I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4372 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require borrowers to repay 

Federal student loans under an income-based repayment plan or a standard repayments plan, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2017 

Mr. FERGUSON (for himself, Mr. MITCHELL, and Mr. GARRETT) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 

borrowers to repay Federal student loans under an income-based repayment plan or a standard repayments 

plan, 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 ‘‘Help Students Repay 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STREAMLINING REPAYMENT PLANS FOR NEW BOR2 ROWERS. 

3 Section 455 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 1087e) is amended by striking subsection (d) and 

5 inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(d) REPAYMENT PLANS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DESIGN AND SELECTION FOR BORROWERS

8 BEFORE JULY 1, 2018.—With respect to a borrower 

9 of a loan made under this part before July 1, 2018, 

10 and consistent with criteria established by the Sec11 retary, the Secretary shall offer such borrower a va12 riety of plans for repayment of such loan, including 

13 principal and interest on the loan. The borrower 

14 shall be entitled to accelerate, without penalty, re15 payment on the borrower’s loans under this part. 

16 The borrower may choose— 

17 ‘‘(A) a standard repayment plan, con18 sistent with subsection (a)(1) of this section 

19 and with section 428(b)(9)(A)(i); 

20 ‘‘(B) a graduated repayment plan, con21 sistent with section 428(b)(9)(A)(ii); 

22 ‘‘(C) an extended repayment plan, con23 sistent with section 428(b)(9)(A)(iv), except 

24 that the borrower shall annually repay a min25 imum amount determined by the Secretary in 

26 accordance with section 428(b)(1)(L); 


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1 ‘‘(D) an income contingent repayment 

2 plan, with varying annual repayment amounts 

3 based on the income of the borrower, paid over 

4 an extended period of time prescribed by the 

5 Secretary, not to exceed 25 years, except that 

6 the plan described in this subparagraph shall 

7 not be available to the borrower of a Federal 

8 Direct PLUS loan made on behalf of a depend9 ent student; and 

10 ‘‘(E) an income-based repayment plan that 

11 enables borrowers who have a partial financial 

12 hardship to make a lower monthly payment in 

13 accordance with section 493C, except that the 

14 plan described in this subparagraph shall not be 

15 available to the borrower of a Federal Direct 

16 PLUS Loan made on behalf of a dependent 

17 student or a Federal Direct Consolidation 

18 Loan, if the proceeds of such loan were used to 

19 discharge the liability on such Federal Direct 

20 PLUS Loan or a loan under section 428B 

21 made on behalf of a dependent student. 

22 ‘‘(2) DESIGN AND SELECTION FOR BORROWERS

23 ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2018.—The Secretary shall 

24 offer a borrower of a loan made under this part on 

25 or after July 1, 2018, the following plans for repayVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Nov 17, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4372.IH H4372

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1 ment of such loan, including principal and interest 

2 on the loan. The borrower shall be entitled to accel3 erate, without penalty, repayment on the borrower’s 

4 loans under this part. The borrower may choose— 

5 ‘‘(A) a standard repayment plan, con6 sistent with subsection (a)(1) of this section 

7 and with section 428(b)(9)(A)(i); or 

8 ‘‘(B) an income-based repayment plan, 

9 consistent with section 460A, except the plan 

10 described in this subparagraph shall not be 

11 available to a borrower of a Federal Direct 

12 PLUS Loan made on behalf of a dependent 

13 student, a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan, 

14 if the proceeds of such loan were used to dis15 charge the liability on such Federal Direct 

16 PLUS Loan or a loan under section 428B 

17 made on behalf of a dependent student. 

18 ‘‘(3) BORROWER NON-SELECTION.—If a bor19 rower of a loan made under this part does not select 

20 a repayment plan described in paragraph (1) or (2), 

21 the Secretary may provide the borrower with a re22 payment plan described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

23 (C) of paragraph (1) in the case of a borrower of a 

24 loan first disbursed before July 1, 2018, or a repay25 ment plan described in paragraph (2)(A) in the case 


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1 of a borrower of a loans first disbursed on or after 

2 July 1, 2018. 

3 ‘‘(4) CHANGES IN SELECTIONS.—The borrower 

4 of a loan made under this part may change the bor5 rower’s selection of a repayment plan under para6 graph (1) or (2), or the Secretary’s selection of a 

7 plan for the borrower under paragraph (3), as the 

8 case may be, under such terms and conditions as 

9 may be established by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(5) REPAYMENT AFTER DEFAULT.—For any 

11 borrower who has defaulted on a loan made under 

12 this part, the Secretary— 

13 ‘‘(A) may require the borrower to pay all 

14 reasonable collection costs associated with such 

15 loan; and 

16 ‘‘(B) if such loan was made— 

17 ‘‘(i) to any borrower who, before July 

18 1, 2018, had an outstanding balance on a 

19 student loan made, insured, or guaranteed 

20 under this part or part B, may require the 

21 borrower to repay the loan pursuant to an 

22 income contingent repayment plan, as de23 scribed in paragraph (1)(D), or an income24 based repayment plan, as described in 

25 paragraph (1)(E); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to a new borrower (as defined in 

2 section 460A(a)(2)), may provide the bor3 rower the option to enroll in the repayment 

4 plan described in paragraph (2)(B). 

5 ‘‘(6) APPLICABILITY PROVISION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 paragraph (5) and subparagraph (B), the re8 payment plans under subparagraphs (B), (C), 

9 (D), and (E) of paragraph (1) are not available 

10 for a borrower who received the borrower’s first 

11 disbursement of a Federal Direct Loan on or 

12 after July 1, 2018. 

13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The repayment plans 

14 available to a borrower of a Federal Direct 

15 PLUS Loan made on behalf of a dependent 

16 student or a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan 

17 whose proceeds were used to discharge the li18 ability of a Federal Direct PLUS Loan made 

19 on behalf of a dependent student or a loan 

20 under section 428B made on behalf of a de21 pendent student on or after July 1, 2018, shall 

22 be those described under subparagraphs (A), 

23 (B), and (C) of paragraph (1).’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT FOR NEW BORROWERS 

2 AND NEW LOANS. 

3 Part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

4 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 460A. INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT PLAN. 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) COVERED FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN.—The 

9 term ‘covered Federal Direct Loan’ means a Federal 

10 Direct Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Unsubsidized 

11 Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan 

12 (other than an excepted consolidation loan), or a 

13 Federal Direct PLUS Loan (other than an excepted 

14 plus loan) made under this part. 

15 ‘‘(2) NEW BORROWER.—The term ‘new bor16 rower’ means a borrower who— 

17 ‘‘(A) as of July 1, 2018, has no out18 standing balance on a student loan made, in19 sured, or guaranteed under part B or D; or 

20 ‘‘(B) has no outstanding balance on a stu21 dent loan made, insured, or guaranteed under 

22 part B or D on the date the borrower receives 

23 a loan made under part D on or after July 1, 

24 2018. 

25 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTED PLUS LOAN; EXCEPTED CON26 SOLIDATION LOAN.—The terms ‘excepted plus loan’ 


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1 and ‘excepted consolidation loan’ have the meanings 

2 given such terms in section 493C. 

3 ‘‘(4) INCOME-BASED CALCULATION.—The term 

4 ‘income-based calculation’ means 15 percent of the 

5 result obtained by calculating, on at least an annual 

6 basis, the amount by which— 

7 ‘‘(A) the borrower’s, and the borrower’s 

8 spouse’s (if applicable), adjusted gross income; 

9 exceeds, as defined by the Secretary; exceeds 

10 ‘‘(B) 150 percent of the poverty line appli11 cable to the borrower’s family size as deter12 mined under section 673(2) of the Community 

13 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)). 

14 ‘‘(b) REVISED INCOME-BASED PLAN.—Notwith15 standing any other provision of this Act, the Secretary 

16 shall carry out a program for new borrowers and any bor17 rowers of covered Federal Direct Loans made on or after 

18 July 1, 2018, that meets the following requirements: 

19 ‘‘(1) MONTHLY PAYMENT AMOUNT.—Except as 

20 otherwise provided in this subsection, a new bor21 rower of any covered Federal Direct Loan, or any 

22 borrower of any covered Federal Direct Loan, may 

23 elect to have the borrower’s aggregate monthly pay24 ment for all such loans not to exceed the result of 

25 the income-based calculation divided by 12. 


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1 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF PAYMENT.—The Sec2 retary shall apply the borrower’s monthly payment 

3 under this subsection on such a loan first toward in4 terest due on the loan, next toward any fees due on 

5 the loan, and then toward the principal of the loan. 

6 ‘‘(3) INTEREST.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara8 graph (B), if the borrower’s monthly payment 

9 amount under paragraph (1) is not sufficient to 

10 pay the accrued interest on the borrower’s loan, 

11 such interest shall be paid by the borrower or 

12 be capitalized. 

13 ‘‘(B) NO ACCRUAL OF INTEREST AFTER 10

14 YEARS.—Notwithstanding section 455(b)(8) or 

15 any other provision of this title, interest shall 

16 cease accruing on a loan being repaid under 

17 this subsection, after the borrower has made 

18 payments under this subsection on such loan in 

19 an amount equal to— 

20 ‘‘(i) the amount the borrower would 

21 have repaid under 455(d)(1)(A) on such 

22 loan, based on a 10-year repayment period, 

23 when the borrower first made the election 

24 described in this subsection, plus 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the amount of any interest that 

2 accrued (or was capitalized) during a for3 bearance or deferment period or any simi4 lar period, on the portion of the loan that 

5 was being repaid in accordance with clause 

6 (i). 

7 ‘‘(4) SELECTION OF DIFFERENT REPAYMENT

8 PLAN.—A borrower who no longer wishes to repay 

9 under the plan under this section may change to a 

10 standard repayment plan in accordance with section 

11 455(d)(3). 

12 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS.—The Secretary 

13 shall establish procedures for annually determining the 

14 borrower’s eligibility for income-based repayment, includ15 ing verification of a borrower’s annual income and the an16 nual amount due on the total amount of covered Federal 

17 Direct Loans, and such other procedures as are necessary 

18 to effectively implement income-based repayment under 

19 this section. The Secretary shall consider, but is not lim20 ited to, the procedures established in accordance with sec21 tion 455(e)(1) or section 493C, or in connection with in22 come sensitive repayment schedules under section 

23 428(b)(9)(A)(iii) or 428C(b)(1)(E). 

24 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR MARRIED BORROWERS FIL25 ING SEPARATELY.—In the case of a married borrower who 


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1 files a separate Federal income tax return, the Secretary 

2 shall calculate the amount of the borrower’s income-based 

3 repayment under this section solely on the basis of the 

4 borrower’s student loan debt and adjusted gross income.’’. 

Æ 


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