To require the Secretary of Education to verify that individuals have made a commitment to serve in the Armed Forces or in public service, or otherwise are a borrower on an eligible loan which has been submitted to a guaranty agency for default aversion or is already in default, before such individuals obtain a consolidation loan for purposes specified under section 455(o) of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to verify that individuals who are applying for Direct Consolidation loans on the following bases are in fact:

• currently eligible for income contingent repayment or income-based repayment of a loan that has been submitted to a guaranty agency for default aversion or is already in default;
• employed in a public service job and thereby eligible to participate in the public service loan forgiveness program; or
• a member of a regular or reserve component of the Armed Forces and thereby eligible to benefit from the no accrual of interest for active duty service members program.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1991 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1991

 To require the Secretary of Education to verify that individuals have 
made a commitment to serve in the Armed Forces or in public service, or 
 otherwise are a borrower on an eligible loan which has been submitted 
  to a guaranty agency for default aversion or is already in default, 
   before such individuals obtain a consolidation loan for purposes 
  specified under section 455(o) of the Higher Education Act of 1965.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 2013

 Mr. Andrews introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Education to verify that individuals have 
made a commitment to serve in the Armed Forces or in public service, or 
 otherwise are a borrower on an eligible loan which has been submitted 
  to a guaranty agency for default aversion or is already in default, 
   before such individuals obtain a consolidation loan for purposes 
  specified under section 455(o) of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REQUIRED VERIFICATION.

    Section 428C of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-3) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(3)(B)(i)(V)(aa), by inserting before 
        the period at the end the following: ``in a case in which the 
        Secretary verifies that the individual is currently eligible 
        for income contingent repayment or income-based repayment and 
        that the loan(s) in question have been submitted to the 
        guaranty agency for default aversion or if the loan is already 
        in default'';
            (2) in subsection (a)(3)(B)(i)(V)(bb), by inserting before 
        the period at the end the following: ``in a case in which the 
        Secretary verifies with documentation that the individual is, 
        at the time of the application, employed in a public service 
        job, as that term is defined in section 455(m)(3)'';
            (3) in subsection (a)(3)(B)(i)(V)(cc), by inserting before 
        the period at the end the following: ``in a case in which the 
        Secretary verifies that the individual is a member of a regular 
        or reserve component of the Armed Forces by contacting the 
        Secretary of the military department or the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security, as the case may be, having jurisdiction over 
        the Armed Force in which the individual claims to be a 
        member''; and
            (4) in subsection (b)(5), by inserting after the second 
        sentence the following: ``In addition, the Secretary shall not 
        offer any loans offered under this paragraph unless the 
        Secretary has received verification described in subsection 
        (a)(3)(B)(i)(V) (aa)-(cc), as applicable.''.
                                 <all>