II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1794 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 17, 2007 Mr. Bayh introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Federal Direct Loan Program to provide that interest shall not accrue on Federal Direct Loans for active duty service members and their spouses.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Interest Relief Act .

2.

No accrual of interest for active duty service members and their spouses

Section 455 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e) is amended by adding at the end the following: (m)

No accrual of interest for active duty service members and their spouses

(1)

In general

Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, and except as provided in paragraph (3), interest on a loan made under this part shall not accrue for an eligible borrower. (2)

Eligible borrower

In this subsection, the term eligible borrower means an individual— (A)who is— (i)serving on active duty during a war or other military operation or national emergency; or (ii)performing qualifying National Guard duty during a war or other military operation or national emergency; or (B)who is the spouse of an individual described in subparagraph (A). (3)

Limitation

An individual who qualifies as an eligible borrower under this subsection may receive the benefit of this subsection for not more than 60 months. .