‘‘(B) The option of the borrower to pay the 
interest on the loan while the loan is in 
deferment. 
‘‘(C) For a first-time borrower of such 
loan— 
‘‘(i) a statement of the anticipated 
balance on the loan for which the borrower 
is receiving counseling under this sub-
section; 
‘‘(ii) based on such anticipated bal-
ance, the anticipated monthly payment 
amount under the standard repayment 
plan; and 
‘‘(iii) an estimate of the projected 
monthly payment amount under the stand-
ard repayment plan, based on the average 
cumulative indebtedness of other borrowers 
of Federal Direct PLUS Loans made on 
behalf of dependent students who are in 
the same program of study as the student 
on whose behalf the borrower borrowed the 
loan. 
‘‘(D) For a borrower with an outstanding 
balance of principal or interest due on such 
loan—
‘‘(i) a statement of the amount of 
such outstanding balance; 
‘‘(ii) based on such outstanding bal-
ance, the anticipated monthly payment 
amount under the standard repayment 
plan; and 
‘‘(iii) an estimate of the projected 
monthly payment amount under the stand-
ard repayment plan, based on— 
‘‘(I) the outstanding balance de-
scribed in clause (i); 
‘‘(II) the anticipated outstanding 
balance on the loan for which the bor-
rower is receiving counseling under 
this subsection; and 
‘‘(III) a projection for any other 
Federal Direct PLUS Loan made on 
behalf of the dependent student that 
the borrower is reasonably expected to 
accept during the program of study of 
such student based on at least the ex-
pected increase in the cost of attend-
ance of such program.
‘‘(E) Debt management strategies that are 
designed to facilitate the repayment of such in-
debtedness. 
‘‘(F) An explanation that the borrower has 
the options to prepay each loan, pay each loan 
on a shorter schedule, and change repayment 
plans. 
‘‘(G) For each Federal Direct PLUS Loan 
made on behalf of a dependent student for 
which the borrower is receiving counseling 
under this subsection, the contact information 
for the loan servicer of the loan and a link to 
such servicer’s Website. 
‘‘(6) ANNUAL
LOAN
ACCEPTANCE.—Prior to 
making the first disbursement of a loan made under 
part D (other than a Federal Direct Consolidation 
Loan) to a borrower for an award year, an eligible 
institution, shall, as part of carrying out the coun-
seling requirements of this subsection for the loan, 
ensure that after receiving the applicable counseling 
under paragraphs (2), (4), and (5) for the loan the 
borrower accepts the loan for such award year by— 
‘‘(A) signing the master promissory note 
for the loan;
‘‘(B) signing and returning to the institu-
tion a separate written statement that affirma-
tively states that the borrower accepts the loan; 
or 
‘‘(C) electronically signing an electronic 
version of the statement described in subpara-
graph (B).’’. 
SEC. 3. EXIT COUNSELING. 
Section 485(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1092(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 
(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
striking ‘‘through financial aid offices or other-
wise’’ and inserting ‘‘through the use of an 
interactive program, during an exit counseling 
session that is in-person or online, or through 
the use of the online counseling tool described 
in subsection (n)(1)(A)’’; 
(B) by redesignating clauses (i) through 
(ix) as clauses (iv) through (xii), respectively; 
(C) by inserting before clause (iv), as so 
redesignated, the following: 
‘‘(i) a summary of the outstanding balance of 
principal and interest due on the loans made to the 
borrower under part B, D, or E;
‘‘(ii) an explanation of the grace period pre-
ceding repayment and the expected date that the 
borrower will enter repayment; 
‘‘(iii) an explanation that the borrower has the 
option to pay any interest that has accrued while the 
borrower was in school or that may accrue during 
the grace period preceding repayment or during an 
authorized period of deferment or forbearance, prior 
to the capitalization of the interest;’’; 
(D) in clause (iv), as so redesignated— 
(i) by striking ‘‘sample information 
showing the average’’ and inserting ‘‘infor-
mation, based on the borrower’s out-
standing balance described in clause (i), 
showing the borrower’s’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘of each plan’’ and in-
serting ‘‘of at least the standard repay-
ment plan and the income-based repay-
ment plan under section 493C’’; 
(E) in clause (ix), as so redesignated— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘decreased credit 
score,’’ after ‘‘credit reports,’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘reduced ability to 
rent or purchase a home or car, potential
difficulty in securing employment,’’ after 
‘‘Federal law,’’; 
(F) in clause (x), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘consolidation loan under section 428C 
or a’’; 
(G) in clauses (xi) and (xii), as so redesig-
nated, by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(H) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(xiii) for each of the borrower’s loans made 
under part B, D, or E for which the borrower is re-
ceiving counseling under this subsection, the contact 
information for the loan servicer of the loan and a 
link to such servicer’s Website; and 
‘‘(xiv) an explanation that an individual has a 
right to annually request a disclosure of information 
collected by a consumer reporting agency pursuant 
to section 612(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681j(a)).’’; 
(2) in paragraph (1)(B)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘online or’’ before ‘‘in 
writing’’; and 
(B) by adding before the period at the end 
the following: ‘‘, except that in the case of an 
institution using the online counseling tool de-
scribed in subsection (n)(1)(A), the Secretary
shall attempt to provide such information to the 
student in the manner described in subsection 
(n)(3)(C)’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (2)(C), by inserting ‘‘, such as 
the online counseling tool described in subsection 
(n)(1)(A),’’ after ‘‘electronic means’’. 
