I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8400 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow certain Federal student 

loans to be transferred from a parent to a child, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 

Mr. FOSTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow certain 

Federal student loans to be transferred from a parent 

to a child, 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 ‘‘Parent PLUS Loan 

5 Fairness and Responsibility Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS FROM 

7 PARENT TO CHILD. 

8 Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

10 after section 493D the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 493E. TRANSFER OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS FROM 

2 PARENT TO CHILD. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A covered parent loan may be 

4 transferred from the original borrower of the loan to a 

5 child of such borrower in accordance with this section. 

6 ‘‘(b) TRANSFER REQUIREMENTS.—A covered parent 

7 loan may be transferred to a child under subsection (a) 

8 only if— 

9 ‘‘(1) the loan is in good standing, as determined 

10 by the Secretary; 

11 ‘‘(2) the loan was used to pay the educational 

12 expenses of the child to whom the loan is to be 

13 transferred; 

14 ‘‘(3) the child to whom the loan is to be trans15 ferred— 

16 ‘‘(A) has attained the age of 18 years; and 

17 ‘‘(B) demonstrates the ability to repay the 

18 loan, as determined by the Secretary in accord19 ance with subsection (c); 

20 ‘‘(4) the child, the parent, and the lender agree, 

21 in writing, to the transfer of the loan; 

22 ‘‘(5) the agreement described in paragraph (4) 

23 notifies the child to whom the loan is transferred of 

24 the effect of the transfer on the eligibility of the loan 

25 for forgiveness under section 455(m); and 


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1 ‘‘(6) a period of 180 days has elapsed during 

2 which the child was not pursuing— 

3 ‘‘(A) at least a half-time course of study as 

4 determined by an institution of higher edu5 cation; or 

6 ‘‘(B) a course of study pursuant to a grad7 uate fellowship program approved by the Sec8 retary, or pursuant to a rehabilitation training 

9 program for disabled individuals approved by 

10 the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF ABILITY TO REPAY

12 LOAN.—In determining the ability of a child to repay a 

13 covered parent loan under subsection (b)(3)(B), the Sec14 retary shall consider the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) The child’s employment status, income 

16 level, and credit history. 

17 ‘‘(2) The total dollar amount of the loans pro18 posed to be transferred to the child. 

19 ‘‘(3) The debt-to-income ratio of the child be20 fore such transfer. 

21 ‘‘(4) The projected debt-to-income ratio of the 

22 child after such transfer. 

23 ‘‘(5) Any other factors the Secretary determines 

24 to be relevant to the ability of the child to repay the 

25 loan. 


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1 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF TRANSFERRED LOAN.—A cov2 ered parent loan transferred to a child under subsection 

3 (a) shall have the same terms, conditions, and benefits ap4 plicable to the loan before the date of such transfer except 

5 that— 

6 ‘‘(1) the child to whom the loan is transferred 

7 shall be treated as the original borrower of the loan; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(2) the parent who transferred the loan to the 

10 child shall not be responsible for paying— 

11 ‘‘(A) the outstanding balance of principal 

12 or interest on the loan; or 

13 ‘‘(B) any other costs associated with the 

14 loan, including fees. 

15 ‘‘(e) EFFECT ON LOAN LIMITS.—Notwithstanding 

16 any other provision of this Act, a covered parent loan 

17 transferred to a child under subsection (a) shall not be 

18 counted toward the child’s annual or aggregate maximum 

19 loan limits under this title. 

20 ‘‘(f) COVERED PARENT LOAN DEFINED.—In this 

21 section, the term ‘covered parent loan’ means— 

22 ‘‘(1) a loan made to a parent on behalf of a de23 pendent student under section 428B; 

24 ‘‘(2) a Federal Direct PLUS Loan made to the 

25 parent of a dependent student; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) a loan made under section 428C or 

2 455(g), to the extent that such loan was used to 

3 repay— 

4 ‘‘(A) a loan made to the parent of a de5 pendent student under section 428B; or 

6 ‘‘(B) a Federal Direct PLUS Loan made 

7 to the parent of a dependent student.’’. 

Æ 


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