[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1241 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]
Calendar No. 125
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1241
To establish the interest rate for certain Federal student loans, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 27, 2013
Mr. Manchin (for himself, Mr. King, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Coburn, Mr.
Burr, Mr. Carper, Ms. Ayotte, and Mr. Isakson) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and ordered placed on the calendar
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the interest rate for certain Federal student loans, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty
Act''.
SEC. 2. INTEREST RATES.
(a) Interest Rate Provisions and Disclosures.--Section 455 of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(7)(C), by inserting ``and before July
1, 2013,'' after`` July 1, 2006,''; and
(2) by adding at the end of the following:
``(E) Interest rate provisions for new loans on or
after july 1, 2013.--
``(i) Federal direct stafford loans,
federal direct unsubsidized stafford loans, and
federal direct plus loans.--
``(I) In general.--Notwithstanding
the preceding paragraphs of this
subsection or subparagraph (A) or (B),
for Federal Direct Stafford Loans,
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford
Loans, and Federal Direct PLUS Loans
for which the first disbursement is
made on or after July 1, 2013, the
applicable rate of interest shall, for
loans disbursed during any 12-month
period beginning on July 1 and ending
on June 30, be determined on the
preceding June 1 and be equal to--
``(aa) the bond equivalent
rate of 10-year Treasury bills
auctioned at the final auction
held prior to such June 1; plus
``(bb)(AA) 1.85 percent for
Federal Direct Stafford Loans
and Federal Direct Unsubsidized
Stafford Loans for
undergraduate students;
``(BB) 3.4 percent for
Federal Direct Unsubsidized
Stafford Loans for graduate
students; and
``(CC) 4.4 percent for
Federal Direct PLUS Loans.
``(II) Consultation.--The Secretary
shall determine the applicable rates of
interest under this clause after
consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury and shall publish such rate in
the Federal Register on or before June
5 preceding the award year for which
the rate is determined.
``(III) Rate.--The applicable rate
of interest determined under subclause
(I) for a Federal Direct Stafford Loan,
a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford
Loan, or a Federal Direct PLUS Loan
shall be fixed for the period of the
Loan.
``(ii) Consolidation loans.--Any Federal
Direct Consolidation Loan for which the
application is received on or after July 1,
2013, shall bear interest at an annual rate on
the unpaid principal balance of the loan that
is equal to the lesser of--
``(I) the weighted average of the
interest rates on the loans
consolidated, rounded to the nearest
higher one-eighth of one percent; or
``(II) 8.25 percent.''.
(b) Exit Counseling Requirement.--Section 485(b)(1)(A)(vii) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subclauses (III) and (IV) as
subclauses (VI) and (VII), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subclause (II) the following:
``(III) the borrower's options for
loan consolidation;
``(IV) information about the
income-based repayment plan under
section 493C, including information
about capped monthly payments and loan
forgiveness under such plan;
``(V) information about Federal
Direct Consolidation Loans, which for
applications received on or after July
1, 2013, have a maximum interest rate
of 8.25 percent, as described under
section 455(b)(7)(E)(ii)''.
SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to provide the Secretary of
Education with the authority to require, or promulgate regulations
requiring, new counseling not otherwise required by section 2, and the
amendments made by such section, or the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional
Record by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
Calendar No. 125
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1241
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the interest rate for certain Federal student loans, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 27, 2013
Read twice and ordered placed on the calendar