Legislative Tracker: Loans & Repayment
On this page, you'll find proposals to improve or modify the process by which students borrow and repay their loans.
For student loan and repayment proposals from the previous sessions of Congress, visit the Legislative Tracker Archive: Loans & Repayment.
*NEW* PSLF Technical Corrections Act of 2019 |
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| Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon (D-RI) |
Cosponsors: 1 (0 R; 1 D) |
Introduced: 04/11/2019 |
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NASFAA Analysis & Coverage: The bill seeks to extend PSLF eligibility to borrowers who have already invested up to 10 years toward making 120 on-time payments, but may have been unaware that the payment plan in which they enrolled was not sanctioned for forgiveness. |
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*NEW* Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act |
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| S. 1163 | Sponsor: Sen. Crapo, Mike (R-ID) |
Cosponsors: 10 (3 R; 6 D; 1 I) |
Introduced: 04/11/2019 |
| NASFAA Analysis & Coverage: This bill would exempt Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) awards from withholding taxes. | |||
*NEW* Student Loan Refinancing Act |
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| H.R. 2186 | Sponsor: Rep. Pocan (D-WI) |
Cosponsors: 30 (0 R; 29 D) |
Introduced: 04/09/2019 |
| NASFAA Analysis & Coverage: The Student Loan Refinancing Act would allow any borrower of Federal Direct Loans including Subsidized, Unsubsidized and PLUS loans, to refinance their federal loan interest rate to whatever the current award year interest rate. A borrower can have the interest rate refinanced at any time during the life of loan with no limit, with the exception that a loan can only be refinanced once every six months. | |||
*NEW* Affordable Loans for Any Student Act |
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| H.R. 2065 | Sponsor: Rep. DeLauro, Rosa L. (D-CT) |
Cosponsors: 0 (0 R; 0 D) |
Introduced: 04/03/2019 |
| S. 1002 | Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff (D-OR) |
Cosponsors: 9 (0 R; 9 D) |
Introduced: 04/03/2019 |
| NASFAA Analysis & Coverage: The bill tackles several issues related to student loan affordability, complexity, and consumer information. The bill would end federal loan origination fees and the practice of interest capitalization as well as reduce the number of repayment plans to two: an income-based repayment plan, which would now be available to Parent PLUS borrowers, and a fixed 10-year plan. The Affordable Loans for Any Student Act would also simplify the process to enroll in either repayment plan. | |||
Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing |
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| H.R. 1707 | Sponsor: Rep. Courtney (D-CT) |
Co-Sponsors: 67 (0 R; 67 D) |
Introduced: 03/13/2019 |
| S. 768 | Sponsor: Sen. Warren (D-MA) |
Co-Sponsors: 34 (1 I, 33 D) |
Introduced: 03/13/2019 |
| NASFAA Analysis & Coverage: This bill would allow borrowers who meet an income requirement with Federal Direct Loans, including Parent PLUS and Consolidation Loans, as well as borrowers with FFEL Program Loans to refinance their current loan balances under the interest rate applicable to their loan type in 2016-2017. The new refinanced rate would be fixed for the rest of the life of the loan(s) and would not lengthen the repayment time frame of the loan. The bill would also allow qualified borrowers to refinance private loans with the Department of Education. | |||
Student and Families Empowerment Act |
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| H.R. 1798 | Sponsor: Rep. Rice (D-NY) |
Co-Sponsors: 0 (0 R; 0 D) |
Introduced: 03/14/2019 |
| NASFAA Analysis & Coverage: This bill would extend the current grace period time frame for student loan borrowers. For all Federal Direct Loan programs, the grace period would be extended from 6 months to 12 months and interest would not accrue for the new 12-month period as well. The bill would also allow for an increase of the student loan interest deduction for tax filing purposes. | |||
Physician Assistant Higher Education Modernization Act |
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| H.R. 1685 | Sponsor: Rep. Bass (D-CA) |
Co-Sponsors: 0 (0 R; 0 D) |
Introduced: 03/12/2019 |
| NASFAA Analysis & Coverage: This bill would increase the unsubsidized loan limit for graduate students in physician assistant (PA) programs, authorize loan forgiveness programs for PAs who serve in areas of national need, develop a program to expand PA education programs at rural institutions, make Historically Black Colleges & Universities eligible to receive additional grants and give grant preference to programs at Hispanic Serving Institutions, and increase grant funding opportunities for PA faculty development and technology at PA programs. | |||
Debt-Free College Act of 2019 |
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| H.R. 1571 | Sponsor: Rep. Pocan (D-WI) |
Co-Sponsors: 32 (0 R; 32 D) |
Introduced: 03/06/2019 |
| S. 672 | Sponsor: Sen. Schatz (D-HI) |
Co-Sponsors: 9 (0 R; 9 D) |
Introduced: 03/06/2019 |
| NASFAA Analysis & Coverage: This bill would create a State-Federal partnership program that aims to provide a debt-free college experience. This program would create a commitment to cover remaining unmet financial need for eligible students. To be eligible students would need to be enrolled at an eligible institution in the state they reside, complete the FAFSA and meet SAP requirements. This bill would authorize $84 billion to create the partnership program. In addition, the Debt-Free College Act would provide full Title IV eligibility for Dreamer students and repeal the suspension of Title IV aid for students with drug-related offenses. | |||
REDI (Resident Education Deferred Interest) Act |
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| H.R. 1554 | Sponsor: Rep. Babin (R-TX) |
Co-Sponsors: 9 (6 R; 3 D) |
Introduced: 03/06/2019 |
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NASFAA Analysis & Coverage: The REDI Act would allow borrowers in a medical or dental residency program to have the interest and payments on their student loans deferred. |
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Employer Participation in Repayment Act of 2019 |
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| H.R. 1043 | Sponsor: Rep. Peters (D-CA) |
Co-Sponsors: 114 (34 R; 80 D) |
Introduced: 02/07/2019 |
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NASFAA Analysis & Coverage: This bill would expand employer-provided educational assistance programs to include employer-provided student loan repayment assistance. The bill would allow employers to offer up to $5,250 per year in student loan repayment assistance to their employees. This amount would be excluded from the employee’s taxable income.
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Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act |
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| H.R. 885 | Sponsor: Rep. Cohen (D-TN) |
Co-Sponsors: 13 (0 R; 13 D) |
Introduced: 01/30/2019 |
| NASFAA Analysis & Coverage: This bill would allow private student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy. | |||
Publication Date: 6/3/2019