Title: Match Veterans to Student Loan Protections Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Match Veterans to Student Loan Protections Act
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the federal student loan discharge process for a veteran who has a total and permanent disability.
Specifically, it directs the Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a computer matching program for ED to identify the borrowers who: (1) have been assigned a service-connected disability rating of 100% by the VA, or (2) are unemployable due to a service-connected condition.
ED must notify such borrowers of their eligibility for federal student loan discharge and provide simple instructions for applying.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2679 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2679

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve service-connected 
       disability determinations for purposes of loan discharge.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 2017

Mr. Costello of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Barletta, Ms. Bonamici, 
    Mr. Byrne, Mr. Coffman, Mr. Takano, Ms. Titus, and Ms. Sinema) 
 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 improve service-connected 
       disability determinations for purposes of loan discharge.

    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 ``Match Veterans to Student Loan 
Protections Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVED DISABILITY DETERMINATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 437(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1087(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``A borrower'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(A) In general.--A borrower''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following
                    ``(B) Matching program.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary of 
                        Education and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
                        shall carry out a computer matching program 
                        under which the Secretary of Education 
                        identifies, on at least a quarterly basis, 
                        borrowers--
                                    ``(I) who have been assigned a 
                                disability rating of 100 percent (or a 
                                combination of ratings equaling 100 
                                percent or more) by the Secretary of 
                                Veterans Affairs for a service-
                                connected disability (as defined in 
                                section 101 of title 38, United States 
                                Code); or
                                    ``(II) who have been determined by 
                                the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to be 
                                unemployable due to a service-connected 
                                condition, as described in subparagraph 
                                (A).
                            ``(ii) Borrower notification.--With respect 
                        to each borrower who is identified by the 
                        Secretary of Education under clause (i), the 
                        Secretary shall, as soon as practicable after 
                        such identification--
                                    ``(I) notify the borrower of the 
                                borrower's eligibility for loan 
                                discharge under this subsection; and
                                    ``(II) provide the borrower with 
                                simple instructions on how to apply for 
                                such loan discharge, including an 
                                explanation that the borrower shall not 
                                be required to provide any 
                                documentation of the borrower's 
                                disability rating to receive such 
                                discharge.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Data collection and report to congress.--The 
        Secretary shall annually collect and submit to the Committees 
        on Education and the Workforce and Veterans' Affairs of the 
        House of Representatives and the Committees on Health, 
        Education, Labor, and Pensions and Veterans' Affairs of the 
        Senate, data about borrowers applying for and receiving loan 
        discharges under this subsection, which shall include the 
        following, disaggregated by borrowers applying for or receiving 
        such discharges under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2):
                    ``(A) The number of applications received under 
                this subsection.
                    ``(B) The number of such applications that were 
                approved.
                    ``(C) The number of loan discharges that were 
                completed under this subsection.
            ``(4) Notification to borrowers.--The Secretary shall 
        notify each borrower whose liability on a loan has been 
        discharged under this subsection that such loan has been 
        discharged.''.
    (b) Reports.--
            (1) Plan.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall submit 
        to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that 
        includes a plan to carry out the activities described under 
        section 437(a)(2)(B) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1087(a)(2)), as added by this section.
            (2) Follow-up report.--If the Secretary of Education has 
        not carried out the activities described under section 
        437(a)(2)(B) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as added by 
        this section, by the date that is 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall submit 
        to the appropriate committees of Congress, by such date, a 
        report that includes an explanation of why those activities 
        have not been implemented.
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