[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 127, 113th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


Public Law 113-28
113th Congress

An Act


 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish interest rates
for new loans made on or after July 1, 2013, to direct the Secretary of
Education to convene the Advisory Committee on Improving Postsecondary
Education Data to conduct a study on improvements to postsecondary
education transparency at the Federal level, and for other
purposes. <>

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <>
1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act
of 2013''.
SEC. 2. INTEREST RATES.

(a) Interest Rates.--Section 455(b) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (7)--
(A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting ``and
before july 1, 2013'' after ``on or after july 1,
2006'';
(B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and before
July 1, 2013,'' after ``on or after July 1, 2006,'';
(C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``and before
July 1, 2013,'' after ``on or after July 1, 2006,''; and
(D) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``and before
July 1, 2013,'' after ``on or after July 1, 2006,'';
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and (9) as paragraphs
(9) and (10), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
``(8) <>  Interest rate provisions for
new loans on or after july 1, 2013.--
``(A) Rates for undergraduate fdsl and fdusl.--
Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs of this
subsection, for Federal Direct Stafford Loans and
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued to
undergraduate students, for which the first disbursement
is made on or after July 1, 2013, the applicable rate of
interest shall, for loans disbursed during any 12-month
period beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30, be
determined on the preceding June 1 and be equal to the
lesser of--
``(i) a rate equal to the high yield of the
10-year Treasury note auctioned at the final
auction held prior to such June 1 plus 2.05
percent; or
``(ii) 8.25 percent.

[[Page 507]]

``(B) Rates for graduate and professional fdusl.--
Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs of this
subsection, for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford
Loans issued to graduate or professional students, for
which the first disbursement is made on or after July 1,
2013, the applicable rate of interest shall, for loans
disbursed during any 12-month period beginning on July 1
and ending on June 30, be determined on the preceding
June 1 and be equal to the lesser of--
``(i) a rate equal to the high yield of the
10-year Treasury note auctioned at the final
auction held prior to such June 1 plus 3.6
percent; or
``(ii) 9.5 percent.
``(C) PLUS loans.--Notwithstanding the preceding
paragraphs of this subsection, for Federal Direct PLUS
Loans, for which the first disbursement is made on or
after July 1, 2013, the applicable rate of interest
shall, for loans disbursed during any 12-month period
beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30, be determined
on the preceding June 1 and be equal to the lesser of--
``(i) a rate equal to the high yield of the
10-year Treasury note auctioned at the final
auction held prior to such June 1 plus 4.6
percent; or
``(ii) 10.5 percent.
``(D) Consolidation loans.--Notwithstanding the
preceding paragraphs of this subsection, any Federal
Direct Consolidation Loan for which the application is
received on or after July 1, 2013, shall bear interest
at an annual rate on the unpaid principal balance of the
loan that is equal to the weighted average of the
interest rates on the loans consolidated, rounded to the
nearest higher one-eighth of one percent.
``(E) <>  Consultation.--The Secretary shall
determine the applicable rate of interest under this
paragraph after consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury and shall publish such rate in the Federal
Register as soon as practicable after the date of
determination.
``(F) Rate.--The applicable rate of interest
determined under this paragraph for a Federal Direct
Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford
Loan, or a Federal Direct PLUS Loan shall be fixed for
the period of the loan.''.

(b) <>  Effective Date.--The amendments
made by subsection (a) shall take effect as if enacted on July 1, 2013.
SEC. 3. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

(a) Paygo Scorecard.--The budgetary effects of this Act shall not be
entered on either PAYGO scorecard maintained pursuant to section 4(d) of
the Statutory Pay- As-You-Go Act of 2010.
(b) Senate Paygo Scorecard.--The budgetary effects of this Act shall
not be entered on any PAYGO scorecard maintained for purposes of section
201 of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th Congress).
SEC. 4. STUDY ON THE ACTUAL COST OF ADMINISTERING THE FEDERAL
STUDENT LOAN PROGRAMS.

Not <>  later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall--

[[Page 508]]

(1) complete a study that determines the actual cost to the
Federal Government of carrying out the Federal student loan
programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), which shall--
(A) provide estimates relying on accurate
information based on past, current, and projected data
as to the appropriate index and mark-up rate for the
Federal Government's cost of borrowing that would allow
the Federal Government to effectively administer and
cover the cost of the Federal student programs
authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) under the scoring rules
outlined in the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2
U.S.C. 661 et seq.);
(B) provide the information described in this
section in a way that separates out administrative
costs, interest rate, and other loan terms and
conditions; and
(C) set forth clear recommendations to the relevant
authorizing committees of Congress as to how future
legislation can incorporate the results of the study
described in this section to allow for the
administration of the Federal student loan programs
authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) without generating any
additional revenue to the Federal Government except
revenue that is needed to carry out such programs; and
(2) <>  prepare and submit a report to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the
Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the
House of Representatives setting forth the conclusions of the
study described in this section in such a manner that the
recommendations included in the report can inform future
reauthorizations of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1001 et seq.).

Approved August 9, 2013.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 1911:
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HOUSE REPORTS: No. 113-82, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Education and the Workforce).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 159 (2013):
May 23, considered and passed House.
July 24, considered and passed Senate, amended.
July 31, House concurred in Senate amendment.