II 

115TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1712 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for the automatic 

recertification of income for income-driven repayment plans, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 2, 2017 

Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 

for the automatic recertification of income for incomedriven repayment plans, 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. AUTOMATIC INCOME MONITORING PROCEDURES 

2 AFTER A TOTAL AND PERMANENT DIS3 ABILITY DISCHARGE. 

4 Section 437(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

5 (20 U.S.C. 1087(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(3) AUTOMATIC INCOME MONITORING.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

9 after the date of enactment of the Streamlining 

10 Income-driven, Manageable Payments on Loans 

11 for Education Act, the Secretary shall establish 

12 and implement, with respect to any borrower 

13 described in subparagraph (B), procedures to— 

14 ‘‘(i) obtain (for each year of the in15 come-monitoring period described in sub16 paragraph (B) and without further action 

17 by the borrower) such information as is 

18 reasonably necessary regarding the income 

19 of such borrower (and the borrower’s 

20 spouse, if applicable) for the purpose of de21 termining the borrower’s continued eligi22 bility for the loan discharge described in 

23 subparagraph (B) for such year, and any 

24 other information necessary to determine 

25 such continued eligibility of the borrower 

26 for such year, except that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) in the case of a borrower 

2 whose returns and return information 

3 indicate that the borrower has no 

4 earned income for any year of such 

5 income-monitoring period, such bor6 rower shall be treated as not having 

7 earned income in excess of the poverty 

8 line for such year; and 

9 ‘‘(II) this clause shall be subject 

10 to clause (ii); 

11 ‘‘(ii) allow the borrower, at any time, 

12 to opt out of clause (i) and prevent the 

13 Secretary from obtaining information 

14 under such clause without further action 

15 by the borrower; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) provide the borrower with an op17 portunity to update the information ob18 tained under clause (i) before the deter19 mination of the borrower’s continued eligi20 bility for such loan discharge for such 

21 year. 

22 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph (A) 

23 shall apply— 

24 ‘‘(i) to each borrower of a covered 

25 loan (defined in section 455(d)(8)) that is 


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1 discharged under this subsection or section 

2 464(c)(1)(F) due to the permanent and 

3 total disability of the borrower; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) during the income-monitoring pe5 riod under this subsection, defined in this 

6 paragraph as the period— 

7 ‘‘(I) beginning on the date on 

8 which such loan is so discharged; and 

9 ‘‘(II) during which the Secretary 

10 determines whether a reinstatement of 

11 the obligation of, and resumption of 

12 collection on, such loan may be nec13 essary. 

14 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY OF RETURNS AND RE15 TURN INFORMATION.—Returns and return in16 formation may be obtained under subparagraph 

17 (A)(i) only to the extent authorized by section 

18 6103(l)(13) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986. 

20 ‘‘(D) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

21 term ‘returns and return information’ has the 

22 meaning given the term in section 6103 of the 

23 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION AND AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT 

2 PROCEDURES FOR BORROWERS WHO ARE 

3 DELINQUENT ON LOANS AND FOR BOR4 ROWERS WHO REHABILITATED DEFAULTED 

5 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.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

17 borrower who is at least 60 days delin18 quent on a covered loan, the Secretary may 

19 obtain such information as is reasonably 

20 necessary regarding the income and family 

21 size of the borrower (and the borrower’s 

22 spouse, if applicable). 

23 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY OF RETURNS AND

24 RETURN INFORMATION.—Returns and re25 turn information (as defined in section 

26 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 


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1 1986) may be obtained under this subpara2 graph only to the extent authorized by sec3 tion 6103(l)(13) of such Code. 

4 ‘‘(B) BORROWER NOTIFICATION.—With re5 spect to each borrower of a covered loan who is 

6 at least 60 days delinquent on such loan and 

7 who has not been subject to the procedures 

8 under this paragraph for such loan in the pre9 ceding 120 days, the Secretary shall, as soon as 

10 practicable after such 60-day delinquency, pro11 vide to the borrower the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) Notification that the borrower is 

13 at least 60 days delinquent on at least 1 

14 covered loan, and a description of all delin15 quent covered loans, nondelinquent covered 

16 loans, and noncovered loans of the bor17 rower. 

18 ‘‘(ii) A brief description of the repay19 ment plans for which the borrower is eligi20 ble and the covered loans and noncovered 

21 loans of the borrower that may be eligible 

22 for such plans, based on information avail23 able to the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(iii) Clear and simple instructions on 

25 how to select the repayment plans. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) The amount of monthly pay2 ments for the covered and noncovered 

3 loans under the repayment plans for which 

4 the borrower is eligible, based on informa5 tion available to the Secretary, including, if 

6 the income information of the borrower is 

7 available to the Secretary under subpara8 graph (A)— 

9 ‘‘(I) the amount of the monthly 

10 payment under each income-driven re11 payment plan for which the borrower 

12 is eligible for the borrower’s covered 

13 and noncovered loans, based on such 

14 income information; and 

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

16 filing status, and tax year information 

17 on which each monthly payment is 

18 based. 

19 ‘‘(v) An explanation that in the case 

20 of a borrower for whom adjusted gross in21 come is unavailable— 

22 ‘‘(I) if the borrower selects to 

23 repay the covered loans of such bor24 rower pursuant to an income-driven 

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1 tionary income in such a manner that 

2 an individual not required under sec3 tion 6012(a)(1) of the Internal Rev4 enue Code of 1986 to file a return 

5 with respect to income taxes imposed 

6 by subtitle A of such Code may have 

7 a calculated monthly payment greater 

8 than $0, the borrower will be required 

9 to provide the Secretary with other 

10 documentation of income satisfactory 

11 to the Secretary, which documentation 

12 the Secretary may use to determine 

13 an appropriate repayment schedule; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(II) if the borrower selects to 

16 repay such loans pursuant to an in17 come-driven repayment plan that is 

18 not described in subclause (I), the 

19 borrower will not be required to pro20 vide the Secretary with such other 

21 documentation of income, and the bor22 rower will have a calculated monthly 

23 payment of $0. 

24 ‘‘(vi) An explanation that the Sec25 retary shall take the actions under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Aug 16, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1712.IS S1712

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1 paragraph (C) with respect to such bor2 rower, if— 

3 ‘‘(I) the borrower is 120 days de4 linquent on one or more covered loans 

5 and has not selected a new repayment 

6 plan for the covered loans of the bor7 rower; and 

8 ‘‘(II) in the case of such a bor9 rower whose repayment plan for the 

10 covered loans of the borrower is not 

11 an income-driven repayment plan, the 

12 monthly payments under such repay13 ment plan are higher than such 

14 monthly payments would be under an 

15 income-driven repayment plan for 

16 such loans. 

17 ‘‘(vii) Instructions on updating the in18 formation of the borrower obtained under 

19 subparagraph (A). 

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

21 PLAN.—With respect to each borrower de22 scribed in subparagraph (B) who has a repay23 ment plan for the covered loans of the borrower 

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

25 subparagraph (B) and has not selected a new 


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1 repayment plan for such loans in accordance 

2 with the notice received under such subpara3 graph, and who is at least 120 days delinquent 

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

5 practicable— 

6 ‘‘(i) in a case in which any of the bor7 rower’s covered loans are eligible for an in8 come-driven repayment plan— 

9 ‘‘(I)(aa) provide the borrower 

10 with the income-driven repayment 

11 plan that requires the lowest monthly 

12 payment amount for each covered loan 

13 of the borrower, compared to any 

14 other such plan for which the bor15 rower is eligible; or 

16 ‘‘(bb) if more than one income17 driven repayment plan would offer the 

18 borrower the same lowest monthly 

19 payment amount, provide the bor20 rower with the income-driven repay21 ment plan that has the most favorable 

22 terms for the borrower; 

23 ‘‘(II) if the plan selected under 

24 subclause (I) is not the income-driven 

25 repayment plan that would have the 


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1 lowest monthly payment amount if the 

2 borrower were eligible for such plan 

3 for the borrower’s covered loans and 

4 noncovered loans, notify the borrower 

5 of the actions, if any, the borrower 

6 may take to become eligible for such 

7 income-driven repayment plan; and 

8 ‘‘(III) authorize the borrower to 

9 change the Secretary’s selection of a 

10 plan under this clause to any plan de11 scribed in paragraph (1) for which the 

12 borrower is eligible; and 

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

14 borrower’s covered loans are eligible for an 

15 income-driven repayment plan, notify the 

16 borrower of the actions, if any, the bor17 rower may take for such loans to become 

18 eligible for such a plan. 

19 ‘‘(D) SECRETARY’S ADDITIONAL SELEC20 TION OF PLAN.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—With respect to 

22 each borrower of a covered loan who se23 lects a new repayment plan in accordance 

24 with the notice received under subpara25 graph (B) and who continues to be delinVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Aug 16, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1712.IS S1712

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1 quent on such loan for a period described 

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

3 as practicable after such period, carry out 

4 the procedures described in clauses (i) and 

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

6 loans of the borrower, if such procedures 

7 would result in lower monthly repayment 

8 amounts on such loan. 

9 ‘‘(ii) DESCRIPTION OF PERIOD.—The 

10 duration of the period described in clause 

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

12 Secretary determines is sufficient to indi13 cate that the borrower may benefit from 

14 repaying such loan under a new repayment 

15 plan, but in no case shall such period be 

16 less than 60 days. 

17 ‘‘(E) OPT-OUT.—A borrower of a covered 

18 loan shall have the right to opt out of the pro19 cedures under this paragraph. 

20 ‘‘(F) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 

21 establish procedures as are necessary to effec22 tively implement this paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(7) NOTIFICATION AND AUTOMATIC ENROLL24 MENT PROCEDURES FOR BORROWERS WHO ARE RE25 HABILITATING DEFAULTED LOANS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN INCOME IN2 FORMATION.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

4 borrower who is rehabilitating a covered 

5 loan pursuant to section 428F(a), the Sec6 retary may obtain such information as is 

7 reasonably necessary regarding the income 

8 and family size of the borrower (and the 

9 borrower’s spouse, if applicable). 

10 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY OF RETURNS AND

11 RETURN INFORMATION.—Returns and re12 turn information (as defined in section 

13 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

14 1986) may be obtained under this subpara15 graph only to the extent authorized by sec16 tion 6103(l)(13) of such Code. 

17 ‘‘(B) BORROWER NOTIFICATION.—Not 

18 later than 30 days after a borrower makes the 

19 6th payment required for the loan rehabilitation 

20 described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

21 shall notify the borrower of the process under 

22 subparagraph (C) with respect to such loan. 

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

24 With respect to each borrower who has made 

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1 tation described in subparagraph (A), the Sec2 retary shall, as soon as practicable after such 

3 payment— 

4 ‘‘(i) in a case in which any of the bor5 rower’s covered loans, without regard to 

6 whether the loan has been so rehabilitated, 

7 is eligible for an income-driven repayment 

8 plan— 

9 ‘‘(I)(aa) provide the borrower 

10 with the income-driven repayment 

11 plan that requires the lowest monthly 

12 payment amount for each covered loan 

13 of the borrower, compared to any 

14 other such plan for which the bor15 rower is eligible; or 

16 ‘‘(bb) if more than one income17 driven repayment plan would offer the 

18 borrower the same lowest monthly 

19 payment amount, provide the bor20 rower with the income-driven repay21 ment plan that has the most favorable 

22 terms for the borrower; and 

23 ‘‘(II) if the plan selected under 

24 subclause (I) is not the income-driven 

25 repayment plan that would have the 


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1 lowest monthly payment amount if the 

2 borrower were eligible for such plan 

3 for the borrower’s covered loans and 

4 noncovered loans, notify the borrower 

5 of the actions, if any, the borrower 

6 may take to become eligible for such 

7 income-driven repayment plan; and 

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

9 borrower’s covered loans are eligible for an 

10 income-driven repayment plan, notify the 

11 borrower of the actions, if any, the bor12 rower may take for such a loan to become 

13 eligible for such a plan. 

14 ‘‘(D) OPT-OUT.—A borrower of a covered 

15 loan shall have the right to opt out of the pro16 cedures under this paragraph. 

17 ‘‘(E) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 

18 establish procedures as are necessary to effec19 tively implement this paragraph.’’. 

20 (2) DEFINITIONS.—Section 455(d) of the High21 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)), as 

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

23 adding at the end the following: 

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


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

2 loan’ means— 

3 ‘‘(i) a loan made under this part; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a loan purchased under section 

5 459A; or 

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

7 the Secretary under section 428(c)(8) or 

8 part E. 

9 ‘‘(B) INCOME-DRIVEN REPAYMENT

10 PLAN.—The term ‘income-driven repayment 

11 plan’ means a plan described in subparagraph 

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

13 ‘‘(C) NONCOVERED LOAN.—The term 

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

15 or guaranteed under this title that is not a cov16 ered loan.’’. 

17 (3) CHANGING PLANS.—Section 493C(b)(8) of 

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

19 1098e(b)(8)) is amended to read as follows: 

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

21 insured, or guaranteed under part B or D pursuant 

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

23 to terminate repayment pursuant to income-based 

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1 ance with the requirements of part B or part D, re2 spectively; and’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.— 

4 (1) AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT.—The amend5 ments made by paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection 

6 (a) shall— 

7 (A) take effect as soon as the Secretary of 

8 Education determines practicable after the Sec9 retary finalizes the procedures under section 5, 

10 but not later than 2 years after the date of en11 actment of this Act; and 

12 (B) apply to all borrowers of covered loans 

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

14 Education Act of 1965, as added by subsection 

15 (a)). 

16 (2) CHANGING PLANS.—The amendment made 

17 by subsection (a)(3) shall take effect on the date of 

18 enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 4. AUTOMATIC RECERTIFICATION OF INCOME. 

20 (a) INCOME CONTINGENT REPAYMENT.—Section 

21 455(e) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

22 1087e(e)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘does not reasonably re25 flect the borrower’s current income’’ and insertVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Aug 16, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1712.IS S1712

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1 ing ‘‘whose income has decreased relative to the 

2 adjusted gross income available to the Sec3 retary’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘, consistent with the pro5 cedures established under paragraph 

6 (8)(B)(iv)’’ before the period at the end; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(8) AUTOMATIC RECERTIFICATION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

10 term ‘covered loan’ has the meaning given the 

11 term in subsection (d)(8). 

12 ‘‘(B) IN GENERAL.—Beginning as soon as 

13 the Secretary determines practicable after the 

14 Secretary finalizes the procedures under section 

15 5 of the Streamlining Income-driven, Manage16 able Payments on Loans for Education Act, but 

17 not later than 2 years after the date of enact18 ment of such Act, the Secretary shall establish 

19 and implement, with respect to any borrower 

20 described in subparagraph (C), procedures to— 

21 ‘‘(i) obtain (for each year of repay22 ment and without further action by the 

23 borrower) such information as is reason24 ably necessary regarding the income of 

25 such borrower (and the borrower’s spouse, 


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1 if applicable), for the purpose of deter2 mining the repayment obligation of the 

3 borrower for such year, including informa4 tion with respect to the borrower’s family 

5 size in accordance with the procedures 

6 under section 5 of the Streamlining In7 come-driven, Manageable Payments on 

8 Loans for Education Act, subject to clause 

9 (ii); 

10 ‘‘(ii) allow the borrower, at any time, 

11 to opt out of clause (i) and prevent the 

12 Secretary from obtaining information 

13 under such clause without further action 

14 by the borrower; 

15 ‘‘(iii) provide the borrower with an op16 portunity to update the information ob17 tained under clause (i) before the deter18 mination of the annual repayment obliga19 tion of the borrower; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) in the case of a borrower for 

21 whom adjusted gross income is unavail22 able— 

23 ‘‘(I) if the borrower has selected 

24 to repay the covered loans of such 

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1 tingent repayment plan that defines 

2 discretionary income in such a man3 ner that an individual not required 

4 under section 6012(a)(1) of the Inter5 nal Revenue Code of 1986 to file a re6 turn with respect to income taxes im7 posed by subtitle A of such Code may 

8 have a calculated monthly payment 

9 greater than $0, the borrower will be 

10 required to provide the Secretary with 

11 other documentation of income satis12 factory to the Secretary, which docu13 mentation the Secretary may use to 

14 determine an appropriate repayment 

15 schedule; or 

16 ‘‘(II) if the borrower has selected 

17 to repay such loans pursuant to an in18 come contingent repayment that is not 

19 described in subclause (I), the bor20 rower will not be required to provide 

21 the Secretary with such other docu22 mentation of income, and the bor23 rower will have a calculated monthly 

24 payment of $0. 


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1 ‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph (B) 

2 shall apply to each borrower of a covered loan 

3 who, on or after the date on which the Sec4 retary establishes procedures under such sub5 paragraph— 

6 ‘‘(i) selects, or for whom the Secretary 

7 selects under subparagraph (C) or (D) of 

8 paragraph (6) or paragraph (7)(C) of sub9 section (d), or section 428(m)(1), an in10 come contingent repayment plan; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) recertifies income and family size 

12 under such plan. 

13 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY OF RETURNS AND RE14 TURN INFORMATION.—Returns and return in15 formation (as defined in section 6103 of the In16 ternal Revenue Code of 1986) may be obtained 

17 under subparagraph (B)(i) only to the extent 

18 authorized by section 6103(l)(13) of such Code. 

19 ‘‘(E) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The proce20 dures established by the Secretary under this 

21 paragraph shall be consistent with the require22 ments of paragraphs (1) through (7), except as 

23 otherwise provided in this paragraph.’’. 


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1 (b) INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT.—Section 493C(c) 

2 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098e(c)) 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall establish’’ 

5 and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab7 lish’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall consider’’ 

9 and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES FOR ELIGIBILITY.—The Sec11 retary shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) consider’’; 

13 (3) by striking ‘‘428C(b)(1)(E).’’ and inserting 

14 the following: ‘‘428C(b)(1)(E); and 

15 ‘‘(B) beginning as soon as the Secretary 

16 determines practicable after the Secretary final17 izes the procedures under section 5 of the 

18 Streamlining Income-driven, Manageable Pay19 ments on Loans for Education Act, but not 

20 later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

21 of such Act, carry out, with respect to bor22 rowers of any covered loan (as defined in sec23 tion 455(d)(8)), procedures for income-based 

24 repayment plans that are equivalent to the pro25 cedures carried out under section 455(e)(8) 


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1 with respect to income contingent repayment 

2 plans.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. STUDY AND PROCEDURES ON DETERMINING FAM4 ILY SIZE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education 

7 shall— 

8 (1) jointly with the Secretary of the Treasury, 

9 conduct a study, which meets the specifications de10 scribed in subsection (b), on the effect of using data 

11 from the Internal Revenue Service on the deduction 

12 for personal exemptions provided by section 151 of 

13 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for a proxy for 

14 family size in an income-driven repayment plan, and 

15 publish such study in the Federal Register; 

16 (2) use the results of the study conducted under 

17 paragraph (1) to develop procedures for determining 

18 family size for the automatic recertification of in19 come for an income-driven repayment plan in a man20 ner that minimizes burdens and unintended harm to 

21 borrowers; 

22 (3) publish the procedures developed under 

23 paragraph (2) in the Federal Register; and 


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1 (4) after a notice and comment period on such 

2 procedures, use such comments to finalize the proce3 dures. 

4 (b) SPECIFICATIONS.—The study conducted under 

5 subsection (a)(1) shall— 

6 (1) determine how closely such personal exemp7 tions match the family size that borrowers report on 

8 their income-driven repayment plan request form; 

9 (2) compare the borrower’s actual monthly pay10 ment amount with the monthly payment amount 

11 borrowers would have using family size information 

12 derived from tax returns; and 

13 (3) use data from more than one year, where 

14 possible, to analyze how much family size changes 

15 over time. 

16 (c) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘income-driven repay17 ment plan’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

18 455(d)(8) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 

19 amended by this Act. 

20 SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE OF TAX RETURN INFORMATION TO 

21 CARRY OUT CERTAIN HIGHER EDUCATION 

22 LOAN PROGRAMS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (13) of section 6103(l) 

24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read 

25 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(13) DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS AND RETURN

2 INFORMATION FOR PURPOSES OF STUDENT LOAN

3 ADMINISTRATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, subject 

5 to such requirements and conditions as the Sec6 retary may prescribe, shall upon written request 

7 from the Secretary of Education disclose to offi8 cers and employees of the Department of Edu9 cation returns and return information with re10 spect to a taxpayer who has received an appli11 cable student loan. 

12 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED

13 INFORMATION.—Return information disclosed 

14 under subparagraph (A) may be used by offi15 cers and employees of the Department of Edu16 cation only for the purposes of, and to the ex17 tent necessary for purposes of— 

18 ‘‘(i) carrying out income monitoring 

19 under section 437(a) of the Higher Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087(a)), 

21 ‘‘(ii) establishing the appropriate in22 come contingent repayment amount in con23 nection with an applicable student loan, 

24 ‘‘(iii) establishing the appropriate re25 payment amount under an applicable inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Aug 16, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1712.IS S1712

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•S 1712 IS

1 come-driven repayment plan (as defined in 

2 section 455(d)(8) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

3 1087e(d)) in connection with an applicable 

4 student loan for— 

5 ‘‘(I) borrowers who have selected 

6 such a plan, and 

7 ‘‘(II) in the case of any recertifi8 cation under section 455(e)(8) or 

9 493C(c)(2)(B) of the Higher Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

11 1087e(e); 1098e(c)), borrowers who 

12 are enrolled in such a plan, 

13 ‘‘(iv) in the case of borrowers who are 

14 at least 60 days delinquent on an applica15 ble student loan— 

16 ‘‘(I) providing notice of eligibility 

17 for an income-driven repayment plan 

18 (as so defined) pursuant to section 

19 455(d)(6)(B) of the Higher Education 

20 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)), 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(II) automatic enrollment in 

23 such an income-driven repayment plan 

24 after such borrowers are at least 120 

25 days delinquent on such a loan pursuVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Aug 16, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1712.IS S1712

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•S 1712 IS

1 ant to section 455(d)(6)(C) of such 

2 Act (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)), and 

3 ‘‘(v) in the case of borrowers who are 

4 rehabilitating defaulted loans, providing 

5 notice of eligibility for an income-driven re6 payment plan (as so defined) and auto7 matic enrollment in such a plan pursuant 

8 to section 455(d)(7) of the Higher Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)). 

10 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE TO CERTAIN CONTRAC11 TORS.—Officers and employees of the Depart12 ment of Education may disclose the information 

13 described in subparagraph (A) to persons 

14 awarded contracts by the Secretary of Edu15 cation under section 456 of the Higher Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087f) to the ex17 tent necessary for the purposes described in 

18 subparagraph (B). 

19 ‘‘(D) SPOUSAL INFORMATION FOR MAR20 RIED INDIVIDUALS FILING SEPARATE RE21 TURNS.—For purposes of this paragraph, in the 

22 case of a married individual filing a separate re23 turn, the term ‘taxpayer’ includes the spouse of 

24 that individual if the Secretary of Education re25 quests information from the spouse of that indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Aug 16, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1712.IS S1712

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•S 1712 IS

1 vidual and the individual and the spouse have 

2 consented in writing. 

3 ‘‘(E) APPLICABLE STUDENT LOAN.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

5 this paragraph, the term ‘applicable stu6 dent loan’ means— 

7 ‘‘(I) any loan which is made, in8 sured, or guaranteed under a program 

9 authorized under part B or D of title 

10 IV of the Higher Education Act of 

11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.; 1087a 

12 et seq.), and 

13 ‘‘(II) any loan which is made 

14 under part E of such title IV (20 

15 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.) which is in de16 fault and has been assigned to the 

17 Department of Education. 

18 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of 

19 subparagraph (B)(iv), the term ‘applicable 

20 student loan’ shall not include any loan 

21 made, insured, or guaranteed under part B 

22 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

23 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.) unless such 

24 loan is in default and has been assigned to 

25 the Department of Education.’’. 


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•S 1712 IS

1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (1) Section 6103(a)(3) of such Code is amended 

3 by inserting ‘‘(13),’’ after ‘‘(12),’’. 

4 (2) Section 6103(p)(4) of such Code is amend5 ed— 

6 (A) by inserting ‘‘(13),’’ after ‘‘(l)(10),’’ 

7 each place it occurs, and 

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘(13),’’ after ‘‘(10),’’ in 

9 the third sentence thereof. 

10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply to disclosures made after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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