I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5962 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for the automatic 
recertification of income for income-driven repayment plans, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 8, 2016 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself and Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 
for the automatic recertification of income for income- 
driven repayment plans, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlining Income- 
driven, Manageable Payments on Loans for Education 
Act’’ or the ‘‘SIMPLE Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR BORROWERS 
WHO ARE DELINQUENT ON LOANS. 
(a) AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) 
NOTIFICATION
PROCEDURES.—Section 
455(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1087e(d)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(6) NOTIFICATION
PROCEDURES
FOR
BOR-
ROWERS WHO ARE DELINQUENT ON LOANS.— 
‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN INCOME IN-
FORMATION.—The Secretary may obtain such 
information as is reasonably necessary regard-
ing the income and family size of a borrower 
described in this paragraph (and the borrower’s 
spouse, if applicable). Returns and return infor-
mation (as defined in section 6103 of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986) may be obtained 
under this subparagraph only to the extent au-
thorized by section 6103(l)(13) of such Code, 
except that nothing in this subparagraph or 
such Code shall be construed to authorize the 
Secretary to obtain such returns and return in-
formation for a borrower who is not at least 60 
days delinquent on a loan made under this part. 
The Secretary shall establish procedures as are 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
necessary to effectively implement this para-
graph. 
‘‘(B) BORROWER NOTIFICATION.—With re-
spect to each borrower of a loan made under 
this part who is 60 days delinquent on such 
loan, the Secretary shall, at a minimum and as 
soon as practicable after such 60-day delin-
quency, provide to the borrower the following: 
‘‘(i) Notification that the borrower is 
at least 60 days delinquent on the loan, in-
cluding a description of the loan. 
‘‘(ii) A description of the repayment 
plans under which the borrower is eligible 
to repay the loan. 
‘‘(iii) Clear and simple instructions on 
how to select the repayment plans de-
scribed in clause (ii) for the loan. 
‘‘(iv) If the income information of the 
borrower is available to the Secretary 
under subparagraph (A), based on such in-
come information, the amount of the 
monthly payments under each such repay-
ment plan for the loan. 
‘‘(v) An explanation that in the case 
of a borrower for whom adjusted gross in-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
come is unavailable or does not reasonably 
reflect the borrower’s current income— 
‘‘(I) if the borrower selects to 
repay such loan pursuant to an in-
come-driven repayment plan that de-
fines discretionary income in such a 
manner that an individual not re-
quired under section 6012(a)(1) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to file 
a return with respect to income taxes 
imposed by subtitle A of such Code 
may have a calculated monthly pay-
ment greater than $0, the borrower 
will be required to provide the Sec-
retary with other documentation of in-
come satisfactory to the Secretary, 
which documentation the Secretary 
may use to determine an appropriate 
repayment schedule; or 
‘‘(II) if the borrower selects to 
repay such loan pursuant to an in-
come-driven repayment plan that is 
not described in subclause (I), the 
borrower will not be required to pro-
vide the Secretary with such other 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
documentation of income, and the bor-
rower will have a calculated monthly 
payment of $0. 
‘‘(vi) An explanation that the Sec-
retary shall take the actions under sub-
paragraph (D) with respect to such bor-
rower if the borrower is 120 days delin-
quent on the loan and has not selected a 
new repayment plan for the loan. 
‘‘(vii) Instructions on updating the in-
formation of the borrower obtained under 
subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(C) INITIAL SELECTION OF PLAN.—With 
respect to each borrower of a loan made under 
this part who does not select a new repayment 
plan for the loan in accordance with the notice 
received under subparagraph (B), and who is 
120 days delinquent on the loan, the Secretary, 
as soon as practicable after such 120-day delin-
quency, shall— 
‘‘(i) in a case in which the loan is eli-
gible for an income-driven repayment 
plan— 
‘‘(I) provide the borrower with 
the income-driven repayment plan for 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
which the loan is eligible and which 
requires the lowest monthly payment 
amount for such loan, compared to 
the other such plans for which the 
loan is eligible, or if the loan is eligi-
ble for more than one income-driven 
repayment plan that has the same 
such lowest monthly payment amount, 
provide the borrower with such in-
come-driven repayment plan that has 
the most favorable terms for the bor-
rower; 
‘‘(II) if the plan described in sub-
clause (I) is not the income-driven 
plan that would have the lowest 
monthly payment amount for the loan 
if the loan were eligible for such plan, 
notify the borrower of the actions, if 
any, the borrower may take for such 
loan to become eligible for such in-
come-driven repayment plan; and 
‘‘(III) authorize the borrower to 
change the Secretary’s selection of a 
plan under this clause to any plan de-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
(2) DEFINITION
OF
INCOME-DRIVEN
REPAY-
MENT PLAN.—Section 455(d) of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)) is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term 
‘income-driven repayment plan’ means a plan de-
scribed in subparagraph (D) or (E) of paragraph 
(1).’’. 
(3) CHANGING
PLANS.—Section 493C of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098e) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) CHANGING PLANS.—A borrower changing from 
income-based repayment under this section to a different 
repayment plan shall not be required to pay the one 
monthly payment under the standard repayment plan de-
scribed in section 682.215(d)(3) or 685.221(d)(2) of title 
34, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations) 
or any other amount.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.— 
(1) AUTOMATIC
ENROLLMENT.—The amend-
ments made by paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection 
(a) shall— 
(A) take effect as soon as practicable after 
the Secretary of Education finalizes the proce-
dures under section 4 of this Act, but not later 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
such Act; and 
(B) apply with respect to any loan made 
under part D of title IV of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) 
to a new borrower (defined in section 103 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1003)) on or after the date on which such 
amendments take effect. 
(2) CHANGING PLANS.—The amendment made 
by subsection (a)(3) shall take effect on the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 3. AUTOMATIC RECERTIFICATION OF INCOME. 
(a) 
INCOME-CONTINGENT
REPAYMENT.—Section 
455(e) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087e(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) AUTOMATIC RECERTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning as soon as 
practicable after the Secretary finalizes the pro-
cedures under section 4 of the Streamlining In-
come-driven, Manageable Payments on Loans 
for Education Act, but not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of such Act, the 
Secretary shall establish and implement proce-
dures for the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(i) With respect to any borrower 
who, on or after the date on which the Sec-
retary establishes procedures for this sub-
paragraph, selects (or for whom the Sec-
retary selects) income contingent repay-
ment for repayment of a loan made under 
this part— 
‘‘(I) obtain (for each year of such 
repayment and without further action 
by the borrower) such information as 
is reasonably necessary regarding the 
income of such borrower (and the bor-
rower’s spouse, if applicable), for the 
purpose of determining the repayment 
obligation of the borrower for such 
year, including information with re-
spect to the borrower’s family size in 
accordance with the procedures under 
section 4 of the Streamlining Income- 
driven, 
Manageable 
Payments 
on 
Loans for Education Act; 
‘‘(II) allow the borrower to opt- 
out, at anytime, of the Secretary 
being able to obtain information under 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
subclause (I) without further action 
by the borrower; and 
‘‘(III) provide the borrower with 
an opportunity to update the informa-
tion obtained under subclause (I) be-
fore the determination of the annual 
repayment obligation of the borrower; 
and 
‘‘(IV) in the case of a borrower 
for whom adjusted gross income is un-
available or does not reasonably re-
flect the borrower’s current income— 
‘‘(aa) if the borrower selects 
to repay such loan pursuant to 
an income-driven repayment plan 
that defines discretionary income 
in such a manner that an indi-
vidual not required under section 
6012(a)(1) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 to file a re-
turn with respect to income taxes 
imposed by subtitle A of such 
Code may have a calculated 
monthly payment greater than 
$0, such borrower will be re-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
quired to provide the Secretary 
with other documentation of in-
come satisfactory to the Sec-
retary, which documentation the 
Secretary may use to determine 
an appropriate repayment sched-
ule; or 
‘‘(bb) if the borrower selects 
to repay such loan pursuant to 
an income-driven repayment plan 
that is not described in item (aa), 
the borrower will not be required 
to provide the Secretary with 
such other documentation of in-
come, and the borrower will have 
a calculated monthly payment of 
$0. 
‘‘(ii) With respect to any borrower 
who selects income contingent repayment 
for repayment of a loan made under this 
part before the date on which the Sec-
retary establishes procedures for this sub-
paragraph, the Secretary— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(I) shall provide such borrower 
with the ability to opt into the proce-
dures described in clause (i); and 
‘‘(II) until the borrower has 
opted into such procedures, shall not 
be able to obtain information under 
clause (i)(I) without further action by 
the borrower. 
‘‘(B) RETURNS
AND
RETURN
INFORMA-
TION.—Returns and return information (as de-
fined in section 6103 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986) may be obtained under subpara-
graph (A)(i)(I) only to the extent authorized by 
section 6103(l)(13) of such Code. 
‘‘(C) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The proce-
dures established by the Secretary under this 
paragraph shall be consistent with the require-
ments of paragraphs (1) through (7), except as 
otherwise provided in this paragraph. 
‘‘(9) OUTREACH.—Beginning as soon as prac-
ticable after the Secretary finalizes the procedures 
under section 4 of the Streamlining Income-driven, 
Manageable Payments on Loans for Education Act, 
but not later than 2 years after the date of enact-
ment of such Act, the Secretary shall— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(A) inform borrowers repaying a loan 
made under this part pursuant to an income- 
driven repayment plan (defined in section 
455(d)(7)) of the benefits of automatic recertifi-
cation procedures under paragraph (8)(A)(i); 
and 
‘‘(B) encourage such borrowers to opt into 
such automatic recertification.’’. 
