[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7671 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7671
To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to establish the
position of the Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate
of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, to provide a framework
for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and the Department of
Education to coordinate in providing assistance to and serving
borrowers seeking to resolve complaints related to their private
education or Federal student loans, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 25, 2026
Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Bynum, