are in the same program of study as the 
borrower. 
‘‘(M) For a borrower with an outstanding 
balance of principal or interest due on a loan 
made under this title— 
‘‘(i) a current statement of the amount 
of such outstanding balance and interest ac-
crued; 
‘‘(ii) based on such outstanding bal-
ance, the anticipated monthly payment 
amount under, at minimum, the standard 
repayment plan and, using regionally 
available data from the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics of the average starting salary for 
the occupation the borrower intends to be 
employed, an income-based repayment plan 
under section 493C; and 
‘‘(iii) an estimate of the projected 
monthly payment amount under each re-
payment plan described in clause (ii), based 
on— 
‘‘(I) the outstanding balance de-
scribed in clause (i); 
‘‘(II) the anticipated outstanding 
balance on the loan for which the stu-
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dent is receiving counseling under this 
subsection; and 
‘‘(III) a projection for any other 
loans made under part D that the bor-
rower is reasonably expected to accept 
during the borrower’s program of study 
based on at least the expected increase 
in the cost of attendance of such pro-
gram. 
‘‘(N) The obligation of the borrower to 
repay the full amount of the loan, regardless of 
whether the borrower completes or does not com-
plete the program in which the borrower is en-
rolled within the regular time for program com-
pletion. 
‘‘(O) The likely consequences of default on 
the loan, including adverse credit reports, delin-
quent debt collection procedures under Federal 
law, and litigation, and a notice of the institu-
tion’s most recent cohort default rate (defined in 
section 435(m)), an explanation of the cohort de-
fault rate, and the most recent national average 
cohort default rate for the category of institution 
described in section 435(m)(4) to which the insti-
tution belongs. 
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‘‘(P) Information on the National Student 
Loan Data System and how the borrower can 
access the borrower’s records. 
‘‘(Q) The contact information for the insti-
tution’s financial aid office or other appropriate 
office at the institution the borrower may contact 
if the borrower has any questions about the bor-
rower’s rights and responsibilities or the terms 
and conditions of the loan. 
‘‘(5) BORROWERS
RECEIVING
PARENT
PLUS 
LOANS FOR DEPENDENT STUDENTS.—The information 
to be provided under paragraph (1)(A) to a borrower 
of a Federal Direct PLUS Loan made on behalf of a 
dependent student shall include the following: 
‘‘(A) The information described in subpara-
graphs (A) through (C) and (N) through (Q) of 
paragraph (4). 
‘‘(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, 
sample monthly repayment amounts under the 
standard repayment plan based on— 
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‘‘(i) a range of levels of indebtedness of 
borrowers of Federal Direct PLUS Loans 
made on behalf of a dependent student; or 
‘‘(ii) the average cumulative indebted-
ness 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-
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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 ac-
cept 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 mak-
ing the first disbursement of a loan made under part 
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D (other than a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan) 
to a borrower for an award year, an eligible institu-
tion, shall, as part of carrying out the counseling re-
quirements of this subsection for the loan, ensure that 
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 inter-
active program, during an exit counseling ses-
sion that is in-person or online, or through the 
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use of the online counseling tool described in sub-
section (n)(1)(A)’’; 
(B) by redesignating clauses (i) through (ix) 
as clauses (iv) through (xii), respectively; 
(C) by inserting before clause (iv), as so re-
designated, 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 bor-
rower 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 au-
thorized 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 outstanding 
balance described in clause (i), showing the 
borrower’s’’; and 
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(ii) by striking ‘‘of each plan’’ and in-
serting ‘‘of at least the standard repayment 
plan and the income-based repayment plan 
under section 493C’’; 
(E) in clause (x), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘consolidation loan under section 428C 
or a’’; 
(F) in clauses (xi) and (xii), as so redesig-
nated, by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(G) 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 in-
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stitution 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 provides 
the exit counseling required under subsection (b) 
and meets the applicable requirements of this 
subsection; and 
‘‘(B) an online counseling tool that provides 
the annual counseling required under subsection 
(l) and meets the applicable requirements of this 
subsection. 
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‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS OF TOOLS.—In maintain-
ing the online counseling tools described in paragraph 
(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 receiv-
ing 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 counseling; 
‘‘(B) in the case of a borrower who receives 
annual counseling for a loan made under part D 
using the tool described in paragraph (1)(B), no-
tify the borrower by when the borrower should 
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accept, in a manner described in section 
485(l)(6), the loan for which the borrower has re-
ceived 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 paragraph 
(1)(A) of this subsection, the Secretary shall at-
tempt to provide the information described in 
subsection (b)(1)(A) to the borrower through such 
tool.’’. 
SEC. 5. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS. 
(a) USE OF EXISTING FUNDS.—Of the amount author-
ized to be appropriated for maintaining the Department 
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. 
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Union Calendar No. 397 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4984 
[Report No. 113–531] 
A BILL 
To amend the loan counseling requirements under 
the Higher Education Act of 1965, and for other 
purposes. 
JULY 17, 2014 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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