Ensure Responsible Borrowing Act

Bill: 114-hr-5481
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Salmon, Matt [R-AZ-5]
Introduced: 2016-06-14
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Financial literacy

Higher education

Student aid and college costs
Latest action: action_date: 2016-09-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.

Summaries:
action_date: 2016-06-14
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Ensure Responsible Borrowing Act</b></p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p>

tv_txt: I 114th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5481 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 14, 2016 Mr. Salmon (for himself and Mr. Grothman ) 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ensure Responsible Borrowing Act . 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). .