I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4627 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish the Office of 

the Borrower Advocate. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2019 

Ms. SCANLON (for herself and Ms. OMAR) 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 establish 

the Office of the Borrower Advocate. 

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 Borrower Ad5 vocate Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PERFORMANCE-BASED ORGANIZATION FOR DELIV2 ERY OF FEDERAL STUDENT FINANCIAL AS3 SISTANCE. 

4 (a) PBO.—Section 141(f) of the Higher Education 

5 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1018(f)) is amended to read as 

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘(f) BORROWER ADVOCATE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

9 PBO an ‘Office of the Borrower Advocate’ (referred 

10 to in this subsection as the ‘Office’). The function of 

11 the Office shall be to provide timely assistance to 

12 borrowers of loans made, insured, or guaranteed 

13 under title IV by performing the duties described in 

14 paragraph (6). 

15 ‘‘(2) HEAD OF OFFICE.—There shall be an offi16 cial known as the ‘Borrower Advocate’ who shall 

17 serve as the head of the Office. The Borrower Advo18 cate shall be appointed by the Secretary from among 

19 individuals who have worked closely with the Federal 

20 student loan programs authorized under title IV. 

21 ‘‘(3) REMOVAL.—The Borrower Advocate may 

22 be removed only by the Secretary who shall commu23 nicate the reasons for any such removal to the au24 thorizing committees. 

25 ‘‘(4) RESTRICTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) PRESERVICE AND IN-SERVICE RE2 STRICTIONS.—An individual may not serve as 

3 the Borrower Advocate if such individual— 

4 ‘‘(i) is employed by, or has a financial 

5 interest in, an entity that contracts with 

6 the PBO; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) was employed by, or had a finan8 cial interest in, any such entity in any of 

9 the five-years preceding the date of the in10 dividual’s appointment as the Borrower 

11 Advocate. 

12 ‘‘(B) POSTSERVICE RESTRICTIONS.—An 

13 individual who served as the Borrower Advocate 

14 may not accept employment with an entity that 

15 contracts with the PBO until a period of five 

16 years has elapsed following the date on which 

17 such individual’s service as the Borrower Advo18 cate terminated. 

19 ‘‘(5) STAFF.—The Office shall be staffed suffi20 ciently to carry out the responsibilities of the Office 

21 under this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(6) DUTIES OF THE BORROWER ADVOCATE.— 

23 The Office of the Borrower Advocate shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) assist borrowers of loans made, in25 sured, or guaranteed under title IV in resolving 


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1 problems with the PBO and its contractors or 

2 other agents, including by— 

3 ‘‘(i) receiving and reviewing com4 plaints of such problems from borrowers; 

5 ‘‘(ii) working to resolve such com6 plaints in a manner that is in the best in7 terests of borrowers; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) transmitting such complaints to 

9 States and recognized accrediting agencies 

10 or associations, as appropriate; 

11 ‘‘(B) attempt to resolve complaints within 

12 the Department of Education and with institu13 tions of higher education, lenders, guaranty 

14 agencies, loan servicers, and other participants 

15 in the Federal student loan programs author16 ized under title IV in a manner that will im17 prove the experience of the borrower; 

18 ‘‘(C) compile and analyze data on borrower 

19 complaints and share such data with the Direc20 tor of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Pro21 tection; 

22 ‘‘(D) publish, with any personally identifi23 able information redacted, such complaints and 

24 responses of the Secretary to such complaints 

25 on the website of the Department; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) make appropriate recommendations 

2 to Congress, the Chief Operating Officer, and 

3 Secretary with respect to Federal student loan 

4 programs authorized under title IV and the ex5 periences of borrowers in repayment of loans 

6 under such programs. 

7 ‘‘(7) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The Chief Oper8 ating Officer shall establish and maintain a public 

9 page on the website of the Department of Education 

10 exclusively to provide members of the public with in11 formation about the role of the PBO with respect to 

12 the oversight of institutions of higher education, 

13 lenders, guaranty agencies, contractors that contract 

14 with the PBO, subcontractors of such contractors, 

15 and third party servicers. 

16 ‘‘(8) REPORT.—On an annual basis, the Bor17 rower Advocate shall submit to the Chief Operating 

18 Officer a report on the activities of the Office during 

19 the preceding year that— 

20 ‘‘(A) identifies the activities carried out by 

21 the Borrower Advocate; 

22 ‘‘(B) summarizes the complaints received 

23 from borrowers, including the number of such 

24 complaints, and explains the activities under25 taken by the PBO to address such complaints; 


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1 ‘‘(C) proposes changes in the administra2 tive practices of the PBO to mitigate problems 

3 experienced by borrowers; and 

4 ‘‘(D) identifies potential legislative changes 

5 which may be appropriate to mitigate such 

6 problems.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) Section 433(b)(13) of the Higher Education 

9 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1083(b)(13)) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘Student Loan Ombudsman’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘Borrower Advocate’’. 

12 (2) Section 433(e)(3)(E) of the Higher Edu13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1083(e)(3)(E)) is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘Student Loan Ombudsman’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘Borrower Advocate’’. 

Æ 


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