II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 895 

To allow members of the Armed Forces to defer principal on Federal student 

loans for a certain period in connection with receipt of orders for mobilization for war or national emergency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 27 (legislative day, MARCH 26), 2015 

Mr. TESTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To allow members of the Armed Forces to defer principal 

on Federal student loans for a certain period in connection with receipt of orders for mobilization for war or 

national emergency, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Servicemember and 

5 Veteran Protection Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFERRAL OF STUDENTS LOANS FOR CERTAIN PE2 RIOD IN CONNECTION WITH RECEIPT OF OR3 DERS FOR MOBILIZATION FOR WAR OR NA4 TIONAL EMERGENCY. 

5 (a) FEDERAL FAMILY EDUCATION LOANS.—Section 

6 428(b)(1)(M) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 1078(b)(1)(M)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by strik9 ing ‘‘, during any period’’; 

10 (2) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘during which’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘during any period during which’’; 

12 (3) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘during which’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘during any period during which’’; 

14 (4) in clause (iii)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘during which’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘during any period during which’’; and 

17 (B) in the matter following subclause (II), 

18 by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 

19 (5) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (vi); 

20 (6) by inserting after clause (iii) the following: 

21 ‘‘(iv) in the case of any borrower who 

22 has received a call or order to duty de23 scribed in subclause (I) or (II) of clause 

24 (iii), during the shorter of— 

25 ‘‘(I) the period beginning on the 

26 date such call or order to duty is reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Apr 07, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S895.IS S895

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1 ceived by the borrower and ending on 

2 the first day of the service described 

3 in subclause (I) or (II) of clause (iii); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) the 180-day period pre6 ceding the first day of such service; 

7 ‘‘(v) notwithstanding clause (iv)— 

8 ‘‘(I) in the case of any borrower 

9 described in such clause whose call or 

10 order to duty is cancelled before the 

11 first day of the service described in 

12 subclause (I) or (II) of clause (iii) be13 cause of a personal injury in connec14 tion with training to prepare for such 

15 service, during the period described in 

16 clause (iv) and during an additional 

17 period equal to the duration of such 

18 service, as specified by or otherwise 

19 determined in the original call or 

20 order to duty; and 

21 ‘‘(II) in the case of any borrower 

22 whose call or order to duty is can23 celled before the first day of such 

24 service for a reason other than an in25 jury described in subclause (I), during 


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1 the period beginning on the date the 

2 call or order to duty is received by the 

3 borrower and ending on the date that 

4 is 14 days after such call or order to 

5 duty is cancelled; and’’; and 

6 (7) in clause (vi) (as redesignated by paragraph 

7 (5)), by striking ‘‘not in excess’’ and inserting ‘‘dur8 ing any period not in excess’’. 

9 (b) DIRECT LOANS.—Section 455(f)(2) of the Higher 

10 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)(2)) is amend11 ed— 

12 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

13 by striking ‘‘during any period’’; 

14 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘during 

15 which’’ and inserting ‘‘during any period during 

16 which’’; 

17 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘not in ex18 cess’’ and inserting ‘‘during any period not in ex19 cess’’; 

20 (4) in subparagraph (C)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘during which’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘during any period during which’’; and 

23 (B) in the matter following clause (ii), by 

24 striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 


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1 (5) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub2 paragraph (F); 

3 (6) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(D) in the case of any borrower who has 

6 received a call or order to duty described in 

7 clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (C), during 

8 the shorter of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the period beginning on the date 

10 such call or order to duty is received by 

11 the borrower and ending on the first day 

12 of the service described in clause (i) or (ii) 

13 of subparagraph (C); and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the 180-day period preceding the 

15 first day of such service; 

16 ‘‘(E) notwithstanding subparagraph (D)— 

17 ‘‘(i) in the case of any borrower de18 scribed in such subparagraph whose call or 

19 order to duty is cancelled before the first 

20 day of the service described in clause (i) or 

21 (ii) of subparagraph (C) because of a per22 sonal injury in connection with training to 

23 prepare for such service, during the period 

24 described in subparagraph (D) and during 

25 an additional period equal to the duration 


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1 of such service, as specified by or otherwise 

2 determined in the original call or order to 

3 duty; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any borrower 

5 whose call or order to duty is cancelled be6 fore the first day of such service for a rea7 son other than an injury described in 

8 clause (i), during the period beginning on 

9 the date the call or order to duty is re10 ceived by the borrower and ending on the 

11 date that is 14 days after such call or 

12 order to duty is cancelled; and’’; and 

13 (7) in subparagraph (F) (as redesignated by 

14 paragraph (5)), by striking ‘‘not in excess’’ and in15 serting ‘‘during any period not in excess’’. 

16 (c) PERKINS LOANS.—Section 464(c)(2)(A) of the 

17 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

18 1087dd(c)(2)(A)) is amended— 

19 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by strik20 ing ‘‘during any period’’; 

21 (2) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘during which’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘during any period during which’’; 

23 (3) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘not in excess’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘during any period not in excess’’; 


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1 (4) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘during which’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘during any period during which’’; 

3 (5) by redesignating clauses (iv) and (v) as 

4 clauses (vi) and (vii), respectively; 

5 (6) by inserting after clause (iii) the following: 

6 ‘‘(iv) in the case of any borrower who has 

7 received a call or order to duty described in 

8 subclause (I) or (II) of clause (iii), during the 

9 shorter of— 

10 ‘‘(I) the period beginning on the date 

11 such call or order to duty is received by 

12 the borrower and ending on the first day 

13 of the service described in subclause (I) or 

14 (II) of clause (iii); and 

15 ‘‘(II) the 180-day period preceding 

16 the first day of such service; 

17 ‘‘(v) notwithstanding clause (iv)— 

18 ‘‘(I) in the case of any borrower de19 scribed in such clause whose call or order 

20 to duty is cancelled before the first day of 

21 the service described in subclause (I) or 

22 (II) of clause (iii) because of a personal in23 jury in connection with training to prepare 

24 for such service, during the period de25 scribed in clause (iv) and during an addiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Apr 07, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S895.IS S895

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1 tional period equal to the duration of such 

2 service, as specified by or otherwise deter3 mined in the original call or order to duty; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) in the case of any borrower 

6 whose call or order to duty is cancelled be7 fore the first day of such service for a rea8 son other than an injury described in sub9 clause (I), during the period beginning on 

10 the date the call or order to duty is re11 ceived by the borrower and ending on the 

12 date that is 14 days after such call or 

13 order to duty is cancelled;’’; 

14 (7) in clause (vi) (as redesignated by paragraph 

15 (5)), by striking ‘‘not in excess’’ and inserting ‘‘dur16 ing any period not in excess’’; and 

17 (8) in clause (vii) (as redesignated by para18 graph (5)), by striking ‘‘during which’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘during any period during which’’. 

20 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the 

21 amendments made by this section shall be construed to 

22 authorize any refunding of any repayment of a loan. 

23 (e) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

24 section shall apply with respect to all loans made, insured, 


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1 or guaranteed under title IV of the Higher Education Act 

2 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.). 

3 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title IV of the 

4 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) 

5 is further amended— 

6 (1) in section 428B(d)(1)(A)(ii) (20 U.S.C. 

7 1078–2(d)(1)(A)(ii)), by striking 

8 ‘‘428(b)(1)(M)(i)(I)’’ and inserting ‘‘or clause (i)(I), 

9 (iv), or (v) of section 428(b)(1)(M)’’; and 

10 (2) in section 493D(a) (20 U.S.C. 1098f(a)), by 

11 striking ‘‘section 428(b)(1)(M)(iii), 455(f)(2)(C), or 

12 464(c)(2)(A)(iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (iii) or (iv) 

13 of section 428(b)(1)(M), subparagraph (C) or (D) of 

14 section 455(f)(2), or clause (iii) or (iv) of section 

15 464(c)(2)(A)’’. 

16 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF BASIS FOR ANNUAL ADJUST17 MENTS IN AMOUNTS OF EDUCATIONAL AS18 SISTANCE FOR MEMBERS OF THE SELECTED 

19 RESERVE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 16131(b)(2) of title 10, 

21 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘equal to’’ 

22 and all that follows and inserting the following: ‘‘not less 

23 than the percentage by which— 

24 ‘‘(A) the average cost of undergraduate tuition 

25 in the United States, as determined by the National 


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1 Center for Education Statistics, for the last aca2 demic year preceding the beginning of the fiscal year 

3 for which the increase is made, exceeds 

4 ‘‘(B) the average cost of undergraduate tuition 

5 in the United States, as so determined, for the aca6 demic year preceding the academic year described in 

7 subparagraph (A).’’. 

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

9 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2015, and 

10 shall apply to adjustments in amounts of educational as11 sistance for members of the Selected Reserve that are 

12 made for fiscal years beginning on or after that date. 

