Legislative Tracker: Loan Repayment
On this page, you'll find proposals to improve or modify the process by which students borrow and repay their loans.
S.1764/H.R.3412 — Ending Administrative Garnishment Act of 2025
Sponsor: Sen. Booker [D-NJ]
Sponsor: Rep. Pressley [D-MA]
Introduced: 05/14/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would suspend ED’s authority to garnish wages for federal student loan repayment until the Secretary of Education certifies to Congress that a robust reform process is in place. This process must include swift refunds for improper garnishments, discretionary authority to pause garnishments at any time, and employer verification of garnishment details. If the Secretary cannot implement such a system, garnishment authority would remain suspended. The bill also allows borrowers or the Department to sue employers who fail to comply with garnishment suspensions, requires the Department to pay double the amount improperly garnished, and prohibits garnishment of loans older than 10 years.
H.R. 7831 – Preventing Financial Exploitation in Higher Education Act
Sponsor: Rep. Van Duyne [R-TX]
Introduced: 03/26/2024
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would require that institutions with endowments of $2.5 billion or more pay a penalty to the Department of Education (ED) based on the institution’s cohort default rate, cohort delinquency rate, and cohort underpayment rate. The bill outlines how much an institution would have to pay ED depending on the outstanding balance of principal and interest of each cohort. It would also increase taxes on net investment income for the institutions with large endowments that raise tuition beyond specified thresholds.
H.R. 7575 – Supporting America’s Young Entrepreneurs Act of 2024
Sponsor: Rep. Velazquez [D-NY]
Introduced: 03/06/2024
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would allow founders of small business start-ups to defer their federal student loan payments for up to three years. The bill would also allow ED to cancel up to $20,000 on any eligible federal direct loan for founders of small business start-ups who are not in default and up to $3,000 for employees of a small business start-up who are not in default. Additionally, this bill would establish the Young Entrepreneurs Business Center to, among other things, provide certifications for eligible small business founders and approve the loan cancellation requests.
H.R. 6792 – PSLF Administrative Improvements Act
Sponsor: Rep. Boyle [D-PA]
Introduced: 12/14/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would require ED to create and maintain a publicly accessible database of eligible PSLF employers, which would also include instructions on how to apply and complete an employment certification form. The bill would also require that ED, to the extent practicable, work with relevant federal agencies who have information about public service employees and their loan status’ to provide that information to ED to avoid the need for those employers to have to submit an employment certification form. This bill also calls for the creation of an online portal by ED that allows borrowers to get information on why their loans may have been rejected for forgiveness, as well as the number of the payments they have left before receiving forgiveness.
H.R. 6689 – Student Loan Relief for Medicare and Social Security Recipients Act of 2023
Sponsor: Rep. Schiff [D-CA]
Introduced: 12/07/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill calls on ED to forgive the outstanding balance of principal, interest, and fees due on eligible federal student loans of eligible borrowers. Eligible borrowers must be enrolled for benefits under part A of title XVIII of the Social Security Act or in the 24-month waiting period for such benefits. Borrowers who seek forgiveness will need to submit an application to ED. This bill will not provide refunds of any payments made by a borrower on an eligible federal student loan before the date that their loans were forgiven.
H.R. 6594 – Generating Relief for Academic Debt Using Assisted Tax Efficiency (GRADUATE) Act
Sponsor: Rep. Goldman [D-NY]
Introduced: 12/05/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would amend the IRS Code of 1986 to raise the student loan interest deduction up to $10,000 for eligible borrowers for both federal and private student loans. The amount a borrower can deduct will vary depending on their gross taxable income level. Borrowers who earn up to $125,000 in one year (or $250,000 for borrowers who file a joint return) would be able to deduct their loan payments up to $10,000. This bill would also allow borrowers to deduct an additional $500 for every child or dependent.
H.R. 6593 – Codifying SAVE Plan Act
Sponsor: Rep. Goldman [D-NY]
Introduced: 12/05/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would codify the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, the new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, into law.
H.R. 5920 – Student Loan Marriage Penalty Elimination Act of 2023
Sponsor: Rep. Grothman [R-WI]
Introduced: 10/11/2023
NASFAA Summary and Analysis: This bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to apply the student loan interest deduction limitation separately to each spouse. Currently, the maximum tax deduction for interest paid on federal student loans is $2,500 for each individual, filing on their own. The combined deduction is also $2,500 when two individuals are married and file their taxes jointly. This bill would now allow couples filing jointly to have a $5,000 dedication applied to their filing, assuming they both have paid student loan interest in the tax filing year.
