IB 

Union Calendar No. 361 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5715 

[Report No. 110–583] 

To ensure continued availability of access to the Federal student loan program 

for students and families. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2008 

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. HINOJOSA, 

Mr. ALTMIRE, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. HARE, Mr. HOLT, Mr. 

COURTNEY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. 

WOOLSEY, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. 

WU, and Mr. SESTAK) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Education and Labor 

APRIL 14, 2008 

Additional sponsors: Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee, 

Mr. KELLER of Florida, Mr. OLVER, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of 

Texas, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 

ELLISON, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New 

York, Ms. CLARKE, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. FORTUN ̃O, 

and Mr. KUCINICH

APRIL 14, 2008 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 

A BILL 

To ensure continued availability of access to the Federal 

student loan program for students and families. 


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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 title may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Continued 

5 Access to Student Loans Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INCREASING UNSUBSIDIZED STAFFORD LOAN LIM7 ITS FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE 

8 STUDENTS. 

9 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Subsection (d) of section 428H 

10 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078– 

11 8(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(d) LOAN LIMITS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graphs (2), (3), and (4), the annual and aggregate 

15 limits for loans under this section shall be the same 

16 as those established under section 428(b)(1), less 

17 any amount received by such student pursuant to 

18 the subsidized loan program established under sec19 tion 428. 

20 ‘‘(2) LIMITS FOR GRADUATE AND PROFES21 SIONAL STUDENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) ANNUAL LIMITS.—The maximum an23 nual amount of loans under this section a grad24 uate or professional student may borrow in any 

25 academic year (as defined in section 481(a)(2)) 


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1 or its equivalent shall be the amount deter2 mined under paragraph (1), plus— 

3 ‘‘(i) in the case of such a student who 

4 is a graduate or professional student at5 tending an eligible institution, $14,000; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a graduate student 

8 enrolled in coursework specified in sections 

9 484(b)(3)(B) and 484(b)(4)(B), $7,000; 

10 except in cases where the Secretary determines, 

11 that a higher amount is warranted in order to 

12 carry out the purpose of this part with respect 

13 to students engaged in specialized training re14 quiring exceptionally high costs of education, 

15 but the annual insurable limit per student shall 

16 not be deemed to be exceeded by a line of credit 

17 under which actual payments by the lender to 

18 the borrower will not be made in any years in 

19 excess of the annual limit. 

20 ‘‘(B) AGGREGATE LIMIT.—The maximum 

21 aggregate amount of loans under this section a 

22 student described in subparagraph (A) may 

23 borrow shall be the amount described in para24 graph (1), adjusted to reflect the increased anVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:54 Apr 14, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.RH H5715

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1 nual limits described in subparagraph (A), as 

2 prescribed by the Secretary by regulation. 

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITS FOR UNDERGRADUATE DEPEND4 ENT STUDENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) ANNUAL LIMITS.—The maximum an6 nual amount of loans under this section an un7 dergraduate dependent student (except an un8 dergraduate dependent student whose parents 

9 are unable to borrow under section 428B or the 

10 Federal Direct PLUS Loan Program) may bor11 row in any academic year (as defined in section 

12 481(a)(2)) or its equivalent shall be the sum of 

13 the amount determined under paragraph (1), 

14 plus $2,000. 

15 ‘‘(B) AGGREGATE LIMITS.—The maximum 

16 aggregate amount of loans under this section a 

17 student described in subparagraph (A) may 

18 borrow shall be $31,000. 

19 ‘‘(4) LIMITS FOR UNDERGRADUATE INDE20 PENDENT STUDENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) ANNUAL LIMITS.—The maximum an22 nual amount of loans under this section an un23 dergraduate independent student, or an under24 graduate dependent student whose parents are 

25 unable to borrow under section 428B or the 


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1 Federal Direct PLUS Loan Program, may bor2 row in any academic year (as defined in section 

3 481(a)(2)) or its equivalent shall be the sum of 

4 the amount determined under paragraph (1), 

5 plus— 

6 ‘‘(i) in the case of such a student at7 tending an eligible institution who has not 

8 completed such student’s first 2 years of 

9 undergraduate study— 

10 ‘‘(I) $6,000, if such student is 

11 enrolled in a program whose length is 

12 at least one academic year in length; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(II) if such student is enrolled 

15 in a program of undergraduate edu16 cation which is less than one academic 

17 year, the maximum annual loan 

18 amount that such student may receive 

19 may not exceed the amount that bears 

20 the same ratio to the amount specified 

21 in clause (i) as the length of such pro22 gram measured in semester, trimester, 

23 quarter, or clock hours bears to one 

24 academic year; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of such a student at 

2 an eligible institution who has successfully 

3 completed such first and second years but 

4 has not successfully completed the remain5 der of a program of undergraduate edu6 cation— 

7 ‘‘(I) $7,000; or 

8 ‘‘(II) if such student is enrolled 

9 in a program of undergraduate edu10 cation, the remainder of which is less 

11 than one academic year, the maximum 

12 annual loan amount that such student 

13 may receive may not exceed the 

14 amount that bears the same ratio to 

15 the amount specified in subclause (I) 

16 as such remainder measured in semes17 ter, trimester, quarter, or clock hours 

18 bears to one academic year; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) in the case of such a student en20 rolled in coursework specified in sections 

21 484(b)(3)(B) and 484(b)(4)(B), $6,000 for 

22 coursework necessary for enrollment in an 

23 undergraduate degree or certificate pro24 gram. 


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1 ‘‘(B) AGGREGATE LIMITS.—The maximum 

2 aggregate amount of loans under this section a 

3 student described in subparagraph (A) may 

4 borrow shall be $57,500. 

5 ‘‘(5) CAPITALIZED INTEREST.—Interest capital6 ized shall not be deemed to exceed a maximum ag7 gregate amount determined under subparagraph (B) 

8 of paragraph (2), (3), or (4).’’. 

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

10 this section shall be effective for loans issued on or after 

11 July 1, 2008. 

12 SEC. 3. GRACE PERIOD FOR PARENT PLUS LOANS. 

13 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 428B(d) (20 U.S.C. 

14 1078–2(d)) is amended by amending paragraphs (1) and 

15 (2) to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) COMMENCEMENT OF REPAYMENT.—Re17 payment of principal on loans made under this sec18 tion shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) commence not later than— 

20 ‘‘(i) 60 days after the date such loan 

21 is disbursed by the lender, except as pro22 vided in clause (ii); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) if agreed upon by a parent bor24 rower, the day after 6 months after the 

25 date the student for whom the loan is borVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:54 Apr 14, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.RH H5715

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1 rowed ceases to carry at least one-half the 

2 normal full-time academic workload (as de3 termined by the institution); and 

4 ‘‘(B) be subject to deferral during any pe5 riod during which the graduate or professional 

6 student or the parent meets the conditions re7 quired for a deferral under section 427(a)(2)(C) 

8 or 428(b)(1)(M). 

9 ‘‘(2) CAPITALIZATION OF INTEREST.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Interest on loans 

11 made under this section— 

12 ‘‘(i) which accrues prior to the begin13 ning of repayment under paragraph 

14 (1)(A)(i), shall be added to the principal 

15 amount of the loan; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) which accrues prior to the begin17 ning of repayment under paragraph 

18 (1)(A)(ii) or during a period in which pay19 ments of principal are deferred pursuant to 

20 paragraph (1)(B) shall, if agreed upon by 

21 the borrower and the lender— 

22 ‘‘(I) be paid monthly or quar23 terly; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) be added to the principal 

2 amount of the loan not more fre3 quently than quarterly by the lender. 

4 ‘‘(B) INSURABLE LIMITS.—Capitalization 

5 of interest under this paragraph shall not be 

6 deemed to exceed the annual insurable limit on 

7 account of the borrower.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

9 428(b)(7)(C) (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(7)(C)) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘, 428B,’’. 

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

12 this section shall be effective for loans issued on or after 

13 July 1, 2008. 

14 SEC. 4. SPECIAL RULES FOR PLUS LOANS. 

15 Section 428B(a)(3) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) PARENT BORROWERS.—Whenever 

18 necessary to carry out the provisions of this 

19 section, the terms ‘student’ and ‘borrower’ as 

20 used in this part shall include a parent bor21 rower under this section. 

22 ‘‘(B) EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

23 For loans made on or after July 1, 2008, and 

24 before July 1, 2009, a lender may determine 

25 that a borrower meets the extenuating cirVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:54 Apr 14, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.RH H5715

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1 cumstances requirement described in regula2 tions promulgated by the Secretary to carry out 

3 this section or section 455 if the borrower is 

4 180 or fewer days delinquent on their home 

5 mortgage payments.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. LENDER-OF-LAST-RESORT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 428(j) of the Higher Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(j)) is amended— 

9 (1) in the first sentence of paragraph (1), by 

10 striking ‘‘students eligible to receive interest benefits 

11 paid on their behalf under subsection (a) of this sec12 tion who are otherwise unable to obtain loans under 

13 this part’’ and inserting ‘‘students and parents who 

14 are otherwise unable to obtain loans under this part 

15 (except for consolidation loans under section 428C) 

16 or who attend an institution of higher education in 

17 the State that is designated under paragraph (4)’’; 

18 (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ‘‘, in the 

19 case of students and parents applying for loans 

20 under this subsection because of an inability to oth21 erwise obtain loans under this part (except for con22 solidation loans under section 428C),’’ after ‘‘lender, 

23 nor’’; 

24 (3) in paragraph (3)(C)— 


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1 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 

2 designates an institution of higher education for 

3 participation in the program under this sub4 section under paragraph (4),’’ after ‘‘under this 

5 part’’; and 

6 (B) in the third sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 

7 to eligible borrowers who attend an institution 

8 in the State that is designated under paragraph 

9 (4)’’ after ‘‘problems’’; and 

10 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTION-WIDE STUDENT QUALIFICA12 TION.—Upon the request of an institution of higher 

13 education and pursuant to standards developed by 

14 the Secretary, the guaranty agency designated for a 

15 State shall designate such institution for participa16 tion in the lender-of-last-resort program under this 

17 paragraph. If the guaranty agency designates an in18 stitution under this paragraph, such agency shall 

19 make loans, in the same manner as such loans are 

20 made under paragraph (1), to students and parent 

21 borrowers of the designated institution, regardless of 

22 whether the students or parent borrowers are other23 wise unable to obtain loans under this part (other 

24 than a consolidation loan under section 428C).’’. 


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

2 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of enactment 

3 of this Act. 

4 SEC. 6. MANDATORY ADVANCES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 421(b) of the Higher 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071(b)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘programs, 

8 and’’ and inserting ‘‘programs,’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘agencies.’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘agencies, and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(6) there is authorized to be appropriated, and 

13 there are appropriated, out of any money in the 

14 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as 

15 may be necessary for the purpose of carrying out 

16 section 422(c)(7).’’. 

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

18 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of enactment 

19 of this Act. 

20 SEC. 7. TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO PURCHASE STUDENT 

21 LOANS. 

22 (a) SPENDING AUTHORITY.— 

23 (1) AUTHORITY GRANTED.—The first sentence 

24 of section 451(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

25 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a(a)) is amended— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘as may be 

2 necessary’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

4 end of such sentence the following: ‘‘; and (2) 

5 for purchasing loans under section 459A’’. 

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

7 451(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087a(a)) is further 

8 amended by striking ‘‘Such loans shall’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘Loans made under this part shall’’. 

10 (b) TEMPORARY AUTHORITY.—Part D of title IV of 

11 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et 

12 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 459 the fol13 lowing new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 459A. TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO PURCHASE STU15 DENT LOANS. 

16 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO PURCHASE.—Upon a deter17 mination by the Secretary that there is an inadequate 

18 availability of loan capital to meet the demand for loans 

19 under sections 428, 428B, and 428H, whether as a result 

20 of inadequate liquidity for such loans or for other reasons, 

21 the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the 

22 Treasury, is authorized to purchase from any eligible lend23 er, as defined by section 435(d)(1), loans originated under 

24 sections 428, 428B, or 428H on or after October 1, 2003, 

25 on such terms as the Secretary determines (after consultaVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:54 Apr 14, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5715.RH H5715

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1 tion with the Secretary of the Treasury) are in the best 

2 interest of the United States, except that any loan pur3 chase under this section shall not result in any cost to 

4 the Federal Government. The Secretary shall promptly 

5 publish any determination under this subsection in the 

6 Federal Register. 

7 ‘‘(b) PROCEEDS.—The Secretary shall require, as a 

8 condition of any purchase under subsection (a), that the 

9 funds paid by the Secretary to any eligible lender under 

10 this section shall be used in a manner consistent with en11 suring continued participation of such lender in the Fed12 eral student loan programs authorized under part B of 

13 this title. 

14 ‘‘(c) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—The Secretary’s 

15 authority to purchase loans under this section shall expire 

16 on July 1, 2009.’’. 

17 (c) CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.—Section 456(b) of 

18 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087f(b)) 

19 is amended by inserting ‘‘or purchased’’ after ‘‘loans 

20 made’’ each place it appears in paragraphs (2) and (3). 

21 SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

22 It is a sense of Congress that, at a time when our 

23 economy is fragile and higher education and retraining op24 portunities are more important than ever— 


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1 (1) the Federal financial institutions, such as 

2 the Federal Financing Bank and Federal Reserve, 

3 and federally chartered private entities such as the 

4 Federal Home Loan Banks and others, should con5 sider, in consultation with the Secretary of Treasury 

6 and the Secretary of Education, using available au7 thorities in a timely manner, if needed, to assist in 

8 ensuring that students and families can access Fed9 eral student loans for academic year 2008–2009, 

10 and if needed in the subsequent academic year, in a 

11 manner that results in no increased costs to tax12 payers; and 

13 (2) any action taken as a result of such consid14 eration should in no way limit or delay the Secretary 

15 of Education’s authority to operate the lender-of16 last-resort provisions of section 428(j) of the Higher 

17 Education Act of 1965 (as amended by this Act), 

18 nor the authority to purchase Federal Family Edu19 cation Loan Program loans, as authorized by section 

20 459A of such Act (as added by this Act). 


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Union Calendar No. 361 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5715 

[Report No. 110

–583] 

A BILL 

To ensure continued availability of access to the 

families. Federal student loan program for students and 

APRIL 14, 2008 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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