S.Amdt. 2105

SA 2105. Ms. HASSAN (for herself, Ms. Warren, Mr. Durbin, and Mr.
Brown) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the
bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 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 appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. ___. ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF COMPLAINT
RESOLUTION AND TRACKING SYSTEM.

Title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``PART F--COMPLAINT TRACKING SYSTEM

``SEC. 161. COMPLAINT TRACKING SYSTEM.

``(a) In General.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall maintain a complaint
tracking system that includes a single, toll-free telephone
number and a website to facilitate the centralized collection
of, monitoring of, and response to complaints and reports
(including evidence, as available) of suspicious activity
(such as unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices)
regarding--
``(A) Federal student financial aid and the servicing of
postsecondary education loans by loan servicers;
``(B) educational practices and services of institutions of
higher education; and
``(C) the recruiting and marketing practices of
institutions of higher education.
``(2) Definitions.--In this section:
``(A) Institution of higher education.--The term
`institution of higher education' has the meaning given that
term in section 102.
``(B) Recruiting and marketing activities.--
``(i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), the
term `recruiting and marketing activities' shall include the
following:

``(I) Advertising and promotion activities, including paid
announcements in newspapers, magazines, radio, television,
billboards, electronic media, naming rights, or any other
public medium of communication, including paying for displays
or promotions at job fairs, military installations, or
college recruiting events.
``(II) Efforts to identify and attract prospective
students, either directly or through a third party
contractor, including contact concerning a prospective
student's potential enrollment or application for grant,
loan, or

[[Page S3543]]

work assistance under title IV or participation in
preadmission or advising activities, including--

``(aa) paying employees responsible for overseeing
enrollment and for contacting potential students in-person,
by phone, by email, or by other Internet communications
regarding enrollment; and
``(bb) soliciting an individual to provide contact
information to an institution of higher education, including
websites established for such purpose and funds paid to third
parties for such purpose.

``(III) Such other activities as the Secretary may
prescribe, including paying for promotion or sponsorship of
education or military-related associations.

