauses (i) through (vi) of subpara21 graph (A) from returns of an individual cer22 tified by the Secretary of Education as having 

23 provided approval under section 494(a)(4) of 

24 such Act (as in effect on the date of enactment 

25 of this paragraph) for such disclosure.’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (A) Section 6103(l)(13)(A) of the Internal 

3 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘loans under part D of such title’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘covered loans (as defined in section 455(d)(8) 

6 of such Act)’’. 

7 (B) Section 6103(l)(13)(E)(i) of the Inter8 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (as redesignated by 

9 paragraph (1)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 

10 (C)’’ and inserting ‘‘(C), and (D)’’. 

11 (C) Subparagraphs (F) and (G) of section 

12 6103(l)(13) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

13 1986 (as redesignated by paragraph (1)) are 

14 each amended by striking ‘‘or (C)’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘(C), or (D)’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.— 

17 (1) AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT.—The amend18 ments made by paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (5) of 

19 subsection (a) shall— 

20 (A) apply to all borrowers of covered loans 

21 (as defined in section 455(d)(8) of the Higher 

22 Education Act of 1965, as added by subsection 

23 (a)); and 

24 (B) take effect on July 1, 2026, and shall 

25 apply with respect to award year 2026–2027 


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1 and each subsequent award year, as determined 

2 under the Higher Education Act of 1965. 

3 (2) CHANGING PLANS.—The amendment made 

4 by subsection (a)(4) shall take effect on the date of 

5 enactment of this Act. 

6 (3) DISCLOSURE.—The amendments made by 

7 subsection (b) shall apply to disclosures after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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