[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1489 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1489
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize borrowers to
separate joint consolidation loans.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 15, 2019
Mr. Warner (for himself, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize borrowers to
separate joint consolidation loans.
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 ``Joint Consolidation Loan Separation
Act''.
SEC. 2. SEPARATING JOINT CONSOLIDATION LOANS.
(a) In General.--Section 455(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1087e(g)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``A borrower'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--A borrower''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Separating joint consolidation loans.--
``(A) In general.--A married couple, or 2
individuals who were previously a married couple, and
who received a joint consolidation loan as such married
couple under subparagraph (C) of section 428C(a)(3) (as
such subparagraph was in effect on or before June 30,
2006), may apply to the Secretary for each individual
borrower in the married couple (or previously married
couple) to receive a separate Federal Direct
Consolidation Loan under this part--
``(i) that shall be equal to the sum of--
``(I) the unpaid principal and
accrued unpaid interest of the
percentage of the joint consolidation
loan that, as of the day before such
joint consolidation loan was made, was
attributable to the loans of the
individual borrower for whom such
separate consolidation loan is being
made; and
``(II) any other loans described in
section 428C(a)(4) that such individual
borrower selects for consolidation
under this part;
``(ii) the proceeds of which shall be paid
by the Secretary to the holder or holders--
``(I) of the joint consolidation
loan for the purpose of discharging the
liability on the percentage of such
joint consolidation loan described in
clause (i)(I); and
``(II) of the loans selected for
consolidation under clause (i)(II) for
the purpose of discharging the
liability on such loans;
``(iii) that has the same rate of interest
as the joint consolidation loan;
``(iv) for which any payment made under
section 455(m)(1)(A) on the joint consolidation
loan during a period in which the individual
borrower for whom such separate consolidation
loan is being made was employed in a public
service job described in section 455(m)(1)(B)
shall be treated as if such payment were made
on such separate consolidation loan; and
``(v) for which any payment made under an
income contingent repayment plan or an income-
based repayment plan described in subparagraph
(D) or (E) of section 455(d)(1), respectively,
on the joint consolidation loan shall be
treated as if such payment were made on such
separate consolidation loan.
``(B) Application for separate direct consolidation
loan.--
``(i) Joint application.--Except as
provided in clause (ii), to receive separate
consolidation loans under subparagraph (A),
both individual borrowers in a married couple
(or previously married couple) shall jointly
apply under subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Separate application.--An individual
borrower in a married couple (or previously
married couple) may apply for a separate
consolidation loan under subparagraph (A)
separately and without regard to whether or
when the other individual borrower in the
married couple (or previously married couple)
applies under subparagraph (A), in a case in
which--
``(I) the individual borrower has
experienced from the other individual
borrower--
``(aa) domestic violence
(as defined in section 40002(a)
of the Violence Against Women
Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C.
13925(a))); or
``(bb) economic abuse
(including behaviors that
control such borrower's ability
to acquire, use, and maintain
access to money, credit, or the
joint financial obligations of
both borrowers);
``(II) the individual borrower
certifies, on a form approved by the
Secretary, that such borrower is unable
to reasonably reach or access the loan
information of the other individual
borrower; or
``(III) the Secretary determines
that authorizing each individual
borrower to apply separately under
subparagraph (A) would be in the best
fiscal interests of the Federal
Government.
``(C) Borrower eligibility.--Notwithstanding
section 428C(a)(3)(A), the Secretary shall award a
consolidation loan under this part to each borrower
who--
``(i) applies for such loan under
subparagraph (A); and
``(ii) meets the requirements of
subparagraphs (A) and (B).''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 428C(a)(3)(B)(i)(V) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-3(a)(3)(B)(i)(V)) is
amended--
(1) in item (bb), by striking ``or'' after the semicolon;
(2) in item (cc), by striking the period and inserting ``;
or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(dd) for the purpose of
separating a joint
consolidation loan into 2
separate Federal Direct
Consolidation Loans under
section 455(g)(2).''.
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