[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2733 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2733

To provide for the establishment of a Private Education Loan Ombudsman.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 5, 2009

  Mr. Brown (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Franken, and Mr. Bennet) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the establishment of a Private Education Loan Ombudsman.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. APPOINTMENT OF PRIVATE EDUCATION LOAN OMBUDSMAN.

    The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary 
of Education, shall appoint a Private Education Loan Ombudsman (in this 
Act referred to as the ``Ombudsman'') to provide timely assistance to 
borrowers of private education loans.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC INFORMATION.

    The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Education shall 
disseminate information about the availability and functions of the 
Ombudsman to borrowers and potential borrowers, as well as institutions 
of higher education, lenders, guaranty agencies, loan servicers, and 
other participants in private education student loan programs and 
Federal student loan programs.

SEC. 3. FUNCTIONS OF OMBUDSMAN.

    The Ombudsman appointed under this Act shall--
            (1) in accordance with regulations of the Secretary of the 
        Treasury, receive, review, and attempt to resolve informally 
        complaints from borrowers of loans described in section 1, 
        including, as appropriate, attempts to resolve such complaints 
        in collaboration with the Department of Education and with 
        institutions of higher education, lenders, guaranty agencies, 
        loan servicers, and other participants in private education 
        loan programs;
            (2) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, establish a memorandum of understanding with the 
        student loan ombudsman established under section 141(f) of the 
        Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1018(f)), to ensure 
        coordination in providing assistance to serving borrowers 
        seeking to resolve complaints related to their private 
        education or Federal student loans;
            (3) compile and analyze data on borrower complaints 
        regarding private education loans; and
            (4) make appropriate recommendations to the Secretary of 
        the Treasury, the Secretary of Education, the Committee on 
        Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on 
        Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Education 
        and Labor of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORTS.

    (a) In General.--The Ombudsman shall prepare an annual report that 
describes the activities, and evaluates the effectiveness of the 
Ombudsman during the preceding year.
    (b) Submission.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be 
submitted on the same date annually to the Secretary of the Treasury, 
the Secretary of Education, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services and the 
Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the terms ``private education loan'' and 
``institution of higher education'' have the same meanings as in 
section 140 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650).
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