[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1098 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1098

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two


                                 An Act


 
  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.--
                ``(i) Authorization.--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 June 30, 2006), may apply to 
            the Secretary, in accordance with subparagraph (C) of this 
            paragraph, for each individual borrower in the married 
            couple (or previously married couple) to receive a separate 
            Federal Direct Consolidation Loan under this part.
                ``(ii) Eligibility for borrowers in default.--
            Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a married 
            couple, or 2 individuals who were previously a married 
            couple, who are in default on a joint consolidation loan 
            may be eligible to receive a separate Federal Direct 
            Consolidation Loan under this part in accordance with this 
            paragraph.
            ``(B) Secretarial requirements.--Notwithstanding section 
        428C(a)(3)(A) or any other provision of law, for each 
        individual borrower who applies under subparagraph (A), the 
        Secretary shall--
                ``(i) make a separate Federal Direct Consolidation Loan 
            under this part that--

                    ``(I) shall be for an amount equal to the product 
                of--

                        ``(aa) the unpaid principal and accrued unpaid 
                    interest of the joint consolidation loan (as of the 
                    date that is the day before such separate 
                    consolidation loan is made) and any outstanding 
                    charges and fees with respect to such loan; and
                        ``(bb) the percentage of the joint 
                    consolidation loan attributable to the loans of the 
                    individual borrower for whom such separate 
                    consolidation loan is being made, as determined--
                            ``(AA) on the basis of the loan obligations 
                        of such borrower with respect to such joint 
                        consolidation loan (as of the date such joint 
                        consolidation loan was made); or
                            ``(BB) in the case in which both borrowers 
                        request, on the basis of proportions outlined 
                        in a divorce decree, court order, or settlement 
                        agreement; and

                    ``(II) has the same rate of interest as the joint 
                consolidation loan (as of the date that is the day 
                before such separate consolidation loan is made); and

                ``(ii) in a timely manner, notify each individual 
            borrower that the joint consolidation loan had been repaid 
            and of the terms and conditions of their new loans.
            ``(C) Application for separate direct consolidation loan.--
                ``(i) Joint application.--Except as provided in clause 
            (ii), to receive separate consolidation loans under this 
            part, 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 certifies to the 
                Secretary that such borrower--

                        ``(aa) has experienced an act of domestic 
                    violence (as defined in section 40002 of the 
                    Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 
                    12291) from the other individual borrower;
                        ``(bb) has experienced economic abuse (as 
                    defined in section 40002 of the Violence Against 
                    Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291) from the other 
                    individual borrower; or
                        ``(cc) is unable to reasonably reach or access 
                    the loan information of the other individual 
                    borrower; or

                    ``(II) 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.

                ``(iii) Remaining obligation from separate 
            application.--In the case of an individual borrower who 
            receives a separate consolidation loan due to the 
            circumstances described in clause (ii), the other non-
            applying individual borrower shall become solely liable for 
            the remaining balance of the joint consolidation loan.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 428C(a)(3)(B)(i)(V) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-3(3)(B)(i)(V)) is 
amended--
        (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of item (bb);
        (2) by striking the period at the end of item (cc) 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).''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.