[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 91 (Thursday, June 9, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S3744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4645. Ms. WARREN (for herself and Mrs. Murray) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 2943, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle E of title V, add the following:
SEC. 565. IMPLEMENTATION OF STUDENT LOAN BORROWER BENEFITS
FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES SERVING IN A
CONFLICT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall enter into
any necessary agreements, with the Secretary of Education and
the heads of any other relevant agencies, in order to take
all actions necessary to--
(1) ensure that interest does not accrue for eligible
military borrowers in accordance with section 455(o) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(o)), for any
loan made under part D of title IV of such Act and disbursed
on or after October 1, 2008;
(2) ensure that any borrower of such a loan who was an
eligible military borrower and qualified for the no accrual
of interest benefit under such section 455(o) during any
period beginning on or after October 1, 2008, and did not
receive the full benefit under such section for which the
borrower qualified, is provided compensation in an amount
equal to the amount of interest paid by the borrower that
would have been subject to the benefit;
(3) ensure that any borrower who is eligible for a waiver
or modification provided by the Secretary of Education under
the authority of section 2(a) of the Higher Education Relief
Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (20 U.S.C. 1098bb) is
provided such waiver or modification (including through
automatic enrollment to the extent practicable and beneficial
to the borrower), including waivers from income
certifications required under an income-based repayment
program under section 493C of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098e) or other similar certifications;
(4) ensure that any borrower with a Federal Perkins Loan
under part E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.) receives a cancellation of the
percentage of debt based on years of qualifying service in
accordance with section 465(a)(2)(D) of such Act (20 U.S.C.
1087ee(a)(2)(D)); and
(5) obtain or provide any information securely and as
necessary to implement this section without requiring a
request from the borrower, including information regarding--
(A) whether a military borrower is serving on active duty
in connection with a war, national emergency, or contingency
operation and, if so, the time period of such service; and
(B) whether a military borrower is receiving special pay
under section 310 of title 37, United States Code, and if so,
the time period of such service.
(b) Reports.--
(1) Plan.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall prepare
and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report
on the implementation of subsection (a).
(2) Follow-up report.--If the Secretary of Defense has not
implemented subsection (a) during the 90-day period beginning
on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Education,
shall prepare and submit, by the final day of such period, a
report to the appropriate committees of Congress that
includes an explanation of why such subsection has not been
implemented.
SEC. 566. IMPLEMENTATION OF SCRA INTEREST RATE LIMITATION FOR
MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall provide to
the Secretary of Education and any other relevant agencies
the necessary information as to the duty status of military
borrowers to provide that the interest rate charged on any
loan made under part D of title IV of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) for borrowers who are
subject to section 207(a)(1) of the Servicemembers Civil
Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3937(a)(1)) does not exceed the maximum
interest rate set forth in such section.
(b) Scra Interest Rate Limitation Notice Requirements.--The
submittal by the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of
Education of information that informs the Secretary of
Education that a member of the Armed Forces with a student
loan under part D of title IV of Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) has been or is being called to
military service (as defined in section 101 of the
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3911)), including
a member of a reserve unit who is ordered to report for
military service as provided for under section 106 of such
Act (50 U.S.C. 3917), shall be considered, for purposes of
subjecting such student loan to the provisions of section 207
of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3937),
provision by the borrower to the creditor of written notice
and a copy of military orders as described in subsection
(b)(1) of such section.
(c) Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall prepare
and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report
that includes a plan to implement the interest rate
limitation provision described in subsection (a).
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