``(ii) Exceptions.--Any activity that is required as a
condition of receipt of funds by an institution under title
IV, is specifically authorized under such title, or is
otherwise specified by the Secretary, shall not be considered
to be a covered activity under this subparagraph.
``(b) Complaints.--Complaints and reports of suspicious
activity submitted to the tracking system by students,
borrowers of student loans, staff, or the general public--
``(1) may remain anonymous, if the complainant so chooses;
and
``(2) may describe problems that are systematic in nature
and not associated with a particular student.
``(c) Establishment of Complaint Tracking Office.--The
Secretary shall establish within the Department an office
whose functions shall include establishing and administering
the complaint tracking system, and widely disseminating
information about the complaint tracking system, established
under this subsection. The Secretary shall--
``(1) to the extent necessary, combine and consolidate the
other offices and functions of the Department to ensure that
the office established under this subsection is the single
point of contact for students and borrowers with complaints
or reports of suspicious activity regarding Federal student
financial aid, student loan servicers, educational practices
and services of institutions of higher education, and
recruiting and marketing activities of institutions of higher
education; and
``(2) to the extent practicable, ensure that the office
established under this subsection will work with the Student
Loan Ombudsman appointed in accordance with section 141(f)
and the Student Loan Ombudsman of the Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection to assist borrowers of Federal student
loans that submit complaints or reports of suspicious
activity to the complaint tracking system.
``(d) Handling of Complaints.--
``(1) Timely response to complaints.--The Secretary shall
establish, in consultation with the heads of appropriate
agencies (including the Director of the Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection), reasonable procedures to provide a
response to complainants not more than 90 days after
receiving a complaint in the complaint tracking system, in
writing where appropriate. Each response shall include a
description of--
``(A) the steps that have been taken by the Secretary in
response to the complaint or report of suspicious activity;
``(B) any responses received by the Secretary from the
institution of higher education or from a servicer; and
``(C) any additional actions that the Secretary has taken,
or plans to take, in response to the complaint or report of
suspicious activity.
``(2) Timely response to secretary by institution of higher
education or loan servicer.--If the Secretary determines that
it is necessary, the Secretary shall notify an institution of
higher education or loan servicer that is the subject of a
complaint or report of suspicious activity through the
complaint tracking system under this subsection regarding the
complaint or report and directly address and resolve the
complaint or report in the system. Not later than 60 days
after receiving such notice, such institution or loan
servicer shall provide a response to the Secretary concerning
the complaint or report, including--
``(A) the steps that have been taken by the institution or
loan servicer to respond to the complaint or report;
``(B) all responses received by the institution or loan
servicer from the complainant; and
``(C) any additional actions that the institution or loan
servicer has taken, or plans to take, in response to the
complaint or report.
``(3) Further investigation.--The Secretary may, in the
event that the complaint is not adequately resolved or
addressed by the responses of the institution of higher
education or loan servicer under paragraph (2), ask
additional questions of such institution or loan servicer or
seek additional information from or action by the institution
or loan servicer.
``(4) Provision of information.--
``(A) In general.--An institution of higher education or
loan servicer shall, in a timely manner, comply with a
request by the Secretary for information in the control or
possession of such institution or loan servicer concerning a
complaint or report of suspicious activity received by the
Secretary under this subsection, including supporting written
documentation, subject to subparagraph (B).
``(B) Exceptions.--An institution of higher education or
loan servicer shall not be required to make available under
this subsection--
``(i) any nonpublic or confidential information, including
any confidential commercial information;
``(ii) any information collected by the institution for the
purpose of preventing fraud or detecting or making any report
regarding other unlawful or potentially unlawful conduct; or
``(iii) any information required to be kept confidential by
any other provision of law.
``(5) Compliance.--An institution of higher education or
loan servicer shall comply with the requirements to provide
responses and information, in accordance with this
subsection, as a condition of receiving funds under title IV
or as a condition of the contract with the Department, as
applicable.
``(e) Transparency.--
``(1) Collecting and sharing information with federal,
state, and nationally recognized accrediting agencies.--In
accordance with section 444 of the General Education
Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly referred to as the
`Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974') and
other laws, the Secretary shall coordinate with the heads of
relevant Federal or State agencies or entities, and
nationally recognized accrediting agencies or associations
recognized by the Secretary pursuant to section 496 to--
``(A) collect any complaints and reports of suspicious
activity described in subsection (a)(1) from such agencies,
entities, or associations; and
``(B) route complaints and reports received by the
complaint tracking system under this section and complaints
and reports collected in accordance with subparagraph (A) to
the Department, the Department of Justice, the Department of
Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal
Trade Commission Consumer Sentinel Network, the Bureau of
Consumer Financial Protection, any equivalent State agency,
or the relevant nationally recognized accrediting agency or
association.
``(2) Interaction with existing complaint systems.--To the
extent practicable, all procedures established under this
section, and all coordination carried out under paragraph
(1), shall be established and carried out in accordance with
the complaint tracking systems established under Executive
Order 13607 (77 Fed. Reg. 25861; relating to establishing
principles of excellence for educational institutions serving
servicemembers, veterans, spouses, and other family members).
``(3) Public information.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall, on an annual basis,
publish on the website of the Department information on the
complaints and reports of suspicious activity received for
each institution of higher education or loan servicer under
this subsection, including--
``(i) the number of complaints and reports received;
``(ii) the types of complaints and reports received; and
``(iii) where applicable, information about the resolution
of the complaints and reports.
``(B) Data privacy.--In carrying out subparagraph (A), the
Secretary shall--
``(i) comply with applicable data privacy laws and
regulations; and
``(ii) ensure that personally identifiable information is
not shared.
``(4) Reports.--Each year, the Secretary shall prepare and
submit to Congress a report describing--
``(A) the types and nature of complaints or reports the
Secretary has received under this section;
``(B) the extent to which complainants are receiving
adequate resolution pursuant to this section;
``(C) whether particular types of complaints or reports are
more common in a given sector of institutions of higher
education or with particular loan servicers;
``(D) any legislative recommendations that the Secretary
determines are necessary to better assist students and
families regarding the activities described in subsection
(a)(1); and
``(E) the institutions of higher education and loan
servicers with the highest volume of complaints and reports,
as determined by the Secretary.''.
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