HR 5801 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

112th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

2d SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

H. R. 5801CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

May 17, 2012CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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 WorkforceCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

A BILLCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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

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’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Outstanding student loan debt will reach one trillion dollars this year.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) In 2008, two-thirds of students graduating with a bachelor’s degree had outstanding student loan debt.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) In 2010, the average debt owed by college graduates paying off student loans was $24,000.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) Of all students who graduated with a 4-year degree in 2009, 22.4 percent are not working.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) The median student loan debt for students who graduated from college between 2006 and 2010 is $20,000.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) by striking ‘or’ at the end of clause (iii);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by adding ‘or’ at the end of clause (iv); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) by adding at the end the following new clause:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) by striking ‘or’ at the end of subclause (II);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by redesignating subclause (III) as subclause (IV);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) by inserting after subclause (II) the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) in subclause (IV) (as so redesignated by this subsection), by striking ‘(I) or (II)’ and inserting ‘(I), (II), or (III)’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) FFEL Unsubsidized Loan Deferment-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Section 428H(e)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-8(e)(2)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘Except as provided in subparagraph (C)’ before ‘Interest on’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Direct Loan Deferment- Section 455(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087(f)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in paragraph (1)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in subparagraph (A)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) by striking ‘or’ at the end of clause (i); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in subparagraph (B)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) by inserting ‘not described in subparagraph (A)(iii)’ after ‘Unsubsidized Stafford Loan’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) by striking ‘subparagraph (A)(ii)’ and inserting ‘clause (ii) or (iii) of subparagraph (A)’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in paragraph (2)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) by striking ‘or’ at the end of subparagraph (C);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘; or’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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.’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) DEFINITION OF RECENT COLLEGE STUDENT- For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘recent college student’ means a borrower who--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) who has not previously received any such baccalaureate degree.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink