[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3524 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3524

 To establish an interactive online dashboard to improve public access 
   to information about student loan forgiveness programs, repayment 
                     programs, and repayment plans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 14, 2023

Mr. Manchin (for himself and Mr. Braun) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish an interactive online dashboard to improve public access 
   to information about student loan forgiveness programs, repayment 
                     programs, and repayment plans.

    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 ``Streamlining More Accessible, 
Reliable and Transparent Educational Resources for Debt Act'' or the 
``SMARTER Debt Act''.

SEC. 2. INTERACTIVE DASHBOARD.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education (referred to 
        in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall establish and 
        operate an interactive, internet website-based dashboard 
        (referred to in this section as the ``dashboard'') that 
        improves public access to information about student loan 
        forgiveness and cancellation programs, repayment programs, and 
        repayment plans, that are authorized under Federal law, 
        including for potential applicants for such programs and plans.
            (2) Design.--The dashboard shall be designed in a manner 
        that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
        (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and section 508 of the Rehabilitation 
        Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d).
            (3) Consultation.--
                    (A) In general.--In establishing the dashboard 
                under paragraph (1), the Secretary may consult with--
                            (i) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 
                        Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health 
                        and Human Services, the Secretary of 
                        Agriculture, the Secretary of Labor, the Chief 
                        Executive Officer of the Corporation for 
                        National and Community Service, the Secretary 
                        of each military department, the Attorney 
                        General, the Director of the Office of 
                        Personnel Management, the Capitol Police Board, 
                        the President pro tempore of the Senate, the 
                        Chief Administrative Officer of the House of 
                        Representatives, and heads of other relevant 
                        agencies, as the Secretary determines 
                        appropriate;
                            (ii) Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations 
                        (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-
                        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
                        U.S.C. 5304)); and
                            (iii) relevant entities who may use the 
                        dashboard, including--
                                    (I) students and prospective 
                                students at institutions of higher 
                                education;
                                    (II) institutions of higher 
                                education, including historically Black 
                                colleges and universities (as defined 
                                for purposes of section 322 of the 
                                Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                                1061), Tribal colleges or universities 
                                (as defined in section 316(b) of the 
                                Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                                1059c(b)), and other minority-serving 
                                institutions, as such institutions are 
                                described in section 371(a) of the 
                                Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                                1067q));
                                    (III) local educational agencies 
                                and secondary schools (as such terms 
                                are defined in section 8101 of the 
                                Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
                                of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801));
                                    (IV) State educational agencies (as 
                                defined in such section 8101);
                                    (V) nonprofit organizations; and
                                    (VI) any other entities that the 
                                Secretary determines are relevant.
                    (B) Topics.--The consultation with stakeholders and 
                entities described in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be 
                with respect to elements of the dashboard, such as 
                search functions, grant data, user-friendly design, and 
                any other elements that the Secretary determines are 
                appropriate for purposes of this subsection.
            (4) Implementation plan.--The Secretary, in consultation 
        with representatives of relevant agencies described in 
        paragraph (3)(A), shall, not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, publicly issue a plan to launch the 
        dashboard, including opportunities to improve upon existing 
        publicly accessible websites that may be updated by the 
        Secretary to meet the requirements under subsection (c).
    (b) Updates.--The Secretary shall continually maintain the 
dashboard established under subsection (a) to keep up-to-date 
information about all relevant programs posted.
    (c) Requirements.--The dashboard established under subsection (a) 
shall, at a minimum, meet the following requirements:
            (1) Provide the following information:
                    (A) The name of each program authorized under 
                Federal law that--
                            (i) provides for the cancellation or 
                        forgiveness of all, or a portion of, covered 
                        student loans for certain eligible individuals;
                            (ii) provides that an entity (such as an 
                        employing office) may agree to repay, by direct 
                        payments on behalf of certain eligible 
                        individuals, some or all of the covered student 
                        loan indebtedness of such eligible individuals 
                        that is outstanding; or
                            (iii) provides for an income-driven 
                        repayment plan that sets monthly student loan 
                        payments at an amount that is intended to be 
                        affordable based on income and family size.
                    (B) An explanation about whether the authorized 
                program is currently operating.
                    (C) An explanation of who may be eligible or 
                qualify for that program, including requirements 
                relating to employment, loan type, military service, or 
                other requirements.
            (2) Allow individuals to search the dashboard by key 
        categories for which programs are available, including by 
        career field, program of study, and loan type, and by location 
        (if applicable).
            (3) Provide, as appropriate, access or links to the 
        respective program information pages and online applications.
    (d) Covered Student Loan.--In this Act, the term ``covered student 
loan'' means--
            (1) a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV of 
        the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), 
        including Federal Family Education Loans under part B of such 
        title, Federal Direct Loans under part D of such title, and 
        Federal Perkins Loans under part E of such title;
            (2) a health education assistance loan made or insured 
        under part A of title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 
        U.S.C. 292 et seq.), or under part E of title VIII of such Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 297a et seq.); or
            (3) another loan for postsecondary education that is made, 
        insured, or guaranteed by the Federal Government.
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