Skip to main content
S 2459 113th Congress Senate Education Consumer affairs Government lending and loan guarantees Higher education Student aid and college costs

Know Before You Owe Federal Student Loan Act of 2014

Introduced: June 10, 2014 Introduced by: Grassley, Chuck Republican · Iowa See on congress.gov
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jun 11, 2014
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3596-3597)
Jun 10, 2014
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Jun 10, 2014
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Know Before You Owe Federal Student Loan Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) to provide pre-loan counseling at or prior to the first disbursement of a new loan to a student borrower under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program. (Currently, such counseling is limited to students who are first-time borrowers of such loans.)

Adds to the information to be provided to students as part of such counseling:

  • an estimate of their projected loan debt-to-income ratio upon graduation and their estimated total student loan debt, calculated for their particular program of study;
  • a statement that they should borrow the minimum amount necessary to cover expenses;
  • information about the default risk of having a projected loan debt-to-income ratio greater than 12%;
  • options for reducing borrowing through scholarships, reduced expenses, work-study, or other work opportunities; and
  • an explanation of the importance of graduating on time and of how adding an additional year of study impacts total indebtedness.

Requires each IHE, prior to certifying a Federal Direct Loan for disbursement to a student borrower, to ensure that the student manually enters, either in writing or through electronic means, the exact dollar amount of such loan that the student desires to borrow.

What's happening now June 11, 2014

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3596-3597)

 Committees of jurisdiction 1