SEC. 4. ONLINE COUNSELING TOOLS. 
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1092) is further amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(n) ONLINE COUNSELING TOOLS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of the Empowering 
Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling 
Act, the Secretary shall maintain— 
‘‘(A) an online counseling tool that pro-
vides the exit counseling required under sub-
section (b) and meets the applicable require-
ments of this subsection; and 
‘‘(B) an online counseling tool that pro-
vides the annual counseling required under sub-
section (l) and meets the applicable require-
ments of this subsection. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS OF TOOLS.—In maintain-
ing the online counseling tools described in para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that each such 
tool is— 
‘‘(A) consumer tested, in consultation with 
other relevant Federal agencies, to ensure that 
the tool is effective in helping individuals under-
stand their rights and obligations with respect 
to borrowing a loan made under part D or re-
ceiving a Federal Pell Grant; 
‘‘(B) understandable to students receiving 
Federal Pell Grants and borrowers of loans 
made under part D; and 
‘‘(C) freely available to all eligible institu-
tions. 
‘‘(3) RECORD OF COUNSELING COMPLETION.— 
The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) use each online counseling tool de-
scribed in paragraph (1) to keep a record of 
which individuals have received counseling using 
the tool, and notify the applicable institutions 
of the individual’s completion of such coun-
seling; 
‘‘(B) in the case of a borrower who re-
ceives annual counseling for a loan made under 
part D using the tool described in paragraph 
(1)(B), notify the borrower by when the bor-
rower should accept, in a manner described in 
section 485(l)(6), the loan for which the bor-
rower has received such counseling; and 
‘‘(C) in the case of a borrower described in 
subsection (b)(1)(B) at an institution that uses 
the online counseling tool described in para-
graph (1)(A) of this subsection, the Secretary 
shall attempt to provide the information de-
scribed in subsection (b)(1)(A) to the borrower 
through such tool.’’. 
SEC. 5. LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF 
STUDENT LOAN COUNSELING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, 
acting through the Director of the Institute of Education 
Sciences, shall begin conducting a rigorous, longitudinal 
study of the impact and effectiveness of the student loan 
counseling— 
(1) provided under subsections (b), (l), and (n) 
of section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1092), as amended by this Act; and 
(2) provided through such other means as the 
Secretary of Education may determine. 
(b) CONTENTS.—
(1) BORROWER
INFORMATION.—The longitu-
dinal study carried out under subsection (a) shall in-
clude borrower information, in the aggregate and 
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, income, and 
status as an individual with a disability, on— 
(A) student persistence; 
(B) degree attainment; 
(C) program completion; 
(D) successful entry into student loan re-
payment; 
(E) cumulative borrowing levels; and 
(F) such other factors as the Secretary of 
Education may determine. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—The disaggregation under 
paragraph (1) shall not be required in a case in 
which the number of borrowers in a category is in-
sufficient to yield statistically reliable information or 
the results would reveal personally identifiable infor-
mation about an individual borrower. 
(c) INTERIM REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months 
after the commencement of the study under subsection 
(a), and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Education 
shall evaluate the progress of the study and report any 
short-term findings to the appropriate committees of Con-
gress.
SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS. 
(a) USE OF EXISTING FUNDS.—Of the amount au-
thorized to be appropriated for maintaining the Depart-
ment of Education’s Financial Awareness Counseling 
Tool, $2,000,000 shall be available to carry out this Act 
and the amendments made by this Act. 
(b) NO
ADDITIONAL
FUNDS
AUTHORIZED.—No 
funds are authorized to be appropriated by this Act to 
carry out this Act or the amendments made by this Act. 
Passed the House of Representatives July 24, 2014. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4984 
AN ACT 
To amend the loan counseling requirements under 
the Higher Education Act of 1965, and for other 
purposes.