Last updated: 30 December 2021

If you like a bill, tell your senator or representative to co-sign it.

Highest Impact Bills Right Now:

• S. 460 / H.R. 1043 (Employer Participation in Repayment Act)
• H.R. 1656 (HELP for Students and Parents Act)
• H.R. 1127 (Student Loan Fairness Act)

Bills with the Most Press Right Now:

• H.R. 8696 (The Securing a Strong Retirement Act)
• S.1428 (Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act)

Senate Bills

S. 2598 (FRESH START Through Bankruptcy Act) - Only in 2005, one year after Sallie Mae became 100% private, did private student loans suddenly get protected from consumer bankruptcy laws. This is not the best solution since it would encourage people to borrow during college and then declare bankruptcy upon graduation, but it would be better than not acting on the problem. Formerly S. 3219 (Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2010) which got stuck in the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and then S. 1102 (Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2011), S. 114 (Fairness for Struggling Students Act of 2013), S. 729 (Fairness for Struggling Students Act of 2015), and S.1414 (Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2019) all having died in the same committee.

Status 8/3/2021 - Re-introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

S. 1428 (Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act) - Formerly S. 3771 in the 115th. Forces your employer to match your student loan repayments dollar for dollar up to their 401(k) matching limit. Empowers them to pay more than that if they wish. Note: This is also bundled in S. 1431 (The Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2019).

Status: 05/13/2019 - Re-introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

S. 3065 (Protecting JOBs Act) - Bipartisan bill to stops state from making laws that result in the revocation of state-issued professional and teaching licenses, as well as driver licenses solely on the basis of a federal student loan default.

Status: 6/14/2018 - Referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

S. 848 (Reigniting Opportunity for Innovators Act) - Provides student loan deferment and/or cancellation for founders and employees of small business startups.

Status: 4/5/2017 - Referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

S. 799 (Dynamic Repayment Act of 2017) - Bipartisan bill to simplify and improve the Federal student loan program through income-contingent repayment to provide stronger protections for borrowers, encourage responsible borrowing, and save money for taxpayers.

Status: 5/30/2017 - Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

S. 460 (Employer Participation in Repayment Act of 2019) - Expands Section 127 law (which allows employers to offer up to $5250 in annual education assistance) to include past education (student loan reimbursement), not just current and future (tuition reimbursement). Formerly S. 796 in the 115th Congress where it died in the Senate Committee on Finance.

Status: 2/12/2019 - Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

S. 487 (Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act) - Senate version of H.R. 1268.

Status: 3/1/2017 - Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

S. 268 (Investing in Student Success Act of 2017) - Rubio’s Income Share Arrangement (ISA) legislation touted by Purdue’s Mitch Daniels wherein investors could finance college for a student and the student would agree to pay back a percentage of income for a fixed number of years. The investors only earn a profit if the student is successful. This model has been attempted in the past by companies like Iempower (MyRichUncle) and more recently Lumni. It’s also known as human capital investment. The arrangement would be considered a qualified education loan (not dischargeable by bankruptcy). The agreements would also be exempt from state limits on interest rates and be considered gross income for tax purposes or as assets that impact eligibility for financial aid. Formerly S. 2230 in the 113th Congress where it died in the Senate Committee on Finance.

Status: 2/1/2017 - Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

S. 2677 (In The RED Act) - Senate Democrats’ higher education omnibus bill for 2016. The combination of H.R. 2962, S. 793, and S. 1061.

Status: 3/5/2016 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Finance.

S. 2191 (Partnerships Act) - Doubles the cap on Section 127 law (to $10,500 in annual education assistance) and expands it to include past education (student loan reimbursement), not just current and future (tuition reimbursement). Further, it expands the coverage to include the employee’s spouses and dependents.

Status: 10/21/2015 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Finance.

S. 2099 (Student Loan Relief Act of 2015) - Senate version of the Republican’s H.R. 4102.

Status: 9/29/2015 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Finance.

S. 1556 (Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act) - Durbin’s bill to allow adjunct professors access to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program just like full-time professors.

Status: 6/11/2015 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

S. 1373 (College for All Act) - Sanders’ bill to make all public colleges tuition and fees free.

Status: 5/19/2015 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Finance.

