[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 96 (Monday, June 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3633-S3634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2644. Ms. WARREN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 2282 submitted by Mr. Inhofe (for himself and Mr. McCain) 
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 5515, to authorize 
appropriations for fiscal year 2019 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. 558. STUDY AND REPORT ON SERVICEMEMBER ACCESS TO STUDENT 
                   LOAN FORGIVENESS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense, in consultation 
     with the Judge Advocate General for each Armed Force, and in 
     coordination with any other agency determined to be necessary 
     by the Secretary, shall conduct a study of instances in which 
     current and former servicemembers have attempted to pursue 
     student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan 
     Forgiveness Program authorized under section 455(m) of the 
     Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) (referred 
     to in this section as the ``Public Service Loan Forgiveness 
     Program'') and have experienced obstacles to accessing the 
     full benefit of that program, including circumstances in 
     which a servicemember was provided inaccurate or incomplete 
     information by a Federal student loan servicer or by any 
     Federal Government personnel related to--
       (1) whether the type of student loan owed by a borrower is 
     eligible for loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan 
     Forgiveness Program;
       (2) enrollment in a qualifying Federal student loan 
     repayment plan;
       (3) documentation of one or more required ``on-time'' 
     monthly payments, including payments made under a student 
     loan repayment program administered by the Department of 
     Defense; or
       (4) certification of qualifying public service employment.
       (b) Study on Effects on Military Readiness.--The study 
     described under subsection (a) shall also include a study of 
     the effects of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program on 
     military readiness. Such study shall include the effects of 
     the program on--
       (1) recruitment and retention, including recruitment and 
     retention of officers, for each Armed Force, including the 
     National Guard and Reserve Components;

[[Page S3634]]

       (2) recruitment and retention of health professionals in 
     the Army Medical Department, the Navy Bureau of Medicine and 
     Surgery, the Air Force Medical Services, or in any other 
     Department, Bureau, or Service in any Armed Force;
       (3) recruitment for the Judge Advocate General for each 
     Armed Force; and
       (4) retention for the Judge Advocate General for each Armed 
     Force.
       (c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in 
     consultation with the Judge Advocate General for each Armed 
     Force, and in coordination with any other agency determined 
     to be necessary, shall submit a report to the Committees on 
     Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives 
     that includes the following:
       (1) A summary of the findings of the study required under 
     subsection (a).
       (2) Descriptive information about student debt owed by 
     servicemembers, including--
       (A) an estimate of the average amount of student debt owed 
     by servicemembers in each Armed Force; and
       (B) an estimate of the percentage of servicemembers who owe 
     student debt in each Armed Force.
       (3) Recommendations regarding how Congress, or a Federal 
     agency, could provide servicemembers with additional 
     flexibility--
       (A) in circumstances in which borrowers were provided 
     inaccurate or incomplete information by a student loan 
     servicer or by any Federal Government personnel; and
       (B) in any other circumstances that the Secretary of 
     Defense determines are necessary to ensure that borrowers are 
     able to obtain the full benefit of the Public Service Loan 
     Forgiveness Program.
       (4) Ways to ensure that in circumstances in which a student 
     loan servicer or Federal Government agency is unable to 
     produce records that contradict an attestation by a borrower 
     of an instance in which that borrower was provided inaccurate 
     or incomplete information, as described subsection (a), such 
     an attestation shall be considered sufficient evidence that 
     the borrower was provided with inaccurate or incomplete 
     information.
       (5) Recommendations for how Congress and other relevant 
     Federal agencies can strengthen the implementation of Public 
     Service Loan Forgiveness Program to ensure that the program 
     can best support recruitment, retention, and readiness in the 
     Armed Forces.
       (d) Judge Advocate General.--In this section, the term 
     ``Judge Advocate General'' includes the following:
       (1) The Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the 
     Marine Corps, in the Case of the Marine Corps.
       (2) An official designated to serve as the Judge Advocate 
     General of the Coast Guard by the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security.
                                 ______