Ryan Frascone Memorial Student Loan Relief Act of 2021
Bill: S.2544 | Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina (D-MN)
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Ryan Frascone Memorial Student Loan Relief Act of 2021
This bill retroactively applies certain borrower protections related to cosigners of private student loans. Specifically, all private student loan agreements must (1) prohibit creditors from declaring a default or accelerating the debt of a private student loan on the sole basis of the death or bankruptcy of a cosigner to such a loan, and (2) require loan holders to release a cosigner from any obligation upon the death of the student borrower. Under current law, these protections apply only to private student loan agreements entered into on or after November 20, 2018.
Additionally, the Department of the Treasury must establish a program to purchase and retire such private student loans from loan holders suffering financial injury as a result of this bill.

To adjust the applicability of certain amendments to the Truth in 
                  Lending Act, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Ryan Frascone Memorial Student Loan 
Relief Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN AMENDMENTS TO THE TRUTH IN LENDING 
              ACT.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Applicability.--Section 601(b) of the Economic Growth, 
        Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1650 
        note) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to private education loan agreements entered into before, on, or 
after the date of enactment of this Act.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall take effect as if included in section 601 of the Economic 
        Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (Public 
        Law 115-174).
    (b) Treasury Loan Purchase Program.--
            (1) Definitions.--In this subsection, the terms 
        ``cosigner'' and ``private education loan'' have the meanings 
        given those terms, respectively, in section 140 of the Truth in 
        Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650).
            (2) Establishment of purchase program.--The Secretary of 
        the Treasury shall establish a program under which the 
        Secretary shall purchase and retire outstanding private 
        education loans--
                    (A) where the borrower on such loan is deceased;
                    (B) where there remains a cosigner on the loan;
                    (C) that were entered into before the date that is 
                180 days after the date of enactment of the Economic 
                Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act 
                (Public Law 115-174); and
                    (D) only upon an application from a holder of such 
                loan pursuant to paragraph (3) that demonstrates the 
                holder has suffered financial injury as a result of the 
                amendment made by subsection (a).
            (3) Application.--The holder of a loan described under 
        paragraph (2) may apply to the Secretary of the Treasury to 
        have the Secretary purchase and retire such loan by submitting 
        an application in the form and manner that the Secretary may 
        require.
            (4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury $5,000,000 
        to carry out this subsection.
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