S. 1060 (Pell Grant Protection Act) - Converts the Pell Grant program into a mandatory spending program, ensuring all eligible students can receive the maximum amount minus EFC annually.

Status: 4/22/2015 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

S. 1061 (Pell Grant Cost of Tuition Adjustment Act) - Increases the Pell Grant payout annually based on inflation.

Status: 4/22/2015 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

S. 1062 (Year-Round Pell Grant Restoration Act) - Allows year-round students to receive additional Pell Grant funding to cover the (summer) semester that otherwise would not be covered, even if that student has already hit their maximum Pell Grant.

Status: 4/22/2015 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

S.Res. 143 (Resolution supporting efforts to ensure that students have access to debt-free higher education) - Senate version of the Democrat’s H.Res. 214.

Status: 4/21/2015 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

S. 840 (Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights) - The Senate version of Obama’s proposal, introduced by Dick Durbin with major co-sponsor Elizabeth Warren.

Status: 3/23/2015 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

S. 793 (Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act) - Elizabeth Warren’s bill to give student loan borrowers the same interest rate as ‘Too Big To Fail’ banks. President Obama has voiced support for the bill. Major co-sponsor Sherrod Brown. Formerly reintroduced as S. 2432 in the 113th Congress which was voted down in the Senate by these Republicans on 6/11/2014. Formerly S. 897 in the 113th Congress.

Status: 3/18/2015 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Finance.

S. 108 (Financial Aid Simplification and Transparency [FAST] Act) - Bipartisan bill to reduce the FAFSA from 108 questions to 2.

Status: 1/7/2015 - Stuck in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

S. 1266 (Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act) - Authorize the Department of the Treasury to create opportunities for private student loan borrowers to take advantage of the current low interest rates will ensure that borrowers pay rates that reflect their credit risk so that they may pursue economically productive activities like buying a home or starting a small business.

Status: 7/1/2013 - Announced by the Sponsor Senator Sherrod Brown

S. 1066 (Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act) - Dept. of Ed. FFELP and Direct Loans carrying interest rates above 4% would automatically change into fixed 4% loans.

Status: 5/19/2013 - Announced by the Sponsor Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

S. 1068 (Private Student Loan Debt Swap Act of 2011) - This is Senator Brown’s (D-OH) bill. It’s way better than the bankruptcy versions below since it wouldn’t severely negatively affect our credit score. Formerly S. 1541 (Private Student Loan Debt Swap Act of 2009) which got stuck in Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Status: 5/25/2011 - Stuck in Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

S. 2733 (Private Education Loan Ombudsman Act) - This is Senator Brown’s (D-OH) bill. It’s a good step towards holding Sallie Mae’s despicable practices accountable.

Status: 11/5/2009 - Stuck in Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

S. 3281 (Forgiveness and Repayment Assistance Act of 2010) - Lowers payment amounts from 10% to 7% for the Federal Direct income-based repayment plans and lowers forgiveness from 20 years to 15 years for 2014+ students only.

Status: 4/29/2010 - Stuck in Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

S. 486 (Student Loan Sunshine Act) - Ted Kennedy’s bill to increase transparency around student loans.

Status: 5/9/2007 - House version (H.R. 890) passed. Never voted on in Senate.

House Bills

H.R. 8696 (The Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020) - Bipartisan bill introduced by Neal & Brady to give tax benefits to employers for chaining matching retirement contributions to employee student loan payments. It “would allow employers to make matching contributions under a 401(k), 403(b) or SIMPLE IRA based on ‘qualified student loan payments.’”

Status: 10/27/2020 - Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 3448 (Student Debt Cancellation Act of 2019) - Ilhan Omar’s bill to cancel all $1.6 trillion of (federal?) student debt.

Status: 6/24/2019 - Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor and simultaneously Committees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means.

H.R. 1043 (Employer Participation in Repayment Act of 2019) - House version of S. 460.

Status: 2/7/2019 - Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 1994 (SECURE Act of 2019) - Omni retirement bill that included H.R. 283’s expansion of 529 plans to include spending up to $10k towards student loans.

