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STUDENT LOAN SUNSHINE ACT

  • Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Chairman Miller for his leadership, promptness, and thoroughness on this issue and for bringing this bill to the House floor.
  • H.R. 890–The Student Loan Sunshine Act, establishes requirements for lenders and institutions of higher education in order to protect students and other borrowers receiving educational loans.
  • The key to both socio-economic mobility and stability has traditionally been through education. Education is critical to our economy as our global society transitions from an industrial to a technological society.
  • There have been an increasing number of students enrolling in colleges, even though college costs are escalating. Students are particularly hard hit by the increasing cost of college attendance. As a result, the majority of college students rely on some form of student loans to finance their education.
  • However, recently New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has uncovered many unscrupulous lending practices and conflicts of interests in the student loan industry.
  • In light of Mr. Cuomo’s discoveries, a bill such as the Student Loan Sunshine Act is desperately needed. This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, and requires each lender entering into an educational loan arrangement with a postsecondary school to:

    (1) Report annually to the Secretary of Education specified information concerning their arrangements with schools;
    (2) inform borrowers of their loan options under title IV (four) before extending private educational loans for attendance at schools; and
    (3) be barred by the school from marketing student loans in a manner implying the school’s endorsement.