I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7982 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow certain Federal student 
loans to be transferred from a parent to a child, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 8, 2022 
Mr. FOSTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow certain 
Federal student loans to be transferred from a parent 
to a child, 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 ‘‘Parent PLUS Loan 
Fairness and Responsibility Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS FROM 
PARENT TO CHILD. 
Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after section 493D the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:17 Jun 10, 2022
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7982.IH
H7982
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘SEC. 493E. TRANSFER OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS FROM 
PARENT TO CHILD. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A covered parent loan may be 
transferred from the original borrower of the loan to a 
child of such borrower in accordance with this section. 
‘‘(b) TRANSFER REQUIREMENTS.—A covered parent 
loan may be transferred to a child under subsection (a) 
only if— 
‘‘(1) the loan is in good standing, as determined 
by the Secretary; 
‘‘(2) the loan was used to pay the educational 
expenses of the child to whom the loan is to be 
transferred; 
‘‘(3) the child to whom the loan is to be trans-
ferred— 
‘‘(A) has attained the age of 18 years; and 
‘‘(B) demonstrates the ability to repay the 
loan, as determined by the Secretary in accord-
ance with subsection (c); 
‘‘(4) the child, the parent, and the lender agree, 
in writing, to the transfer of the loan; 
‘‘(5) the agreement described in paragraph (4) 
notifies the child to whom the loan is transferred of 
the effect of the transfer on the eligibility of the loan 
for forgiveness under section 455(m); and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:17 Jun 10, 2022
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7982.IH
H7982
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(6) a period of 180 days has elapsed during 
which the child was not pursuing— 
‘‘(A) at least a half-time course of study as 
determined by an institution of higher edu-
cation; or 
‘‘(B) a course of study pursuant to a grad-
uate fellowship program approved by the Sec-
retary, or pursuant to a rehabilitation training 
program for disabled individuals approved by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(c) DETERMINATION
OF
ABILITY
TO
REPAY 
LOAN.—In determining the ability of a child to repay a 
covered parent loan under subsection (b)(3)(B), the Sec-
retary shall consider the following: 
‘‘(1) The child’s employment status, income 
level, and credit history. 
‘‘(2) The total dollar amount of the loans pro-
posed to be transferred to the child. 
‘‘(3) The debt-to-income ratio of the child be-
fore such transfer. 
‘‘(4) The projected debt-to-income ratio of the 
child after such transfer. 
‘‘(5) Any other factors the Secretary determines 
to be relevant to the ability of the child to repay the 
loan. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:17 Jun 10, 2022
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7982.IH
H7982
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF TRANSFERRED LOAN.—A cov-
ered parent loan transferred to a child under subsection 
(a) shall have the same terms, conditions, and benefits ap-
plicable to the loan before the date of such transfer except 
that— 
‘‘(1) the child to whom the loan is transferred 
shall be treated as the original borrower of the loan; 
and 
‘‘(2) the parent who transferred the loan to the 
child shall not be responsible for paying— 
‘‘(A) the outstanding balance of principal 
or interest on the loan; or 
‘‘(B) any other costs associated with the 
loan, including fees. 
‘‘(e) EFFECT ON LOAN LIMITS.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of this Act, a covered parent loan 
transferred to a child under subsection (a) shall not be 
counted toward the child’s annual or aggregate maximum 
loan limits under this title. 
‘‘(f) COVERED PARENT LOAN DEFINED.—In this 
section, the term ‘covered parent loan’ means— 
‘‘(1) a loan made to a parent on behalf of a de-
pendent student under section 428B; 
‘‘(2) a Federal Direct PLUS Loan made to the 
parent of a dependent student; or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:17 Jun 10, 2022
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7982.IH
H7982
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(3) a loan made under section 428C or 
455(g), to the extent that such loan was used to 
repay— 
‘‘(A) a loan made to the parent of a de-
pendent student under section 428B; or 
‘‘(B) a Federal Direct PLUS Loan made 
to the parent of a dependent student.’’. 
SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF COVERED PARENTS LOANS UNDER 
INCOME-DRIVEN REPAYMENT PLANS. 
(a) REPAYMENT PLANS.—Section 455(d)(1) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)(1)) 
is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (D), by inserting before 
the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, and the 
plan described in this subparagraph shall be avail-
able to the transferee of a covered parent loan that 
is transferred under section 493E’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (E), by inserting before the 
period the following: ‘‘, and the plan described in 
this subparagraph shall be available to the trans-
feree of a covered parent loan that is transferred 
under section 493E’’. 
(b) INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT.—Section 493C(a) 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1098e(a)) is amended— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:17 Jun 10, 2022
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7982.IH
H7982
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the pe-
riod at the end the following: ‘‘, except that such 
term does not include a covered parent loan that is 
transferred under section 493E’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the pe-
riod at the end the following: ‘‘, except that such 
term does not include a covered parent loan that is 
transferred under section 493E’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:17 Jun 10, 2022
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H7982.IH
H7982
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS