To establish student loan interest rates, and for other purposes.

SA 1773. Mr. HARKIN (for Mr. Manchin (for himself, Mr. Burr, Mr.
King, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Carper, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Harkin, and Mr.
Durbin)) proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 1911, of 1965 to
establish interest rates for new loans made on or after July 1, 2013,
to direct the Secretary of Education to convene the Advisory Committee
on Improving Postsecondary Education Data to conduct a study on
improvements to postsecondary education transparency at the Federal
level, and for other purposes; as follows:

Strike all after the first word and insert the following:

1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Bipartisan Student Loan
Certainty Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. INTEREST RATES.

(a) Interest Rates.--Section 455(b) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (7)--
(A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting ``and before
july 1, 2013'' after ``on or after july 1, 2006'';
(B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and before July 1,
2013,'' after ``on or after July 1, 2006,'';
(C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``and before July 1,
2013,'' after ``on or after July 1, 2006,''; and
(D) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``and before July 1,
2013,'' after ``on or after July 1, 2006,'';
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and (9) as paragraphs
(9) and (10), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
``(8) Interest rate provisions for new loans on or after
july 1, 2013.--
``(A) Rates for undergraduate fdsl and fdusl.--
Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs of this subsection,
for Federal Direct Stafford Loans and Federal Direct
Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued to undergraduate students,
for which the first disbursement is made on or after July 1,
2013, the applicable rate of interest shall, for loans
disbursed during any 12-month period beginning on July 1 and
ending on June 30, be determined on the preceding June 1 and
be equal to the lesser of--
``(i) a rate equal to the high yield of the 10-year
Treasury note auctioned at the final auction held prior to
such June 1 plus 2.05 percent; or
``(ii) 8.25 percent.
``(B) Rates for graduate and professional fdusl.--
Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs of this subsection,
for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued to
graduate or professional students, for which the first
disbursement is made on or after July 1, 2013, the applicable
rate of interest shall, for loans disbursed during any 12-
month period beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30, be
determined on the preceding June 1 and be equal to the lesser
of--
``(i) a rate equal to the high yield of the 10-year
Treasury note auctioned at the final auction held prior to
such June 1 plus 3.6 percent; or
``(ii) 9.5 percent.
``(C) PLUS loans.--Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs
of this subsection, for Federal Direct PLUS Loans, for which
the first disbursement is made on or after July 1, 2013, the
applicable rate of interest shall, for loans disbursed during
any 12-month period beginning on July 1 and ending on June
30, be determined on the preceding June 1 and be equal to the
lesser of--
``(i) a rate equal to the high yield of the 10-year
Treasury note auctioned at the final auction held prior to
such June 1 plus 4.6 percent; or
``(ii) 10.5 percent.
``(D) Consolidation loans.--Notwithstanding the preceding
paragraphs of this subsection, any Federal Direct
Consolidation Loan for which the application is received on
or after July 1, 2013, shall bear interest at an annual rate
on the unpaid principal balance of the loan that is equal to
the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans
consolidated, rounded to the nearest higher one-eighth of one
percent.
``(E) Consultation.--The Secretary shall determine the
applicable rate of interest under this paragraph after
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and shall
publish such rate in the Federal Register as soon as
practicable after the date of determination.
``(F) Rate.--The applicable rate of interest determined
under this paragraph for a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, a
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or a Federal
Direct PLUS Loan shall be fixed for the period of the
loan.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall take effect as if enacted on July 1, 2013.

SEC. 3. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

(a) Paygo Scorecard.--The budgetary effects of this Act
shall not be entered on either PAYGO scorecard maintained
pursuant to section 4(d) of the Statutory Pay- As-You-Go Act
of 2010.
(b) Senate Paygo Scorecard.--The budgetary effects of this
Act shall not be entered on any PAYGO scorecard maintained
for purposes of section 201 of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th
Congress).

SEC. 4. STUDY ON THE ACTUAL COST OF ADMINISTERING THE FEDERAL
STUDENT LOAN PROGRAMS.

Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall--
(1) complete a study that determines the actual cost to the
Federal Government of carrying out the Federal student loan
programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), which shall--
(A) provide estimates relying on accurate information based
on past, current, and projected data as to the appropriate
index and mark-up rate for the Federal Government's cost of
borrowing that would allow the Federal Government to
effectively administer and cover the cost of the Federal
student programs authorized under title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) under the
scoring rules outlined in the Federal Credit Reform Act of
1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.);
(B) provide the information described in this section in a
way that separates out administrative costs, interest rate,
and other loan terms and conditions; and
(C) set forth clear recommendations to the relevant
authorizing committees of Congress as to how future
legislation can incorporate the results of the study
described in this section to allow for the administration of
the Federal student loan programs authorized under title IV
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.)
without generating any additional revenue to the Federal
Government except revenue that is needed to carry out such
programs; and
(2) prepare and submit a report to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the
Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of
Representatives setting forth the conclusions of the study
described in this

[[Page S5919]]

section in such a manner that the recommendations included in
the report can inform future reauthorizations of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
______