Title: Student Loan Refinancing Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Student Loan Refinancing Act
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow a borrower of a Federal Direct Loan program loan to modify the interest rate on such a loan to the current applicable rate. That interest rate is fixed for the life of the loan, unless the borrower elects to modify it again.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1614 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1614

   To authorize borrowers of loans under the William D. Ford Federal 
  Direct Loan Program to modify the interest rate of such loans to be 
 equal to the interest rate for such loans at the time of modification.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 17, 2017

   Mr. Pocan (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Ellison, Mr. 
Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Rush, Ms. Brownley of California, 
Mr. Higgins of New York, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Moore, Mr. Ted 
Lieu of California, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Welch, Mr. Nolan, 
Mr. Schrader, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Wilson of 
    Florida, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Kind, Ms. 
McCollum, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Payne, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Swalwell of 
California, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Grothman, Ms. Judy Chu of California, and 
 Mr. Perlmutter) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
              the Committee on Education and the Workforce

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                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize borrowers of loans under the William D. Ford Federal 
  Direct Loan Program to modify the interest rate of such loans to be 
 equal to the interest rate for such loans at the time of modification.

    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 Refinancing Act''.

SEC. 2. BORROWER MODIFICATION OF INTEREST RATES UNDER THE WILLIAM D. 
              FORD FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM.

    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 new paragraph:
            ``(11) Borrower modification of interest rate.--
                    ``(A) Modification.--Notwithstanding the preceding 
                paragraphs of this subsection, the borrower of a 
                Federal Direct Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct 
                Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct PLUS Loan, 
                or a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan may elect to 
                modify the interest rate of the loan to be equal to the 
                interest rate that would be applicable to such loan if 
                such loan were first disbursed (or in the case of a 
                Federal Direct Consolidation Loan, first applied for) 
                on the date on which such borrower elects to modify the 
                interest rate of such loan.
                    ``(B) Fixed rate.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (C), an interest rate elected under 
                subparagraph (A) for a loan shall be fixed for the life 
                of the loan.
                    ``(C) Continuing authority to modify.--A borrower 
                may elect to modify the interest rate of a loan in 
                accordance with subparagraph (A) at any time during the 
                life of the loan.''.
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