In the Senate of the United States, 
July 24, 2013. 
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 1911) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 to establish interest rates for new 
loans made on or after July 1, 2013, to direct the Secretary 
of Education to convene the Advisory Committee on Improv-
ing Postsecondary Education Data to conduct a study on im-
provements to postsecondary education transparency at the 
Federal level, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the fol-
lowing 
AMENDMENT: 
Strike all after the first word and insert the fol-
lowing: 
1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bipartisan Student 
Loan Certainty Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. INTEREST RATES. 
(a) INTEREST RATES.—Section 455(b) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(b)) is amended—
† HR 1911 EAS 
(1) in paragraph (7)— 
(A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 
‘‘AND BEFORE JULY 1, 2013’’ after ‘‘ON OR AFTER 
JULY 1, 2006’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘and 
before July 1, 2013,’’ after ‘‘on or after July 1, 
2006,’’; 
(C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘and 
before July 1, 2013,’’ after ‘‘on or after July 1, 
2006,’’; and 
(D) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘and 
before July 1, 2013,’’ after ‘‘on or after July 1, 
2006,’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and (9) as 
paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(8) INTEREST
RATE
PROVISIONS
FOR
NEW 
LOANS ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2013.— 
‘‘(A) RATES
FOR
UNDERGRADUATE
FDSL 
AND
FDUSL.—Notwithstanding the preceding 
paragraphs of this subsection, for Federal Direct 
Stafford Loans and Federal Direct Unsubsidized 
Stafford Loans issued to undergraduate students, 
for which the first disbursement is made on or
† HR 1911 EAS 
after July 1, 2013, 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 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 
2.05 percent; or 
‘‘(ii) 8.25 percent. 
‘‘(B) RATES FOR GRADUATE AND PROFES-
SIONAL FDUSL.—Notwithstanding the preceding 
paragraphs of this subsection, for Federal Direct 
Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued to graduate 
or professional students, for which the first dis-
bursement is made on or after July 1, 2013, the 
applicable rate of interest shall, for loans dis-
bursed during any 12-month period beginning 
on July 1 and ending on June 30, be determined 
on the preceding June 1 and be equal to the less-
er 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 
3.6 percent; or
† HR 1911 EAS 
‘‘(ii) 9.5 percent. 
‘‘(C) PLUS LOANS.—Notwithstanding the 
preceding paragraphs of this subsection, for Fed-
eral Direct PLUS Loans, for which the first dis-
bursement is made on or after July 1, 2013, the 
applicable rate of interest shall, for loans dis-
bursed during any 12-month period beginning 
on July 1 and ending on June 30, be determined 
on the preceding June 1 and be equal to the less-
er 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 
4.6 percent; or 
‘‘(ii) 10.5 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, 2013, shall bear interest at an annual 
rate on the unpaid principal balance of the loan 
that is equal to the weighted average of the inter-
est rates on the loans consolidated, rounded to 
the nearest higher one-eighth of one percent.
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‘‘(E) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall 
determine the applicable rate of interest under 
this paragraph after consultation with the Sec-
retary of the Treasury and shall publish such 
rate in the Federal Register as soon as prac-
ticable after the date of determination. 
‘‘(F) RATE.—The applicable rate of interest 
determined under this paragraph for a Federal 
Direct Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Unsub-
sidized Stafford Loan, or a Federal Direct 
PLUS Loan shall be fixed for the period of the 
loan.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub-
section (a) shall take effect as if enacted on July 1, 2013. 
SEC. 3. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
(a) PAYGO SCORECARD.—The budgetary effects of this 
Act shall not be entered on either PAYGO scorecard main-
tained pursuant to section 4(d) of the Statutory Pay- As- 
You-Go Act of 2010. 
(b) SENATE PAYGO SCORECARD.—The budgetary ef-
fects of this Act shall not be entered on any PAYGO score-
card maintained for purposes of section 201 of S. Con. Res. 
21 (110th Congress).
† HR 1911 EAS 
SEC. 4. STUDY ON THE ACTUAL COST OF ADMINISTERING 
THE FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN PROGRAMS. 
Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall— 
(1) complete a study that determines the actual 
cost to the Federal Government of carrying out the 
Federal student loan programs authorized under title 
IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070 et seq.), which shall— 
(A) provide estimates relying on accurate 
information based on past, current, and pro-
jected data as to the appropriate index and 
mark-up rate for the Federal Government’s cost 
of borrowing that would allow the Federal Gov-
ernment to effectively administer and cover the 
cost of the Federal student programs authorized 
under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) under the scoring 
rules outlined in the Federal Credit Reform Act 
of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.); 
(B) provide the information described in 
this section in a way that separates out adminis-
trative costs, interest rate, and other loan terms 
and conditions; and
† HR 1911 EAS 
(C) set forth clear recommendations to the 
relevant authorizing committees of Congress as to 
how future legislation can incorporate the results 
of the study described in this section to allow for 
the administration of the Federal student loan 
programs authorized under title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) 
without generating any additional revenue to the 
Federal Government except revenue that is need-
ed to carry out such programs; and 
(2) prepare and submit a report to the Com-
mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 
the Senate and the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce of the House of Representatives setting 
forth the conclusions of the study described in this sec-
tion in such a manner that the recommendations in-
cluded in the report can inform future reauthoriza-
tions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001 et seq.). 
Attest: 
Secretary.