I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2728 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize borrowers to 
separate joint consolidation loans. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 14, 2019 
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. BYRNE, and Ms. STEVENS) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize 
borrowers to separate joint consolidation 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 ‘‘Joint Consolidation 
Loan Separation Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SEPARATING JOINT CONSOLIDATION LOANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 455(g) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(g)) is amend-
ed— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘A borrower’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A borrower’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) 
SEPARATING
JOINT
CONSOLIDATION 
LOANS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A married couple, or 
2 individuals who were previously a married 
couple, and who received a joint consolidation 
loan as such married couple under subpara-
graph (C) of section 428C(a)(3) (as such sub-
paragraph was in effect on or before June 30, 
2006), may apply to the Secretary for each in-
dividual borrower in the married couple (or pre-
viously married couple) to receive a separate 
Federal Direct Consolidation Loan under this 
part— 
‘‘(i) that shall be equal to the sum 
of— 
‘‘(I) the unpaid principal and ac-
crued unpaid interest of the percent-
age of the joint consolidation loan 
that, as of the day before such joint 
consolidation loan was made, was at-
tributable to the loans of the indi-
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vidual borrower for whom such sepa-
rate consolidation loan is being made; 
and 
‘‘(II) any other loans described in 
section 428C(a)(4) that such indi-
vidual borrower selects for consolida-
tion under this part; 
‘‘(ii) the proceeds of which shall be 
paid by the Secretary to the holder or 
holders— 
‘‘(I) of the joint consolidation 
loan for the purpose of discharging 
the liability on the percentage of such 
joint consolidation loan described in 
clause (i)(I); and 
‘‘(II) of the loans selected for 
consolidation under clause (i)(II) for 
the purpose of discharging the liability 
on such loans; 
‘‘(iii) that has the same rate of inter-
est as the joint consolidation loan; 
‘‘(iv) for which any payment made 
under section 455(m)(1)(A) on the joint 
consolidation loan during a period in which 
the individual borrower for whom such sep-
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arate consolidation loan is being made was 
employed in a public service job described 
in section 455(m)(1)(B) shall be treated as 
if such payment were made on such sepa-
rate consolidation loan; and 
‘‘(v) for which any payment made 
under an income contingent repayment 
plan or an income-based repayment plan 
described in subparagraph (D) or (E) of 
section 455(d)(1), respectively, on the joint 
consolidation loan shall be treated as if 
such payment were made on such separate 
consolidation loan. 
‘‘(B) APPLICATION FOR SEPARATE DIRECT 
CONSOLIDATION LOAN.— 
‘‘(i) JOINT APPLICATION.—Except as 
provided in clause (ii), to receive separate 
consolidation loans under subparagraph 
(A), both individual borrowers in a married 
couple (or previously married couple) shall 
jointly apply under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(ii) SEPARATE
APPLICATION.—An 
individual borrower in a married couple (or 
previously married couple) may apply for a 
separate consolidation loan under subpara-
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graph (A) separately and without regard to 
whether or when the other individual bor-
rower in the married couple (or previously 
married couple) applies under subpara-
graph (A), in a case in which— 
‘‘(I) the individual borrower has 
experienced from the other individual 
borrower— 
‘‘(aa) domestic violence (as 
defined in section 40002(a) of 
the Violence Against Women Act 
of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925 (a))); 
or 
‘‘(bb) economic abuse (in-
cluding behaviors that control 
such borrower’s ability to ac-
quire, use, and maintain access 
to money, credit, or the joint fi-
nancial obligations of both bor-
rowers); 
‘‘(II) the individual borrower cer-
tifies, on a form approved by the Sec-
retary, that such borrower is unable 
to reasonably reach or access the loan 
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information of the other individual 
borrower; or 
‘‘(III) the Secretary determines 
that authorizing each individual bor-
rower to apply separately under sub-
paragraph (A) would be in the best 
fiscal interests of the Federal Govern-
ment. 
‘‘(C) BORROWER
ELIGIBILITY.—Notwith-
standing section 428C(a)(3)(A), the Secretary 
shall award a consolidation loan under this part 
to each borrower who— 
‘‘(i) applies for such loan under sub-
paragraph (A); and 
‘‘(ii) meets the requirements of sub-
paragraphs (A) and (B).’’. 
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
428C(a)(3)(B)(i)(V) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1078–3(3)(B)(i)(V)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of item (bb); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of item 
(cc) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(dd) for the purpose of sep-
arating a joint consolidation loan 
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