Disabled Veterans Student Loan Protection Act of 2016

Disabled Veterans Student Loan Protection Act of 2016

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the federal student loan discharge process for a veteran who has a total and permanent disability.

Specifically, it directs the Department of Education (ED) to establish a system to automatically transmit, from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or the Department of Defense (DOD), an applicable determination of unemployability or assignment of a service-connected disability rating of 100%.

ED must accept, as sufficient documentation of a borrower's total and permanent disability, a determination of unemployability by the VA or an assignment of a service-connected disability rating of 100% by the VA or DOD that is transmitted in accordance with such system.

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4845 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4845

 To amend the student loan forgiveness program in the Higher Education 
  Act of 1965 to include a greater number of disabled veterans and to 
  facilitate the automatic transfer to the Secretary of Education of 
 information regarding veterans eligible for student loan forgiveness, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 2016

  Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York (for himself and Mr. Barletta) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                      Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the student loan forgiveness program in the Higher Education 
  Act of 1965 to include a greater number of disabled veterans and to 
  facilitate the automatic transfer to the Secretary of Education of 
 information regarding veterans eligible for student loan forgiveness, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``Disabled Veterans Student Loan 
Protection Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY DETERMINATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 437(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1087(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 
the following:
            ``(2) Service-connected disability determinations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A borrower who has been 
                determined to be unemployable by the Secretary of 
                Veterans Affairs or has been assigned a disability 
                rating of 100 percent (or a combination of ratings 
                equaling 100 percent) by the Secretary of Veterans 
                Affairs or the Secretary of Defense for a service-
                connected disability (as defined in section 101 of 
                title 38, United States Code), regardless of whether 
                such borrower provides documentation of such rating to 
                the Secretary of Education, shall be considered 
                permanently and totally disabled for the purpose of 
                discharging such borrower's loans under this 
                subsection, and such borrower shall not be required to 
                present any additional documentation for purposes of 
                this subsection.
                    ``(B) Rating of disability.--A determination of 
                unemployability or disability rating of 100 percent 
                described in subparagraph (A) and transmitted in 
                accordance with subparagraph (C) shall be considered 
                sufficient documentation for purposes of this 
                subsection.
                    ``(C) Transfer of information.--Not later than 180 
                days after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the 
                Secretary of Education, in coordination with the 
                Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veteran 
                Affairs, shall create a system through which the 
                applicable disability ratings, or alternative means of 
                transmitting a determination of unemployability, made 
                before, on, or after the date of enactment of this 
                paragraph, shall be automatically transmitted from the 
                Department of Defense or the Department of Veterans 
                Affairs, as the case may be, to the Department of 
                Education and shall satisfy the documentation 
                requirement described in this subparagraph. The 
                Secretaries shall have the authority to enter into any 
                agreements necessary to implement the requirements of 
                this subparagraph.
                    ``(D) Notification to borrowers.--The Secretary of 
                Education shall notify each borrower whose liability on 
                a loan has been discharged under this subsection that 
                such loan has been discharged.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take 
effect on the date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
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