H.R.5710 — Student Loan Refinancing and Recalculation Act
Sponsor: Rep. Garamendi [D-CA]
Introduced: 09/26/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would allow student loan borrowers to refinance their FFEL and Federal Direct Loans and outlines future interest rates for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2024, which would be the 10-year treasury note auction prior to June 1 in the year this bill is passed, plus 1 percent.
Borrowers serving in a medical, dental, or veterinary internship or residency program would be eligible for an in-school deferment until they complete their program of study. Additionally, the bill would allow interest to stop accruing for unsubsidized loan borrowers with an expected family contribution of $10,000 or less while in school. It would eliminate origination fees on any future federal direct student loans, as well as interest capitalization events.
H.R.5588/S.2872 — Student Loan Deferment for Sex-Based Harassment Survivors Act
Sponsor: Dean [Rep.-D-PA] & Fetterman [Sen.-D-PA]
Introduced: 09/20/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would allow borrowers who are victims of sex-based harassment to defer their payments on their student loans. The deferment period cannot exceed three years. Borrowers can qualify for this deferment once their enrollment status goes below full-time and after they submit documentation to ED to show that the sex-based harassment was reported to a “covered individual.” This bill considers a “covered individual” to be a title IX coordinator at the institution, another title IX official or administrator at the institution, or a health care provider. ED must submit a report to Congress no later than five years after this bill’s enactment to show its effectiveness.
H.R.4635 — Clean Slate through Repayment Act of 2023
Sponsor: Rep. Ross [D-NC]
Introduced: 07/13/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would remove the record of default from borrowers credit history on loans made, insured, or guaranteed under Tile IV, upon repayment of the full defaulted loan.
H.R.4594 — Clean Slate through Rehabilitation Act
Sponsor: Rep. Williams [D-GA]
Introduced: 07/12/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would remove all adverse credit history associated with a defaulted loan upon rehabilitation of the loan.
H.R.4591 — Clean Slate through Consolidation Act
Sponsor: Rep. Stevens [D-MI]
Introduced: 07/12/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would remove a record of default from borrower’s credit history upon obtaining a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan that discharges the defaulted loan.
H.R.4742 — Pay Back Act
Sponsor: Rep. McClain [R-MI]
Introduced: 07/19/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would prohibit the Secretary of Education, Secretary of the Treasury, and Attorney General from canceling Title IV student loans or portions of loans, or modifying the terms and conditions of loans unless expressly authorized to do so by an act of Congress.
S.1971 — Streamlining Accountability and Value in Education for Student (SAVE) Act
Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn [R-TX]
Introduced: 06/14/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would streamline the nine repayment plans to two–the 10-year standard repayment plan and one income-driven repayment plan. It would also prohibit federal student loans from paying for undergraduate and graduate programs in which half of graduates do not earn more than the median high school graduate and bachelor’s degree recipient. It also ends ED’s ability to enact new repayment plans without Congressional approval, and prevents implementation of the Biden administration's new SAVE repayment plan.
H.R.1202 — REDI Act
Sponsor: Babin [Rep.-R-TX]
Introduced: 02/27/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would allow borrowers in a medical or dental residency program to have the interest and payments on their student loans deferred while in such programs.
S.469/H.R.1125 — Student Transparency for Understanding Decisions in Education Net Terms (STUDENT) Act
Sponsors: Ernst [Sen.-R-IA] & Feenstra [Rep.-R-IA]
Introduced: 02/16/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would require the disclosure by the lender of the total amount of interest that would be paid over the life of the loan based on a standard 10-year repayment plan.
S.462 — Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act of 2023
Sponsor: Smith [Sen.-D-MN]
Introduced: 02/16/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would repay up to $250,000 in eligible student loans for mental health professionals who work in mental health professional shortage areas. It would repay one-sixth of an individual’s eligible loans for each year of service.
H.R.644 — Student Loan Borrower Safety Net Act of 2023
Sponsor: Rep. Bonamici [D-OR]
Introduced: 01/31/2023
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would require that ED reach out to borrowers at least six different times after the COVID-19 payment pause ends through phone, mail, or electronic communication. These notices will include information about when the borrower is set to begin repayment, a borrower's eligibility to enroll in an IDR plan, the option for a defaulted borrower to participate in Fresh Start, and the option to either rehabilitate or consolidate their loans. ED will prioritize their communications with vulnerable groups of borrowers, such as those who were in forbearance or deferment prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this bill would allow for written/verbal enrollment and income-certification for IDR. It would also make these flexibilities last for a year after payments resume.
Publication Date: 5/15/2025
