[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 720 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 720

To require the student loan ombudsman of the Department of Education to 
     provide student loan data to the Bureau of Consumer Financial 
                  Protection, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 7, 2019

Mr. Udall (for himself, Ms. Warren, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Brown, Mr. Van 
 Hollen, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Harris, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Duckworth, and Mr. 
   Menendez) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the student loan ombudsman of the Department of Education to 
     provide student loan data to the Bureau of Consumer Financial 
                  Protection, 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 ``CFPB Student Loan Integrity and 
Transparency Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The total amount of outstanding student loans just 
        surpassed $1,500,000,000,000.
            (2) Student loans are the biggest category of consumer 
        borrowing after mortgages.
            (3) Since the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 
        U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) established the Consumer Financial 
        Protection Bureau, the Bureau has fought to ensure families 
        receive a fair shake as they strive for the American Dream.
            (4) The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 
        established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Office 
        of Students and Young Consumers in 2012 to assist students who 
        are mistreated or misled by predatory lenders.
            (5) Since its creation, the Office of Students and Young 
        Consumers, led by the Student Loan Ombudsman, has defended 
        military families in the United States from predatory lenders 
        and for-profit colleges, and other unscrupulous businesses.
            (6) The Office of Students and Young Consumers helped tens 
        of thousands of active-duty military service members who were 
        being overcharged for student loans, and coordinating with the 
        United States Justice Department, succeeded in returning 
        $60,000,000 to the service members, and required the industry 
        to improve its practices.
            (7) The Office of Students and Young Consumers has 
        collected and analyzed hundreds of thousands of student 
        complaints.
            (8) The Office of Students and Young Consumers has 
        recovered more than $750,000,000 on behalf of defrauded 
        students.
            (9) The Office of Students and Young Consumers has been 
        instrumental in the shutdown of for-profit universities and 
        colleges that had been accused of predatory practices.
            (10) The Office of Students and Young Consumers collected 
        data and authored a report that showed large banks overcharged 
        college students fees that were higher than many of their 
        competitors. The report remained unpublished by the 
        Administration until a recent FOIA request opened it to the 
        public.
            (11) The Department of Education Office of Inspector 
        General released a concerning report on February 12, 2019, that 
        highlighted the alarming frequency at which student loan 
        contractors and vendors engaged in noncompliance with Federal 
        requirements for servicing student loans.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STUDENT LOAN INFORMATION.

    Section 141(f)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1018(f)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as 
        subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting before subparagraph (B) the following:
                    ``(A) provide information relating to student loans 
                to the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection 
                Bureau or the ombudsman of the Consumer Financial 
                Protection Bureau designated under section 1035 of the 
                Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 
                5535) as requested by the Director of the Consumer 
                Financial Protection Bureau or that ombudsman;''.

SEC. 4. STUDENT LOAN CONTRACTOR AND VENDOR AGREEMENTS.

    Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1088 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 486A the following:

``SEC. 486B. CONTRACTOR AND VENDOR AGREEMENTS.

    ``The Secretary shall not enter into an agreement with a contractor 
or vendor that services loans under this title unless, as part of that 
agreement, such contractor or vendor asserts that the contractor or 
vendor will provide information to the Director of the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau or the ombudsman of the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau designated under section 1035 of the Consumer 
Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5535) as requested by the 
Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or that 
ombudsman.''.

SEC. 5. DUTY TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE STAFFING; MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.

    (a) Duty To Provide Adequate Staffing.--Section 1013(a)(1) of the 
Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5493(a)(1)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) Duty to provide adequate staffing.--
                Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Director shall 
                ensure that each specific functional unit and office 
                described under subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (g) 
                and any other unit and office with supervisory and 
                enforcement duties, is provided with sufficient staff 
                to carry out the functions, duties, and coordination of 
                that unit or office, as applicable.''.
    (b) Memoranda of Understanding.--
            (1) Reestablishment of memoranda of understanding.--The 
        memoranda of understanding between the Bureau of Consumer 
        Financial Protection and the Department of Education entitled 
        ``Memorandum of Understanding Between the Bureau of Consumer 
        Financial Protection and the U.S. Department of Education 
        Concerning the Sharing of Information'' (October 19, 2011) and 
        ``Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Supervisory and 
        Oversight Cooperation and Related Information Sharing Between 
        the U.S. Department of Education and the Consumer Financial 
        Protection Bureau'' (January 9, 2014)--
                    (A) shall remain in effect and may not be 
                terminated by any party to such memoranda; and
                    (B) may only be amended or revised if the parties 
                to the memoranda determine that such amendment or 
                revision would promote better interagency coordination 
                to the benefit of consumers.
            (2) Report on current mous.--Not later than the end of the 
        30-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, 
        the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 
        shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
        Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services 
        of the House of Representatives a report listing--
                    (A) each memorandum of understanding in effect on 
                November 24, 2017, to which the Bureau of Consumer 
                Financial Protection was a party;
                    (B) any changes made to a memorandum described in 
                subparagraph (A) after November 24, 2017, including any 
                memorandum of understanding rescinded since that date; 
                and
                    (C) a justification for each change or rescission 
                described in subparagraph (B).
            (3) Semi-annual report on mous.--Section 1016(c) of the 
        Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5496(c)) 
        is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (8), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) a list of each memorandum of understanding in 
        effect, as of the date on which the report is submitted, to 
        which the Bureau is a party;
            ``(11) any changes made to a memorandum of understanding to 
        which the Bureau is a party after the date on which the 
        previous report required under subsection (b) was submitted; 
        and
            ``(12) a justification for each change described in 
        paragraph (11).''.
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