I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4797 
To direct the Secretary of Education to discharge up to $50,000 of Federal 
student loan debt for each borrower, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 29, 2021 
Mr. CARTER of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Commit-
tees on Ways and Means, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Education to discharge up to 
$50,000 of Federal student loan debt for each borrower, 
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 Loan Relief 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. LOAN DISCHARGE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (f), not later 
than the date that is 12 months after the date of enact-
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ment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall dis-
charge the qualified loan amount of each individual, with-
out regard to the repayment status of the loan or whether 
the loan is in default. 
(b) QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNT.—The qualified loan 
amount of an individual is an amount equal to the lesser 
of— 
(1) $50,000; and 
(2) the aggregate loan obligation on the eligible 
Federal loans of the taxpayer that is outstanding on 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
(c) METHOD OF LOAN DISCHARGE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—To provide the loan dis-
charge required under subsection (a), the Secretary 
is authorized to carry out a program— 
(A) through the holder of the loan, to as-
sume the obligation to repay the qualified loan 
amount for a loan made, insured, or guaranteed 
under part B of title IV of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.); 
(B) to cancel the qualified loan amount for 
a loan made under part D of title IV of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087a et seq.), or assigned, referred, or trans-
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ferred to, or purchased by, the Secretary under 
such title IV (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); and 
(C) through the institution of higher edu-
cation that made the loan from its student loan 
fund established under part E of such title (20 
U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.), to assume the obliga-
tion to repay the qualified loan amount for such 
loan. 
(2) ORDER
OF
LOAN
DISCHARGE.—With re-
spect to an individual with at least 2 eligible Federal 
loans, the Secretary shall discharge the loans of the 
individual as follows (except as otherwise indicated 
by the individual): 
(A) In the case in which the individual has 
loans with different rates of interest, the loans 
should be discharged in descending order by 
rate of interest. 
(B) In the case in which the individual has 
loans with the same rates of interest, the loans 
should be discharged in descending order by 
amount of outstanding principal. 
(d) EXCLUSION FROM TAXABLE INCOME.—For pur-
poses of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, in the case 
of an individual, gross income does not include any 
amount which (but for this subsection) would be includible 
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in gross income by reason of the discharge (in whole or 
in part) of any loan if such discharge was pursuant to 
this Act. 
(e) TAXPAYER INFORMATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury may, upon written request from the Secretary of 
Education, disclose to officers and employees of the 
Department of Education return information with 
respect to a taxpayer who has received eligible Fed-
eral loans that are outstanding on the date of enact-
ment of this Act. Such return information shall be 
limited to— 
(A) taxpayer identity information with re-
spect to such taxpayer; 
(B) the filing status of such taxpayer; and 
(C) the adjusted gross income of such tax-
payer. 
(2) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED IN-
FORMATION.—Return information disclosed under 
paragraph (1) may be used by officers and employ-
ees of the Department of Education only for the 
purposes of, and to the extent necessary in, estab-
lishing the appropriate qualified loan amount of a 
taxpayer. 
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(f) LONG-TERM SETTLE
AND COMPROMISE DIS-
CHARGE AUTHORITY.—Not later than the date that is 24 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Education may use the authority under sections 
432(a)(6) and 468(2) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1082(a)(6); 1087hh(2)) to discharge 
loans under this section beyond the period described in 
subsection (a) for— 
(1) an individual who, through an appeals proc-
ess established by the Secretary, successfully appeals 
a loan discharge determination by the Secretary 
under this section; 
(2) an individual who, due to special cir-
cumstances, misses a deadline established by the 
Secretary in the administration of loan discharges 
under this section; or 
(3) an individual (or a group of individuals) 
who the Secretary determines should have received a 
loan discharge or a discharge amount that is dif-
ferent from the amount of loan discharge received 
under this section, except that a loan discharge 
amount received under this subsection may not ex-
ceed the qualified loan amount determined for the 
individual (or the group of individuals) under sub-
section (b). 
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(g) CREDIT REPORTING.—In the case of a borrower 
of an eligible Federal loan that was in default prior to 
being discharged under this section and on which, as a 
result of such loan discharge, there is no outstanding bal-
ance of principal or interest, the Secretary, guaranty agen-
cy or other holder of the loan shall request any consumer 
reporting agency to which the Secretary, guaranty agency 
or holder, as applicable, reported the default of the loan, 
to remove the record of the default from the borrower’s 
credit history. 
(h) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—In this section, the 
terms ‘‘individual’’ and ‘‘taxpayer’’ do not include a Mem-
ber of Congress. 
SEC. 
3. 
AUTOMATIC 
ADMINISTRATIVE 
FORBEARANCE; 
HALTING OF WAGE GARNISHMENT. 
During the period beginning on the date of enactment 
of this Act and ending on the date that is 12 months after 
such date of enactment, the Secretary of Education— 
(1) shall place each borrower of an eligible Fed-
eral loan with an outstanding balance, without any 
further action required by the borrower (except that 
the borrower may opt-out of this section), on an ad-
ministrative forbearance during which periodic in-
stallments of principal need not be paid, and interest 
shall not accrue, on such loan; and 
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(2) may not issue an order for wage garnish-
ment or withholding under section 488A of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1095a) or 
section 3720D of title 31, United States Code, ini-
tiate proceedings to collect debt through deductions 
from pay under such section 488A or 3720D, or en-
force or otherwise require compliance with a wage 
garnishment or withholding order issued under such 
section 488A or 3720D before the date of enactment 
of this Act (which shall include staying any related 
proceedings). 
SEC. 4. STAYING AND PROHIBITION ON COMMENCEMENT 
OF ACTIONS FOR COLLECTION. 
Until 12 months after the date of enactment of this 
Act, no eligible Federal loan may be referred to the Attor-
ney General for any action seeking collection of any 
amount owed on that loan and any action pending as of 
the date of enactment of this Act shall be stayed. 
SEC. 5. INELIGIBILITY FOR TREASURY OFFSET. 
Until 12 months after the date of enactment of this 
Act, no claim pertaining to an eligible Federal loan may 
be certified under section 3716(c)(1) of title 31, United 
States Code. 
Æ 
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