I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3634 

To establish student loan borrowers’ rights to basic consumer protections, 

reasonable and flexible repayment options, access to earned credentials, 

and effective loan cancellation in exchange for public service, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 

Ms. WILSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the 

Committees on Ways and Means, the Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform, 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 establish student loan borrowers’ rights to basic consumer 

protections, reasonable and flexible repayment options, 

access to earned credentials, and effective loan cancellation in exchange for public service, 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 ‘‘Student Loan Debt 

5 Protection Act of 2015’’. 


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1 TITLE I—BORROWERS’ RIGHT TO 

2 BASIC CONSUMER PROTEC3 TIONS 

4 SEC. 101. DISCHARGEABILITY OF STUDENT LOANS IN 

5 BANKRUPTCY CASES. 

6 Section 523(a) of title 11 of the United States Code 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) by striking paragraph (8); and 

9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

10 (19) as paragraphs (8) through (18). 

11 SEC. 102. REINSTATEMENT OF THE 6-YEAR STATUTE OF 

12 LIMITATIONS FOR STUDENT LOANS. 

13 Subsection (a) of section 484A of the Higher Edu14 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091a(a)) is amended to 

15 read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(a) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding 

17 any Federal or State statutory, regulatory, or administra18 tive limitation on the period within which debts may be 

19 enforced— 

20 ‘‘(1) an institution that receives funds under 

21 this title may file a suit or initiate or take another 

22 action for collection of a refund due from a student 

23 on a grant made, or work assistance awarded, under 

24 this title, during the 6-year period beginning on the 

25 day after the refund first became due (exclusive of 


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1 period during which the State statute of limitations 

2 otherwise applicable to a suit under this paragraph 

3 would be tolled under State law); 

4 ‘‘(2) a guaranty agency that has an agreement 

5 with the Secretary under section 428(c) may file a 

6 suit or initiate or take another action for collection 

7 of the amount due from a borrower on a loan made 

8 under part B during the 6-year period beginning on 

9 the day after such guaranty agency reimburses the 

10 previous holder of the loan for its loss on account of 

11 the default of the borrower (exclusive of period dur12 ing which the State statute of limitations otherwise 

13 applicable to a suit under this paragraph would be 

14 tolled under State law); 

15 ‘‘(3) an institution that has an agreement with 

16 the Secretary pursuant to section 487 may file a suit 

17 or initiate or take another action for collection of the 

18 amount due from a borrower on a loan made under 

19 part D or E after the default of the borrower on 

20 such loan during the 6-year period beginning on the 

21 day after the date of the default of the borrower 

22 with respect to such amount (exclusive of period 

23 during which the State statute of limitations other24 wise applicable to a suit under this paragraph would 

25 be tolled under State law); or 


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1 ‘‘(4) the Secretary, the Attorney General, or the 

2 administrative head of another Federal agency, as 

3 the case may be, may file a suit or initiate or take 

4 another action for collection of a refund due from a 

5 student on a grant made under this title, or for the 

6 repayment of the amount due from a borrower on a 

7 loan made under this title that has been assigned to 

8 the Secretary under this title, during the 6-year pe9 riod beginning on the day after the refund or the 

10 amount first became due.’’. 

11 SEC. 103. PROHIBITION OF COLLECTION OF STUDENT 

12 LOANS THROUGH CERTAIN OFFSETS OR 

13 THROUGH WAGE GARNISHMENT. 

14 (a) PROHIBITION ON OFFSET OF SOCIAL SECURITY

15 BENEFITS.—Section 3716(c)(3)(A) of title 31, United 

16 States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘except as provided 

18 in clause (ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘except as provided in 

19 clauses (ii) and (iii)’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

21 clause: 

22 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding clause (i), any payments due 

23 to an individual under Federal benefits programs cited 

24 under clause (i) shall not be subject to offset under this 

25 subsection if the offset is for payments certified by the 


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1 Department of Education under a program administered 

2 by the Secretary of Education under title IV of the Higher 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).’’. 

4 (b) PROHIBITION ON OFFSET OF TAX REFUND.— 

5 Section 3720A(a) of title 31, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘Any Federal agency’’ and in8 serting ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), 

9 any Federal agency’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(2) Any past-due legally enforceable debt owed by 

13 an individual to the Department of Education under a 

14 program administered by the Secretary of Education 

15 under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

16 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) shall not be subject to notification 

17 under paragraph (1), and any refund of Federal taxes 

18 paid by the individual shall not be subject to reduction 

19 under subsection (c) for such debt.’’. 

20 (c) PROHIBITION ON WAGE GARNISHMENT.—Section 

21 3720D(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and insert23 ing: ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) and 

24 notwithstanding’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(2) Any delinquent nontax debt owed by an indi4 vidual to the Department of Education under a program 

5 administered by the Secretary of Education under title IV 

6 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 

7 et seq.) shall not be subject to collection under this section 

8 through garnishment of disposable pay of the individual.’’. 

9 TITLE II—BORROWER’S RIGHT 

10 TO REASONABLE AND FLEXI11 BLE REPAYMENT OPTIONS 

12 SEC. 201. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME FOR DIS13 CHARGE OF STUDENT LOAN INDEBTEDNESS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 108(f) 

15 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik16 ing ‘‘if such discharge’’ and all that follows and inserting 

17 a period. 

18 (b) STUDENT LOANS.—Paragraph (2) of section 

19 108(f) of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘made by— 

20 ’’ and all that follows and inserting the following: ‘‘. Such 

21 term includes indebtedness used to refinance indebtedness 

22 which qualifies as a student loan under the preceding sen23 tence.’’. 

24 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 108(f) of 

25 such Code is amended by striking paragraphs (3) and (4). 


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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to discharges of indebtedness after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 202. 529 PLAN DISTRIBUTION FOR STUDENT LOAN 

5 PAYMENTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

7 529(e)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend8 ed by striking clause (iii) and inserting the following new 

9 clause: 

10 ‘‘(iii) interest or principal paid with 

11 respect to a qualified education loan (as 

12 defined in section 221) with respect to a 

13 designated beneficiary.’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (1) Section 529(e)(3)(A) of such Code is 

16 amended by striking the second sentence. 

17 (2) Section 72(t)(7)(A) of such Code is amend18 ed by inserting ‘‘determined without regard to sub19 paragraph (A)(iii) thereof’’ after ‘‘section 

20 529(e)(3)’’. 

21 (3) Section 530(b)(2)(A)(i) of such Code is 

22 amended by inserting ‘‘determined without regard to 

23 subparagraph (A)(iii) thereof’’ after ‘‘section 

24 529(e)(3)’’. 


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

2 this section shall apply to distributions made after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 203. INCLUSION OF PARENT PLUS LOANS IN REPAY5 MENT PROGRAMS. 

6 (a) INCOME CONTINGENT REPAYMENT PLAN.—Sec7 tion 455(d)(1)(D) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

8 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)(1)(D)) is amended by striking ‘‘, ex9 cept that the plan described in this subparagraph shall 

10 not be available to the borrower of a Federal Direct PLUS 

11 loan made on behalf of a dependent student;’’. 

12 (b) INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT.— 

13 (1) SECTION 493C.—Section 493C of the High14 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098e) is 

15 amended— 

16 (A) in subsection (a)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘this section’’ and all 

18 that follows through ‘‘hardship’’ and in19 serting ‘‘In this section, the term ‘partial 

20 financial hardship’ ’’; and 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘(other than an ex22 cepted PLUS loan or excepted consolida23 tion loan)’’; 

24 (B) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 

2 ‘‘(other than an excepted PLUS loan or 

3 excepted consolidation loan)’’; and 

4 (ii) in paragraph (6)(A), by striking 

5 ‘‘(other than an excepted PLUS loan or 

6 excepted consolidation loan)’’; and 

7 (C) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘(other 

8 than an excepted PLUS loan or excepted con9 solidation loan),’’. 

10 (2) SECTION 455(d)(1)(E).—Section 

11 455(d)(1)(E) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

12 1087e(d)(1)(D)) is amended by striking ‘‘, except 

13 that the plan described in this subparagraph shall 

14 not be available to the borrower of a Federal Direct 

15 PLUS Loan made on behalf of a dependent student 

16 or a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan, if the pro17 ceeds of such loan were used to discharge the liabil18 ity on such Federal Direct PLUS Loan or a loan 

19 under section 428B made on behalf of a dependent 

20 student’’. 

21 (c) PAY AS YOU EARN.—The income-contingent re22 payment plan (based on the President’s ‘‘Pay As You 

23 Earn’’ repayment initiative) implemented in parts 674, 

24 682, and 685 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, 

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1 partment of Education in the Federal Register on Novem2 ber 1, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg. 66088 et seq.), shall be avail3 able to borrowers of— 

4 (1) a Federal Direct PLUS loan made on be5 half of a dependent student; and 

6 (2) a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan, the 

7 proceeds of which were used to discharge the liabil8 ity on a Federal Direct PLUS Loan under part D 

9 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 or 

10 a loan under section 428B of such Act made, in11 sured, or guaranteed on behalf of a dependent stu12 dent. 

13 (d) LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR SERVICE IN AREAS OF

14 NATIONAL NEED.—Section 428K(a)(2) of such Act (20 

15 U.S.C. 1078–11(a)(2)) is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(other 

17 than an excepted PLUS loan or an excepted consoli18 dation loan (as such terms are defined in section 

19 493C(a)))’’; and 

20 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(other 

21 than an excepted PLUS loan or an excepted consoli22 dation loan)’’. 

23 (e) OTHER REPAYMENT PLANS.—Any plan for the 

24 repayment of loans made under title IV of the Higher 

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), which 


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1 is finalized by the Secretary of Education on or after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, shall include the repayment 

3 of a loan under section 428B of the Higher Education 

4 Act of 1965, or a Federal Direct PLUS Loan under part 

5 D of title IV of such Act, that is made, insured, or guaran6 teed on behalf of a dependent student. 

7 TITLE III—BORROWERS’ RIGHT 

8 TO A MEANINGFUL DEGREE 

9 SEC. 301. PROHIBITION ON SUSPENSIONS OF PROFES10 SIONAL LICENSES FOR LOAN DEFAULT. 

11 No evidence of an individual’s default on the repay12 ment of a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under title 

13 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 

14 et seq.) may be admitted into evidence in a Federal or 

15 State proceeding involving the individual’s professional or 

16 vocational license. 

17 SEC. 302. PROHIBITION ON LOSS OF ACCESS TO TRAN18 SCRIPTS FOR LOAN DEFAULT. 

19 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

20 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) (as amended by section 301) is fur21 ther amended by adding at the end the following new para22 graph: 

23 ‘‘(31)(A) The institution will not prohibit a stu24 dent from accessing the student’s transcripts, degree 

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1 cational attainments at the institution because the 

2 student is in default on the repayment of a loan 

3 made, insured, or guaranteed under this title. 

4 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term 

5 ‘student’ includes former students.’’. 

6 TITLE IV—RIGHT TO EFFECTIVE 

7 LOAN CANCELLATION FOR 

8 BORROWERS ENGAGED IN 

9 PUBLIC SERVICE CAREERS 

10 SEC. 401. EXTENSION OF LOAN CANCELLATION FOR BOR11 ROWERS EMPLOYED IN PUBLIC SERVICE 

12 JOBS FOR 5 YEARS. 

13 Section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

16 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2), the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL LOAN CANCELLATION FOR

20 CERTAIN BORROWERS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) after the conclusion of the em23 ployment period described in subparagraph 

24 (B)(ii) for an eligible borrower, cancel the 

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1 ance of interest and principal due, as of 

2 the time of such cancellation, on the eligi3 ble Federal Direct Loans made to the bor4 rower under this part; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) after the loan cancellation under 

6 clause (i), carry out such loan cancellation 

7 for each year in which the borrower makes 

8 12 monthly payments on the eligible Fed9 eral Direct Loans pursuant to any one or 

10 a combination of the repayment plans de11 scribed in subclauses (I) through (IV) of 

12 subparagraph (B)(i) and is employed in a 

13 public service job during the period in 

14 which the borrower makes each of such 

15 payments, except that once the borrower is 

16 eligible for the loan cancellation under 

17 paragraph (2) the Secretary shall carry out 

18 the loan cancellation under paragraph (2) 

19 in lieu of the loan cancellation under this 

20 clause. 

21 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE BORROWER.—In this para22 graph, an eligible borrower is a borrower who— 

23 ‘‘(i) has made 60 monthly payments 

24 on the eligible Federal Direct Loan after 


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1 October 1, 2015, pursuant to any one or a 

2 combination of the following— 

3 ‘‘(I) payments under an income4 based repayment plan under section 

5 493C; 

6 ‘‘(II) payments under a standard 

7 repayment plan under subsection 

8 (d)(1)(A), based on a 10-year repay9 ment period; 

10 ‘‘(III) monthly payments under a 

11 repayment plan under subsection 

12 (d)(1) or (g) of not less than the 

13 monthly amount calculated under sub14 section (d)(1)(A), based on a 10-year 

15 repayment period; or 

16 ‘‘(IV) payments under an income 

17 contingent repayment plan under sub18 section (d)(1)(D); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) has been employed in a public 

20 service job during the period in which the 

21 borrower makes each of the 60 payments 

22 described in clause (i).’’. 

Æ 


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