I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3675 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to ensure that student loans 
are available at interest rates that do not exceed the interest rates 
at which the Federal Government provides loans to banks through the 
discount window operated by the Federal Reserve System, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 1, 2015 
Mr. DESAULNIER (for himself, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JUDY CHU 
of California, Mr. LOWENTHAL, and Ms. SLAUGHTER) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 
and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, 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 ensure 
that student loans are available at interest rates that 
do not exceed the interest rates at which the Federal 
Government provides loans to banks through the discount 
window operated by the Federal Reserve System, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:23 Oct 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3675.IH
H3675
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Borrower 
Fairness Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF STUDENT LOANS AT FEDERAL RE-
SERVE BANK DISCOUNT RATE. 
(a) AVAILABILITY
OF STUDENT LOANS.—Section 
455(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087e(b)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10) 
as paragraphs (10) and (11); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(9) SPECIAL RULE FOR NEW LOANS ON OR 
AFTER JULY 1, 2015.— 
‘‘(A) APPLICATION OF LOWER RATE OF IN-
TEREST.—Notwithstanding the preceding para-
graphs of this subsection, if the rate of interest 
determined under subparagraph (B) with re-
spect to any loan for which the first disburse-
ment is made on or after July 1, 2015, is less 
than the applicable rate of interest for the loan 
under paragraph (8), the applicable rate of in-
terest for the loan shall be the rate determined 
under subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) DETERMINATION
OF
RATE.—The 
rate of interest determined under this subpara-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:23 Oct 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3675.IH
H3675
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
graph is, with respect to a loan disbursed dur-
ing any 12-month period beginning on July 1 
and ending on June 30, the primary credit rate 
charged by the Federal Reserve banks on the 
preceding June 1 for purposes of sections 13 
and 13A of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 
342 et seq.). 
‘‘(C) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall 
determine the rate of interest under subpara-
graph (B) after consultation with the Secretary 
of the Treasury and shall publish such rate in 
the Federal Register as soon as practicable 
after the date of determination. 
‘‘(D) FIXED RATE.—The applicable rate of 
interest determined under this paragraph for a 
loan shall be fixed for the period of the loan.’’. 
(b) 
BORROWER
MODIFICATION
OF
INTEREST 
RATES.—Section 455(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
1087e(b)), as amended by subsection (a), is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(12) BORROWER MODIFICATION OF INTEREST 
RATE.— 
‘‘(A) 
MODIFICATION.—Notwithstanding 
the preceding paragraphs of this subsection, the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:23 Oct 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3675.IH
H3675
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
borrower of a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, a 
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, a 
Federal Direct PLUS Loan, or a Federal Di-
rect Consolidation Loan may elect to modify the 
interest rate of the loan to be equal to the in-
terest rate that would be applicable to such loan 
if such loan were first disbursed (or in the case 
of a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan, first 
applied for) on the date on which such borrower 
elects to modify the interest rate of such loan. 
‘‘(B) FIXED RATE.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (C), an interest rate elected 
under subparagraph (A) for a loan shall be 
fixed for the life of the loan. 
‘‘(C) CONTINUING
AUTHORITY
TO
MOD-
IFY.—A borrower may elect to modify the inter-
est rate of a loan in accordance with subpara-
graph (A) at any time during the life of the 
loan. 
‘‘(D) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
paragraph shall be construed to authorize any 
refunding of any repayment of a loan.’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:23 Oct 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3675.IH
H3675
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 3. INCOME TAX RATE OF PUBLICLY TRADED COR-
PORATIONS 
BASED 
ON 
COMPENSATION 
RATIO. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 11 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(e) TAX RATE OF PUBLICLY TRADED CORPORA-
TIONS BASED ON COMPENSATION RATIO.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a publicly 
traded 
corporation 
(as 
defined 
in 
section 
162(m)(2)), the amount of tax under subsection (b) 
shall be determined— 
‘‘(A) by adjusting the highest rate of tax 
applicable to the taxpayer by the percentage 
point adjustment specified in paragraph (2), 
and 
‘‘(B) by making proper adjustments to— 
‘‘(i) the dollar amount in clause (ii) of 
the second sentence of paragraph (1), and 
‘‘(ii) the dollar amount in clause (ii) 
of the third sentence of paragraph (1). 
‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT
OF
TAX
RATE.—For pur-
poses of paragraph (1), the percentage points speci-
fied in this paragraph shall be determined as follows: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:23 Oct 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3675.IH
H3675
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘If the compensation ratio is: 
The percentage point adjustment is: 
Not more than 25 ................................
¥1 percentage points 
More than 25 but not more than 50 ....
¥0.5 percentage points 
More than 50 but not more than 100 ..
zero 
More than 100 but not more than 150 
+0.5 percentage points 
More than 150 but not more than 200 
+1 percentage points 
More than 200 but not more than 250 
+1.5 percentage points 
More than 250 but not more than 300 
+2 percentage points 
More than 300 but not more than 400 
+2.5 percentage points 
More than 400 .....................................
+3 percentage points. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section— 
‘‘(A) COMPENSATION
RATIO.—The com-
pensation ratio for a taxable year means a 
ratio— 
‘‘(i) the numerator of which is the 
amount equal to the greater of the com-
pensation of the chief operating officer or 
the highest paid employee of the taxpayer 
for the calendar year preceding the begin-
ning of the taxable year, and 
‘‘(ii) the denominator of which is the 
amount equal to the median compensation 
of all employees employed by the taxpayer 
in the United States for the calendar year 
preceding the beginning of the taxable 
year. 
‘‘(B) COMPENSATION.— 
‘‘(i) EMPLOYEES.—In the case of em-
ployees of the taxpayer other than the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:23 Oct 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3675.IH
H3675
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS