[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 835 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 835
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide student loan
borrowers with a choice of lender for loan consolidation, to provide
notice regarding loan consolidation, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 9, 2003
Ms. Landrieu introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide student loan
borrowers with a choice of lender for loan consolidation, to provide
notice regarding loan consolidation, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. STUDENT LOAN CONSOLIDATION.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Consolidation
Student Loan Flexibility Act of 2003''.
(b) Student Loan Borrower Choice of Loan Consolidator.--Section
428C(b)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-
3(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``and (i) the lender holds'' and all
that follows through ``selected for consolidation)''.
(c) Consolidation Loan Agreements.--Section 428C(b)(1) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-3(b)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G);
and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
``(F) that each applicant for a consolidation loan
will be provided a clear and conspicuous notice, in
such form as the Secretary shall prescribe, describing
(i) the effects of a consolidation loan and its
available repayment plans on the borrower's interest
rate, the amount of the applicant's monthly and total
payments, the total interest accrued, and the length of
the repayment term, (ii) the availability of the
student borrower to prepay loans, and (iii) the
differences between variable and fixed interest rates,
which information shall be relative to the borrower's
reported current loan balance and the likely interest
rate estimated by the lender under consideration for
the consolidation loan.''.
(d) Exit Counseling.--Section 485(b) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Each eligible institution shall provide to the borrower of a
loan made under part B, D, or E, during the exit interview required by
this subsection, a clear and conspicuous notice, in such form as the
Secretary shall prescribe, describing the effect of using a
consolidation loan to discharge the borrower's student loans, and
including, with respect to a series of loan amount ranges--
``(A) the differences between fixed and variable interest
rates;
``(B) the effects of a consolidation loan and its available
repayment plans on the borrower's interest rate, the amount of
the borrower's monthly and total payments, the total interest
accrued, and the length of repayment term; and
``(C) the ability of the borrower to prepay loans.''.
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