Skip to main content
H.R. 3102 116th Congress House

HIGHER ED Act

Official title: To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve loans, and for other purposes.

Introduced: June 5, 2019 See on congress.gov
Education Administrative law and regulatory proceduresAdministrative remediesBankruptcyCongressional oversight
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Consumer affairsDepartment of EducationEducation programs fundingEmployee benefits and pensionsFirst responders and emergency personnelGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel managementGovernment information and archivesGovernment lending and loan guaranteesGovernment studies and investigationsGovernment trust fundsHealth personnelHigher educationIncome tax deductionsIncome tax exclusionInterest, dividends, interest ratesLaw enforcement officersLawyers and legal servicesMilitary personnel and dependentsPublic contracts and procurementSocial work, volunteer service, charitable organizationsStudent aid and college costsTax administration and collection, taxpayersTeaching, teachers, curriculaTemporary and part-time employmentWages and earnings
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jun 28, 2019
Referred to the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law.
Jun 5, 2019
Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Jun 5, 2019
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action June 28, 2019

Referred to the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Helping Individuals Get a Higher Education while Reducing Education Debt Act or the HIGHER ED Act

This bill makes various changes to student loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs.

First, the bill authorizes graduate and professional students to receive subsidized Stafford Loans. These students have been ineligible to receive subsidized Stafford Loans since July 1, 2012.

Next, the bill allows student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy proceedings.

The bill also establishes refinancing programs for student loans. It allows certain borrowers to refinance their federal student loans down to lower interest rates, and it creates the Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loan to allow certain borrowers to refinance their private student loans.

Additionally, the bill revises the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, such as by (1) allowing certain part-time faculty to participate in the PSLF program; (2) allowing borrowers to receive, and retroactively applying, loan forgiveness on half of their total loans after satisfying 60 qualifying monthly payments; (3) revising the process for certification of employment; and (4) requiring the Department of Education (ED) to establish a dispute resolution process.

Further, the bill revises federal student loan repayment programs, including by (1) replacing existing student loan repayment plans with one income-based repayment plan and one standard 10-year repayment plan, and (2) allowing existing borrowers to lower their payments by switching to these new plans. It also establishes a process for ED to enroll a delinquent borrower in a new repayment plan.

The bill also requires ED to provide certain notifications to borrowers.

 Related & companion bills 6
  • HR 3418 POST GRAD Act
  • S 1203 What You Can Do For Your Country Act
  • S 1845 If It's Good Enough For the Banks, It's Good Enough For Students Act
  • S 2523 Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act of 2019
  • HR 6397 Coronavirus Emergency Student Loan Refinancing Act
  • HR 2441 What You Can Do For Your Country Act
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 4
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 3102: HIGHER ED Act. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3102/
MLA
"H.R. 3102: HIGHER ED Act." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3102/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 3102, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3102/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 3102: HIGHER ED Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3102/)
Report a problem