[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1266 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1266

 To provide for the establishment of a mechanism to allow borrowers of 
    private education loans to refinance their loans, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 27, 2013

Mr. Brown (for himself, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Murray, and Mrs. 
  Gillibrand) 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 mechanism to allow borrowers of 
    private education loans to refinance their 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 ``Refinancing Education Funding to 
Invest (REFI) for the Future Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) there is approximately $1,100,000,000,000 of 
        outstanding student loan debt in the United States, including 
        more than $150,000,000,000 in private education loans;
            (2) as of 2008, 81 percent of individuals graduating with 
        an undergraduate degree with more than $40,000 in student loans 
        had a private education loan;
            (3) the limited number of lenders in the private education 
        loan marketplace reduce the ability of borrowers with private 
        education loans to restructure, refinance, or negotiate 
        repayment terms for their current loans, leading to excessive 
        debt burdens and potential default; and
            (4) excessive student indebtedness reduces economic 
        activity, threatens homeownership, hurts small business growth, 
        and limits opportunities for economic expansion in rural 
        communities.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to spur economic growth, 
by establishing a mechanism to allow borrowers of private education 
loans to refinance their loans in order--
            (1) to facilitate greater competition in the private 
        education lending and refinancing markets;
            (2) to address inefficiencies in the private education 
        lending and refinancing markets;
            (3) to encourage innovation in the private education 
        refinancing markets; and
            (4) to promote the participation of private capital in the 
        private education refinancing markets.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``private education loan'' has the same 
        meaning as in section 140(a) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 
        U.S.C. 1650(a)); and
            (2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Treasury, other than in the context of the Secretary of 
        Education.

SEC. 4. TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO CREATE A CREDIT FACILITY TO INCREASE 
              MARKET EFFICIENCY IN THE STUDENT LOAN MARKET.

    (a) Authority.--
            (1) In general.--
                    (A) Credit facilities authorization.--Upon a 
                determination by the Secretary that borrowers are 
                unable to secure adequate credit accommodations with 
                existing private education loans, the Secretary, 
                notwithstanding any provision of section 484 of the 
                Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091), is 
                authorized to establish lending, purchase, and other 
                credit facilities to--
                            (i) accommodate reasonable refinancing 
                        opportunities or other loan adjustments that--
                                    (I) improve the sustainability of 
                                payments for the borrower; and
                                    (II) reduce the likelihood of 
                                delinquency and default on private 
                                education loans;
                            (ii) benefit borrowers that are most likely 
                        to have private student debt service 
                        obligations that represent a disproportionate 
                        share of their income; and
                            (iii) ensure that borrowers pay lower 
                        interest rates that are commensurate with 
                        credit risk, so that they may pursue more 
                        economically productive activities, such as 
                        home purchases and small business formation.
                    (B) Consultation.--
                            (i) In general.--Any determination under 
                        subparagraph (A) shall be made jointly with the 
                        Secretary of Education and the Director of the 
                        Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
                            (ii) Compliance system.--Prior to 
                        establishing a facility under this subsection, 
                        the Secretary, or any administrator designated 
                        by the Secretary to establish a program to 
                        carry out the authority provided in this 
                        subsection, shall establish a compliance system 
                        in consultation with the Bureau of Consumer 
                        Financial Protection.
            (2) No net cost to government.--Mechanisms established 
        under this subsection shall not result in any net cost to the 
        Federal Government, as determined jointly by the Secretary, the 
        Secretary of Education, and the Director of the Office of 
        Management and Budget.
    (b) Federal Register Notice.--Prior to exercising any authority 
provided under subsection (a), the Secretary shall publish a notice in 
the Federal Register to seek comment from interested parties on its 
proposed exercise of such authority, including--
            (1) the terms and conditions governing the lending, 
        purchases, or other credit facilities authorized by subsection 
        (a);
            (2) an outline of methodology and factors considered in the 
        purchase or restructuring of private education loans;
            (3) private education loan modification options that may be 
        available for existing loans;
            (4) how they will ensure that borrowers whose education 
        debt service obligations represent a disproportionate share of 
        their income will be provided relief; and
            (5) how the use of the methodology and factors, as proposed 
        in the notice, will be used to ensure that any exercise of 
        authority by the Secretary will result in no net cost to the 
        Federal Government.
    (c) Initial Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report that includes--
            (1) a plan of the Secretary to implement credit mechanisms 
        under the authority of this Act;
            (2) a description of macroeconomic benefits of increased 
        efficiency and refinance activity in the student loan market; 
        and
            (3) a description of the benefits through the use of such 
        authority to private education loan borrowers, including how 
        any incidental net gain from the credit mechanism would be used 
        to benefit student borrowers.
    (d) Annual Reports.--Beginning 1 year after the date of the first 
use of the authority provided under this section, the Secretary shall 
provide an annual report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of 
the House of Representatives describing the utilization, impact, and 
financial performance of any program established under the authority of 
this section.
    (e) Public Awareness.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
publication of a notice in the Federal Register pursuant to subsection 
(b), the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Education and 
the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, shall 
begin a national awareness campaign to alert all private education loan 
borrowers who may benefit from any program or facilities established 
under this section. Such campaign shall include outreach to targeted 
populations of borrowers that are most likely to have private education 
loan debt service obligations that represent a disproportionate share 
of their income.
    (f) Expiration of Authority.--Three years after the date on which a 
credit facility is established under this Act, and not later than 5 
years after the date of enactment of this Act, any new lending, 
purchase, or other activity initiated through the facilities 
established by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall cease.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Federal financial 
institutions, such as the Federal Financing Bank and the Federal 
Reserve banks, and federally chartered private entities, such as the 
Federal home loan banks, should consider, in consultation with the 
Secretary and the Secretary of Education, using available authorities 
in a timely manner, if needed, to assist in ensuring that borrowers of 
private education loans can secure credit accommodations to refinance 
existing loans, in a manner that results in no increased costs to 
taxpayers.
                                 <all>