I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2391
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend and make uniform
the repayment plans available under the various Federal student loan
programs.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 3, 1997
Mr. PASCRELL 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 extend
and make uniform the repayment plans available under
the various Federal student loan programs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Student Loan Repayment Extension Act’’.
(b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly
provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal
is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of,
a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid-
ered to be made to a section or other provision of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
SEC. 2. REPAYMENT TERMS.
(a) INSURED LOANS.—Section 427 is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2)—
(A) in subparagraph (B), in the matter
preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘over a period’’
through ‘‘nor more than 10 years’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘in accordance with the repayment plan se-
lected under subsection (d),’’;
(B) in subparagraph (C), at the end of the
subparagraph, by striking out ‘‘the 10-year pe-
riod described in subparagraph (B);’’ and in-
serting the following: ‘‘the length of the repay-
ment period under a repayment plan described
in subsection (d);’’;
(C) by striking subparagraph (F);
(D) by redesignating subparagraphs (G),
(H), and (I) as subparagraphs (F), (G), and
(H), respectively; and
(E) in subparagraph (G) (as redesignated
by subparagraph (D)), by striking ‘‘the option’’
through the end of the subparagraph and in-
serting ‘‘the repayment options described in
subsection (d); and’’;
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘in subsection
(a)(2)(H),’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘by a repay-
ment plan selected by the borrower under subpara-
graph (C) or (D) of subsection (d)(1),’’; and
(3) by adding after subsection (c) the following
new subsection:
‘‘(d) REPAYMENT PLANS.—
‘‘(1) DESIGN AND SELECTION.—In accordance
with regulations of the Secretary, the lender shall
offer a borrower of a loan made under this part the
plans described in this subsection for repayment of
such loan, including principal and interest thereon.
No plan may require a borrower to repay a loan in
less than 5 years. The borrower may choose from—
‘‘(A) a standard repayment plan, with a
fixed annual repayment amount paid over a
fixed period of time, not to exceed 10 years;
‘‘(B) an extended repayment plan, with a
fixed annual repayment amount paid over an
extended period of time, not to exceed 30 years,
except that the borrower shall repay annually a
minimum amount determined in accordance
with subsection (c);
‘‘(C) a graduated repayment plan, with an-
nual repayment amounts established at 2 or
more graduated levels and paid over an ex-
tended period of time, not to exceed 30 years,
except that the borrower’s scheduled payments
shall not be less than 50 percent, nor more
than 150 percent, of what the amortized pay-
ment on the amount owed would be if the loan
were repaid under the standard repayment
plan; and
‘‘(D) an income-sensitive repayment plan,
with income-sensitive repayment amounts paid
over a fixed period of time, not to exceed 25
years.
‘‘(2) LENDER SELECTION OF OPTION IF BOR-
ROWER DOES NOT SELECT.—If a borrower of a loan
made under this part does not select a repayment
plan described in paragraph (1), the lender shall
provide the borrower with a repayment plan de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(A).
‘‘(3) CHANGES IN SELECTIONS.—The borrower
of a loan made under this part may change the bor-
rower’s selection of a repayment plan under para-
graph (1), or the lender’s selection of a plan for the
borrower under paragraph (2), as the case may be,
under such conditions as may be prescribed by the
Secretary in regulation.
‘‘(4) ACCELERATION PERMITTED.—Under any
of the plans described in this subsection, the bor-
rower shall be entitled to accelerate, without penalty,
repayment on the borrower’s loans under this part.’’.
(b) GUARANTEED LOANS.—Section 428(b) is amend-
ed—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) in subparagraph (D), by striking
clauses (i) and (ii) and the clause designation
‘‘(iii)’’;
(B) in subparagraph (E)—
(i) in clause (i)—
(I) 
by 
striking 
‘‘or 
section
428A,’’ and inserting ‘‘or section
428H,’’; and
(II) by striking ‘‘the option’’
through the end of the clause and in-
serting ‘‘the repayment options de-
scribed in paragraph (9); and’’; and
(ii) in clause (ii)—
(I) by striking ‘‘over a period’’
through ‘‘nor more than 10 years’’
and inserting ‘‘in accordance with the
repayment plan selected under para-
graph (9), and’’; and
(II) by striking ‘‘of this sub-
section;’’ at the end of clause (ii) and
inserting a semicolon; and
(C) in subparagraph (L)(i), by inserting
after the clause designation the following: ‘‘ex-
cept as otherwise provided by a repayment plan
selected by the borrower under paragraph
(9)(A) (iii) or (iv),’’; and
(2) by adding after paragraph (8) the following
new paragraph:
‘‘(9) REPAYMENT PLANS.—
‘‘(A) DESIGN AND SELECTION.—In accord-
ance with regulations of the Secretary, the lend-
er shall offer a borrower of a loan made under
this part the plans described in this subpara-
graph for repayment of such loan, including
principal and interest thereon. No plan may re-
quire a borrower to repay a loan in less than
5 years. The borrower may choose from—
‘‘(i) a standard repayment plan, with
a fixed annual repayment amount paid
over a fixed period of time, not to exceed
10 years;
‘‘(ii) an extended repayment plan,
with a fixed annual repayment amount
paid over an extended period of time, not
to exceed 30 years, except that the bor-
rower shall repay annually a minimum
amount determined in accordance with
paragraph (2)(L);
‘‘(iii) a graduated repayment plan,
with annual repayment amounts estab-
lished at 2 or more graduated levels and
paid over an extended period of time, not
to exceed 30 years, except that the borrow-
er’s scheduled payments shall not be less
than 50 percent, nor more than 150 per-
cent, of what the amortized payment on
the amount owed would be if the loan were
repaid under the standard repayment plan;
and
‘‘(iv) an income-sensitive repayment
plan, 
with 
income-sensitive 
repayment
amounts paid over a fixed period of time,
not to exceed 25 years.
‘‘(B) LENDER SELECTION OF OPTION IF
BORROWER DOES NOT SELECT.—If a borrower
of a loan made under this part does not select
a repayment plan described in subparagraph
(A), the lender shall provide the borrower with
a repayment plan described in subparagraph
(A)(i).
‘‘(C) CHANGES IN SELECTIONS.—The bor-
rower of a loan made under this part may
change the borrower’s selection of a repayment
plan under subparagraph (A), or the lender’s
selection of a plan for the borrower under sub-
paragraph (B), as the case may be, under such
conditions as may be prescribed by the Sec-
retary in regulation.
‘‘(D) ACCELERATION PERMITTED.—Under
any of the plans described in this paragraph,
the borrower shall be entitled to accelerate,
without penalty, repayment on the borrower’s
loans under this part.
‘‘(E) COMPARABLE
FFEL
AND
DIRECT
LOAN REPAYMENT PLANS.—The Secretary shall
ensure that the repayment plans offered to bor-
rowers under this part are comparable, to the
extent practicable and not otherwise provided in
statute, to the repayment plans offered under
part D.’’.
(c) CONSOLIDATION
LOANS.—Section 428C is
amended—
(1) in subsection (b)(3)(F), by striking ‘‘alter-
native’’; and
(2) in subsection (c) by amending paragraph
(2) to read as follows:
‘‘(2) REPAYMENT PLANS.—
‘‘(A) DESIGN AND SELECTION.—In accord-
ance with regulations of the Secretary, the lend-
er shall offer a borrower of a loan made under
this section the plans described in this para-
graph for repayment of such loan, including
principal and interest thereon. No plan may re-
quire a borrower to repay a loan in less than
5 years. The borrower may choose from—
‘‘(i) a standard repayment plan, with
a fixed annual repayment amount paid
over a fixed period of time, not to exceed
10 years;
‘‘(ii) an extended repayment plan,
with a fixed annual repayment amount
paid over an extended period of time, not
to exceed 30 years, except that the bor-
rower shall repay annually a minimum
amount determined in accordance with
paragraph (3);
‘‘(iii) a graduated repayment plan,
with annual repayment amounts estab-
lished at 2 or more graduated levels and
paid over an extended period of time, not
to exceed 30 years, except that the borrow-
er’s scheduled payments shall not be less
than 50 percent, nor more than 150 per-
cent, of what the amortized payment on
the amount owed would be if the loan were
repaid under the standard repayment plan;
and
‘‘(iv) an income-sensitive repayment
plan, 
with 
income-sensitive 
repayment
amounts paid over a fixed period of time,
not to exceed 25 years.
‘‘(B) LENDER SELECTION OF OPTION IF
BORROWER DOES NOT SELECT.—If a borrower
of a loan made under this section does not se-
lect a repayment plan described in subpara-
graph (A), the lender shall provide the borrower
with a repayment plan described in subpara-
graph (A)(i).
‘‘(C) CHANGES IN SELECTIONS.—The bor-
rower of a loan made under this section may
change the borrower’s selection of a repayment
plan under subparagraph (A), or the lender’s
selection of a plan for the borrower under sub-
paragraph (B), as the case may be, under such
conditions as may be prescribed by the Sec-
retary in regulation.’’.
(d) DIRECT LOANS.—Section 455(d) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting after
‘‘an extended period of time,’’ the following:
‘‘not to exceed 30 years,’’; and
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘a
fixed or extended period of time,’’ and inserting
the following: ‘‘an extended period of time, not
to exceed 30 years,’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘subpara-
graph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1).’’ and in-
serting ‘‘paragraph (1)(A).’’.
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