[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 995 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 995
To amend the Stop Student Debt Relief Scams Act of 2019 to make
technical corrections.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 25, 2021
Ms. Baldwin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Stop Student Debt Relief Scams Act of 2019 to make
technical corrections.
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 ``Stop Student Debt Relief Scams
Technical Corrections Act''.
SEC. 2. GUIDANCE ON CRIMINAL PENALTIES.
The Stop Student Debt Relief Scams Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-251)
is amended in section 2(b) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting
``Not later than July 1, 2021, the Secretary''.
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR THIRD-PARTY DATA SYSTEM ACCESS.
(a) Amendments.--Subsection (e) of section 485B of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as added by section 4(3) of the Stop Student
Debt Relief Scams Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-251), is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``, at the discretion of the Secretary,''
after ``may'';
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
striking ``means--'' and inserting ``means either of
the following:'';
(B) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``a guaranty agency'' the
first place such term appears and inserting ``A
guaranty agency''; and
(ii) by striking ``; or'' and inserting a
period; and
(C) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the
following:
``(B)(i) An attorney, government, agency, or
organization described in any of subclauses (I) through
(IV) of clause (ii), who or that--
``(I) is providing financial or student
loan repayment services or counseling to a
student, borrower, or parent;
``(II) has not engaged in unfair,
deceptive, or abusive practices (including an
entity that is owned or operated by a person or
entity that engaged in such practices), as
determined by the Secretary;
``(III) accesses the system only through a
separate point of entry; and
``(IV) has consent from the relevant
student, borrower, or parent to access the
system.
``(ii)(I) A licensed attorney representing a
student, borrower, or parent.
``(II) A Federal, State, local, or Tribal
government or agency.
``(III) A nonprofit organization.
``(IV) A for-profit organization--
``(aa) authorized as a public benefit
corporation to provide a public benefit of
objective and accurate financial or student
loan repayment services or counseling;
``(bb) that is approved by the Secretary in
accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4); and
``(cc) that does not charge the student,
borrower, or parent a fee or any other monetary
charge for financial or student loan repayment
services or counseling or any other services at
any point.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Discretion to approve applications.--Approval of
applications from authorized persons or entities for third-
party data access shall be at the discretion of the Secretary
after consideration of such applications as the Secretary may
prescribe. Authorized access shall be for periods as the
Secretary may determine and may be terminated at the discretion
of the Secretary.
``(4) Consideration for for-profit organization approval to
access the system.--In considering applications for approval
for third-party data system access in accordance with this
subsection by a for-profit organization described in paragraph
(2)(B)(ii)(IV), the Secretary shall--
``(A) consider how the no fee service or counseling
to the student, borrower, or parent is funded and
determine whether the organization provides financial
or student loan repayment services or counseling in the
best interest of students, borrowers, or parents, in
consultation with the Private Education Loan Ombudsman
of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (designated
pursuant to section 1035 of the Consumer Financial
Protection Act of 2010 Act (12 U.S.C. 5535)); and
``(B) respond in writing, which may include
electronic communication, to such organization
regarding such application not later than 180 days
after the date of submission of the application.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made in this section shall take
effect as if included in the Stop Student Debt Relief Scams Act of 2019
(Public Law 116-251) and in accordance with section 6 of such Act.
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