[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4480 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4480
To amend adverse credit history determinations for purposes of Federal
Direct PLUS Loan eligibility.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 10, 2014
Mr. Richmond (for himself, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Hastings of
Florida, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Thompson of
Mississippi, Mr. Rush, Mr. Fattah, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Danny K.
Davis of Illinois, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mr. Payne, Mrs.
Christensen, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Norton, Mr.
Cummings, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Butterfield, Mr.
Meeks, Ms. Moore, Mr. Jeffries, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Jackson
Lee, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Conyers, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Bass, Mr. Ellison, Mr.
Veasey, Ms. Fudge, Ms. Waters, Mr. Clay, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr.
Bishop of Georgia, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, and Ms. Clarke of New York)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend adverse credit history determinations for purposes of Federal
Direct PLUS Loan eligibility.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Educational Loans for
Underserved Students Act''.
SEC. 2. ADVERSE CREDIT HISTORY DETERMINATIONS FOR FEDERAL DIRECT PLUS
LOAN ELIGIBILITY.
Section 455 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(r) Federal Direct PLUS Loans.--
``(1) In general.--Beginning July 1, 2014, in determining
the eligibility of a student to borrow Federal Direct PLUS
Loans, the Secretary shall determine whether the student has an
adverse credit history in accordance with paragraph (2).
``(2) Determination of adverse credit history.--In
determining whether a student has an adverse credit history for
purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary--
``(A) shall obtain a credit report on the student
from at least one consumer reporting agency described
under section 603(p) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
(15 U.S.C. 1681a(p)) and within a timeframe that would
ensure the most accurate, current representation of the
student's credit history before the first day of the
period of enrollment for which the loan is intended;
``(B) unless the Secretary determines that the
student has extenuating circumstances, shall consider
that a student has an adverse credit history based on
the student's credit report, if--
``(i) the student is considered 90 or more
days delinquent on the repayment of a debt
exceeding $2,000; or
``(ii) during the 3 years before the date
of the credit report, the student has been the
subject of a--
``(I) default determination;
``(II) bankruptcy discharge;
``(III) foreclosure;
``(IV) repossession;
``(V) tax lien;
``(VI) wage garnishment; or
``(VII) write-off of a debt under
this title;
``(C) shall not consider a student with debt that
is unrelated to loans made under this title and that,
as of the date of the student's credit report, are in
collections or have been charged off, to have an
adverse credit history and shall not deny a Federal
Direct PLUS Loan to the student for having such debt;
``(D) shall require that any student described in
subparagraph (C) or a student who has been the subject
of 1 or more of the actions described in subclauses (I)
through (VII) of subparagraph (B)(ii) during a period
ending more than 3 years before the date of the
student's credit report, to participate in loan
counseling provided by the applicable institution of
higher education as a condition of being eligible to
receive a Federal Direct PLUS Loan;
``(E) shall not consider a student with no credit
history as an individual with an adverse credit
history, and shall not use a student's absence of
credit history as a reason to deny a Federal Direct
PLUS Loan to such student;
``(F) shall retain a record of the Secretary's
basis for determining that the student has extenuating
circumstances under subparagraph (B), which may include
an updated credit report, debt related to a medical
condition, a statement from a creditor that the student
has made satisfactory arrangements to repay the debt
owed to the creditor, a satisfactory statement from the
student explaining any delinquencies with outstanding
balances of less than $2,000, or a reduction of the
credit requirements under this subsection in response
to a natural disaster or poor economic conditions that
are unforeseen or prolonged; and
``(G) in a case in which the Secretary determines
that a student does not to have an adverse credit
history in accordance with this subsection, shall
consider such determination to be in effect for a 2-
year period beginning on the date the Secretary makes
such determination.
``(3) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, the
term `student' means a graduate or professional student or the
parents of a dependent student.''.
SEC. 3. INAPPLICABILITY OF TITLE IV NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING REQUIREMENT
AND MASTER CALENDAR EXCEPTION.
Sections 482(c) and 492 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1089(c), 1098a) shall not apply to the amendment made by section
2, or to any regulations promulgated under such amendment.
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