I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3390 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reduce the interest rate 
caps for Federal Direct student loans, to eliminate loan origination 
fees on all Federal Direct student loans, and to provide for refinancing 
of Federal Direct student loans and Federal family education loans. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2017 
Ms. CASTOR of Florida (for herself and Mr. SOTO) 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 reduce 
the interest rate caps for Federal Direct student loans, 
to eliminate loan origination fees on all Federal Direct 
student loans, and to provide for refinancing of Federal 
Direct student loans and Federal family education loans. 
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 of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. REDUCTION OF INTEREST RATES FOR FEDERAL DI-
RECT STUDENT LOANS. 
Section 455(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1087e(b)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(11) INTEREST RATE PROVISIONS FOR NEW 
LOANS ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2018.— 
‘‘(A) RATES FOR UNDERGRADUATE FDSL 
AND
FDUSL.—Notwithstanding the preceding 
paragraphs of this subsection, for Federal Di-
rect Stafford Loans and Federal Direct Unsub-
sidized Stafford Loans issued to undergraduate 
students, for which the first disbursement is 
made on or after July 1, 2018, the applicable 
rate of interest shall, for loans disbursed during 
any 12-month period beginning on July 1 and 
ending on June 30, be determined on the pre-
ceding June 1 and be equal to the lesser of— 
‘‘(i) a rate equal to the high yield of 
the 10-year Treasury note auctioned at the 
final auction held prior to such June 1 
plus the Federal Reserve discount rate 
charged for primary credit on the date of 
such auction, as authorized under section 
14(d) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 
U.S.C. 357); or 
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‘‘(ii) 4 percent. 
‘‘(B) RATES FOR GRADUATE AND PROFES-
SIONAL
FDUSL.—Notwithstanding 
the 
pre-
ceding paragraphs of this subsection, for Fed-
eral Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued 
to graduate or professional students, for which 
the first disbursement is made on or after July 
1, 2018, the applicable rate of interest shall, for 
loans disbursed during any 12-month period be-
ginning on July 1 and ending on June 30, be 
determined on the preceding June 1 and be 
equal to the lesser of— 
‘‘(i) a rate equal to the high yield of 
the 10-year Treasury note auctioned at the 
final auction held prior to such June 1 
plus the Federal Reserve discount rate 
charged for primary credit on the date of 
such auction, as authorized under section 
14(d) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 
U.S.C. 357); or 
‘‘(ii) 5 percent. 
‘‘(C) PLUS LOANS.—Notwithstanding the 
preceding paragraphs of this subsection, for 
Federal Direct PLUS Loans, for which the first 
disbursement is made on or after July 1, 2018, 
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the applicable rate of interest shall, for loans 
disbursed during any 12-month period begin-
ning on July 1 and ending on June 30, be de-
termined on the preceding June 1 and be equal 
to the lesser of— 
‘‘(i) a rate equal to the high yield of 
the 10-year Treasury note auctioned at the 
final auction held prior to such June 1 
plus the Federal Reserve discount rate 
charged for primary credit on the date of 
such auction, as authorized under section 
14(d) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 
U.S.C. 357); or 
‘‘(ii) 6 percent. 
‘‘(D) CONSOLIDATION
LOANS.—Notwith-
standing the preceding paragraphs of this sub-
section, any Federal Direct Consolidation Loan 
for which the application is received on or after 
July 1, 2018, shall bear interest at an annual 
rate on the unpaid principal balance of the loan 
that is equal to the weighted average of the in-
terest rates on the loans consolidated, rounded 
to the nearest higher one-eighth of one percent. 
‘‘(E) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall 
determine the applicable rate of interest under 
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