(b) INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT.—Section 493C(c) 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098e(c)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Beginning 
as soon as practicable after the Secretary finalizes the pro-
cedures under section 4 of the Streamlining Income-driv-
en, Manageable Payments on Loans for Education Act, 
but not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
of such Act, the Secretary shall carry out the procedures 
under 455(e)(8) with respect to income-based repayment 
under this section.’’. 
SEC. 4. STUDY AND PROCEDURES ON DETERMINING FAM-
ILY SIZE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Edu-
cation shall— 
(1) jointly with the Secretary of the Treasury, 
conduct a study, which meets the specifications de-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
scribed in subsection (b), on the effect of using data 
from the Internal Revenue Service on the deduction 
for personal exemptions provided by section 151 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for a proxy for 
family size in an income-driven repayment plan, and 
publish such study in the Federal Register; 
(2) use the results of the study conducted under 
paragraph (1) to develop procedures for determining 
family size for the automatic recertification of in-
come for an income-driven repayment plan in a man-
ner that minimizes burdens and unintended harm to 
borrowers; 
(3) publish the procedures developed under 
paragraph (2) in the Federal Register; and 
(4) after a notice and comment period on such 
procedures, use such comments to finalize the proce-
dures. 
(b) SPECIFICATIONS.—The study conducted under 
subsection (a)(1) shall— 
(1) determine how closely such personal exemp-
tions match the family size that borrowers report on 
their income-driven repayment plan request form; 
(2) compare the borrower’s actual monthly pay-
ment amount with the monthly payment amount 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
borrowers would have using family size information 
derived from tax returns; and 
(3) use data from more than one year, where 
possible, to analyze how much family size changes 
over time. 
(c) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘income-driven repay-
ment plan’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
455(d)(7) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 
amended by this Act. 
SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE OF TAX RETURN INFORMATION TO 
CARRY OUT INCOME CONTINGENT REPAY-
MENT OF STUDENT LOANS. 
(a) REPEAL OF TERMINATION.—Section 6103(l)(13) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik-
ing subparagraph (D). 
(b) DISCLOSURE TO CONTRACTORS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(l)(13) of such 
Code, as amended by subsection (a), is amended by 
redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph 
(D) and by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE TO CERTAIN CONTRAC-
TORS.—Officers and employees of the Depart-
ment of Education may disclose the information 
described in subparagraph (A) to contractors of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
the Department of Education to the extent nec-
essary for the purposes described in subpara-
graph (B).’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) Section 6103(a)(3) of such Code is 
amended by inserting ‘‘(13),’’ after ‘‘(12),’’. 
(B) Section 6103(p)(4) of such Code is 
amended by inserting ‘‘(13),’’ after ‘‘(l)(10),’’ 
each place it occurs. 
(c) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION REGARDING PER-
SONAL EXEMPTIONS.—Section 6103(l)(13)(A) of such 
Code is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause 
(ii), by striking the period at the end of clause (iii) and 
inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by inserting after clause (iii) the 
following: 
‘‘(iv) the personal exemptions of such 
taxpayer provided by section 151.’’. 
(d) USE OF DISCLOSED INFORMATION FOR ENROLL-
MENT IN INCOME-DRIVEN REPAYMENT PLAN.—Section 
6103(l)(13)(B) of such Code is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘to the extent necessary in, es-
tablishing’’ and inserting ‘‘to the extent necessary 
in— 
‘‘(i) establishing’’, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
(2) by striking the period at the end and insert-
ing ‘‘, and’’, and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(ii) enrolling borrowers who are at 
least 120 days delinquent on a loan in an 
income-driven repayment plan (as defined 
in section 455(d)(7) of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965).’’. 
(e) USE OF DISCLOSED INFORMATION FOR ANNUAL 
RECERTIFICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(l)(13)(B)(i) of 
such Code, as amended by subsection (d), is amend-
ed by inserting ‘‘(including annual recertification)’’ 
after ‘‘applicable student loan’’. 
(2) LOANS
TO
WHICH
ANNUAL
RECERTIFI-
CATION
APPLIES.—Section 
6103(l)(13)(D), 
as 
amended by subsections (a) and (b), is amended by 
striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (i), by striking 
the period at the end of clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘, 
and’’, and by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(iii) with respect to any annual re-
certification referred to in subparagraph 
(B)(i), any loan made under part B or D 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965.’’. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to disclosures made after the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:42 Sep 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H5962.IH
H5962
emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS