I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8461 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of 
Education to carry out a program under which an institution of higher 
education may elect to cosign Federal student loans made to students 
attending the institution, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2024 
Mr. PERRY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the 
Secretary of Education to carry out a program under 
which an institution of higher education may elect to 
cosign Federal student loans made to students attending 
the institution, 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 Reform 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. INSTITUTIONAL COSIGNER PROGRAM. 
Part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after section 454 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 454A. INSTITUTIONAL COSIGNER PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—Beginning on July 1, 
2024, the Secretary shall carry out a program under which 
an institution of higher education may elect to cosign all 
eligible direct loans made to students enrolled at the insti-
tution for an academic year. 
‘‘(b) AGREEMENT WITH SECRETARY.—To be eligible 
to participate in the program under this section for an 
academic year, an institution of higher education shall 
enter into an agreement with the Secretary under which 
the institution agrees to the following: 
‘‘(1) The institution will cosign all new eligible 
direct loans made to students enrolled at the institu-
tion for such academic year. 
‘‘(2) With respect to each such loan, the institu-
tion will abide by the terms and conditions of co-
signer liability described in subsection (d). 
‘‘(c) MASTER PROMISSORY NOTE.—As part of the 
program under this section, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) revise the master promissory note applica-
ble to each eligible direct loan to include— 
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‘‘(A) the terms and conditions of cosigner 
and borrower liability described in subsection 
(d); 
‘‘(B) the interest rate for the loan, as de-
termined under subsection (e); and 
‘‘(C) a field in which an authorized rep-
resentative of an institution participating in the 
program may cosign the note on behalf of the 
institution; and 
‘‘(2) ensure that each institution participating 
in the program signs the note applicable to each new 
eligible direct loan made to a student at the institu-
tion for the academic year concerned. 
‘‘(d) COSIGNER AND BORROWER LIABILITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, an institution of higher education 
that is a cosigner of an eligible direct loan of a bor-
rower shall assume the obligation to repay, in ac-
cordance with paragraph (2), the outstanding bal-
ance of principal and interest due on the loan if— 
‘‘(A) the borrower defaulted on the loan; 
‘‘(B) a period of 90 days has elapsed since 
the date on which the loan entered default; and 
‘‘(C) the loan has not been rehabilitated. 
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