13 SEC. 4. CREDIT PROTECTIONS FOR SERVICEMEMBERS. 

14 (a) ACTIVE DUTY FREEZE ALERTS.—Section 605A 

15 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in the heading for such section, by striking 

18 ‘‘AND ACTIVE DUTY ALERTS’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

19 ACTIVE DUTY ALERTS, AND ACTIVE DUTY

20 FREEZE ALERTS’’; 

21 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h) 

22 as subsections (e) through (i), respectively; 

23 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(d) ACTIVE DUTY FREEZE ALERTS.—Upon the di2 rect request of an active duty military consumer, or an 

3 individual acting on behalf of or as a personal representa4 tive of an active duty military consumer, a consumer re5 porting agency described in section 603(p) that maintains 

6 a file on the active duty military consumer and has re7 ceived appropriate proof of the identity of the requester 

8 shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) include an active duty freeze alert in the 

10 file of that active duty military consumer, and also 

11 provide that alert along with any credit score gen12 erated in using that file, during a period of not less 

13 than 12 months, or such longer period as the Bu14 reau shall determine, by regulation, beginning on the 

15 date of the request, unless the active duty military 

16 consumer or such representative requests that such 

17 freeze alert be removed before the end of such pe18 riod, and the agency has received appropriate proof 

19 of the identity of the requester for such purpose; 

20 ‘‘(2) during the 2-year period beginning on the 

21 date of such request, exclude the active duty military 

22 consumer from any list of consumers prepared by 

23 the consumer reporting agency and provided to any 

24 third party to offer credit or insurance to the con25 sumer as part of a transaction that was not initiated 


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1 by the consumer, unless the consumer requests that 

2 such exclusion be rescinded before the end of such 

3 period; and 

4 ‘‘(3) refer the information regarding the active 

5 duty freeze alert to each of the other consumer re6 porting agencies described in section 603(p), in ac7 cordance with procedures developed under section 

8 621(f).’’; 

9 (4) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘extended, and active duty 

11 alerts’’ and inserting ‘‘extended, active duty, 

12 and active duty freeze alerts’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘extended, or active duty 

14 alerts’’ and inserting ‘‘extended, active duty, or 

15 active duty freeze alerts’’; 

16 (5) in subsection (f), as so redesignated— 

17 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

18 by striking ‘‘or active duty alert’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘active duty alert, or active duty freeze alert’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

21 and inserting a semicolon; 

22 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe23 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (D) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (d), 

2 in the case of a referral under subsection (d)(3).’’; 

3 (6) in subsection (g), as so redesignated, by 

4 striking ‘‘or active duty alert’’ and inserting ‘‘active 

5 duty alert, or active duty freeze alert’’; and 

6 (7) in subsection (i), as so redesignated, by 

7 adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR ACTIVE DUTY

9 FREEZE ALERTS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION.—Each active duty 

11 freeze alert under this section shall include in12 formation that notifies all prospective users of 

13 a consumer report on the consumer to which 

14 the freeze alert relates that the consumer does 

15 not authorize the establishment of any new 

16 credit plan or extension of credit, including any 

17 credit under an open-end credit plan (as defined 

18 in section 103(i)), in the name of the consumer, 

19 or issuance of an additional card on an existing 

20 credit account requested by a consumer, or any 

21 increase in credit limit on an existing credit ac22 count requested by a consumer. 

23 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON USERS.—No pro24 spective user of a consumer report that includes 

25 an active duty freeze alert in accordance with 


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1 this section may establish a new credit plan or 

2 extension of credit, including any credit under 

3 an open-end credit plan (as defined in section 

4 103(i)), in the name of the consumer, or issue 

5 an additional card on an existing credit account 

6 requested by a consumer, or grant any increase 

7 in credit limit on an existing credit account re8 quested by a consumer.’’. 

9 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Bureau of Consumer Finan10 cial Protection shall prescribe regulations to define what 

11 constitutes appropriate proof of identity for purposes of 

12 section 605A(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as 

13 amended by this Act. 

14 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 603(q)(2) of 

15 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(q)(2)) 

16 is amended— 

17 (1) in the heading for such paragraph, by strik18 ing ‘‘ACTIVE DUTY ALERT’’ and inserting ‘‘ACTIVE

19 DUTY ALERT; ACTIVE DUTY FREEZE ALERT’’; and 

20 (2) by inserting ‘‘and ‘active duty freeze alert’ ’’ 

21 before ‘‘mean’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORT ON EFFECT ON PRIVACY OF VETERANS BY 

2 USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS TO 

3 UNIQUELY IDENTIFY VETERANS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet6 erans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 

7 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af8 fairs of the House of Representatives a report on the effect 

9 on the privacy of veterans of the use of social security 

10 numbers to uniquely identify veterans. 

11 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection 

12 (a) shall include the following: 

13 (1) A description of such actions as the Sec14 retary may have taken to transition the Department 

15 of Veterans Affairs from the use of social security 

16 numbers to uniquely identify veterans to the use of 

17 alternative and safer unique identifiers. 

18 (2) A description of such actions as the Sec19 retary may have taken to integrate the use by the 

20 Department of Veterans Affairs of such alternative 

21 and safer unique identifiers with the usage of unique 

22 identifiers by the Department of Defense. 

23 (3) In a case in which the Secretary has not 

24 taken any actions described in paragraph (1) or (2), 

25 an explanation as to why such actions have not been 


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1 taken and a description of the actions the Secretary 

2 will take to protect the privacy of veterans. 

Æ 


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