Title: Better Service to Borrowers Act of 2019
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Better Service to Borrowers Act of 2019
This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to develop and update a manual of common procedures and policies for loan servicers that enter into contracts with ED for the origination, servicing, and collection of loans under the Federal Family Education Loan program, the Federal Direct Loan program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program. Such manual must include a minimum standard of quality and practice to ensure that borrowers are well-served by loan servicers.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3519 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3519

  To direct the Secretary of Education to develop a common manual for 
  loan servicers to ensure quality of practice and increase borrower 
                             satisfaction.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 26, 2019

 Ms. Schrier (for herself, Mr. Allred, Mr. Casten of Illinois, and Ms. 
 Kendra S. Horn of Oklahoma) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Education to develop a common manual for 
  loan servicers to ensure quality of practice and increase borrower 
                             satisfaction.

    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 ``Better Service to Borrowers Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING A COMMON MANUAL FOR SERVICERS.

    (a) In General.--Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 493E. REQUIRING A COMMON MANUAL FOR LOAN SERVICERS.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of the Better Service to Borrowers of 2019, the Secretary 
shall develop a manual of common procedures and policies for entities 
with which the Secretary enters into contracts for the origination, 
servicing, and collection of covered loans to standardize procedures to 
ensure consistency of quality and practice across loan servicers, and a 
minimum standard of quality and practice to ensure that borrowers are 
well-served.
    ``(b) Updates.--The Secretary shall update the manual under 
subsection (a) as frequently as may be necessary, but not less 
frequently than every 5 years.
    ``(c) Covered Loans Defined.--The term `covered loans' means--
            ``(1) loans sold or assigned to the Secretary under part B;
            ``(2) loans made or purchased under part D; and
            ``(3) loans referred, transferred, or assigned to the 
        Secretary under part E.''.
    (b) Part D Loans.--Section 456(a)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087f(a)(2)) is amended in the first sentence by 
inserting before the period at the end the following: ``, including the 
applicable procedures and policies described in the manual developed 
under section 493E''.
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