119-hr3298

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3298 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3298

 To revise counseling requirements for certain borrowers of student 
 loans, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 May 8, 2025

Mrs. Miller-Meeks introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
 the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To revise counseling requirements for certain borrowers of student 
 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 ``Know Before You Owe Federal Student 
Loan Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. PRE-LOAN COUNSELING AND CERTIFICATION OF LOAN AMOUNT.

 

Section 485
            (l) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1092
            (l) ) is amended--

    (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Entrance 
 Counseling'' and inserting ``Pre-Loan Counseling'';

    (2) in paragraph

    (1)
        (A) --
        (A) in the matter preceding clause
            (i) , by striking 
 ``a disbursement to a first-time borrower of a loan'' 
 and inserting ``the first disbursement of each new loan 
 (or the first disbursement in each award year if more 
 than one new loan is obtained in the same award 
 year)''; and
        (B) in clause
            (ii) 
            (I) , by striking ``an entrance 
 counseling'' and inserting ``a counseling'';

    (3) in paragraph

    (2) --
        (A) by striking subparagraph
        (G) and inserting the 
 following:
 ``
        (G) An estimate of the borrower's monthly payment 
 amount compared to the borrower's estimated monthly 
 income after taxes, after living expenses (using 
 Consumer Expenditure Survey data from the Bureau of 
 Labor Statistics), after estimated health insurance 
 costs, and after any other relevant expenses, based 
 on--
 ``
            (i) the best available data on starting 
 wages for the borrower's program of study, if 
 available; and
 ``
            (ii) the estimated total student loan 
 debt of the borrower, including--
 ``
            (I) Federal debt;
 ``
            (II) to the best of the 
 institution's knowledge, private loan 
 debt already incurred; and
 ``
            (III) the estimated future debt 
 required to complete the program of 
 study.''; and
        (B) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (L) A statement that the borrower should borrow 
 the minimum amount necessary to cover expenses and that 
 the borrower does not have to accept the full amount of 
 loans for which the borrower is eligible.
 ``
            (M) A warning that the higher the borrower's 
 debt-to-income ratio is, the more difficulty the 
 borrower is likely to experience in repaying the loan.
 ``
        (N) Options for reducing borrowing through 
 scholarships, reduced expenses, work-study, or other 
 work opportunities.
 ``
        (O) An explanation of the importance of 
 graduating on time to avoid additional borrowing, what 
 course load is necessary to graduate on time, and 
 information on how adding an additional year of study 
 impacts total indebtedness.''; and

    (4) by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (3) Confirmation by student of loan amount provided.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--In addition to the other 
 requirements of this subsection and in accordance with 
 subparagraph
        (B) , each eligible institution shall 
 ensure that the student manually enter, either in 
 writing or through electronic means, the exact dollar 
 amount of Federal Direct Loan funding under part D that 
 such student desires to borrow.
 ``
        (B) Timing.--The eligible institution shall 
 ensure that the student carries out the activity 
 described in subparagraph
        (A) --
 ``
            (i) in the course of the process used by 
 the institution for students to accept a 
 student loan award;
 ``
            (ii) prior to the institution certifying 
 a Federal Direct Loan under part D for 
 disbursement to a student (other than a Federal 
 Direct Consolidation Loan or a Federal Direct 
 PLUS loan made on behalf of a student); and
 ``
            (iii) after ensuring that the student has 
 completed all of the pre-loan counseling 
 requirements under this subsection.''.

SEC. 3. REQUIRED PERIODIC DISCLOSURES DURING PERIODS WHEN LOAN PAYMENTS 
 ARE NOT REQUIRED.

 

Section 433 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1083) is 
amended--

    (1) by redesignating subsection

    (f) as subsection

    (g) ; and

    (2) by inserting after subsection

    (e) the following:
 ``

    (f) Required Periodic Disclosures During Periods When Loan 
Payments Are Not Required.--During any period of time when a borrower 
of one or more loans, made, insured, or guaranteed under this part or 
part D is not required to make a payment to an eligible lender on the 
borrower's loan from that eligible lender, such eligible lender shall 
provide such borrower with a quarterly statement that includes, in 
simple and understandable terms--
 ``

    (1) the original principal amount of each of the 
 borrower's loans, and the original principal amount of those 
 loans in the aggregate;
 ``

    (2) the borrower's current balance, as of the time of the 
 statement, as applicable;
 ``

    (3) the interest rate on each loan;
 ``

    (4) the total amount the borrower has paid in interest on 
 each loan;
 ``

    (5) the aggregate amount the borrower has paid for each 
 loan, including the amount the borrower has paid in interest, 
 the amount the borrower has paid in fees, and the amount the 
 borrower has paid against the balance;
 ``

    (6) the lender's or loan servicer's address, toll-free 
 phone number, and webpage for payment and billing error 
 purposes, including information about how a borrower can make 
 voluntary payments when a loan is not in repayment status;
 ``

    (7) an explanation--
 ``
        (A) that the borrower has the option to pay the 
 interest that accrues on each loan while the borrower 
 is a student at an institution of higher education or 
 during a period of deferment or forbearance, if 
 applicable; and
 ``
        (B) if the borrower does not pay such interest 
 while attending an institution or during a period of 
 deferment or forbearance, any accumulated interest on 
 the loan will be capitalized when the loan goes into 
 repayment, resulting in more interest being paid over 
 the life of the loan;
 ``

    (8) the amount of interest that has accumulated since the 
 last statement based on the typical installment time period and 
 the aggregate interest accrued to date; and
 ``

    (9) an explanation that making even small payments of any 
 unspecified amount while the borrower is a student at an 
 institution of higher education, or during a period of 
 deferment or forbearance, if applicable, can help to offset 
 interest accrual over the life of the loan.''.

SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Program Participation Agreements.--

Section 487

    (e)

    (2)
        (B)
            (ii) 
            (IV) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094

    (e)

    (2)
        (B)
            (ii) 
            (IV) ) 
is amended--

    (1) by striking ``Entrance and exit counseling'' and 
 inserting ``Pre-loan and exit counseling''; and

    (2) by striking ``entrance and exit counseling'' and 
 inserting ``pre-loan and exit counseling''.

    (b) Regulatory Relief and Improvement.--

Section 487A of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094a) is amended by striking 
``entrance and exit interviews'' and inserting ``pre-loan and exit 
interviews'' each place the term appears.
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