Title: Financial Literacy to Financial Freedom Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Financial Literacy to Financial Freedom Act
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify loan counseling requirements for an institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in federal student aid programs.
Currently, an IHE must provide one-time entrance counseling to a student who is a first-time Direct Loan (DL) program borrower. This bill allows an IHE to require any student DL program borrower to complete additional counseling on the terms, conditions, and responsibilities of a loan at or prior to its disbursement.
Additionally, it requires an IHE to ensure that student and parent DL program borrowers annually accept a loan affirmatively prior to the first disbursement of such loan.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1193 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1193

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize institutions of 
 higher education to provide additional loan counseling, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 2017

  Mr. Trott introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize institutions of 
 higher education to provide additional loan counseling, 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 ``Financial Literacy to Financial 
Freedom Act''.

SEC. 2. ENTRANCE COUNSELING FOR BORROWERS.

    Section 485(l) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1092(l)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Additional counseling.--In addition to the entrance 
        counseling under paragraph (1), an eligible institution may 
        require any borrower, at or prior to the time of a disbursement 
        to the borrower of a loan made under part D (other than a 
        Federal Direct Consolidation Loan or a Federal Direct PLUS loan 
        made on behalf of a student), to receive the information 
        described in paragraph (2) with respect to such loan, or any 
        other financial counseling, including financial literacy 
        counseling.
            ``(4) Annual loan acceptance.--Prior to making the first 
        disbursement of a loan made under part D (other than a Federal 
        Direct Consolidation Loan) to a borrower for an award year, an 
        eligible institution, shall ensure that after receiving the 
        applicable counseling under paragraph (2) or (3), the borrower 
        accepts the loan for such award year by--
                    ``(A) signing the master promissory note for the 
                loan;
                    ``(B) signing and returning to the institution a 
                separate written statement that affirmatively states 
                that the borrower accepts the loan; or
                    ``(C) electronically signing an electronic version 
                of the statement described in subparagraph (B).''.
                                 <all>