S.Amdt. 2644

SA 2644. Ms. WARREN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2282 submitted by Mr. Inhofe (for himself and Mr. McCain)
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 5515, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title V, add the following:

SEC. 558. STUDY AND REPORT ON SERVICEMEMBER ACCESS TO STUDENT
LOAN FORGIVENESS.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense, in consultation
with the Judge Advocate General for each Armed Force, and in
coordination with any other agency determined to be necessary
by the Secretary, shall conduct a study of instances in which
current and former servicemembers have attempted to pursue
student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan
Forgiveness Program authorized under section 455(m) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) (referred
to in this section as the ``Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Program'') and have experienced obstacles to accessing the
full benefit of that program, including circumstances in
which a servicemember was provided inaccurate or incomplete
information by a Federal student loan servicer or by any
Federal Government personnel related to--
(1) whether the type of student loan owed by a borrower is
eligible for loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan
Forgiveness Program;
(2) enrollment in a qualifying Federal student loan
repayment plan;
(3) documentation of one or more required ``on-time''
monthly payments, including payments made under a student
loan repayment program administered by the Department of
Defense; or
(4) certification of qualifying public service employment.
(b) Study on Effects on Military Readiness.--The study
described under subsection (a) shall also include a study of
the effects of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program on
military readiness. Such study shall include the effects of
the program on--
(1) recruitment and retention, including recruitment and
retention of officers, for each Armed Force, including the
National Guard and Reserve Components;

[[Page S3634]]

(2) recruitment and retention of health professionals in
the Army Medical Department, the Navy Bureau of Medicine and
Surgery, the Air Force Medical Services, or in any other
Department, Bureau, or Service in any Armed Force;
(3) recruitment for the Judge Advocate General for each
Armed Force; and
(4) retention for the Judge Advocate General for each Armed
Force.
(c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Judge Advocate General for each Armed
Force, and in coordination with any other agency determined
to be necessary, shall submit a report to the Committees on
Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives
that includes the following:
(1) A summary of the findings of the study required under
subsection (a).
(2) Descriptive information about student debt owed by
servicemembers, including--
(A) an estimate of the average amount of student debt owed
by servicemembers in each Armed Force; and
(B) an estimate of the percentage of servicemembers who owe
student debt in each Armed Force.
(3) Recommendations regarding how Congress, or a Federal
agency, could provide servicemembers with additional
flexibility--
(A) in circumstances in which borrowers were provided
inaccurate or incomplete information by a student loan
servicer or by any Federal Government personnel; and
(B) in any other circumstances that the Secretary of
Defense determines are necessary to ensure that borrowers are
able to obtain the full benefit of the Public Service Loan
Forgiveness Program.
(4) Ways to ensure that in circumstances in which a student
loan servicer or Federal Government agency is unable to
produce records that contradict an attestation by a borrower
of an instance in which that borrower was provided inaccurate
or incomplete information, as described subsection (a), such
an attestation shall be considered sufficient evidence that
the borrower was provided with inaccurate or incomplete
information.
(5) Recommendations for how Congress and other relevant
Federal agencies can strengthen the implementation of Public
Service Loan Forgiveness Program to ensure that the program
can best support recruitment, retention, and readiness in the
Armed Forces.
(d) Judge Advocate General.--In this section, the term
``Judge Advocate General'' includes the following:
(1) The Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the
Marine Corps, in the Case of the Marine Corps.
(2) An official designated to serve as the Judge Advocate
General of the Coast Guard by the Secretary of Homeland
Security.
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