Title: Coronavirus Emergency Student Loan Refinancing Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Coronavirus Emergency Student Loan Refinancing Act
This bill establishes a refinancing program for federal student loans.
Specifically, the Department of Education (ED) must, within 30 days, establish a program that allows qualified borrowers to refinance their federal student loans down to lower interest rates. The refinanced interest rates are (1) calculated based on the type of student loan (e.g., Stafford), and (2) fixed for the period of the loan.
In addition, the bill requires ED to establish eligibility requirements for the refinancing program based on income or debt-to-income ratio. ED must also coordinate with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to alert borrowers of their program eligibility.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 603 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 603

     To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for the 
 refinancing of certain Federal student loans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 4, 2021

  Mr. Warner introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for the 
 refinancing of certain Federal student loans, 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 ``Coronavirus Emergency Student Loan 
Refinancing Act''.

SEC. 2. REFINANCING PROGRAMS.

    (a) Program Authority.--Section 451(a) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and (2)'' and inserting ``(2)''; and
            (2) by inserting ``; and (3) to make loans under section 
        460A'' after ``section 459A''.
    (b) Refinancing Program.--Part D of title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``SEC. 460A. REFINANCING FFEL AND FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS.

    ``(a) In General.--Beginning not later than 30 days after the date 
of enactment of the Coronavirus Emergency Student Loan Refinancing Act, 
the Secretary shall establish a program under which the Secretary, upon 
the receipt of an application from a qualified borrower, makes a loan 
under this part, in accordance with the provisions of this section, in 
order to permit the borrower to obtain the interest rate provided under 
subsection (c).
    ``(b) Refinancing Direct Loans.--
            ``(1) Federal direct loans.--Upon application of a 
        qualified borrower, the Secretary shall repay a Federal Direct 
        Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, a 
        Federal Direct PLUS Loan, or a Federal Direct Consolidation 
        Loan of the qualified borrower, with the proceeds of a 
        refinanced Federal Direct Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct 
        Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct PLUS Loan, or a 
        Federal Direct Consolidation Loan, respectively, issued to the 
        borrower in an amount equal to the sum of the unpaid principal, 
        accrued unpaid interest, and late charges of the original loan.
            ``(2) Refinancing ffel program loans as refinanced federal 
        direct loans.--Upon application of a qualified borrower for any 
        loan that was made, insured, or guaranteed under part B, the 
        Secretary shall make a loan under this part, in an amount equal 
        to the sum of the unpaid principal, accrued unpaid interest, 
        and late charges of the original loan to the borrower in 
        accordance with the following:
                    ``(A) The Secretary shall pay the proceeds of such 
                loan to the eligible lender of the loan made, insured, 
                or guaranteed under part B, in order to discharge the 
                borrower from any remaining obligation to the lender 
                with respect to the original loan.
                    ``(B) A loan made under this section that was 
                originally a loan made, insured, or guaranteed--
                            ``(i) under section 428 shall be a Federal 
                        Direct Stafford Loan;
                            ``(ii) under section 428B shall be a 
                        Federal Direct PLUS Loan;
                            ``(iii) under section 428H shall be a 
                        Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan; and
                            ``(iv) under section 428C shall be a 
                        Federal Direct Consolidation Loan.
            ``(3) Applicable interest rate.--The interest rate for each 
        loan made by the Secretary under this subsection shall be the 
        rate provided under subsection (c).
    ``(c) Interest Rates.--
            ``(1) In general.--The interest rate for the refinanced 
        Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Federal Direct Unsubsidized 
        Stafford Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, and Federal Direct 
        Consolidation Loans, under this section shall be a rate equal 
        to--
                    ``(A) in any case where the original loan was a 
                loan under section 428 or 428H, a Federal Direct 
                Stafford loan, or a Federal Direct Unsubsidized 
                Stafford Loan, that was issued to an undergraduate 
                student, a rate equal to the lowest yield on the 10-
                year Treasury note in the preceding 6 months plus 2.05 
                percent;
                    ``(B) in any case where the original loan was a 
                loan under section 428 or 428H, a Federal Direct 
                Stafford Loan, or a Federal Direct Unsubsidized 
                Stafford Loan, that was issued to a graduate or 
                professional student, a rate equal to the lowest yield 
                on the 10-year Treasury note in the preceding 6 months 
                plus 3.6 percent;
                    ``(C) in any case where the original loan was a 
                loan under section 428B or a Federal Direct PLUS Loan, 
                a rate equal to the lowest yield on the 10-year 
                Treasury note in the preceding 6 months plus 4.6 
                percent; and
                    ``(D) in any case where the original loan was a 
                loan under section 428C or a Federal Direct 
                Consolidation Loan, a rate calculated in accordance 
                with paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Interest rates for consolidation loans.--
                    ``(A) Method of calculation.--In order to determine 
                the interest rate for any refinanced Federal Direct 
                Consolidation Loan under paragraph (1)(D) under this 
                section, the Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) determine each of the component loans 
                        that were originally consolidated in the loan 
                        under section 428C or the Federal Direct 
                        Consolidation Loan, and calculate the 
                        proportion of the unpaid principal balance of 
                        the loan under section 428C or the Federal 
                        Direct Consolidation Loan that each component 
                        loan represents;
                            ``(ii) use the proportions determined in 
                        accordance with clause (i) and the interest 
                        rate applicable for each component loan, as 
                        determined under subparagraph (B), to calculate 
                        the weighted average of the interest rates on 
                        the loans consolidated into the loan under 
                        section 428C or the Federal Direct 
                        Consolidation Loan; and
                            ``(iii) apply the weighted average 
                        calculated under clause (ii) as the interest 
                        rate for the refinanced Federal Direct 
                        Consolidation Loan.
                    ``(B) Interest rates for component loans.--The 
