to section 612(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681j(a)).’’; 
(2) in paragraph (1)(B)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘online or’’ before ‘‘in 
writing’’; and 
(B) by adding before the period at the end 
the following: ‘‘, except that in the case of an 
institution using the online counseling tool de-
scribed in subsection (n)(1)(A), the Secretary 
shall attempt to provide such information to the 
student in the manner described in subsection 
(n)(3)(C)’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (2)(C), by inserting ‘‘, such as 
the online counseling tool described in subsection 
(n)(1)(A),’’ after ‘‘electronic means’’. 
SEC. 4. ONLINE COUNSELING TOOLS. 
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1092) is further amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(n) ONLINE COUNSELING TOOLS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of the Empowering 
Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling 
Act, the Secretary shall maintain—
‘‘(A) an online counseling tool that pro-
vides the exit counseling required under sub-
section (b) and meets the applicable require-
ments of this subsection; and 
‘‘(B) an online counseling tool that pro-
vides the annual counseling required under sub-
section (l) and meets the applicable require-
ments of this subsection. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS OF TOOLS.—In maintain-
ing the online counseling tools described in para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that each such 
tool is— 
‘‘(A) consumer tested, in consultation with 
other relevant Federal agencies, to ensure that 
the tool is effective in helping individuals under-
stand their rights and obligations with respect 
to borrowing a loan made under part D or re-
ceiving a Federal Pell Grant; 
‘‘(B) understandable to students receiving 
Federal Pell Grants and borrowers of loans 
made under part D; and 
‘‘(C) freely available to all eligible institu-
tions. 
‘‘(3) RECORD OF COUNSELING COMPLETION.— 
The Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) use each online counseling tool de-
scribed in paragraph (1) to keep a record of 
which individuals have received counseling using 
the tool, and notify the applicable institutions 
of the individual’s completion of such coun-
seling; 
‘‘(B) in the case of a borrower who re-
ceives annual counseling for a loan made under 
part D using the tool described in paragraph 
(1)(B), notify the borrower by when the bor-
rower should accept, in a manner described in 
subsection (l)(6), the loan for which the bor-
rower has received such counseling; and 
‘‘(C) in the case of a borrower described in 
subsection (b)(1)(B) at an institution that uses 
the online counseling tool described in para-
graph (1)(A) of this subsection, the Secretary 
shall attempt to provide the information de-
scribed in subsection (b)(1)(A) to the borrower 
through such tool.’’. 
SEC. 5. LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF 
STUDENT LOAN COUNSELING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, 
acting through the Director of the Institute of Education
Sciences, shall begin conducting a rigorous, longitudinal 
study of the impact and effectiveness of the student loan 
counseling— 
(1) provided under subsections (b), (l), and (n) 
of section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1092), as amended by this Act; and 
(2) provided through such other means as the 
Secretary of Education may determine. 
(b) CONTENTS.— 
(1) BORROWER
INFORMATION.—The longitu-
dinal study carried out under subsection (a) shall in-
clude borrower information, in the aggregate and 
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, income, and 
status as an individual with a disability, on— 
(A) student persistence; 
(B) degree attainment; 
(C) program completion; 
(D) successful entry into student loan re-
payment; 
(E) cumulative borrowing levels; and 
(F) such other factors as the Secretary of 
Education may determine. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—The disaggregation under 
paragraph (1) shall not be required in a case in 
which the number of borrowers in a category is in-
sufficient to yield statistically reliable information or 
the results would reveal personally identifiable infor-
mation about an individual borrower. 
(c) INTERIM REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months 
after the commencement of the study under subsection 
(a), and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Education 
shall evaluate the progress of the study and report any 
short-term findings to the appropriate committees of Con-
gress. 
SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS. 
(a) USE OF EXISTING FUNDS.—Of the amount au-
thorized to be appropriated for maintaining the Depart-
ment of Education’s Financial Awareness Counseling 
Tool, $2,000,000 shall be available to carry out this Act 
and the amendments made by this Act. 
(b) NO
ADDITIONAL
FUNDS
AUTHORIZED.—No 
funds are authorized to be appropriated by this Act to 
carry out this Act or the amendments made by this Act. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 5, 
2018. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1635 
AN ACT 
To amend the loan counseling requirements under 
the Higher Education Act of 1965, and for other 
purposes.