I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4119 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to remove adverse information 
for certain defaulted or delinquent private education loan borrowers who 
demonstrate a history of loan repayment, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 24, 2021 
Ms. PRESSLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to remove adverse 
information for certain defaulted or delinquent private 
education loan borrowers who demonstrate a history of 
loan repayment, 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 ‘‘Student Borrower 
Credit Improvement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The October 2014 report of the Bureau of 
Consumer Financial Protection titled ‘‘Annual Re-
port of the CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman’’ 
noted many private education loan borrowers, who 
sought to negotiate a modified repayment plan when 
they were experiencing a period of financial distress, 
were unable to get assistance from their loan hold-
ers, which often resulting in them defaulting on 
their loans. This pattern resembles the difficulty 
that a significant number of mortgage loan bor-
rowers experienced when they sought to take respon-
sible steps to work with their mortgage loan servicer 
to avoid foreclosure during the Great Recession. 
(2) Although private student loan holders may 
allow a borrower to postpone payments while en-
rolled in school full-time, many limit this option to 
a certain time period, usually 48 to 66 months. This 
limited time period may not be sufficient for those 
who need additional time to obtain their degree or 
who want to continue their education by pursing a 
graduate or professional degree. The Bureau of Con-
sumer Financial Protection found that borrowers 
who were unable to make payments often defaulted 
or had their accounts sent to collections before they 
were even able to graduate. 
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SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF ADVERSE INFORMATION FOR CER-
TAIN 
PRIVATE 
EDUCATION 
LOAN 
BOR-
ROWERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
section 605B the following new section: 
‘‘§ 605C. Credit rehabilitation for distressed private 
education loan borrowers. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting agency 
may not furnish any consumer report containing any ad-
verse item of information relating to a delinquent or de-
faulted private education loan of a borrower if the bor-
rower has rehabilitated the borrower’s credit with respect 
to such loan by making 9 on-time monthly payments (in 
accordance with the terms and conditions of the bor-
rower’s original loan agreement or any other repayment 
agreement that antedates the original agreement) during 
a period of 10 consecutive months on such loan after the 
date on which the delinquency or default occurred. 
‘‘(b) INTERRUPTION
OF 10–MONTH PERIOD
FOR 
CERTAIN CONSUMERS.— 
‘‘(1) PERMISSIBLE INTERRUPTION OF THE 10- 
MONTH PERIOD.—A borrower may stop making con-
secutive monthly payments and be granted a grace 
period after which the 10-month period described in 
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subsection (a) shall resume. Such grace period shall 
be provided under the following circumstances: 
‘‘(A) With respect to a borrower who is a 
member of the Armed Forces entitled to incen-
tive pay for the performance of hazardous duty 
under section 301 of title 37, United States 
Code, hazardous duty pay under section 351 of 
such title, or other assignment or special duty 
pay under section 352 of such title, the grace 
period shall begin on the date on which the bor-
rower begins such assignment or duty and end 
on the date that is 6 months after the comple-
tion of such assignment or duty. 
‘‘(B) With respect to a borrower who re-
sides in an area affected by a major disaster or 
emergency declared under the Robert T. Staf-
ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act, the grace period shall begin on the date on 
which the major disaster or emergency was de-
clared and end on the date that is 3 months 
after such date. 
‘‘(2) OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Bureau may 
allow a borrower demonstrating hardship to 
stop making consecutive monthly payments and 
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be granted a grace period after which the 10- 
month period described in subsection (a) shall 
resume. 
‘‘(B) BORROWER DEMONSTRATING HARD-
SHIP DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term 
‘borrower demonstrating hardship’ means a 
borrower or a class of borrowers who, as deter-
mined by the Bureau, is facing or has experi-
enced unusual extenuating life circumstances or 
events that result in severe financial or personal 
barriers such that the borrower or class of bor-
rowers does not have the capacity to comply 
with the requirements of subsection (a). 
‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.—The Bureau shall establish pro-
cedures to implement the credit rehabilitation described 
in this section, including— 
‘‘(1) the manner, content, and form for request-
ing credit rehabilitation; 
‘‘(2) the method for validating that the bor-
rower is satisfying the requirements of subsection 
(a); 
‘‘(3) the manner, content, and form for noti-
fying the private educational loan holder of— 
‘‘(A) the borrower’s participation in credit 
rehabilitation under subsection (a); 
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‘‘(B) the requirements described in sub-
section (d); and 
‘‘(C) the restrictions described in sub-
section (f); 
‘‘(4) the manner, content, and form for noti-
fying a consumer reporting agency of— 
‘‘(A) the borrower’s participation in credit 
rehabilitation under subsection (a); and 
‘‘(B) the requirements described in sub-
section (d); 
‘‘(5) the method for verifying whether a bor-
rower qualifies for the grace period described in sub-
section (b); and 
‘‘(6) the manner, content, and form of notifying 
a consumer reporting agency and private educational 
loan holder that a borrower was granted a grace pe-
riod. 
‘‘(d) STANDARDIZED REPORTING CODES.—A con-
sumer reporting agency shall develop standardized report-
ing codes for use by any private educational loan holder 
to identify and report a borrower’s status of making and 
completing 9 on-time monthly payments during a period 
of 10 consecutive months on a delinquent or defaulted pri-
vate education loan, including codes specifying the grace 
period described in subsection (b) and any agreement to 
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modify monthly payments. Such codes shall not appear on 
any report provided to a third party, and shall be removed 
from the consumer’s credit report upon the consumer’s 
completion of the rehabilitation period under this section. 
‘‘(e) ELIMINATION OF BARRIERS TO CREDIT REHA-
BILITATION.—A consumer report in which a private edu-
cational loan holder furnishes the standardized reporting 
codes described in subsection (d) to a consumer reporting 
agency, or in which a consumer reporting agency includes 
such codes, shall be deemed to comply with the require-
ments for accuracy and completeness under sections 
623(a)(1) and 630. 
‘‘(f) PROHIBITION
ON CIVIL ACTIONS
FOR CON-
SUMERS PURSUING REHABILITATION.—A private edu-
cational loan holder may not commence or proceed with 
any civil action against a borrower with respect to a delin-
quent or defaulted loan during the period of rehabilitation 
if the private educational loan holder has been notified, 
in accordance with the procedures established by the Bu-
reau pursuant to subsection (c)— 
‘‘(1) of such borrower’s intent to participate in 
rehabilitation; 
‘‘(2) that such borrower has satisfied the re-
quirements under subsection (a); or 
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‘‘(3) that such borrower was granted a grace 
period. 
‘‘(g) IMPACT
ON STATUTE
OF LIMITATIONS
FOR 
PRIOR DEBT.—Payments by a borrower on a private edu-
cation loan that are made during and after a period of 
rehabilitation under this section shall have no effect on 
the statute of limitations with respect to payments that 
were due on such private education loan before the begin-
ning of the period of rehabilitation. 
‘‘(h) PAYMENT PLANS.—If a private educational loan 
holder enters into a payment plan with a borrower on a 
private education loan during a period of rehabilitation, 
such payment plan shall be reasonable and affordable, as 
determined by the Bureau. 
‘‘(i) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
‘‘(1) APPLICATION TO SUBSEQUENT DEFAULT 
OR DELINQUENCY.—A borrower who satisfies the re-
quirements under subsection (a) shall be eligible for 
additional credit rehabilitation described in sub-
section (a) with respect to any subsequent default or 
delinquency of the borrower on the rehabilitated pri-
vate education loan. 
‘‘(2) INTERRUPTION
OF
CONSECUTIVE
PAY-
MENT PERIOD REQUIREMENT.—The grace period de-
scribed in subsection (b)(1)(A) shall not apply if any 
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regulation promulgated under section 987 of title 
10, United States Code (commonly known as the 
Military Lending Act), or the Servicemembers Civil 
Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 501 et seq.) allows for 
a grace period or other interruption of the 10-month 
period described in subsection (a) and such grace pe-
riod or other interruption is longer than the period 
described in subsection (b)(1)(A) or otherwise pro-
vides greater protection or benefit to the borrower 
who is a member of the Armed Forces.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 623(a)(1) 
of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s- 
2(a)(1)) is amended by striking subparagraph (E). 
(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 
of contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 605B the 
following new item: 
‘‘605C. Credit rehabilitation for distressed private education loan borrowers.’’. 
SEC. 4. PRIVATE EDUCATION LOAN DEFINITIONS. 
Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(bb) PRIVATE EDUCATION LOAN DEFINITIONS.— 
The terms ‘private education loan’ and ‘private edu-
cational lender’ have the meanings given such terms, re-
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