I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4497 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make improvements to 
the Federal Student Aid Office, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 
Ms. SHALALA (for herself, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. 
MOORE, and Ms. HAALAND) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make im-
provements to the Federal Student Aid Office, 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 ‘‘Protecting Student Aid 
Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘PSA Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE FEDERAL STUDENT AID 
OFFICE. 
Section 141 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1018) is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 
(k); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(i) ENFORCEMENT UNIT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the PSA Act of 2019, 
the Secretary shall establish within the PBO an en-
forcement unit (referred to in this section as the 
‘Unit’) to review and investigate violations of this 
Act and recommend enforcement actions in accord-
ance with paragraph (3). 
‘‘(2) CHIEF ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.— 
‘‘(A) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall 
appoint an official to be known as the ‘Chief 
Enforcement Officer’ who shall serve as the 
head of the Unit. The Secretary shall appoint 
an individual to serve as the Chief Enforcement 
Officer solely on the basis of such individual’s 
integrity and expertise in law and investigations 
and without regard to such individual’s political 
affiliation. 
‘‘(B) AUTHORITY.—The Chief Enforce-
ment Officer shall report directly to the Sec-
retary without being required to report through 
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any other official of the Department of Edu-
cation. 
‘‘(C) TERM.—The Chief Enforcement Offi-
cer shall be appointed for a term of 6 years and 
may be reappointed for additional terms of 6 
years at the discretion of the Secretary. 
‘‘(D) REMOVAL.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Chief En-
forcement Officer may not be removed dur-
ing the Officer’s term except for cause. 
‘‘(ii) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—If the 
Secretary removes the Chief Enforcement 
Officer before the expiration of the Offi-
cer’s term, the Secretary shall submit to 
the authorizing committees a report that 
explains the reasons for such removal. The 
report shall be submitted to the author-
izing committees not later than 30 days 
after the date on which the removal takes 
effect. 
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Chief Enforcement Officer 
shall have the following duties: 
‘‘(A) Receive, process, and analyze allega-
tions that a covered entity has violated Federal 
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law or has engaged in unfair, deceptive, or abu-
sive practices. 
‘‘(B) Review and investigate such allega-
tions. 
‘‘(C) After reviewing and investigating an 
allegation under subparagraph (B), in consulta-
tion with the Chief Operating Officer— 
‘‘(i) if the covered entity subject to 
such allegation is an entity described in 
clause (i) or (iii) of paragraph (8)(A), 
make recommendations with respect to 
such covered entity, including— 
‘‘(I) whether such covered entity 
should be limited, suspended, or ter-
minated from participation in one or 
more programs under title IV; 
‘‘(II) whether such covered entity 
should be subject to an emergency ac-
tion under section 487(c)(1)(G); or 
‘‘(III) a combination of any of 
the actions described in clauses (II) 
and (III); 
‘‘(ii) if the covered entity subject to 
such allegation is an entity described in 
clause (ii) of paragraph (8)(A), make rec-
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ommendations with respect to such covered 
entity, including whether such covered en-
tity should be limited, suspended, or termi-
nated from administering or providing 
services with respect to one or more pro-
grams under title IV; and 
‘‘(iii) provide the Secretary with such 
recommendations. 
‘‘(4) SECRETARIAL
REVIEW
AND
ACTION.— 
After receiving notice of a determination of the Chief 
Enforcement Officer under paragraph (4)(C), the 
Secretary shall decide whether or not to pursue en-
forcement action against the entity concerned. In a 
case in which the Chief Enforcement Officer rec-
ommends enforcement action against an entity, but 
the Secretary decides not to pursue such enforce-
ment action, the Secretary shall notify the Chief En-
forcement Officer, in writing, of the rationale for 
such decision. 
‘‘(5) 
COORDINATION
AND
STAFFING.—The 
Chief Enforcement Officer shall— 
‘‘(A) coordinate with relevant Federal and 
State agencies and oversight bodies; and 
‘‘(B) hire staff with the expertise necessary 
to conduct investigations, respond to allegations 
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against covered entities, and enforce compliance 
with laws governing Federal student financial 
assistance programs under title IV. 
‘‘(6) INFORMATION SHARING.—The Chief En-
forcement Officer shall develop and implement a 
process for sharing relevant information about alle-
gations against covered entities with— 
‘‘(A) the Student Loan Ombudsman ap-
pointed under subsection (f); 
‘‘(B) personnel of the Department respon-
sible for processing borrower defense claims 
submitted under section 455(h); 
‘‘(C) other relevant Federal agencies; 
‘‘(D) States, including State law enforce-
ment and regulatory agencies; and 
‘‘(E) recognized accrediting agencies or as-
sociations. 
‘‘(7) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—On an annual 
basis, the Chief Enforcement Officer shall submit to 
the authorizing committees a report that includes— 
‘‘(A) the number of allegations about cov-
ered entities received by the Unit in the year 
covered by the report; 
‘‘(B) the number of such allegations inves-
tigated by the Unit; 
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‘‘(C) the number of such allegations that 
were referred to the Secretary under paragraph 
(4)(C) and a summary of any action taken by 
the Secretary with respect to such allegations; 
‘‘(D) the number of such allegations that 
were referred to other Federal agencies and the 
names of the agencies to which the allegations 
were referred; and 
‘‘(E) the number of such allegations that 
remain under review or investigation as of the 
date of the report. 
‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) COVERED ENTITY DEFINED.—In this 
subsection, the term ‘covered entity’ means— 
‘‘(i) an institution of higher education 
(as defined in section 102) that partici-
pates in the Federal student financial as-
sistance programs authorized under title 
IV; 
‘‘(ii) a contractor that contracts with 
the PBO to provide services relating to 
such programs, or a subcontractor of such 
contractor; or 
‘‘(iii) a third party servicer. 
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‘‘(B) THIRD PARTY SERVICER.—The term 
‘third party servicer’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 481(c).’’. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF THIRD PARTY SERVICER. 
Section 481(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1088(c)) is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
striking ‘‘contract’’ and inserting ‘‘contract or other 
agreement, including a revenue sharing arrange-
ment,’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, through ei-
ther manual or automated processing, any aspect of 
such institution’s student assistance programs’’ and 
inserting ‘‘services on behalf of the institution re-
ceiving student assistance funds’’. 
Æ 
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