I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6424 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve loans, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 19, 2022 

Mr. DEFAZIO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, 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 amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve 

loans, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Helping Individuals Get a Higher Education while Re6 ducing Education Debt Act’’ or the ‘‘HIGHER ED Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—REINSTATEMENT OF AUTHORITY TO MAKE FEDERAL 

DIRECT STAFFORD LOANS TO GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL 

STUDENTS; DISCHARGING STUDENT LOANS IN BANKRUPTCY 

Sec. 101. Reinstatement of authority to make Federal Direct Stafford Loans 

to graduate and professional students. 

Sec. 102. Discharge student loans in bankruptcy. 

TITLE II—REFINANCING PROGRAMS 

Sec. 201. Program authority. 

Sec. 202. Refinancing program. 

Sec. 203. Income-based repayment. 

TITLE III—LOAN FORGIVENESS 

Sec. 301. Loan forgiveness for adjunct faculty. 

Sec. 302. Amendments to the public service loan forgiveness program. 

Sec. 303. Transition to improved public service loan forgiveness program. 

TITLE IV—INCOME-DRIVEN REPAYMENT PLANS 

Sec. 401. Income-based repayment plan. 

Sec. 402. Termination of certain repayment plan options. 

Sec. 403. Notification and automatic enrollment procedures for borrowers who 

are delinquent on loans. 

Sec. 404. Automatic recertification for income-driven repayment plans. 

1 TITLE I—REINSTATEMENT OF 

2 AUTHORITY TO MAKE FED3 ERAL DIRECT STAFFORD 

4 LOANS TO GRADUATE AND 

5 PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS; 

6 DISCHARGING STUDENT 

7 LOANS IN BANKRUPTCY 

8 SEC. 101. REINSTATEMENT OF AUTHORITY TO MAKE FED9 ERAL DIRECT STAFFORD LOANS TO GRAD10 UATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS. 

11 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 455(a)(3) of the Higher 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)(3)) is amend13 ed— 


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1 (1) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 

2 ‘‘TEMPORARY’’ before ‘‘TERMINATION’’; and 

3 (2) in subparagraph (A), in the matter pre4 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, and ending on or 

5 before June 30, 2021’’ after ‘‘2012’’. 

6 (b) INAPPLICABILITY OF RULEMAKING REQUIRE7 MENTS.—Sections 482(c) and 492 of the Higher Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1089(c); 1098a) shall not 

9 apply to the regulations under this section. 

10 SEC. 102. DISCHARGE STUDENT LOANS IN BANKRUPTCY. 

11 (a) EXCEPTION TO DISCHARGE.—Section 523(a) of 

12 title 11, United States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) by striking paragraph (8); and 

14 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

15 (14B) as paragraphs (8) through (14A), respec16 tively. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 11, United 

18 States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in section 704(c)(1)(C)(iv)(I) by striking 

20 ‘‘(14A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(14)’’; 

21 (2) in section 1106(c)(1)(C)(iv)(I) by striking 

22 ‘‘(14A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(14)’’; 

23 (3) in section 1202(c)(1)(C)(iv)(I) by striking 

24 ‘‘(14A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(14)’’; and 


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1 (4) in section 1328(a)(2) by striking ‘‘(8), or 

2 (9)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (8)’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMEND4 MENTS.— 

5 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as provided in 

6 subsection (b), this section and the amendments 

7 made by this section shall take effect on the date of 

8 the enactment of this Act. 

9 (2) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—The 

10 amendments made by this section shall apply only 

11 with respect to cases commenced under title 11 of 

12 the United States Code on or after the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act. 

14 TITLE II—REFINANCING 

15 PROGRAMS 

16 SEC. 201. PROGRAM AUTHORITY. 

17 Section 451(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1087a(a)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘and (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)’’; 

20 and 

21 (2) by inserting ‘‘; and (3) to make loans under 

22 section 460A and section 460B’’ after ‘‘section 

23 459A’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. REFINANCING PROGRAM. 

2 Part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) is amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 460A. REFINANCING FFEL AND FEDERAL DIRECT 

6 LOANS. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 180 

8 days after the date of enactment of the Helping Individ9 uals Get a Higher Education while Reducing Education 

10 Debt Act, the Secretary shall establish a program under 

11 which the Secretary, upon the receipt of an application 

12 from a qualified borrower, makes a loan under this part, 

13 in accordance with the provisions of this section, in order 

14 to permit the borrower to obtain the interest rate provided 

15 under subsection (c). 

16 ‘‘(b) REFINANCING DIRECT LOANS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS.—Upon applica18 tion of a qualified borrower, the Secretary shall 

19 repay a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, a Federal Di20 rect Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct 

21 PLUS Loan, or a Federal Direct Consolidation 

22 Loan of the qualified borrower, for which the first 

23 disbursement was made, or the application for the 

24 consolidation loan was received, before July 1, 2022, 

25 with the proceeds of a refinanced Federal Direct 

26 Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Unsubsidized StafVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:56 Jan 24, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6424.IH H6424

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1 ford Loan, a Federal Direct PLUS Loan, or a Fed2 eral Direct Consolidation Loan, respectively, issued 

3 to the borrower in an amount equal to the sum of 

4 the unpaid principal, accrued unpaid interest, and 

5 late charges of the original loan. 

6 ‘‘(2) REFINANCING FFEL PROGRAM LOANS AS

7 REFINANCED FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS.—Upon ap8 plication of a qualified borrower for any loan that 

9 was made, insured, or guaranteed under part B and 

10 for which the first disbursement was made, or the 

11 application for the consolidation loan was received, 

12 before July 1, 2010, the Secretary shall make a loan 

13 under this part, in an amount equal to the sum of 

14 the unpaid principal, accrued unpaid interest, and 

15 late charges of the original loan to the borrower in 

16 accordance with the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall pay the proceeds 

18 of such loan to the eligible lender of the loan 

19 made, insured, or guaranteed under part B, in 

20 order to discharge the borrower from any re21 maining obligation to the lender with respect to 

22 the original loan. 

23 ‘‘(B) A loan made under this section that 

24 was originally— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a loan originally made, insured, 

2 or guaranteed under section 428 shall be a 

3 Federal Direct Stafford Loan; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a loan originally made, insured, 

5 or guaranteed under section 428B shall be 

6 a Federal Direct PLUS Loan; 

7 ‘‘(iii) a loan originally made, insured, 

8 or guaranteed under section 428H shall be 

9 a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 

10 Loan; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) a loan originally made, insured, 

12 or guaranteed under section 428C shall be 

13 a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan. 

14 ‘‘(C) The interest rate for each loan made 

15 by the Secretary under this paragraph shall be 

16 the rate provided under subsection (c). 

17 ‘‘(c) INTEREST RATES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The interest rate for the 

19 refinanced Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Federal 

20 Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, Federal Direct 

21 PLUS Loans, and Federal Direct Consolidation 

22 Loans, shall be a rate equal to— 

23 ‘‘(A) in any case where the original loan 

24 was a loan under section 428 or 428H, a Fed25 eral Direct Stafford loan, or a Federal Direct 


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1 Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, that was issued to 

2 an undergraduate student, a rate equal to the 

3 rate for Federal Direct Stafford Loans and 

4 Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans 

5 issued to undergraduate students for the 12- 

6 month period beginning on July 1, 2016, and 

7 ending on June 30, 2017; 

8 ‘‘(B) in any case where the original loan 

9 was a loan under section 428 or 428H, a Fed10 eral Direct Stafford Loan, or a Federal Direct 

11 Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, that was issued to 

12 a graduate or professional student, a rate equal 

13 to the rate for Federal Direct Unsubsidized 

14 Stafford Loans issued to graduate or profes15 sional students for the 12-month period begin16 ning on July 1, 2016, and ending on June 30, 

17 2017; 

18 ‘‘(C) in any case where the original loan 

19 was a loan under section 428B or a Federal Di20 rect PLUS Loan, a rate equal to the rate for 

21 Federal Direct PLUS Loans for the 12-month 

22 period beginning on July 1, 2016, and ending 

23 on June 30, 2017; and 

24 ‘‘(D) in any case where the original loan 

25 was a loan under section 428C or a Federal DiVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:56 Jan 24, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6424.IH H6424

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1 rect Consolidation Loan, a rate calculated in ac2 cordance with paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(2) INTEREST RATES FOR CONSOLIDATION

4 LOANS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) METHOD OF CALCULATION.—In 

6 order to determine the interest rate for any re7 financed Federal Direct Consolidation Loan 

8 under paragraph (1)(D), the Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) determine each of the component 

10 loans that were originally consolidated in 

11 the loan under section 428C or the Federal 

12 Direct Consolidation Loan, and calculate 

13 the proportion of the unpaid principal bal14 ance of the loan under section 428C or the 

15 Federal Direct Consolidation Loan that 

16 each component loan represents; 

17 ‘‘(ii) use the proportions determined 

18 in accordance with clause (i) and the inter19 est rate applicable for each component 

20 loan, as determined under subparagraph 

21 (B), to calculate the weighted average of 

22 the interest rates on the loans consolidated 

23 into the loan under section 428C or the 

24 Federal Direct Consolidation Loan; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) apply the weighted average cal2 culated under clause (ii) as the interest 

3 rate for the refinanced Federal Direct Con4 solidation Loan. 

5 ‘‘(B) INTEREST RATES FOR COMPONENT

6 LOANS.—The interest rates for the component 

7 loans of a loan made under section 428C or a 

8 Federal Direct Consolidation Loan shall be the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(i) The interest rate for any loan 

11 under section 428 or 428H, Federal Direct 

12 Stafford Loan, or Federal Direct Unsub13 sidized Stafford Loan issued to an under14 graduate student shall be a rate equal to 

15 the lesser of— 

16 ‘‘(I) the rate for Federal Direct 

17 Stafford Loans and Federal Direct 

18 Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued 

19 to undergraduate students for the 12- 

20 month period beginning on July 1, 

21 2016, and ending on June 30, 2017; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(II) the original interest rate of 

24 the component loan. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The interest rate for any loan 

2 under section 428 or 428H, Federal Direct 

3 Stafford Loan, or Federal Direct Unsub4 sidized Stafford Loan issued to a graduate 

5 or professional student shall be a rate 

6 equal to the lesser of— 

7 ‘‘(I) the rate for Federal Direct 

8 Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued 

9 to graduate or professional students 

10 for the 12-month period beginning on 

11 July 1, 2016, and ending on June 30, 

12 2017; or 

13 ‘‘(II) the original interest rate of 

14 the component loan. 

15 ‘‘(iii) The interest rate for any loan 

16 under section 428B or Federal Direct 

17 PLUS Loan shall be a rate equal to the 

18 lesser of— 

19 ‘‘(I) the rate for Federal Direct 

20 PLUS Loans for the 12-month period 

21 beginning on July 1, 2016, and end22 ing on June 30, 2017; or 

23 ‘‘(II) the original interest rate of 

24 the component loan. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) The interest rate for any compo2 nent loan that is a loan under section 

3 428C or a Federal Direct Consolidation 

4 Loan shall be the weighted average of the 

5 interest rates that would apply under this 

6 subparagraph for each loan comprising the 

7 component consolidation loan. 

8 ‘‘(v) The interest rate for any eligible 

9 loan that is a component of a loan made 

10 under section 428C or a Federal Direct 

11 Consolidation Loan and is not described in 

12 clauses (i) through (iv) shall be the inter13 est rate on the original component loan. 

14 ‘‘(3) FIXED RATE.—The applicable rate of in15 terest determined under paragraph (1) for a refi16 nanced loan under this section shall be fixed for the 

17 period of the loan. 

18 ‘‘(d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LOANS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A loan that is refinanced 

20 under this section shall have the same terms and 

21 conditions as the original loan, except as otherwise 

22 provided in this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) NO AUTOMATIC EXTENSION OF REPAY24 MENT PERIOD.—Refinancing a loan under this sec25 tion shall not result in the extension of the duration 


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1 of the repayment period of the loan, and the bor2 rower shall retain the same repayment term that 

3 was in effect on the original loan. Nothing in this 

4 paragraph shall be construed to prevent a borrower 

5 from electing a different repayment plan at any time 

6 in accordance with section 455(d)(3). 

7 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED BORROWER.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec9 tion, the term ‘qualified borrower’ means a bor10 rower— 

11 ‘‘(A) of a loan under this part or part B 

12 for which the first disbursement was made, or 

13 the application for a consolidation loan was re14 ceived, before July 1, 2021; and 

15 ‘‘(B) who meets the eligibility requirements 

16 based on income or debt-to-income ratio estab17 lished by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(2) INCOME REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 

19 180 days after the date of enactment of the Helping 

20 Individuals Get a Higher Education while Reducing 

21 Education Debt Act, the Secretary shall establish 

22 eligibility requirements based on income or debt-to23 income ratio that take into consideration providing 

24 access to refinancing under this section for bor25 rowers with the greatest financial need. 


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1 ‘‘(f) NOTIFICATION TO BORROWERS.—The Secretary, 

2 in coordination with the Director of the Bureau of Con3 sumer Financial Protection, shall undertake a campaign 

4 to alert borrowers of loans that are eligible for refinancing 

5 under this section that the borrowers are eligible to apply 

6 for such refinancing. The campaign shall include the fol7 lowing activities: 

8 ‘‘(1) Developing consumer information mate9 rials about the availability of Federal student loan 

10 refinancing. 

11 ‘‘(2) Requiring servicers of loans under this 

12 part or part B to provide such consumer information 

13 to borrowers in a manner determined appropriate by 

14 the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of 

15 the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 460B. FEDERAL DIRECT REFINANCED PRIVATE LOAN 

17 PROGRAM. 

18 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PRIVATE EDUCATION LOAN.— 

20 The term ‘eligible private education loan’ means a 

21 private education loan, as defined in section 140(a) 

22 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650(a)), 

23 that— 

24 ‘‘(A) was disbursed to the borrower before 

25 July 1, 2022; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) was for the borrower’s own postsec2 ondary educational expenses for an eligible pro3 gram at an institution of higher education par4 ticipating in the loan program under this part, 

5 as of the date that the loan was disbursed. 

6 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL DIRECT REFINANCED PRIVATE

7 LOAN.—The term ‘Federal Direct Refinanced Pri8 vate Loan’ means a loan issued under subsection 

9 (b)(1). 

10 ‘‘(3) PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL LENDER.—The 

11 term ‘private educational lender’ has the meaning 

12 given the term in section 140(a) of the Truth in 

13 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650(a)). 

14 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED BORROWER.—The term ‘quali15 fied borrower’ means an individual who— 

16 ‘‘(A) has an eligible private education loan; 

17 ‘‘(B) has been current on payments on the 

18 eligible private education loan for the 6 months 

19 prior to the date of the qualified borrower’s ap20 plication for refinancing under this section, and 

21 is in good standing on the loan at the time of 

22 such application; 

23 ‘‘(C) is not in default on the eligible pri24 vate education loan or on any loan made, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:56 Jan 24, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6424.IH H6424

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1 sured, or guaranteed under this part or part B 

2 or E; and 

3 ‘‘(D) meets the eligibility requirements de4 scribed in subsection (b)(2). 

5 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta7 tion with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall carry 

8 out a program under which the Secretary, upon ap9 plication by a qualified borrower who has an eligible 

10 private education loan, shall issue such borrower a 

11 loan under this part in accordance with the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(A) The loan issued under this program 

14 shall be in an amount equal to the sum of the 

15 unpaid principal, accrued unpaid interest, and 

16 late charges of the private education loan. 

17 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall pay the proceeds 

18 of the loan issued under this program to the 

19 private educational lender of the private edu20 cation loan, in order to discharge the qualified 

21 borrower from any remaining obligation to the 

22 lender with respect to the original loan. 

23 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall require that the 

24 qualified borrower undergo loan counseling that 

25 provides all of the information and counseling 


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1 required under clauses (i) through (viii) of sec2 tion 485(b)(1)(A) before the loan is refinanced 

3 in accordance with this section, and before the 

4 proceeds of such loan are paid to the private 

5 educational lender. 

6 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall issue the loan as 

7 a Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loan, 

8 which shall have the same terms, conditions, 

9 and benefits as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized 

10 Stafford Loan, except as otherwise provided in 

11 this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) BORROWER ELIGIBILITY.—Not later than 

13 180 days after the date of enactment of the Helping 

14 Individuals Get a Higher Education while Reducing 

15 Education Debt Act, the Secretary, in consultation 

16 with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director 

17 of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 

18 shall establish eligibility requirements— 

19 ‘‘(A) based on income or debt-to-income 

20 ratio that take into consideration providing ac21 cess to refinancing under this section for bor22 rowers with the greatest financial need; 

23 ‘‘(B) to ensure eligibility only for bor24 rowers in good standing; 


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1 ‘‘(C) to minimize inequities between Fed2 eral Direct Refinanced Private Loans and other 

3 Federal student loans; 

4 ‘‘(D) to preclude windfall profits for pri5 vate educational lenders; and 

6 ‘‘(E) to ensure full access to the program 

7 authorized in this subsection for borrowers with 

8 private loans who otherwise meet the criteria 

9 established in accordance with subparagraphs 

10 (A) and (B). 

11 ‘‘(c) INTEREST RATE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The interest rate for a 

13 Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loan is— 

14 ‘‘(A) in the case of a Federal Direct Refi15 nanced Private Loan for a private education 

16 loan originally issued for undergraduate post17 secondary educational expenses, a rate equal to 

18 the rate for Federal Direct Stafford Loans and 

19 Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans 

20 issued to undergraduate students for the 12- 

21 month period beginning on July 1, 2016, and 

22 ending on June 30, 2017; and 

23 ‘‘(B) in the case of a Federal Direct Refi24 nanced Private Loan for a private education 

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1 sional degree postsecondary educational ex2 penses, a rate equal to the rate for Federal Di3 rect Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued to 

4 graduate or professional students for the 12- 

5 month period beginning on July 1, 2016, and 

6 ending on June 30, 2017. 

7 ‘‘(2) COMBINED UNDERGRADUATE AND GRAD8 UATE STUDY LOANS.—If a Federal Direct Refi9 nanced Private Loan is for a private education loan 

10 originally issued for both undergraduate and grad11 uate or professional postsecondary educational ex12 penses, the interest rate shall be a rate equal to the 

13 rate for Federal Direct PLUS Loans for the 12- 

14 month period beginning on July 1, 2016, and ending 

15 on June 30, 2017. 

16 ‘‘(3) FIXED RATE.—The applicable rate of in17 terest determined under this subsection for a Fed18 eral Direct Refinanced Private Loan shall be fixed 

19 for the period of the loan. 

20 ‘‘(d) NO INCLUSION IN AGGREGATE LIMITS.—The 

21 amount of a Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loan, or 

22 a Federal Direct Consolidated Loan to the extent such 

23 loan was used to repay a Federal Direct Refinanced Pri24 vate Loan, shall not be included in calculating a borVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:56 Jan 24, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6424.IH H6424

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1 rower’s annual or aggregate loan limits under section 428 

2 or 428H. 

3 ‘‘(e) NO ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICE-RELATED RE4 PAYMENT.—Notwithstanding sections 428K(a)(2)(A), 

5 428L(b)(2), 455(m)(3)(A), and 460(b), a Federal Direct 

6 Refinanced Private Loan, or any Federal Direct Consoli7 dation Loan to the extent such loan was used to repay 

8 a Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loan, shall not be 

9 eligible for any loan repayment or loan forgiveness pro10 gram under section 428K, 428L, or 460 or for the repay11 ment plan for public service employees under section 

12 455(m). 

13 ‘‘(f) PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL LENDER REPORTING

14 REQUIREMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) REPORTING REQUIRED.—Not later than 

16 180 days after the date of enactment of the Helping 

17 Individuals Get a Higher Education while Reducing 

18 Education Debt Act, the Secretary, in consultation 

19 with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director 

20 of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 

21 shall establish a requirement that private edu22 cational lenders report the data described in para23 graph (2) to the Secretary, to Congress, to the Sec24 retary of the Treasury, and to the Director of the 

25 Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, in order 


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1 to allow for an assessment of the private education 

2 loan market. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REPORTING.—The data 

4 that private educational lenders shall report in ac5 cordance with paragraph (1) shall include each of 

6 the following about private education loans (as de7 fined in section 140(a) of the Truth in Lending Act 

8 (15 U.S.C. 1650(a))): 

9 ‘‘(A) The total amount of private education 

10 loan debt the lender holds. 

11 ‘‘(B) The total number of private edu12 cation loan borrowers the lender serves. 

13 ‘‘(C) The average interest rate on the out14 standing private education loan debt held by the 

15 lender. 

16 ‘‘(D) The proportion of private education 

17 loan borrowers who are in default on a loan 

18 held by the lender. 

19 ‘‘(E) The proportion of the outstanding 

20 private education loan volume held by the lend21 er that is in default. 

22 ‘‘(F) The proportions of outstanding pri23 vate education loan borrowers who are 30, 60, 

24 and 90 days delinquent. 


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1 ‘‘(G) The proportions of outstanding pri2 vate education loan volume that is 30, 60, and 

3 90 days delinquent. 

4 ‘‘(g) NOTIFICATION TO BORROWERS.—The Sec5 retary, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury 

6 and the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

7 Protection, shall undertake a campaign to alert borrowers 

8 about the availability of private student loan refinancing 

9 under this section.’’. 

10 SEC. 203. INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT. 

11 Section 493C of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

12 (20 U.S.C. 1098e) is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE FOR REFINANCED LOANS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) REFINANCED FEDERAL DIRECT AND FFEL

16 LOANS.—In calculating the period of time during 

17 which a borrower of a loan that is refinanced under 

18 section 460A has made monthly payments for pur19 poses of subsection (b)(7), the Secretary shall deem 

20 the period to include all monthly payments made for 

21 the original loan, and all monthly payments made 

22 for the refinanced loan, that otherwise meet the re23 quirements of this section. 

24 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL DIRECT REFINANCED PRIVATE

25 LOANS.—In calculating the period of time during 


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1 which a borrower of a Federal Direct Refinanced 

2 Private Loan under section 460B has made monthly 

3 payments for purposes of subsection (b)(7), the Sec4 retary shall include only payments— 

5 ‘‘(A) that are made after the date of the 

6 issuance of the Federal Direct Refinanced Pri7 vate Loan; and 

8 ‘‘(B) that otherwise meet the requirements 

9 of this section.’’. 

10 TITLE III—LOAN FORGIVENESS 

11 SEC. 301. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR ADJUNCT FACULTY. 

12 Section 455(m)(3)(B)(ii) of the Higher Education 

13 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)(3)(B)(ii)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘teaching as’’ and inserting the 

15 following: ‘‘teaching— 

16 ‘‘(I) as’’; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘, foreign language faculty, and 

18 part-time faculty at community colleges), as deter19 mined by the Secretary.’’ and inserting ‘‘and foreign 

20 language faculty), as determined by the Secretary; 

21 or’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(II) as a part-time faculty mem24 ber or instructor who— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) teaches not less than 

2 1 course at an institution of 

3 higher education (as defined in 

4 section 101(a)), a postsecondary 

5 vocational institution (as defined 

6 in section 102(c)), or a Tribal 

7 College or University (as defined 

8 in section 316(b)); and 

9 ‘‘(bb) is not employed on a 

10 full-time basis by any other em11 ployer.’’. 

12 SEC. 302. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN 

13 FORGIVENESS PROGRAM. 

14 (a) PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 455(m) of the High16 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is 

17 amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(m) LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR FEDERAL STUDENT

19 LOAN BORROWERS EMPLOYED IN PUBLIC SERVICE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

21 ‘‘(A) CERTIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

22 The term ‘certification of employment’ means a 

23 certification of employment under paragraph 

24 (4). 


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1 ‘‘(B) FULL-TIME.—The term ‘full-time’, 

2 when used with respect to employment, means 

3 employment— 

4 ‘‘(i) with a qualifying employer for not 

5 less than 30 hours per week; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) with 2 or more qualifying em7 ployers for a total of not less than 30 

8 hours per week. 

9 ‘‘(C) QUALIFYING EMPLOYER.—The term 

10 ‘qualifying employer’ means— 

11 ‘‘(i) a Federal, State, local, or Tribal 

12 government organization or instrumen13 tality, including any organization estab14 lished in law as a body politic; 

15 ‘‘(ii) an organization that is described 

16 in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev17 enue Code of 1986, and exempt from tax18 ation under section 501(a) of such Code; 

19 ‘‘(iii) an organization— 

20 ‘‘(I) not described in clause (ii) 

21 that is a not-for-profit organization 

22 under other Federal or State law; 

23 ‘‘(II) that is not a labor organi24 zation or partisan political organiza25 tion; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) whose purpose is to di2 rectly provide any of the following 

3 services, as defined in regulations pro4 mulgated by the Secretary: 

5 ‘‘(aa) Emergency manage6 ment and disaster response. 

7 ‘‘(bb) Military service. 

8 ‘‘(cc) Public safety services, 

9 including fire prevention and 

10 suppression, rescue services, haz11 ardous materials response, ambu12 lance services, and emergency 

13 medical services. 

14 ‘‘(dd) Law enforcement. 

15 ‘‘(ee) Public health, includ16 ing service through organizations 

17 that employ nurses, nurse practi18 tioners, nurses in a clinical set19 ting, or professionals engaged in 

20 health care practitioner occupa21 tions and health care support oc22 cupations, as such terms are de23 fined by the Bureau of Labor 

24 Statistics, or organizations at 

25 which individuals engaged in 


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1 such occupations provide service, 

2 but who are prohibited from 

3 being employed directly by such 

4 an organization or other health 

5 care facility by State law. 

6 ‘‘(ff) Public education, in7 cluding the provision of edu8 cational enrichment or support 

9 directly to students or their fami10 lies, employment with a Tribal 

11 College or University (as defined 

12 in section 316(b)), and employ13 ment as an adjunct faculty mem14 ber or instructor for an edu15 cational institution. 

16 ‘‘(gg) Public interest law 

17 services, including prosecution or 

18 public defense or legal advocacy 

19 on behalf of low-income commu20 nities at a not-for-profit organi21 zation. 

22 ‘‘(hh) Early childhood edu23 cation, including licensed or regu24 lated childcare, Head Start proVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:56 Jan 24, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6424.IH H6424

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1 grams, and State funded pre2 kindergarten. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Public service for indi4 viduals with disabilities. 

5 ‘‘(jj) Public service for the 

6 elderly. 

7 ‘‘(kk) Public and school8 based library sciences. 

9 ‘‘(ll) School-based services, 

10 including the provision of non11 educational enrichment or sup12 port directly to students or their 

13 families. 

14 ‘‘(mm) Social work, includ15 ing child or family services. 

16 ‘‘(nn) Veteran or military 

17 services organization; or 

18 ‘‘(iv) a farm or ranch that, with re19 spect to a fiscal year, has earnings of gross 

20 revenue during such year from the sale of 

21 agricultural products equal to or greater 

22 than— 

23 ‘‘(I) in the case of 2022, 

24 $35,000; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) in the case of any suc2 ceeding year, the amount applicable 

3 under this subparagraph for the pre4 vious year, increased by the estimated 

5 percentage change in the Consumer 

6 Price Index for the most recent year 

7 preceding such year. 

8 ‘‘(D) QUALIFYING MONTHLY PAYMENT OB9 LIGATION.—The term ‘qualifying monthly pay10 ment obligation’ means a monthly payment obli11 gation due on a loan under the repayment plan 

12 of the borrower— 

13 ‘‘(i) that was satisfied by the borrower 

14 through a payment made after October 1, 

15 2007; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) attributable to a period during 

17 which the borrower was employed full-time 

18 by a qualifying employer. 

19 ‘‘(E) LOAN MADE UNDER THIS PART.— 

20 The term ‘loan made under this part’ includes 

21 a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, Federal Direct 

22 PLUS Loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Staf23 ford Loan, or Federal Direct Consolidation 

24 Loan refinanced under section 460A. 

25 ‘‘(2) CANCELLATION AUTHORIZED.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on July 1, 

2 2022, the Secretary shall, on an annual basis, 

3 cancel an amount of interest and principal due, 

4 in accordance with subparagraph (B), on any 

5 loan made under this part that is not in default 

6 for a borrower who— 

7 ‘‘(i) has satisfied 12 qualifying month8 ly payment obligations on such loan; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) submits a certification of employ10 ment that meets the requirements of para11 graph (3) for the period in which the bor12 rower makes each of the 12 payment obli13 gations described in subparagraph (A). 

14 ‘‘(B) CANCELLATION AMOUNT.—The Sec15 retary shall cancel— 

16 ‘‘(i) after the conclusion of each of the 

17 first 9, 12-month periods described in sub18 paragraph (A), an amount equal to 10 per19 cent of the balance of interest and prin20 cipal due, on the loans made to the bor21 rower under this part, as of the date on 

22 which the borrower satisfies the first quali23 fying monthly payment obligation under 

24 this subsection on such loans; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) after the conclusion of the tenth, 

2 12-month period described in subpara3 graph (A), the obligation to repay any re4 maining balance of principal and interest 

5 due as of the time of such cancellation, on 

6 the loans made to the borrower under this 

7 part. 

8 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT RE9 QUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive 

11 loan cancellation under this subsection, a bor12 rower of a loan made under this part shall sub13 mit to the Secretary a certification of employ14 ment. 

15 ‘‘(B) CONTENT OF CERTIFICATION.—The 

16 Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) develop, and make easily acces18 sible, the certification of employment; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the method of certifi20 cation— 

21 ‘‘(I) allows for the employer to 

22 indicate and certify the dates of the 

23 borrower’s employment; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) provides electronic signa2 ture options for the employer and for 

3 the borrower. 

4 ‘‘(C) BORROWER ACCESS.—The Secretary 

5 shall ensure that a borrower may submit a cer6 tification of employment to the Secretary elec7 tronically through any information system 

8 through which the Secretary permits borrowers 

9 to take self-service actions with respect to their 

10 loans. 

11 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION FOR SELF-CERTIFI12 CATION.—The Secretary shall provide a self13 certification option for the certification of em14 ployment for borrowers who have extenuating 

15 circumstances preventing the borrowers from 

16 obtaining the qualifying employer signature and 

17 certification required under subparagraph 

18 (B)(ii), as determined by the Secretary pursu19 ant to rulemaking and including situations 

20 where an employer is no longer in existence or 

21 refuses to cooperate. 

22 ‘‘(E) PERIODIC REVIEW OF CERTIFICATION

23 OF EMPLOYMENT.—For each borrower of a loan 

24 made under this part who has submitted a cer25 tification of employment, the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) by not later than 30 days after 

2 receipt of the certification of employ3 ment— 

4 ‘‘(I) review the certification of 

5 employment and determine the num6 ber of qualifying monthly payment ob7 ligations satisfied on the loan during 

8 the period of employment covered by 

9 the certification of employment; and 

10 ‘‘(II) inform the borrower of the 

11 number of qualifying monthly pay12 ment obligations satisfied; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) periodically, but not less than 

14 twice annually, notify the borrower, using 

15 the most recent calculation of qualifying 

16 monthly payment obligations, of— 

17 ‘‘(I) the number of qualifying 

18 monthly payment obligations satisfied, 

19 as of the date of the notice; 

20 ‘‘(II) any steps the borrower can 

21 take to convert non-qualifying month22 ly payment obligations into qualifying 

23 monthly payment obligations, includ24 ing the options to provide payments to 

25 satisfy monthly payment obligations 


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1 for past public service under para2 graph (4)(C); and 

3 ‘‘(III) the dispute resolution 

4 process for the Secretary’s determina5 tion of qualifying monthly payment 

6 obligations, as described in paragraph 

7 (7). 

8 ‘‘(4) QUALIFYING MONTHLY PAYMENT OBLIGA9 TIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

11 subsection, the number of qualifying monthly 

12 payment obligations satisfied on a loan is the 

13 number of monthly payments, during the period 

14 of employment and based on the repayment 

15 plan selected by the borrower for such period, 

16 that would be satisfied based on applying the 

17 total amount of payments made by the bor18 rower on the loan at any time during such pe19 riod. 

20 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT OF PAYMENT OBLIGA21 TION STATUS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) HOLD HARMLESS AGAINST RET23 ROACTIVE DETERMINATIONS.—If the Sec24 retary has classified a payment obligation 

25 satisfied by a borrower of a loan made 


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1 under this part as a qualifying monthly 

2 payment obligation and later determines 

3 that the payment obligation does not qual4 ify, the Secretary shall deem the payment 

5 obligation to be a qualifying monthly pay6 ment obligation to be counted for purposes 

7 of paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(ii) EXPLANATION OF NON-QUALI9 FYING PAYMENT OBLIGATION DETERMINA10 TIONS.—If the Secretary determines that 

11 payments made by a borrower of a loan 

12 made under this part for a period of full13 time employment with a qualifying em14 ployer cannot be applied toward the total 

15 number of qualifying monthly payment ob16 ligations for purposes of paragraph (2), 

17 the Secretary shall provide a borrower with 

18 an explanation and allow the borrower to 

19 correct the reason for such determination, 

20 to the extent possible. Such borrower reme21 diation shall include, at a minimum, pro22 viding a borrower with the opportunity to 

23 reimburse the Secretary for any under24 payment. 


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1 ‘‘(C) SATISFYING PREVIOUSLY NON-QUALI2 FYING MONTHLY PAYMENT OBLIGATIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A borrower of a 

4 loan made under this part who has a pe5 riod during which the borrower was em6 ployed full-time with a qualifying employer 

7 but did not satisfy one or more qualifying 

8 monthly payment obligations during such 

9 period, such as a borrower who was in 

10 deferment or forbearance, may satisfy one 

11 or more monthly payment obligations of 

12 that period at a later date by paying the 

13 additional amount needed to satisfy the 

14 qualifying monthly payment obligation, in 

15 accordance with a process established by 

16 the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION PROCESS.—The 

18 amount of past monthly payment obliga19 tions satisfied by a payment under this 

20 subparagraph for a period of employment 

21 shall be determined using the amount of 

22 the borrower’s monthly payment, based on 

23 any repayment plan, as selected by the 

24 borrower, that could have been selected by 

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1 retary may require a borrower wishing to 

2 satisfy past monthly payment obligations 

3 under this subparagraph to submit any ad4 ditional information necessary to calculate 

5 the amount of the past payments. 

6 ‘‘(iii) LIMIT.—A borrower may not 

7 satisfy more than 36 past monthly pay8 ment obligations under this subparagraph. 

9 ‘‘(D) OVERPAYMENT.—In a case in which 

10 the dispute resolution process under paragraph 

11 (8) delays the date on which a borrower would 

12 have received full loan forgiveness under para13 graph (3)(B), the Secretary shall refund the 

14 borrower the amount of any qualifying monthly 

15 payment obligation the borrower makes in ex16 cess of 120 qualifying payment obligations dur17 ing such process. 

18 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO FEDERAL

19 DIRECT CONSOLIDATION LOANS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) REVIEW OF ANY NEW CONSOLIDA21 TION LOAN APPLICATION.— 

22 ‘‘(i) PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVE23 NESS OPTION ON CONSOLIDATION APPLICA24 TION.—Beginning on July 1, 2022, the 

25 Secretary shall include, in any application 


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1 for a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan, 

2 the option for the borrower to indicate that 

3 the borrower is consolidating for the pur4 pose of using the public service loan for5 giveness program under this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW.—Beginning on July 1, 

7 2022, the Secretary shall, after issuing any 

8 Federal Direct Consolidation Loan to a 

9 borrower who indicated an interest in the 

10 public service loan forgiveness program on 

11 the loan application— 

12 ‘‘(I) request that the borrower 

13 submit a certification of employment; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(II) after receiving a complete 

16 certification of employment, review 

17 the borrower’s past payments on all 

18 component loans comprising the Fed19 eral Direct Consolidation Loan and 

20 inform the borrower— 

21 ‘‘(aa) of the number of 

22 monthly payment obligations sat23 isfied by the borrower before the 

24 date of consolidation that are 

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1 gations, in accordance with sub2 paragraph (B); or 

3 ‘‘(bb) if no payment obliga4 tions are satisfied, that the bor5 rower will not receive any credit 

6 towards public service loan for7 giveness under this subsection for 

8 the Federal Direct Consolidation 

9 Loan. 

10 ‘‘(B) QUALIFYING PAYMENT OBLIGATIONS

11 ON ALL COMPONENT LOANS AND LOAN TYPES

12 THROUGH CONSOLIDATION.—In the case of a 

13 borrower of one or more loans eligible for con14 solidation, including loans made under part B, 

15 who applies for, and receives, a Federal Direct 

16 Consolidation Loan, the Secretary shall request 

17 the borrower submit a certification of employ18 ment for any qualifying employment and, after 

19 receiving the certification of employment, 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) review the borrower’s payment 

22 history on each of the component loans 

23 comprising the Federal Direct Consolida24 tion Loan, including each loan made under 

25 part B; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) for each component loan— 

2 ‘‘(I) calculate the weighted factor 

3 of the component loan, which shall be 

4 the factor that represents the ratio 

5 between the amount of the component 

6 loan and the amount of the Federal 

7 Direct Consolidation Loan, as deter8 mined by the Secretary; 

9 ‘‘(II) determine the number of 

10 equivalent monthly payment obliga11 tions toward the Federal Direct Con12 solidation Loan satisfied on the com13 ponent loan by multiplying the weight14 ed factor for the component loan by 

15 the number of qualifying monthly pay16 ment obligations that the borrower 

17 satisfied on the component loan; and 

18 ‘‘(III) after rounding the number 

19 determined under subclause (II) to 

20 the nearest whole number, deem that 

21 number of equivalent monthly pay22 ment obligations to be qualifying 

23 monthly payment obligations on the 

24 Federal Direct Consolidation Loan. 


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1 ‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY OF BORROWER PRO2 TECTIONS AND RIGHTS.—A borrower of one or 

3 more loans eligible for consolidation, including 

4 loans made under part B, who applies for and 

5 receives a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan 

6 shall receive all the protections and rights pro7 vided under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 

8 paragraph (4) for the loan, and for any compo9 nent loan, in the same manner as provided to 

10 any other borrower of a loan made under this 

11 part. 

12 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CONSOLI13 DATION LOAN PAYMENTS.—In a case in which 

14 a borrower makes a qualifying monthly pay15 ment obligation for purposes of paragraph (2) 

16 on a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan that 

17 was used to repay a Federal Direct Stafford 

18 Loan, Federal Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Di19 rect Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or Federal 

20 Direct Consolidation Loan refinanced under 

21 section 460A for which at least one qualifying 

22 monthly payment obligation for such purposes 

23 has been made prior to the consolidation, the 

24 qualifying monthly payment obligation on such 

25 Federal Direct Consolidation Loan shall be 


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1 treated as a qualifying monthly payment obliga2 tion for purposes of paragraph (2) on such Fed3 eral Direct Stafford Loan, Federal Direct 

4 PLUS Loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Staf5 ford Loan, or Federal Direct Consolidation 

6 Loan. 

7 ‘‘(6) NOTICE OF QUALIFYING PAYMENT OBLIGA8 TIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) INITIAL NOTICE.—Upon receiving 

10 any verbal or written contact by a borrower on 

11 or after July 1, 2022, expressing interest in the 

12 public service loan forgiveness program under 

13 this subsection, the Secretary, or an eligible 

14 lender or guaranty agency under part B, shall 

15 provide the borrower, by not later than 30 days 

16 after the contract, with a notice that— 

17 ‘‘(i) explains the requirements of the 

18 program, including whether the borrower 

19 needs to consolidate some or all of the bor20 rower’s loans to receive forgiveness under 

21 this subsection; 

22 ‘‘(ii) includes a copy of, or a link to, 

23 information about the certification of em24 ployment process described in paragraph 

25 (3); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) includes an estimate of the 

2 qualifying monthly payment obligations 

3 that would be satisfied by the borrower 

4 based on the borrower’s payment history, 

5 as of the date of notice, if the borrower 

6 was a full-time employee of a qualifying 

7 employer and met the requirements of 

8 paragraph (2); and 

9 ‘‘(iv) includes an estimate of the num10 ber of remaining qualifying monthly pay11 ment obligations to be satisfied in order 

12 for the borrower to receive partial loan for13 giveness under paragraph (2)(A). 

14 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT NOTICES.—After pro15 viding an initial notice under subparagraph (A), 

16 the Secretary, or an eligible lender or guaranty 

17 agency under part B, shall annually provide the 

18 borrower with a notice containing the informa19 tion described in such subparagraph for each 

20 subsequent year that the borrower has an out21 standing loan, unless the borrower receives no22 tices under paragraph (3)(E)(ii) or requests 

23 that the notices be discontinued. 

24 ‘‘(7) DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS.—By not 

25 later than July 1, 2022, the Secretary shall establish 


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1 a process on an online portal for borrowers to dis2 pute the calculation of qualifying monthly payment 

3 obligations, or the determination of full or partial 

4 loan forgiveness under paragraph (2), following the 

5 submission of a certification of employment or appli6 cation for forgiveness or any successor certification 

7 or application. 

8 ‘‘(8) SPECIAL RULES FOR SECTION 460A

9 LOANS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) REFINANCED FEDERAL DIRECT

11 LOANS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), in de12 termining the number of monthly payments 

13 that meet the requirements of such paragraph 

14 for an eligible Federal Direct Loan refinanced 

15 under section 460A that was originally a loan 

16 under this part, the Secretary shall include all 

17 monthly payments made on the original loan 

18 that meet the requirements of such paragraph. 

19 ‘‘(B) REFINANCED FFEL LOANS.—In the 

20 case of an eligible Federal Direct Loan refi21 nanced under section 460A that was originally 

22 a loan under part B, only monthly payments 

23 made after the date on which the loan was refi24 nanced may be included for purposes of para25 graph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(9) INELIGIBILITY.— 

2 ‘‘(A) NO DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No bor3 rower may, for the same service, receive a re4 duction of loan obligations under both this sub5 section and section 428J, 428K, 428L, or 460. 

6 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL ELECTED SERVICE EX7 CLUDED.—No borrower may receive loan for8 giveness under this subsection for service as a 

9 Member of Congress or President or Vice Presi10 dent of the United States.’’. 

11 (2) FFEL PROGRAM AMENDMENTS.—Part B of 

12 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 

13 et seq.) is amended— 

14 (A) in section 428 (20 U.S.C. 1078), by 

15 adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(p) REPAYMENT HISTORY INFORMATION AND PUB17 LIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS INFORMATION.—A 

18 guaranty agency shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) provide, in a timely manner, any necessary 

20 borrower repayment history information that the 

21 Secretary requests in order to determine the bor22 rower’s eligibility for the public service loan forgive23 ness program under section 455(m), or the number 

24 of qualifying monthly payment obligations satisfied 

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1 mation from all servicers involved in servicing the 

2 borrower’s loan; and 

3 ‘‘(2) carry out the requirements of section 

4 455(m)(7) upon receiving any verbal or written con5 tact by a borrower on or after July 1, 2022, express6 ing interest in the public service loan forgiveness 

7 program under section 455(m).’’; and 

8 (B) in section 433 (20 U.S.C. 1083)— 

9 (i) by redesignating subsection (f) as 

10 subsection (g); and 

11 (ii) by inserting after subsection (e) 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(f) REPAYMENT HISTORY INFORMATION.—An eligi14 ble lender shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) provide, in a timely manner, any necessary 

16 borrower repayment history information that the 

17 Secretary requests in order to determine the bor18 rower’s eligibility for the public service loan forgive19 ness program under section 455(m), or the number 

20 of qualifying monthly payment obligations satisfied 

21 for purposes of the public service loan forgiveness 

22 program under section 455(m), including such infor23 mation from all servicers involved in servicing the 

24 borrower’s loan; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) carry out the requirements of section 

2 455(m)(7) upon receiving any verbal or written con3 tact by a borrower on or after July 1, 2022, express4 ing interest in the public service loan forgiveness 

5 program under section 455(m).’’. 

6 (b) NOTIFICATION TO DIRECT LOAN BORROWERS

7 REGARDING ALL OPTIONS FOR LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 

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

9 U.S.C. 1087e) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(r) ANNUAL NOTICE REGARDING LOAN FORGIVE12 NESS OPTIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annu14 ally provide a written or electronic disclosure to each 

15 borrower of a loan under this part— 

16 ‘‘(A) notifying the borrower— 

17 ‘‘(i) of any loan forgiveness option 

18 available under this title that might apply 

19 to a loan under this part held by the bor20 rower, including the public service loan for21 giveness program under subsection (m); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a borrower who is 

24 a full-time employee of a Federal agency 

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1 mitted a certification of employment for 

2 the public service loan forgiveness pro3 gram— 

4 ‘‘(I) that the borrower is em5 ployed by a qualifying employer; 

6 ‘‘(II) the number of payment ob7 ligations satisfied by the borrower 

8 that the Secretary has determined 

9 could be qualifying monthly payment 

10 obligations on eligible Federal Direct 

11 Loan for purposes of the public serv12 ice loan forgiveness program; and 

13 ‘‘(III) the steps necessary for the 

14 borrower to submit a certification of 

15 employment and to obtain forgiveness 

16 under subsection (m)(2); 

17 ‘‘(B) informing the borrower that the loan 

18 forgiveness options described in subparagraph 

19 (A) are provided free of charge; and 

20 ‘‘(C) including, for each loan forgiveness 

21 option, information regarding how the borrower 

22 should proceed, including contact information, 

23 if the borrower wishes to pursue such loan for24 giveness option. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—Notwithstanding para2 graph (1), the Secretary shall not provide a notifica3 tion under this subsection to a borrower of a loan 

4 under this part if— 

5 ‘‘(A) the borrower is also receiving a notifi6 cation under subsection (m)(7); or 

7 ‘‘(B) the borrower has requested that the 

8 Secretary no longer provide the notifications 

9 under this subsection.’’. 

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

11 this section shall take effect on July 1, 2022. 

12 SEC. 303. TRANSITION TO IMPROVED PUBLIC SERVICE 

13 LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM. 

14 (a) REVIEW OF BORROWERS CURRENTLY PARTICI15 PATING IN PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 

16 (1) CALCULATING THE NUMBER OF QUALI17 FYING PAYMENT OBLIGATIONS FOR CURRENT PUB18 LIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM PARTICI19 PANTS.—By not later than July 1, 2022, the Sec20 retary shall, for each borrower that has submitted a 

21 certification of employment under the public service 

22 loan forgiveness program under section 455(m) of 

23 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 1087e) before July 1, 2022— 


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1 (A) calculate the number of qualifying pay2 ment obligations under such section satisfied by 

3 the borrower, using the criteria of such section 

4 as in effect on July 1, 2022; and 

5 (B) inform the borrower of the changes in 

6 the public service loan forgiveness program and 

7 the number of qualifying payment obligations 

8 that the borrower will have satisfied for pur9 poses of the program, beginning on July 1, 

10 2022. 

11 (2) RETROACTIVE PARTIAL LOAN FORGIVE12 NESS.—By not later than July 1, 2022, the Sec13 retary shall take such steps as are necessary to pro14 vide partial loan forgiveness under section 

15 455(m)(3)(A)(i) of the Higher Education Act of 

16 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)(3)(A)(i)), as in effect on 

17 such date, to borrowers with outstanding balance of 

18 principal and interest on a loan made under this 

19 part who met the criteria for partial loan forgiveness 

20 under such section, as in effect on July 1, 2022, be21 fore such date but on or after October 1, 2007. 

22 (3) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROVISIONS.—In 

23 carrying out paragraphs (1) and (2), and in any 

24 other case where the Secretary is applying the loan 

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1 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)), as 

2 in effect on July 1, 2022, to a borrower for whom 

3 one or more payment obligations were satisfied be4 fore July 1, 2022, the Secretary shall determine the 

5 number of payment obligations satisfied by applying 

6 all of the provisions of such section as in effect on 

7 July 1, 2022, including the calculation of payment 

8 obligations under section 455(m)(5) of such Act and 

9 the inclusion of payment obligations satisfied 

10 through the component loans of a Federal Direct 

11 Consolidation Loan under section 455(m)(6), with12 out regard as to the date on which the payment obli13 gation was satisfied. 

14 (b) SPECIAL PSLF PROGRAM FUNDS.— 

15 (1) DEFINITION OF SPECIAL PSLF PROGRAM

16 FUNDS.—In this section, the term ‘‘special PSLF 

17 program funds’’ means the amounts appropriated 

18 for public service loan forgiveness under section 315 

19 of division H of the Consolidated Appropriations 

20 Act, 2018 (Public Law 115–141; March 23, 2018) 

21 or under section 313 of division B of the Depart22 ment of Defense and Labor, Health and Human 

23 Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 

24 and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019 (Public 

25 Law 115–245; September 28, 2018). 


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1 (2) RESCISSION.—Upon the effective date de2 scribed in section 2(c), all special PSLF program 

3 funds that remain unexpended on such date shall be 

4 rescinded. 

5 (3) TRANSITION.—The Secretary of Education 

6 shall establish a process through which the Secretary 

7 shall— 

8 (A) review the applications of borrowers 

9 who applied for the loan forgiveness program 

10 carried out with special PSLF program funds 

11 but had not received loan forgiveness through 

12 such program before July 1, 2022; and 

13 (B) assist such borrowers in pursuing loan 

14 forgiveness under section 455(m) of the Higher 

15 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)), 

16 as in effect on July 1, 2022. 

17 TITLE IV—INCOME-DRIVEN 

18 REPAYMENT PLANS 

19 SEC. 401. INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT PLAN. 

20 Section 493C of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

21 (20 U.S.C. 1098e) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

24 after the semicolon; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the pe2 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(10) a borrower who is repaying a loan made 

5 under part B or D pursuant to this section may 

6 repay such loan in full at any time without pen7 alty.’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(f) INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT FOR NEW LOANS

10 ON AND AFTER JULY 1, 2022, AND FOR BORROWERS

11 WHO ENTER IBR AFTER JULY 1, 2022.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The income-based repay13 ment plan shall be carried out in accordance with 

14 this section, except as otherwise specified in this 

15 subsection (including through the special terms de16 scribed in paragraph (2))— 

17 ‘‘(A) with respect to any loan issued on or 

18 after July 1, 2022, if such borrower elects the 

19 income-based repayment plan for that loan; and 

20 ‘‘(B) with respect to any borrower who is 

21 repaying a loan made, insured, or guaranteed 

22 under part B or D, if such borrower elects to 

23 repay the loan under the income-based repay24 ment plan on or after July 1, 2022. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL TERMS.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of this section, with respect to a loan 

3 described under paragraph (1), the following terms 

4 shall apply to the income-based repayment plan: 

5 ‘‘(A)(i) Notwithstanding subsection 

6 (a)(3)(B), the repayment amount under this 

7 subsection shall be an amount equal to 5 per8 cent of the result obtained by calculating, on at 

9 least an annual basis, the amount by which— 

10 ‘‘(I) the borrower’s, and the bor11 rower’s spouse (if applicable), adjusted 

12 gross income; exceeds 

13 ‘‘(II) the applicable percentage of the 

14 poverty line in accordance with clause (ii) 

15 that is applicable to the borrower’s family 

16 size as determined under section 673(2) of 

17 the Community Services Block Grant Act 

18 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)). 

19 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of clause (i), the term 

20 ‘applicable percentage’ means 150 percent re21 duced by 1 percentage point for each $1,000 by 

22 which the borrower’s adjusted gross income ex23 ceeds $100,000. 

24 ‘‘(B) A borrower may elect— 


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1 ‘‘(i) during any period during which 

2 the borrower’s (and the borrower’s spouse, 

3 if applicable) adjusted gross income is 

4 equal to or less than 250 percent of the 

5 poverty line applicable to the borrower’s 

6 family size as determined under section 

7 673(2) of the Community Services Block 

8 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), to have 

9 the borrower’s aggregate monthly payment 

10 for all such loans equal to $0; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) during any period during which 

12 the borrower’s (and the borrower’s spouse, 

13 if applicable) adjusted gross income ex14 ceeds 250 percent of such poverty line, to 

15 have the borrower’s aggregate monthly 

16 payment for all such loans not exceed, the 

17 lesser of— 

18 ‘‘(I) the result described in sub19 paragraph (A) divided by 12; or 

20 ‘‘(II) the monthly amount cal21 culated under section 455(d)(1)(A), 

22 based on a 10-year repayment period, 

23 when the borrower first made the elec24 tion described in this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(C) With respect to any loan for which 

2 payments may be made under subparagraph 

3 (B), be paid, or be treated as if no interest has 

4 accrued, by the Secretary— 

5 ‘‘(i) for any period described in sub6 paragraph (B)(i); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) for the 6-month period after the 

8 date the borrower ceases to carry at least 

9 one-half the normal full-time academic 

10 workload at an institution of higher edu11 cation, as determined by the institution, 

12 and during which the borrower is not earn13 ing any income. 

14 ‘‘(D) Subsection (b)(7)(B) shall be applied 

15 by substituting ‘20 years’ for ‘25 years’. 

16 ‘‘(E) A borrower of such a loan shall not 

17 be required to have a partial financial hardship 

18 and may elect, and remain enrolled in, the in19 come-based repayment plan under this sub20 section regardless of income level. 

21 ‘‘(F) Subparagraph (A) of subsection 

22 (b)(6) shall not apply and a borrower’s monthly 

23 payment shall be determined in accordance with 

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1 ceed the monthly repayment amount under a 

2 standard 10-year repayment plan. 

3 ‘‘(G) Subparagraph (B) of subsection 

4 (b)(3) shall not apply. 

5 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL SPECIAL TERMS FOR CER6 TAIN BORROWERS.—A borrower described in para7 graph (1)(B)— 

8 ‘‘(A) may choose to retain the repayment 

9 plan in which the borrower is enrolled on June 

10 30, 2022; 

11 ‘‘(B) may elect to— 

12 ‘‘(i) leave the repayment plan de13 scribed in subparagraph (A) and enter the 

14 income-based repayment plan under this 

15 subsection; 

16 ‘‘(ii) leave the repayment plan de17 scribed in subparagraph (A) and enter a 

18 standard 10-year repayment plan under 

19 section 455(d)(A)(A); or 

20 ‘‘(iii) not more than once per calendar 

21 year, switch between the repayment plans 

22 described in clauses (i) and (ii); 

23 ‘‘(C) after electing to leave a repayment 

24 plan other than an income-based repayment 

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1 ard 10-year repayment plan under section 

2 455(d)(A)(A), shall not be permitted to re-elect 

3 a repayment plan that is not an income-based 

4 repayment plan under this subsection or such 

5 standard 10-year repayment plan; and 

6 ‘‘(D) shall retain, for purposes of repay7 ment or cancellation of any outstanding balance 

8 of principal and interest due on a loan (as de9 scribed in subsection (b)(7)) any years of repay10 ment under another income-based or income11 contingent repayment plan under this title. 

12 ‘‘(4) CAP ON INTEREST ACCRUAL.—Notwith13 standing any other provision of this Act, the total 

14 amount of interest that accrues during a borrower’s 

15 grace period and the time that a borrower is in re16 payment under this subsection shall not exceed 50 

17 percent of the original principal amount of the 

18 loan.’’. 

19 SEC. 402. TERMINATION OF CERTAIN REPAYMENT PLAN 

20 OPTIONS. 

21 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE; RULEMAKING REGARDING

22 TERMINATION OF CERTAIN REPAYMENT PLANS.— 

23 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

24 by this section shall take effect on July 1, 2022. 


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1 (2) REGULATIONS.—Before the effective date 

2 described in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Edu3 cation shall carry out a plan to end all eligibility for 

4 repayment plans other than a standard repayment 

5 plan under section 428(b)(9)(A)(i) or 455(d)(1)(A) 

6 with a repayment period of 10 years and an income7 based repayment plan described under section 

8 493C(f) for loans made under part B or D of title 

9 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, unless the 

10 borrower is enrolled in another repayment plan be11 fore such effective date, in accordance with the 

12 amendments made by this Act. 

13 (b) CHANGES TO CURRENT LAW.— 

14 (1) Section 428(b) of the Higher Education Act 

15 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)) is amended— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (D)— 

18 (I) in clause (ii), by striking 

19 ‘‘may annually change the selection of 

20 a repayment plan under this part,’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘may at any time after 

22 July 1, 2022, and not more frequently 

23 than once per calendar year there24 after, change the selection of a repay25 ment plan under this part to one of 


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1 the 2 repayment plans described in 

2 paragraph (9)(C),’’; and 

3 (II) in clause (iii), by striking 

4 ‘‘be subject to income-contingent re5 payment in accordance with sub6 section (m);’’ and inserting ‘‘be sub7 ject to income-based repayment in ac8 cordance with section 493C(f);’’; and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (E)(i), by strik10 ing ‘‘the option of repaying the loan in ac11 cordance with a standard, graduated, in12 come-sensitive, or extended repayment 

13 schedule (as described in paragraph (9)) 

14 established by the lender in accordance 

15 with regulations of the Secretary; and’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘the option of repaying the 

17 loan in accordance with a repayment plan 

18 described in paragraph (9)(C) established 

19 by the lender in accordance with regula20 tions of the Secretary; and’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (9), by adding at the end 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(C) SELECTION OF REPAYMENT PLANS

24 ON AND AFTER JULY 1, 2022.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE RE2 PAYMENT PLANS.—Notwithstanding any 

3 other provision of this paragraph, or any 

4 other provision of law, and in accordance 

5 with regulations, beginning on July 1, 

6 2022, the lender shall offer a borrower of 

7 a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under 

8 this part the opportunity to change repay9 ment plans not more than once per cal10 endar year, and to enroll in one of the fol11 lowing repayment plans: 

12 ‘‘(I) A standard repayment plan 

13 under section 428(b)(9)(A)(i) with a 

14 repayment period of 10 years. 

15 ‘‘(II) The income-based repay16 ment plan under section 493C(f).’’. 

17 (2) Section 455(d) is amended— 

18 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

19 through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), re20 spectively; 

21 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1), the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(2) DESIGN AND SELECTION ON AND AFTER

24 JULY 1, 2022.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para2 graph (1), for the borrower of a loan made on 

3 or after July 1, 2022, and for other borrowers 

4 subject to paragraph (7), the Secretary shall 

5 offer a borrower of a loan made under this part 

6 2 plans for repayment of such loan, including 

7 principal and interest on the loan. The borrower 

8 shall be entitled to accelerate, without penalty, 

9 repayment on the borrower’s loans under this 

10 part. The borrower may choose— 

11 ‘‘(i) a standard repayment plan under 

12 section 455(d)(1)(A) with a repayment pe13 riod of 10 years; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) the income-based repayment plan 

15 under section 493C(f). 

16 ‘‘(B) SELECTION BY THE SECRETARY.—If 

17 a borrower of a loan made under this part on 

18 or after July 1, 2022, does not select a repay19 ment plan described in subparagraph (A), the 

20 Secretary may provide the borrower with a 

21 standard repayment plan under section 

22 455(d)(1)(A) with a repayment period of 10 

23 years. 

24 ‘‘(C) CHANGES IN SELECTIONS.—Begin25 ning on July 1, 2022, a borrower of a loan 


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1 made under this part may change the bor2 rower’s selection of a repayment plan in accord3 ance with paragraph (7) and under such terms 

4 and conditions as may be established by the 

5 Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(D) BORROWER IN DEFAULT.—Beginning 

7 on July 1, 2022, the Secretary may require any 

8 borrower who has defaulted on a loan made 

9 under this part to— 

10 ‘‘(i) pay all reasonable collection costs 

11 associated with such loan; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) repay the loan pursuant to an in13 come-based repayment plan under section 

14 493C(f).’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(7) BORROWERS OF LOANS MADE BEFORE

17 JULY 1, 2022.—A borrower who is in repayment on 

18 a loan made under part B or part D before July 1, 

19 2022— 

20 ‘‘(A) may choose to retain the repayment 

21 plan that the borrower was enrolled in on the 

22 day before such date; 

23 ‘‘(B) may elect to— 

24 ‘‘(i) enter the income-based repayment 

25 plan under section 493C(f); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) enter a standard repayment plan 

2 under section 455(d)(1)(A) with a repay3 ment period of 10 years; or 

4 ‘‘(iii) switch between the repayment 

5 plans described in clauses (i) and (ii) not 

6 more than once during a calendar year; 

7 ‘‘(C) after electing to leave a repayment 

8 plan other than an income-based repayment 

9 plan described in this subsection or a standard 

10 repayment plan under section 455(d)(1)(A), 

11 shall not be permitted to re-elect a repayment 

12 plan that is not an income-based repayment 

13 plan described in this subsection or a standard 

14 repayment plan under section 455(d)(1)(A); 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(D) shall retain, for purposes of repay17 ment or cancellation of any outstanding balance 

18 of principal and interest due on a loan (as de19 scribed in section 493C(b)(7)) any years of re20 payment under another income-based or in21 come-contingent repayment plan under this 

22 title.’’. 


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1 SEC. 403. NOTIFICATION AND AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT 

2 PROCEDURES FOR BORROWERS WHO ARE 

3 DELINQUENT ON LOANS. 

4 (a) INCOME-CONTINGENT REPAYMENT.—Section 

5 455(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

6 1087e(d)) is further amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(8) NOTIFICATION AND AUTOMATIC ENROLL9 MENT PROCEDURES FOR BORROWERS WHO ARE DE10 LINQUENT ON LOANS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN INCOME IN12 FORMATION.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

14 borrower who is at least 60 days delin15 quent on a covered loan, the Secretary may 

16 obtain such information as is reasonably 

17 necessary regarding the income and family 

18 size of the borrower (and the borrower’s 

19 spouse, if applicable). 

20 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY OF RETURNS AND

21 RETURN INFORMATION.—Returns and re22 turn information (as defined in section 

23 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

24 1986) may be obtained under this subpara25 graph only to the extent authorized by sec26 tion 6103(l)(13) of such Code. 


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1 ‘‘(B) BORROWER NOTIFICATION.—With re2 spect to each borrower of a covered loan who is 

3 at least 60 days delinquent on such loan and 

4 who has not been subject to the procedures 

5 under this paragraph for such loan in the pre6 ceding 120 days, the Secretary shall, as soon as 

7 practicable after such 60-day delinquency, pro8 vide to the borrower the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) Notification that the borrower is 

10 at least 60 days delinquent on at least 1 

11 covered loan, and a description of all delin12 quent covered loans, nondelinquent covered 

13 loans, and noncovered loans of the bor14 rower. 

15 ‘‘(ii) A brief description of the repay16 ment plans for which the borrower is eligi17 ble and the covered loans and noncovered 

18 loans of the borrower that may be eligible 

19 for such plans, based on information avail20 able to the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Clear and simple instructions on 

22 how to select the repayment plans. 

23 ‘‘(iv) The amount of monthly pay24 ments for the covered and noncovered 

25 loans under the repayment plans for which 


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1 the borrower is eligible, based on informa2 tion available to the Secretary, including, if 

3 the income information of the borrower is 

4 available to the Secretary under subpara5 graph (A)— 

6 ‘‘(I) the amount of the monthly 

7 payment under each income-driven re8 payment plan for which the borrower 

9 is eligible for the borrower’s covered 

10 and noncovered loans, based on such 

11 income information; and 

12 ‘‘(II) the income, family size, tax 

13 filing status, and tax year information 

14 on which each monthly payment is 

15 based. 

16 ‘‘(v) An explanation that in the case 

17 of a borrower for whom adjusted gross in18 come is unavailable— 

19 ‘‘(I) if the borrower selects to 

20 repay the covered loans of such bor21 rower pursuant to an income-driven 

22 repayment plan that defines discre23 tionary income in such a manner that 

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1 enue Code of 1986 to file a return 

2 with respect to income taxes imposed 

3 by subtitle A of such Code may have 

4 a calculated monthly payment greater 

5 than $0, the borrower will be required 

6 to provide the Secretary with other 

7 documentation of income satisfactory 

8 to the Secretary, which documentation 

9 the Secretary may use to determine 

10 an appropriate repayment schedule; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(II) if the borrower selects to 

13 repay such loans pursuant to an in14 come-driven repayment plan that is 

15 not described in subclause (I), the 

16 borrower will not be required to pro17 vide the Secretary with such other 

18 documentation of income, and the bor19 rower will have a calculated monthly 

20 payment of $0. 

21 ‘‘(vi) An explanation that the Sec22 retary shall take the actions under sub23 paragraph (C) with respect to such bor24 rower, if— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the borrower is 120 days de2 linquent on one or more covered loans 

3 and has not selected a new repayment 

4 plan for the covered loans of the bor5 rower; and 

6 ‘‘(II) in the case of such a bor7 rower whose repayment plan for the 

8 covered loans of the borrower is not 

9 an income-driven repayment plan, the 

10 monthly payments under such repay11 ment plan are higher than such 

12 monthly payments would be under an 

13 income-driven repayment plan for 

14 such loans. 

15 ‘‘(vii) Instructions on updating the in16 formation of the borrower obtained under 

17 subparagraph (A). 

18 ‘‘(C) SECRETARY’S INITIAL SELECTION OF

19 PLAN.—With respect to each borrower de20 scribed in subparagraph (B) who has a repay21 ment plan for the covered loans of the borrower 

22 that meets the requirements of clause (vi)(II) of 

23 subparagraph (B) and has not selected a new 

24 repayment plan for such loans in accordance 

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1 graph, and who is at least 120 days delinquent 

2 on such a loan, the Secretary shall, as soon as 

3 practicable— 

4 ‘‘(i) in a case in which any of the bor5 rower’s covered loans are eligible for an in6 come-driven repayment plan— 

7 ‘‘(I)(aa) provide the borrower 

8 with the income-driven repayment 

9 plan that requires the lowest monthly 

10 payment amount for each covered loan 

11 of the borrower, compared to any 

12 other such plan for which the bor13 rower is eligible; or 

14 ‘‘(bb) if more than one income15 driven repayment plan would offer the 

16 borrower the same lowest monthly 

17 payment amount, provide the bor18 rower with the income-driven repay19 ment plan that has the most favorable 

20 terms for the borrower; 

21 ‘‘(II) if the plan selected under 

22 subclause (I) is not the income-driven 

23 repayment plan that would have the 

24 lowest monthly payment amount if the 

25 borrower were eligible for such plan 


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1 for the borrower’s covered loans and 

2 noncovered loans, notify the borrower 

3 of the actions, if any, the borrower 

4 may take to become eligible for such 

5 income-driven repayment plan; and 

6 ‘‘(III) authorize the borrower to 

7 change the Secretary’s selection of a 

8 plan under this clause to any plan de9 scribed in paragraph (1) for which the 

10 borrower is eligible; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) in a case in which none of the 

12 borrower’s covered loans are eligible for an 

13 income-driven repayment plan, notify the 

14 borrower of the actions, if any, the bor15 rower may take for such loans to become 

16 eligible for such a plan. 

17 ‘‘(D) SECRETARY’S ADDITIONAL SELEC18 TION OF PLAN.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—With respect to 

20 each borrower of a covered loan who se21 lects a new repayment plan in accordance 

22 with the notice received under subpara23 graph (B) and who continues to be delin24 quent on such loan for a period described 

25 in clause (ii), the Secretary shall, as soon 


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1 as practicable after such period, carry out 

2 the procedures described in clauses (i) and 

3 (ii) of subparagraph (C) for the covered 

4 loans of the borrower, if such procedures 

5 would result in lower monthly repayment 

6 amounts on such loan. 

7 ‘‘(ii) DESCRIPTION OF PERIOD.—The 

8 duration of the period described in clause 

9 (i) shall be the amount of time that the 

10 Secretary determines is sufficient to indi11 cate that the borrower may benefit from 

12 repaying such loan under a new repayment 

13 plan, but in no case shall such period be 

14 less than 60 days. 

15 ‘‘(E) OPT-OUT.—A borrower of a covered 

16 loan shall have the right to opt-out of the pro17 cedures under this paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(9) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

19 ‘‘(A) COVERED LOAN.—The term ‘covered 

20 loan’ means— 

21 ‘‘(i) a loan made under this part; 

22 ‘‘(ii) a loan purchased under section 

23 459A; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) a loan that has been assigned to 

2 the Secretary under section 428(c)(8) or 

3 part E. 

4 ‘‘(B) INCOME-DRIVEN REPAYMENT

5 PLAN.—The term ‘income-driven repayment 

6 plan’ means— 

7 ‘‘(i) in the case of a covered loan 

8 made under this part, purchased under 

9 section 459A, or assigned to the Secretary 

10 before July 1, 2022, a plan described in 

11 subparagraph (D) or (E) of paragraph (1); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a covered loan 

14 made under this part, purchased under 

15 section 459A, or assigned to the Secretary 

16 before July 1, 2022, the income-based re17 payment plan under section 493C(f). 

18 ‘‘(C) NONCOVERED LOAN.—The term 

19 ‘noncovered loan’ means a loan made, insured, 

20 or guaranteed under this title that is not a cov21 ered loan.’’. 

22 (b) CHANGING PLANS.—Section 493C(b)(8) of the 

23 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098e(b)(8)) 

24 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(8) a borrower who is repaying a loan made, 

2 insured, or guaranteed under part B or D pursuant 

3 to income-based repayment may elect, at any time, 

4 to terminate repayment pursuant to income-based 

5 repayment and repay such loan under any repay6 ment plan for which the loan is eligible in accord7 ance with the requirements of part B or part D, re8 spectively; and’’. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.— 

10 (1) AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT.—The amend11 ments made by subsection (a) shall— 

12 (A) take effect as soon as the Secretary of 

13 Education determines practicable, but not later 

14 than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

15 Act; and 

16 (B) apply to all borrowers of covered loans 

17 (as defined in section 455(d)(9) of the Higher 

18 Education Act of 1965, as added by subsection 

19 (a)). 

20 (2) CHANGING PLANS.—The amendment made 

21 by subsection (b) shall take effect on the date of en22 actment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 404. AUTOMATIC RECERTIFICATION FOR INCOME2 DRIVEN REPAYMENT PLANS. 

3 Section 455(e)(8)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 

4 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(e)(8)(A)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after clause (ii); 

6 (2) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the 

7 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(iv) in the case of a borrower for 

10 whom adjusted gross income is unavail11 able— 

12 ‘‘(I) if the borrower has selected 

13 to repay the covered loans of such 

14 borrower pursuant to an income-con15 tingent repayment plan that defines 

16 discretionary income in such a man17 ner that an individual not required 

18 under section 6012(a)(1) of the Inter19 nal Revenue Code of 1986 to file a re20 turn with respect to income taxes im21 posed by subtitle A of such Code may 

22 have a calculated monthly payment 

23 greater than $0, the borrower will be 

24 required to provide the Secretary with 

25 other documentation of income satis26 factory to the Secretary, which docuVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:56 Jan 24, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6424.IH H6424

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1 mentation the Secretary may use to 

2 determine an appropriate repayment 

3 schedule; or 

4 ‘‘(II) if the borrower has selected 

5 to repay such loans pursuant to an in6 come-contingent repayment that is not 

7 described in subclause (I), the bor8 rower will not be required to provide 

9 the Secretary with such other docu10 mentation of income, and the bor11 rower will have a calculated monthly 

12 payment of $0.’’. 

Æ 


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