Status: 4/2/2019 - Passed the House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 5916 (REDUCE Act of 2018) - Requires colleges to submit plans to keep inflation low, as well as asks wealthy universities to distribute profits from their endowments to assist students coming from working-class families.

Status: 5/22/2018 - Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means and simultaneously Education and the Workforce.

H.R. 4508 (PROSPER Act of 2017) - Republican education bill vaguely inspired by Trump’s stump speeches that eliminates the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, forbearances, and squashes all IBR/IDR plans to just one 15% of income above 150% poverty line (for family size) IBR plan with no forgiveness after X years, although they do cap the total amount to be repaid to the same as you would have paid under the 10-year standard repayment plan. Repeals gainful employment requirements and sets the statute of limitations for Borrower Defense actions to 3 years. Increases the number of times federal student loans can be rehabbed from one to two. Exempts 529 college savings plans from being considered an asset for determination of need (FAFSA). Reauthorizes the Pell grant through 2024 and adds a $300 bonus for students taking on more than full-time workloads (min. 15 credit hours/semester). Phases out the Federal Direct Loan Program between 2019-2024 in favor of a Federal ONE Loan program, which would make disbursements weekly or monthly instead of all at the beginning of a semester. Raises various annual loan limits, but sets aggregate limits at $60,250 for undergrad, $150,000 for graduate degrees. For comparison, the 2018 annual cost of attendance at MIT is $70,240 (with an aggregate cost of $280,960 for a degree). This would effectively eliminate middle-class students’ ability to attend institutions who do not maintain large endowments, while upper-class students with large 529 accounts who work or otherwise delay enrollment long enough to be considered independent would now be eligible for aid meant to raise the lower-class out of poverty. Repeals/eliminates Academic Competitiveness Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP), Byrd Honors Scholarship, TEACH Grants, science and technology advanced foreign language education grants, Jacob K. Javits Fellowship program and the Thurgood Marshall Legal Educational Opportunity Program. Various other Republican red meat such as discouraging “free speech zones” on campuses, not excluding religious student organizations or student social organizations of a single-sex, prohibiting the government from retaliating against (such as withholding aid from) religious colleges when they use religious defenses against implementing any government mandate, and eliminating federal funding for the United States Institute of Peace. Full summary of this bill.

Status: 2/9/2018 - Passed the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and placed on the Union Calendar for floor vote consideration.

H.R. 2366 (Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy Act of 2017) - A one pager to return Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections to student loans. Formerly H.R. 3451 (Student Loan Bankruptcy Parity Act of 2015) which got stuck in the House Committee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial And Antitrust Law.

Status: 6/7/2017 - Referred to Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law of the House Judiciary Committee.

H.R. 2042 (Access to Frontline Health Care Act of 2017) - Would establish a federal student loan repayment program for “frontline” healthcare providers in areas of healthcare scarcity who commit for two years. Frontline care services include services in the fields of surgery, optometry, physical therapy, pharmacies, public health, dietetics, occupational therapy, pediatrics, and medical technology.

Status: 4/7/2017 - Referred to Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

H.R. 1937 (Student Security Act of 2017) - Would allow you up to $99,000 in immediate federal student loan forgiveness in return for delaying your collection of social security benefits for up to 15 years, in $550 per month credits. The forgiveness would not be taxable. Theoretically, this could allow you to turn your federal student loan payment into private market retirement savings which may or may not be more than the forgone social security benefits.

Status: 4/5/2017 - Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means and simultaneously Education and the Workforce. Ways and Means placed it in the Subcommittee on Social Security.

H.R. 1656 (HELP [Higher Education Loan Payments] for Students and Parents Act) - Bi-partisan bill to allow a tax exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance programs. It excludes employer payments towards employee student loans - or to 529 savings accounts - from the employee’s gross income. It also provides a tax credit of 50% of the payments made by the employer. The overall annual payment per employee cannot exceed the current Section 127 limit of $5250.

Status: 3/21/2017 - Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 1614 (Student Loan Refinancing Act) - Would allow you to lower the interest rate (to match) on your Federal Direct Loans whenever current students get a better rate than you did.

