US Congress House Bill 6597 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 24-6)
Status: Introduced on April 22 2020 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2020-04-22 - Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Pending: House Education and Labor Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Establishes a temporary program to suspend payments and interest through September 30, 2020, on Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) that are not held by the Department of Education (ED). (Currently, payments and interest are suspended through this period on certain Federal Direct Loans and FFELs held by ED.) Specifically, ED must (1) enter into agreements with eligible lenders and guaranty agencies to reduce the interest rate to 0% on FFELs, and (2) make monthly payments to lenders and guaranty agencies to offset the cost of the reduced interest rate. A lender or guaranty agency that enters into an agreement with ED must (1) temporarily waive interest and suspend all payments due from borrowers through September 30, 2020; (2) suspend all involuntary collections; (3) notify borrowers, within 15 days, that their loan payments have been suspended and interest has been waived; and (4) carry out a program, beginning on August 1, 2020, to provide not fewer than six notices to borrowers that normal payment obligations will resume. Additionally, ED must deem each month for which a loan payment was suspended as if the borrower of the loan had made a payment for the purpose of any authorized loan forgiveness program or loan rehabilitation program. Finally, ED must ensure that any suspended payment on such a loan is treated as a regularly scheduled payment made by a borrower for the purpose of reporting information about the loan to a consumer reporting agency.

Equity in Student Loan Relief Act

Rep. Elise Stefanik [R-NY]	Rep. Lori Trahan [D-MA]	Rep. Lloyd Smucker [R-PA]	Rep. Alma Adams [D-NC]
Rep. Suzanne Lee [D-NV]	Sen. Peter Welch [D-VT]	Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick [R-PA]	Rep. Bonnie Coleman [D-NJ]
Rep. Susan Wild [D-PA]	Rep. Conor Lamb [D-PA]	Rep. John Katko [R-NY]	Rep. Marcia Fudge [D-OH]
Rep. Bennie Thompson [D-MS]	Rep. David Loebsack [D-IA]	Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee [D-TX]	Rep. Jahana Hayes [D-CT]
Rep. Mac Thornberry [R-TX]	Rep. Josh Harder [D-CA]	Rep. Al Lawson [D-FL]	Rep. Bill Foster [D-IL]
Rep. Abby Finkenauer [D-IA]	Rep. Cindy Axne [D-IA]	Rep. Adam Smith [D-WA]	Rep. Katie Porter [D-CA]
Rep. Ron Wright [R-TX]	Rep. James Himes [D-CT]	Rep. Matthew Cartwright [D-PA]	Rep. Anthony Brindisi [D-NY]
Rep. Lucy McBath [D-GA]	Rep. Josh Gottheimer [D-NJ]

Date	Chamber	Action
2020-04-22	House	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
2020-04-22	House	Introduced in House

SB4237 (Related) 2020-07-21 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4351)

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6597/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr6597/BILLS-116hr6597ih.pdf