Student Loan Accountability Act
Bill: S.4253 | Sponsor: Sen. Romney, Mitt (R-UT)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Student Loan Accountability Act
This bill generally prohibits the Departments of Education, Justice, or the Treasury from taking any action to cancel or forgive the outstanding balances, or portion of balances, of covered loans. Covered loans refer to Federal Family Education Loans, Federal Direct Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, and loans under the Health Education Assistance Loan Program.
The prohibition does not apply to targeted federal student loan forgiveness, cancellation, or repayment programs that are in effect by final regulation on May 11, 2022, and carried out under the Higher Education Act of 1965.

To prohibit the mass cancellation of student loans.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Student Loan Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Congress does not hide elephants in mouseholes; 
        statutory authority has not been provided to the executive 
        branch of the Federal Government to cancel student loans on a 
        mass scale.
            (2) Through strained readings of statute, liberal interest 
        groups assert that a mass cancellation event would be legal.
            (3) It is unfair for taxpayers who paid student loans or 
        did not attend college to pay for those who chose to take 
        student loans.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON MASS CANCELLATION OF STUDENT LOANS.

    (a) Prohibition.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of the Treasury, 
        or the Attorney General shall not take any action to cancel or 
        forgive the outstanding balances, or portion of balances, of 
        covered loans, except as provided in paragraph (2).
            (2) Exemption.--The prohibition described in paragraph (1) 
        shall not apply to targeted Federal student loan forgiveness, 
        cancellation, or repayment programs carried out under the 
        Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), under 
        final regulations as in effect on May 11, 2022.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section, the term ``covered loan'' 
means--
            (1) a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part B, D, or 
        E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1071 et seq.; 1087a et seq.; 1087aa et seq.) before, on, or 
        after the date of enactment of this Act; or
            (2) a loan under the Health Education Assistance Loan 
        Program under title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 
        U.S.C. 292 et seq.) made before, on, or after the date of 
        enactment of this Act.
    (c) Limitation.--The Secretary of Education, the Secretary of the 
Treasury, or the Attorney General may not implement, or publish in any 
form, any regulation, or take any action, that modifies, alters, 
amends, cancels, discharges, forgives, or defers the repayment of any 
student debt not expressly permitted within statute or regulation as in 
effect on March 12, 2020, regarding covered loans, except to the extent 
that such regulation or action reflects the clear and unequivocal 
intent of Congress in legislation.
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