Status: 3/17/2017 - Referred to House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R. 1268 (Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act) - Bi-partisan bill to exclude federal & state-level student loan repayment and forgiveness from being considered gross income for veterinarians.

Status: 3/1/2017 - Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 1127 (Student Loan Fairness Act) - Establishes a 10/10 federal student loan repayment plan where you pay 10% of income above 150% poverty line (for family size) for 10 years, after which the remainder is forgiven. The forgiveness would not be taxable. Caps Federal Direct Loan interest rates at 3.4%. Reduces time to forgiveness for public service employees to 5 years, and includes doctors in underserved communities into the program. Allows you to consolidate private student loans as a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan if your average AGI for the past 3 years is equal to or less than your total outstanding student loan burden (private + federal), as long as the private loans were for a legitimate program.

Status: 2/16/2017 - Referred to House Committee on Education and the Workforce and simultaneously Financial Services and Ways and Means.

H.R. 795 (Employer Participation in Student Loan Assistance Act) - House version of S. 796. Formerly H.R. 3861 in the 114th Congress where it died in the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Status: 2/1/2017 - Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 615 (Student Loan Repayment Act of 2017) - Provides tax credits to employers who hire degreed individuals with over $10,000 in student loan debt, including for the setup and administration of matching student loan payment programs. The credit does not apply to the match payments themselves.

Status: 1/23/2017 - Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 480 (Student Loan Opportunity Act of 2017) - Would allow qualified scholarship funding corporations to access tax-exempt financing for alternative private student loans.

Status: 1/12/2017 - Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 283 (Student Debt Repayment Fairness Act) - Would allow you to use 529 savings accounts to pay towards student loans.

Status: 1/4/2017 - Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 137 (Stopping Abusive Student Loan Collection Practices in Bankruptcy Act of 2017) - Would allow an individual whose student loan debt is discharged for undue hardship to recover court costs and attorney’s fees for the discharge proceeding if the student loan company opposing the discharge drags it out.

Status: 3/14/2018 - Rep. Cicilline took over sponsorship from former Rep. Conyers. Still in Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial And Antitrust Law of the House Committee on the Judiciary.

H.R. 108 (Student Loan Repayment Assistance Act of 2017) - Provides a tax credit of 10% of the student loan payments made by employers on behalf of their employees. The overall payment per employee cannot exceed $500/month.

Status: 1/3/2017 - Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 2590 (Young Farmer Success Act of 2015) - Adds farming to the list of professions covered by the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Status: 11/16/2015 - Stuck in House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.

H.R. 4102 (Student Loan Relief Act of 2015) - Would allow private banks to get back into the public guaranteed student loan business (outlawed since 2010) under the guise of student loan refinancing.

Status: 11/19/2015 - Stuck in House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 2962 (America’s College Promise Act of 2015) - Baldwin’s answer to Obama’s call to make community college tuition-free. For every $1 a state spends, the Federal government would chip in $3.

Status: 11/19/2015 - Stuck in House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 2029 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016) - This budget bill received a rider coming out of reconciliation that seeks to break up the four servicer giants (Sallie Mae/Navient, Great Lakes, AES and Nelnet) by divvying up federal loans to many more non-profits according to a formula that would take into account their quality of work and ability to keep borrowers current. This went into effect March 1, 2016.

Status: 12/18/2015 - Passed and signed by Obama into law.

H.Res. 214 (Resolution supporting efforts to ensure that students have access to debt-free higher education) - Congressional Progressive Caucus’ non-binding resolution stating support for debt-free higher education and reducing the burden of existing student loan debt.

Status: 4/21/2015 - Stuck in House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R. 1713 (Student Loan Repayment Assistance Act of 2015) - Provides tax breaks to employers who make (minimum $50) monthly payments towards their employees’ student loan debt. The payments are excluded from the employees’ gross income for federal tax purposes and are capped at $6000/year. Also allows for matching deductible employee contributions up to $6000/year and $50k/lifetime.

Status: 3/26/2015 - Stuck in House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 1434 (Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act) - House version of Warren’s S. 793. Formerly H.R. 4582 in the 113th Congress where it got stuck in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Formerly H.R. 1979 prior to the 2014 failed Senate cloture vote.

Status: 3/18/2015 - Reintroduced by Joe Courtney into the House.

H.R. 1352 (Student Loan Borrowers’ Bill of Rights Act) - The House version of Obama’s proposal. Returns Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections to student loans, excludes any forgiven student loan debt from taxes, limits defaulted student loan bill collection activities to six years, and strengthens flexible repayment options.

Status: 3/10/2015 - Stuck in House Committees on Education and the Workforce, Ways and Means, the Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform.

H.R. 1314 (Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015) - The 2015 budget deal unfortunately had a rider allowing debt collectors to bombard student loan borrowers with unlimited robocall and automated text messages on their mobile phones even if the borrower asks them to stop. Make sure you use Google Voice so you can properly block these jokers.

Status: 11/2/2015 - Passed and signed by Obama into law.

H.R. 449 (Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy Act of 2015) - Returns Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections to student loans.

Status: 1/21/2015 - Stuck in House Committee on the Judiciary.

H.R. 4436 (Investing in Student Success Act of 2014) - House version of Rubio’s Income Share Arrangements legislation.

Status: 6/13/2014 - Stuck in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.

H.R. 3892 (Student Borrower Bill of Rights Act) - Returns standard bankruptcy protections and statutes of limitations to ALL student loans, does away with social security and wage garnishment, and greatly improves the public service forgiveness program.

Status: 1/15/2014 - Reintroduced by Boxer, Durbin, Warren, Reed. Formerly stuck, possibly in Committee, in 2006 and again in 2008.

H.R. 532 (Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2013) - House version of S. 114. Formerly H.R. 5043 (Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2010) which passed Commercial and Administrative Law subcommittee but got stuck in House Judiciary committee and then H.R. 2028 (Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2011) which also died in the same committee.

Status: 2/6/2013 - Stuck in House Committee on the Judiciary.

H.R. 395 (Student Loan Employment Benefits Act of 2013) - Provides a tax break up to $5000/year/employee for employer contributions towards employee student loan debt.

Status: 1/23/2013 - Stuck in House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 4170 (Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012) - The “10/10” plan. Repayment capped at 10% disposable income, remainder forgiven after 10 years. New borrowers after bill passed will only be able to have first $45,520 forgiven to prevent “moral hazard.” Old borrowers are safe. Reduces public service forgiveness to 5 years. 3.4% cap on all new Fed loans including the private loans you can now consolidate with the Fed.

Status: 5/26/2011 - Stuck in House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R. 953 (Make College Affordable Act of 2011) - Ron Paul’s plan to make higher education more affordable by providing a full tax deduction for higher education expenses and interest on student loans.

Status: 3/8/2011 - Stuck in House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 5458 (Christopher Bryski Student Loan Protection Act) - Increase transparency and disclosure requirements for private loans, and provide for relief if the borrower died. Does not help monthly payments.

Status: 9/29/2010 - Passed to Senate. Stuck there in Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

H.R. 5078 (Higher Education Affordability and Equity Act of 2010) - Makes all educational expenses, including interest on student loans, tax deductible with no caps on amounts.

Status: 4/20/2010 - Stuck in House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 5055 (College Debt Swap Act of 2010) - House version of Brown’s S. 1541. The “adverse credit history” clause is worrying. If we can’t pay the private student loans now, hence the reason for this bill, we’re going to have adverse credit history.

Status: 4/30/2010 - Stuck in House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.

H.R. 4834 (Student Debt Reduction Act) - Extends 2014+ repayment terms and repayment amounts to all Federal Direct customers.

Status: 4/30/2010 - Stuck in House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.

H.R. 4574 (Student Loan Interest Full Deductibility Act) - More limited version of above.

Status: 2/2/2010 - Stuck in House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R. 3149 (Equal Employment for All Act) - Safeguards student loan debtors by preventing employers from making decisions based on credit scores.

Status: 9/23/2010 - Hearings Held by the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Prior to Referral.

H.R. 890 (Student Loan Sunshine Act) - House version of Ted Kennedy’s bill to increase transparency around student loans.

Status: 5/9/2007 - Passed to Senate.