II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2984 

To establish that a State-based education loan program is excluded from 

certain requirements relating to a preferred lender arrangement. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 7, 2021 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. REED, Mr. BRAUN, and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish that a State-based education loan program is 

excluded from certain requirements relating to a preferred lender arrangement. 

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 ‘‘State-Based Education 

5 Loan Awareness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATE-BASED EDUCATION LOAN PROGRAMS. 

7 Section 151 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1019) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (8)(B)— 


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1 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

2 semicolon; 

3 (B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(iii) arrangements or agreements 

7 with respect to education loans made 

8 under a State-based education loan pro9 gram; or 

10 ‘‘(iv) arrangements or agreements 

11 with respect to education loans funded, in12 sured, or guaranteed by any other Federal 

13 agency that is not the Department of Edu14 cation.’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(10) STATE-BASED EDUCATION LOAN PRO17 GRAM.—The term ‘State-based education loan pro18 gram’ means an education loan program that— 

19 ‘‘(A) is provided by a State agency, State 

20 authority, or nonprofit organization, separately 

21 or jointly; 

22 ‘‘(B) makes loans that are not funded, in23 sured, or guaranteed by the Federal Govern24 ment; 


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1 ‘‘(C) is authorized, established, or char2 tered by State law, or otherwise approved by 

3 the State; 

4 ‘‘(D) offers one or more loans for which 

5 the interest rate and fees, as calculated in ac6 cordance with sections 106 and 107 of the 

7 Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1605; 1606), 

8 are at least as favorable as the interest rate and 

9 fees of the Direct PLUS loans authorized under 

10 part D of title IV at the time such loan is origi11 nated; and 

12 ‘‘(E) is available only to a borrower who 

13 has been advised by an institution of higher 

14 education (as defined under section 102)— 

15 ‘‘(i) that the borrower has the oppor16 tunity to exhaust eligibility for Federal 

17 education loans made under part D of title 

18 IV prior to accepting a private education 

19 loan; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) of the interest rates, fees, and 

21 benefits of such Federal education loans, 

22 including income-driven repayment options, 

23 opportunities for loan forgiveness, forbearVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Oct 09, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2984.IS S2984

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1 ance or deferment options, interest sub2 sidies, and tax benefits.’’. 

Æ 


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