                interest rates for the component loans of a loan made 
                under section 428C or a Federal Direct Consolidation 
                Loan shall be the following:
                            ``(i) The interest rate for any loan under 
                        section 428 or 428H, Federal Direct Stafford 
                        Loan, or Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 
                        Loan issued to an undergraduate student shall 
                        be a rate equal to the lesser of--
                                    ``(I) the rate for Federal Direct 
                                Stafford Loans and Federal Direct 
                                Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued to 
                                undergraduate students for the 12-month 
                                period beginning on July 1, 2020, and 
                                ending on June 30, 2021; or
                                    ``(II) the original interest rate 
                                of the component loan.
                            ``(ii) The interest rate for any loan under 
                        section 428 or 428H, Federal Direct Stafford 
                        Loan, or Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 
                        Loan issued to a graduate or professional 
                        student shall be a rate equal to the lesser 
                        of--
                                    ``(I) the rate for Federal Direct 
                                Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued to 
                                graduate or professional students for 
                                the 12-month period beginning on July 
                                1, 2020, and ending on June 30, 2021; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) the original interest rate 
                                of the component loan.
                            ``(iii) The interest rate for any loan 
                        under section 428B or Federal Direct PLUS Loan 
                        shall be a rate equal to the lesser of--
                                    ``(I) the rate for Federal Direct 
                                PLUS Loans for the 12-month period 
                                beginning on July 1, 2020, and ending 
                                on June 30, 2021; or
                                    ``(II) the original interest rate 
                                of the component loan.
                            ``(iv) The interest rate for any component 
                        loan that is a loan under section 428C or a 
                        Federal Direct Consolidation Loan shall be the 
                        weighted average of the interest rates that 
                        would apply under this subparagraph for each 
                        loan comprising the component consolidation 
                        loan.
                            ``(v) The interest rate for any eligible 
                        loan that is a component of a loan made under 
                        section 428C or a Federal Direct Consolidation 
                        Loan and is not described in clauses (i) 
                        through (iv) shall be the interest rate on the 
                        original component loan.
            ``(3) Fixed rate.--The applicable rate of interest 
        determined under paragraph (1) for a refinanced loan under this 
        section shall be fixed for the period of the loan.
    ``(d) Terms and Conditions of Loans.--
            ``(1) In general.--A loan that is refinanced under this 
        section shall have the same terms and conditions as the 
        original loan, except as otherwise provided in this section.
            ``(2) No automatic extension of repayment period.--
        Refinancing a loan under this section shall not result in the 
        extension of the duration of the repayment period of the loan, 
        and the borrower shall retain the same repayment term that was 
        in effect on the original loan. Nothing in this paragraph shall 
        be construed to prevent a borrower from electing a different 
        repayment plan at any time in accordance with section 
        455(d)(3).
    ``(e) Definition of Qualified Borrower.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the term 
        `qualified borrower' means a borrower--
                    ``(A) of a loan under this part or part B; and
                    ``(B) who meets the eligibility requirements based 
                on income or debt-to-income ratio established by the 
                Secretary.
            ``(2) Income requirements.--Not later than 30 days after 
        the date of enactment of the Coronavirus Emergency Student Loan 
        Refinancing Act, the Secretary shall establish eligibility 
        requirements based on income or debt-to-income ratio that take 
        into consideration providing access to refinancing under this 
        section for borrowers with the greatest financial need.
    ``(f) Notification to Borrowers.--The Secretary, in coordination 
with the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, shall 
undertake a campaign to alert borrowers of loans that are eligible for 
refinancing under this section that the borrowers are eligible to apply 
for such refinancing. The campaign shall include the following 
activities:
            ``(1) Developing consumer information materials about the 
        availability of Federal student loan refinancing.
            ``(2) Requiring servicers of loans under this part or part 
        B to provide such consumer information to borrowers in a manner 
        determined appropriate by the Secretary, in consultation with 
        the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.''.
    (c) Amendments to Public Service Repayment Plan Provisions.--
Section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs 
        (4) and (5), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) Special rules for section 460a loans.--
                    ``(A) Refinanced federal direct loans.--
                Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in determining the 
                number of monthly payments that meet the requirements 
                of such paragraph for an eligible Federal Direct Loan 
                refinanced under section 460A that was originally a 
                loan under this part, the Secretary shall include all 
                monthly payments made on the original loan that meet 
                the requirements of such paragraph.
                    ``(B) Refinanced ffel loans.--In the case of an 
                eligible Federal Direct Loan refinanced under section 
                460A that was originally a loan under part B, only 
                monthly payments made after the date on which the loan 
                was refinanced may be included for purposes of 
                paragraph (1).''; and
            (3) in paragraph (4)(A) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)), 
        by inserting ``(including any Federal Direct Stafford Loan, 
        Federal Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 
        Loan, or Federal Direct Consolidation Loan refinanced under 
        section 460A)'' before the period at the end.
    (d) Income-Based Repayment.--Section 493C of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098e) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(f) Special Rule for Refinanced Loans.--In calculating the period 
of time during which a borrower of a loan that is refinanced under 
section 460A has made monthly payments for purposes of subsection 
(b)(7), the Secretary shall deem the period to include all monthly 
payments made for the original loan, and all monthly payments made for 
the refinanced loan, that otherwise meet the requirements of this 
section.''.
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