S. 1153 

One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty 

An Act 

To explicitly make unauthorized access to Department of Education information 

technology systems and the misuse of identification devices issued by the Department of Education a criminal act. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Student Debt Relief Scams 

Act of 2019’’. 

SEC. 2. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 490 of the Higher Education Act 

of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1097) is amended by adding at the end the 

following: 

‘‘(e) ACCESS TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS FOR FRAUD, COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGE, OR PRIVATE

FINANCIAL GAIN.—Any person who knowingly uses an access device, 

as defined in section 1029(e)(1) of title 18, United States Code, 

issued to another person or obtained by fraud or false statement 

to access Department information technology systems for purposes 

of obtaining commercial advantage or private financial gain, or 

in furtherance of any criminal or tortious act in violation of the 

Constitution or laws of the United States or of any State, shall 

be fined not more than $20,000, imprisoned for not more than 

5 years, or both.’’. 

(b) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall issue guidance regarding 

the use of access devices in a manner that complies with this 

Act, and the amendments made by this Act. 

(c) EFFECTIVE DATE OF PENALTIES.—Notwithstanding section 

6, the penalties described in section 490(e) of the Higher Education 

Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1097), as added by subsection (a), shall 

take effect the day after the date on which the Secretary issues 

guidance regarding the use of access devices, as described in subsection (b). 

SEC. 3. LOAN COUNSELING. 

Section 485(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

1092(b)) is amended— 

(1) in clause (viii), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

and 

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(x) an explanation that— 
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‘‘(I) the borrower may be contacted during the 

repayment period by third-party student debt relief 

companies; 

‘‘(II) the borrower should use caution when 

dealing with those companies; and 

‘‘(III) the services that those companies typically provide are already offered to borrowers free 

of charge through the Department or the borrower’s servicer; and’’. 

SEC. 4. PREVENTION OF IMPROPER ACCESS. 

Section 485B of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

1092b) is amended— 

(1) by redesignating subsections (e) through (h) as subsections (f) through (i), respectively; 

(2) in subsection (d)— 

(A) in paragraph (5)(C), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

semicolon; 

(B) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking the period at the 

end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

(C) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(7) preventing access to the data system and any other 

system used to administer a program under this title by any 

person or entity for the purpose of assisting a student in managing loan repayment or applying for any repayment plan, 

consolidation loan, or other benefit authorized by this title, 

unless such access meets the requirements described in subsection (e).’’; 

(3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following: 

‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS FOR THIRD-PARTY DATA SYSTEM ACCESS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As provided in paragraph (7) of subsection (d), an authorized person or entity described in paragraph (2) may access the data system and any other system 

used to administer a program under this title if that access— 

‘‘(A) is in compliance with terms of service, information 

security standards, and a code of conduct which shall be 

established by the Secretary and published in the Federal 

Register; 

‘‘(B) is obtained using an access device (as defined 

in section 1029(e)(1) of title 18, United States Code) issued 

by the Secretary to the authorized person or entity; and 

‘‘(C) is obtained without using any access device (as 

defined in section 1029(e)(1) of title 18, United States Code) 

issued by the Secretary to a student, borrower, or parent. 

‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED PERSON OR ENTITY.—An authorized person 

or entity described in this paragraph means— 

‘‘(A) a guaranty agency, eligible lender, or eligible 

institution, or a third-party organization acting on behalf 

of a guaranty agency, eligible lender, or eligible institution, 

that is in compliance with applicable Federal law (including 

regulations and guidance); or 

‘‘(B) a licensed attorney representing a student, borrower, or parent, or another individual who works for a 

Federal, State, local, or Tribal government or agency, or 

for a nonprofit organization, providing financial or student 

loan repayment counseling to a student, borrower, or 

parent, if— 
S. 1153—3 

‘‘(i) that attorney or other individual has never 

engaged in unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices, as 

determined by the Secretary; 

‘‘(ii) that attorney or other individual does not 

work for an entity that has engaged in unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices (including an entity that is 

owned or operated by a person or entity that engaged 

in such practices), as determined by the Secretary; 

‘‘(iii) system access is provided only through a separate point of entry; and 

‘‘(iv) the attorney or other individual has consent 

from the relevant student, borrower, or parent to access 

the system.’’; and 

(4) in subsection (f)(1), as redesignated by paragraph (1)— 

(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘student and 

parent’’ and inserting ‘‘student, borrower, and parent’’; 

(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as 

subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; 

(C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following: 

‘‘(C) the reduction in improper data system access as 

described in subsection (d)(7);’’; and 

(D) by striking subparagraph (E), as redesignated by 

subparagraph (B), and inserting the following: 

‘‘(E) any protocols, codes of conduct, terms of service, 

or information security standards developed under paragraphs (6) or (7) of subsection (d) during the preceding 

fiscal year.’’. 

SEC. 5. AGENCY PREVENTION AND DETECTION. 

Section 141(b)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

1018(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(C) Taking action to prevent and address the improper 

use of access devices, as described in section 485B(d)(7), 

including by— 

‘‘(i) detecting common patterns of improper use 

of any system that processes payments on Federal 

Direct Loans or other Department information technology systems; 

‘‘(ii) maintaining a reporting system for contractors 

involved in the processing of payments on Federal 

Direct Loans in order to allow those contractors to 

alert the Secretary of potentially improper use of 

Department information technology systems; 

‘‘(iii) proactively contacting Federal student loan 

borrowers whose Federal student loan accounts demonstrate a likelihood of improper use in order to warn 

those borrowers of suspicious activity or potential fraud 

regarding their Federal student loan accounts; and 

‘‘(iv) providing clear and simple disclosures in 

communications with borrowers who are applying for 

or requesting assistance with Federal Direct Loan programs (including assistance or applications regarding 

income-driven repayment, forbearance, deferment, 

consolidation, rehabilitation, cancellation, and forgiveness) to ensure that borrowers are aware that the 

Department will never require borrowers to pay for 

such assistance or applications.’’. 
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SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take 

effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment 

of this Act. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.