Student Loan De­fer­ment Act of 2019

Student Loan Deferment Act of 2019

This bill extends the grace period for the repayment of Federal Direct Loans to one year, and it freezes the interest rate at zero percent during such period.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4119 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4119

 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the interest-free 
          grace period certain loans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2019

    Mr. Lawson of Florida (for himself, Ms. Tlaib, and Mr. Vargas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the interest-free 
          grace period certain loans, 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 ``Student Loan Deferment Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. INTEREST-FREE GRACE PERIOD.

    (a) Repayment Period.--
            (1) Extension of grace period.--Section 428(b)(7)(A) of the 
        Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(7)(A)) is 
        amended by striking ``6 months'' and inserting ``1 year''.
            (2) Perkins.--Section 464(c)(1)(A) of the Higher Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087dd(c)(1)(A)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``nine months'' and inserting ``1 
                year''; and
                    (B) by striking ``9 months'' and inserting ``1 
                year''.
    (b) Interest Rates.--Section 455(b) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(11) In school and grace period rules.--Notwithstanding 
        the preceding paragraphs of this subsection, with respect to 
        any Federal Direct Stafford Loan or Federal Direct Unsubsidized 
        Stafford Loan made under this part for which the first 
        disbursement is made on or after July 1, 2020, the applicable 
        rate of interest for interest which accrues--
                    ``(A) prior to the beginning of the repayment 
                period of the loan; or
                    ``(B) during the period in which principal need not 
                be paid (whether or not such principal is in fact paid) 
                by reason of a provision described in section 
                428(b)(1)(M) or 427(a)(2)(C),
        shall be equal to zero percent.''.
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