Unshackling Students to Lead, Excel, Act, Develop, and Serve Act of 2012 or U.S. LEADS Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow recent college graduates to defer payment on their student loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Direct Loan (DL) programs without accruing interest when the national unemployment rate exceeds 7% or the unemployment rate for 21-25 year olds exceeds 9%.
Limits that deferral period to a maximum of five years.
Makes the deferral available only to graduates aged 21-25 who received their first baccalaureate degree within the four years preceding this Act's enactment.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5801 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5801
To provide interest-free deferment on unsubsidized student loans made
to recent college students during periods when the national
unemployment rate is above 7 percent and other periods of deferment.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 17, 2012
Ms. Richardson (for herself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Clarke of Michigan, and
Mr. Kucinich) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide interest-free deferment on unsubsidized student loans made
to recent college students during periods when the national
unemployment rate is above 7 percent and other periods of deferment.
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 ``Unshackling Students to Lead, Excel,
Act, Develop, and Serve Act of 2012'' or the ``U.S. LEADS Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Outstanding student loan debt will reach one trillion
dollars this year.
(2) In 2008, two-thirds of students graduating with a
bachelor's degree had outstanding student loan debt.
(3) In 2010, the average debt owed by college graduates
paying off student loans was $24,000.
(4) Of all students who graduated with a 4-year degree in
2009, only 55.6 percent are working in jobs that require a
college degree.
(5) Of all students who graduated with a 4-year degree in
2009, 22.4 percent are not working.
(6) The median student loan debt for students who graduated
from college between 2006 and 2010 is $20,000.
(7) Average in-State tuition and fees at public 4-year
institutions of higher education have risen 8.3 percent between
the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 academic years.
SEC. 3. INTEREST-FREE DEFERMENT DURING PERIODS WHEN THE NATIONAL
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE EXCEEDS 7 PERCENT.
(a) FFEL Subsidized Loan Deferment.--Section 428(b)(1)(M) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(1)(M)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (iii);
(2) by adding ``or'' at the end of clause (iv); and
(3) by adding at the end the following new clause:
``(v) in a case of a borrower who is
between the ages of 21 and 25, inclusive, and a
recent college student, as defined in section
455(f)(5), with respect to loans made under
this section to such borrower for a period of
enrollment during which the borrower was
pursuing a degree described in subparagraph (A)
of such section 455(f)(5)--
``(I) beginning as soon as
practicable after the last day of the
second consecutive month for which the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
Department of Labor (in this paragraph
referred to as the `Bureau') publishes
a national unemployment rate that
exceeds 7 percent, and ending as soon
as practicable after the Bureau
publishes a national unemployment rate
that is 7 percent or lower, except that
such period shall not exceed 5 years;
or
``(II) beginning as soon as
practicable after the last day of the
second consecutive month for which the
Bureau publishes a national
unemployment rate for individuals ages
21 through 25 years old that exceeds 9
percent, and ending as soon as
practicable after the Bureau publishes
a national unemployment rate for such
individuals that is 9 percent or lower,
except that such period shall not
exceed 5 years.''.
(b) Treatment of Consolidation Loans.--Section 428C(b)(4)(C)(ii) of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-3(b)(4)(C)(ii)) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subclause (II);
(2) by redesignating subclause (III) as subclause (IV);
(3) by inserting after subclause (II) the following:
``(III) in the case of a borrower
who is between the ages of 21 and 25,
inclusive, and a recent college
student, as defined in section
455(f)(5), by the Secretary, in the
case of a consolidation loan made to
the borrower for a period of enrollment
during which the borrower was pursuing
a degree described in subparagraph (A)
of such section 455(f)(5) and for which
the application is received on or after
the date of enactment of the U.S. Leads
Act, except that in the case of a
deferral under clause (ii) of section
428(b)(1)(M), the Secretary shall pay
such interest only for a period not in
excess of 3 years for which a borrower
would be eligible for such a deferral
and, in the case of a deferral under
clause (v) of such section, for a
period not in excess of 5 years for
which the borrower would be eligible
for such a deferral; or''; and
(4) in subclause (IV) (as so redesignated by this
subsection), by striking ``(I) or (II)'' and inserting ``(I),
(II), or (III)''.
(c) FFEL Unsubsidized Loan Deferment.--
(1) In general.--Section 428H(e)(2) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-8(e)(2)) is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``Except as
provided in subparagraph (C)'' before ``Interest on'';
and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(C) In the case of a borrower who is between the
ages of 21 and 25, inclusive, and a recent college
student, as defined in section 455(f)(5), interest on
loans made under this section to the borrower for a
period of enrollment during which the borrower was
pursuing a degree described in subparagraph (A) of such
section 455(f)(5) and for which payments are deferred--
``(i) under clause (i), (iii), or (iv) of
section 428(b)(1)(M), for a period of deferment
granted to such borrower on or after the date
of enactment of the U.S. Leads Act, shall
accrue and be paid by the Secretary during any
period during which the loans are so deferred;
``(ii) under clause (ii) of section
428(b)(1)(M), for a period of deferment granted
to such borrower on or after the date of
enactment of the U.S. Leads Act, shall accrue
and be paid by the Secretary during any period
during which the loans are so deferred, not in
excess of 3 years; and
``(iii) under clause (v) of section
428(b)(1)(M), for a period of deferment granted
to such borrower on or after the date of
enactment of the U.S. Leads Act, shall accrue
and be paid by the Secretary during any period
during which the loans are so deferred, not in
excess of 5 years.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 428(b)(1)(Y)(iii) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(1)(Y)(iii)) is
amended by inserting ``(other than a deferment under such
subparagraph granted to a borrower described in section
428H(e)(2)(C) on or after the date of enactment of the U.S.
Leads Act)'' after ``of this paragraph''.
(d) Direct Loan Deferment.--Section 455(f) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087(f)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause
(i); and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) Federal Direct Unsubsidized
Stafford Loan or Federal Direct Consolidation
Loan made to a borrower for a period of
enrollment during which the borrower was
pursuing a degree described in paragraph (5)(A)
and the borrower is between the ages of 21 and
25, inclusive, and a recent college student, as
defined in paragraph (5); or''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) by inserting ``not described in
subparagraph (A)(iii)'' after ``Unsubsidized
Stafford Loan''; and
(ii) by striking ``subparagraph (A)(ii)''
and inserting ``clause (ii) or (iii) of
subparagraph (A)'';
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph
(C);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
subparagraph (D) and inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(E) in a case of a borrower who is between the
ages of 21 and 25, inclusive, and a recent college
student, as defined in paragraph (5), with respect to
loans made under this part to such borrower for a
period of enrollment during which the borrower was
pursuing a degree described in subparagraph (A) of such
paragraph (5)--
``(i) beginning as soon as practicable
after the last day of the second consecutive
month for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics
of the Department of Labor (in this paragraph
referred to as the `Bureau') publishes a
national unemployment rate that exceeds 7
percent, and ending as soon as practicable
after the Bureau publishes a national
unemployment rate that is 7 percent or lower,
except that such period shall not exceed 5
years; or
``(ii) beginning as soon as practicable
after the last day of the second consecutive
month for which the Bureau publishes a national
unemployment rate for individuals ages 21
through 25 years old that exceeds 9 percent,
and ending as soon as practicable after the
Bureau publishes a national unemployment rate
for such individuals that is 9 percent or
lower, except that such period shall not exceed
5 years.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) Definition of recent college student.--For the
purpose of this subsection, the term `recent college student'
means a borrower who--
``(A) who has received a baccalaureate degree from
an institution of higher education within 48 months
prior to the date of enactment of the U.S. Leads Act;
and
``(B) who has not previously received any such
baccalaureate degree.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E876-877)
Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
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