I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2718 
To allow certain student loan borrowers to refinance Federal student loans. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 25, 2017 
Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. BERA, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsyl-
vania, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. 
SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. 
MURPHY of Florida, Mr. NADLER, Mr. POCAN, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SCHIFF, 
Ms. SINEMA, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. JACKSON 
LEE, Mr. PANETTA, and Ms. LOFGREN) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To allow certain student loan borrowers to refinance Federal 
student loans. 
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 ‘‘Federal Student Loan 
Refinancing Act’’. 
SEC. 2. STUDENT LOAN CONSOLIDATION. 
Section 459B of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1087i–2) is amended— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:13 Jun 07, 2017
Jkt 069000
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2718.IH
H2718
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
(1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘section’’ 
and inserting ‘‘subsection’’; 
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘this section’’ 
and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)’’ each place the term 
appears; and 
(3) by inserting at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) TEMPORARY LOAN CONSOLIDATION AUTHORITY 
FOR CERTAIN LOANS MADE AFTER JULY 1, 2006.— 
‘‘(1) LOAN CONSOLIDATION AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A borrower who has 1 
or more loans in a category described in sub-
paragraph (B) may consolidate all of the loans 
of the borrower that are described in subpara-
graph (B) into a Federal Direct Consolidation 
Loan during the period described in subpara-
graph (C). 
‘‘(B) CATEGORIES OF LOANS THAT MAY BE 
CONSOLIDATED.—The categories of loans that 
may be consolidated under subparagraph (A) 
are loans made on or after July 1, 2006, that 
are— 
‘‘(i) loans made under this part; 
‘‘(ii) loans purchased by the Secretary 
pursuant to section 459A; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:13 Jun 07, 2017
Jkt 069000
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2718.IH
H2718
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(iii) loans made under part B that 
are held by an eligible lender, as such term 
is defined in section 435(d). 
‘‘(C) TIME PERIOD IN WHICH LOANS MAY 
BE CONSOLIDATED.— 
‘‘(i) FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS.—In the 
case of a borrower who has 1 or more 
loans described under subparagraph (B)(i), 
the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(I) consolidate the loans de-
scribed under subparagraph (B)(i) not 
later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of the Federal Student 
Loan Refinancing Act; and 
‘‘(II) notify the borrower, in writ-
ing, prior to such consolidation that— 
‘‘(aa) the borrower’s loans 
under this part have been con-
solidated at a lower interest rate; 
and 
‘‘(bb) the borrower’s repay-
ment plan and the other terms 
and conditions of the borrower’s 
loan remain unchanged. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:13 Jun 07, 2017
Jkt 069000
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2718.IH
H2718
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(ii) OTHER LOANS.—In the case of a 
borrower who has 1 or more loans de-
scribed under clause (ii) or (iii) of subpara-
graph (B), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(I) initiate the loan consolida-
tion process for the loans described 
under clause (ii) or (iii) of subpara-
graph (B), not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of the 
Federal Student Loan Refinancing 
Act, by sending a completed loan con-
solidation application to the borrower; 
‘‘(II) notify the borrower, as part 
of such application, that a fee will be 
assessed and that the interest rate of 
the 
Federal 
Direct 
Consolidation 
Loan will be set in accordance with 
paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(III) notify the borrower, as 
part of such application, that if the 
borrower wishes to consolidate in ac-
cordance with the completed applica-
tion, the borrower must endorse the 
application and submit the application 
to the Secretary not more than 6 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:13 Jun 07, 2017
Jkt 069000
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2718.IH
H2718
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
months after receipt of the applica-
tion. 
‘‘(2) TERMS OF LOANS.—The following terms 
and conditions shall apply to a Federal Direct Con-
solidation Loan made under this subsection: 
‘‘(A) The applicable rate of interest on a 
Federal Direct Consolidation Loan made under 
this subsection shall be— 
‘‘(i) 4 percent; or 
‘‘(ii) in a case in which the weighted 
average of the interest rates on the out-
standing loans of a borrower that will be 
consolidated is less than 4 percent, the 
lesser of— 
‘‘(I) the weighted average of the 
interest rates on the outstanding 
loans of a borrower that will be con-
solidated; or 
‘‘(II) a rate of interest equal to— 
‘‘(aa) 4 percent; minus 
‘‘(bb) 0.4 percent of the 
principal balance of the consoli-
dation loan, at the time of con-
solidation. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:13 Jun 07, 2017
Jkt 069000
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2718.IH
H2718
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) In the case of a loan consolidated 
under paragraph (1)(C)(ii), an origination fee 
equal to 0.4 percent of the principal balance of 
the consolidation loan, at the time of consolida-
tion, will be added to the principal balance of 
the loan, and the Secretary shall use the fee to 
cover the cost of making and servicing the loan. 
‘‘(C) If 1 or more of the loans being con-
solidated is a loan described under paragraph 
(1)(B)(iii), the interest rate on the Federal Di-
rect Consolidation Loan under this subsection 
shall be reduced by 0.25 percent. 
‘‘(D) Any benefit a borrower is receiving or 
earning at the time a Federal Direct Consolida-
tion Loan is issued under this subsection shall 
not be affected by consolidation under this sec-
tion, including benefits such as a deferment or 
forbearance, accumulation of monthly payments 
as part of the public service loan forgiveness 
program under section 455(m), accumulation of 
monthly payments toward a loan discharge 
under the income-based repayment plan under 
section 493C, participation in a particular re-
payment plan, and other benefits to the bor-
rower.’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:13 Jun 07, 2017
Jkt 069000
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2718.IH
H2718
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
SEC. 3. EXEMPTIONS FROM OTHER LAWS. 
(a) EXEMPTION FROM THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION 
ACT.—Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, shall 
not apply to this Act. 
(b) INAPPLICABILITY
OF RULEMAKING REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Sections 482(c) and 492 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1089(c), 1098a) and sec-
tion 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply 
to the amendments made by this Act, or to any regulations 
promulgated under such amendments. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:13 Jun 07, 2017
Jkt 069000
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2718.IH
H2718
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS