I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1429 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of 
higher education to provide students with annual estimates of student 
loan borrowing costs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 8, 2017 
Mr. MESSER (for himself, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mrs. 
BROOKS of Indiana, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. ROKITA, and Ms. MCSALLY) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 
institutions of higher education to provide students with 
annual estimates of student loan borrowing costs. 
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 ‘‘Letter of Estimated 
Annual Debt for Students Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘LEADS 
Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. ANNUAL ESTIMATE OF STUDENT LOAN BORROWING 
COSTS. 
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1092) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(n) ANNUAL ESTIMATE OF STUDENT LOAN BOR-
ROWING COSTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on July 1, 2019, 
each eligible institution shall provide a cost estimate 
described in paragraph (2) to each enrolled student 
who receives an education loan to attend the institu-
tion, not later than 30 days before the first day of 
each academic year beginning after the academic 
year for which the student first received such a loan 
to attend such institution. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF ESTIMATE.—The estimate 
under paragraph (1) shall contain the following in-
formation: 
‘‘(A) CUMULATIVE BALANCES AND MONTH-
LY PAYMENTS.—A notice to the student of— 
‘‘(i) the cumulative balance of edu-
cation loans owed by the student as of the 
date of the notice; and 
‘‘(ii) 
projected 
monthly 
payment 
amounts based on the cumulative balances 
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described in clause (i), assuming a stand-
ard repayment schedule. 
‘‘(B) INTEREST RATES.—The interest rate 
of each education loan, except that interest 
rates for a private education loan may be based 
on average private education loan interest rates 
if the institution cannot reasonably determine 
the actual interest rate of such loan. 
‘‘(C) DISCLAIMER.—A clear and con-
spicuous notice stating that any information 
provided under paragraph (1) is an estimate, 
accurate to the best of the institution’s knowl-
edge, and that an interest rate provided under 
subparagraph (B)— 
‘‘(i) in the case of a loan described in 
paragraph (6)(A)(i), is the applicable rate 
of interest of such loan; 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a private education 
loan, may be based on average private edu-
cation loan interest rates; and 
‘‘(iii) does not include private edu-
cation loans of which the institution is not 
aware. 
‘‘(3) FORM OF ESTIMATE.—The estimate under 
paragraph (1) shall be— 
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‘‘(A) provided to the student in hard copy 
format on the letterhead of the institution, by 
electronic mail or by another method the Sec-
retary may prescribe; and 
‘‘(B) delivered to the student separately 
from any other disclosures required under this 
Act. 
‘‘(4) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.—An institution 
that provides the estimate under paragraph (1) in 
good faith shall not be liable to any person for inac-
curacies contained in such estimate. 
‘‘(5) STUDENT DEBT LETTER TEMPLATE.—Not 
later than July 1, 2018, and as necessary thereafter, 
the Secretary shall provide the following to eligible 
institutions: 
‘‘(A) Examples of estimates required under 
paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) Technical assistance on how to com-
ply with the requirements of this subsection. 
‘‘(C) Preliminary approvals in a timely 
manner of estimate formats proposed for use by 
an institution, at the request of the institution. 
‘‘(D) The formula (which shall take into 
consideration a student’s past borrowing rates 
and other criteria the Secretary may determine) 
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