I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1937 

To provide loan forgiveness to borrowers of Federal student loans who agree 

to delay eligibility to collect social security benefits, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 5, 2017 

Mr. GARRETT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, 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 provide loan forgiveness to borrowers of Federal student 

loans who agree to delay eligibility to collect social security benefits, 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 Security Act 

5 of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STUDENT SECURITY LOAN FORGIVENSS PROGRAM. 

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

3 U.S.C. 1087e) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(r) STUDENT SECURITY LOAN FORGIVENESS PRO6 GRAM.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—Beginning not 

8 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

9 of the Student Security Act of 2017, the Secretary 

10 of Education, jointly with the Commissioner of So11 cial Security, shall carry out a program under which 

12 the Secretary shall issue student loan forgiveness 

13 credits to qualified borrowers of eligible Federal Di14 rect loans in exchange for delayed eligibility for old15 age insurance benefits under title II of the Social 

16 Security Act (as amended by the Student Security 

17 Act of 2017) in accordance with this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—To be eligible to 

19 participate in the program, a qualified borrower 

20 shall enter into a written agreement with the Sec21 retary of Education and the Commissioner of Social 

22 Security under which the borrower— 

23 ‘‘(A) elects to receive a specified number of 

24 student loan forgiveness credits not greater 

25 than 180; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) acknowledges the extent of the bor2 rower’s delayed eligibility for old-age insurance 

3 benefits under title II of the Social Security Act 

4 (as amended by the Student Security Act of 

5 2017) as a result of receiving such credits. 

6 ‘‘(3) COMBINATION WITH OTHER FORGIVENESS

7 PROGRAMS.—Unless otherwise provided by law, a 

8 qualified borrower may combine forgiveness under 

9 this subsection with other forgiveness programs 

10 under this Act, except in no case shall the total 

11 amount of forgiveness received by a borrower under 

12 all such programs exceed the amount of Federal stu13 dent loans owed by such borrower. 

14 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(A) DEFAULT.—The term ‘default’ has 

16 the meaning given the term in section 435(l). 

17 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN.— 

18 The term ‘eligible Federal Direct loan’ means 

19 any loan made under this part, including any 

20 such loan on which the borrower has defaulted. 

21 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED BORROWER.—The term 

22 ‘qualified borrower’ means the borrower of an 

23 eligible Federal direct loan who is not entitled 

24 to collect old-age insurance benefits under title 

25 II of the Social Security Act as of the date of 


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1 the agreement under paragraph (2), including a 

2 borrower who is a defaulted borrower. 

3 ‘‘(D) STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS CRED4 IT.—The term ‘student loan forgiveness credit’ 

5 means the cancellation of the obligation of a 

6 qualified borrower to repay $550 in eligible 

7 Federal Direct loans in exchange for delayed 

8 eligibility for old-age insurance benefits as spec9 ified in title II of the Social Security Act (as 

10 amended by the Student Security Act of 

11 2017).’’. 

12 SEC. 3. DELAYED ELIGIBILITY FOR OLD-AGE INSURANCE 

13 BENEFITS. 

14 (a) RETIREMENT AGE; EARLY RETIREMENT AGE.— 

15 Section 216(l) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 416(l)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs of 

18 this subsection, in the case of an individual who receives 

19 one or more student loan forgiveness credits under section 

20 455(r) of the Higher Education Act of 1965— 

21 ‘‘(A) the retirement age with respect to such in22 dividual shall be deemed to be— 

23 ‘‘(i) the retirement age determined with re24 spect to such individual under paragraph (1); 

25 plus 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a number of additional months equal 

2 to the number of student loan forgiveness cred3 its received by the individual under such section 

4 455(r); and 

5 ‘‘(B) the early retirement age with respect to 

6 such individual shall be deemed to be— 

7 ‘‘(i) the early retirement age determined 

8 with respect to such individual under paragraph 

9 (2); plus 

10 ‘‘(ii) a number of additional months equal 

11 to the number of student loan forgiveness cred12 its received by the individual under such section 

13 455(r).’’. 

14 (b) DELAYED RETIREMENT CREDITS.—Section 

15 202(w) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(w)) is 

16 amended by inserting after ‘‘age 70’’ each place it appears 

17 the following: ‘‘(or, in the case of an individual described 

18 in paragraph (4) of section 216(l), age 70 plus the number 

19 of additional months determined under subparagraph 

20 (A)(ii) of such paragraph)’’. 

21 (c) VOLUNTARY SUSPENSION OF BENEFITS.—Sec22 tion 202(z) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(z)) 

23 is amended by inserting after ‘‘the age of 70’’ the fol24 lowing: ‘‘(or, in the case of an individual described in para25 graph (4) of section 216(l), the age of 70 plus the number 


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1 of additional months determined under subparagraph 

2 (A)(ii) of such paragraph)’’. 

3 SEC. 4. INTERFUND BORROWING. 

4 Section 201(l) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 401(l)) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(l)(1) If at any time the Managing Trustee deter7 mines that borrowing authorized under this subsection is 

8 necessary to pay full benefit payments from the Federal 

9 Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Managing Trustee 

10 may borrow such necessary amounts from the Federal 

11 Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund for transfer 

12 to and deposit in the Federal Disability Insurance Trust 

13 Fund. 

14 ‘‘(2) In any case where a loan has been made to the 

15 Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund under paragraph 

16 (1), there shall be transferred on the last day of each 

17 month after such loan is made, from the borrowing Trust 

18 Fund to the lending Trust Fund, the total interest accrued 

19 to such day with respect to the unrepaid balance of such 

20 loan at a rate equal to the rate which the lending Trust 

21 Fund would earn on the amount involved if the loan were 

22 an investment under subsection (d) (even if such an in23 vestment would earn interest at a rate different than the 

24 rate earned by investments redeemed by the lending Trust 

25 Fund in order to make the loan). 


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1 ‘‘(3)(A) If in any month after a loan has been made 

2 to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund under 

3 paragraph (1), the Managing Trustee determines that the 

4 assets of such Trust Fund are sufficient to permit repay5 ment of all or part of any loans made to such Fund under 

6 paragraph (1), he shall make such repayments as he deter7 mines to be appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(B) The full amount of all loans made under para9 graph (1) shall be repaid at the earliest feasible date. 

10 ‘‘(4) The Board of Trustees shall make a timely re11 port to the Congress of any amounts transferred (includ12 ing interest payments) under this subsection.’’. 

13 SEC. 5. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME FOR DISCHARGE 

14 OF STUDENT LOAN INDEBTEDNESS UNDER 

15 THE STUDENT SECURITY LOAN FORGIVE16 NESS PROGRAM. 

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

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

19 as follows: 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an indi21 vidual, gross income does not include any amount 

22 which (but for this subsection) would be includible in 

23 gross income by reason of the discharge (in whole or 

24 in part) of any student loan if such discharge was 

25 pursuant to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a provision of such loan under which 

2 all or part of the indebtedness of the individual 

3 would be discharged if the individual worked for 

4 a certain period of time in certain professions 

5 for any of a broad class of employers, or 

6 ‘‘(B) the receipt of student loan forgive7 ness credits under section 455(r) of the Higher 

8 Education Act of 1965.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall apply to discharges of indebtedness on 

11 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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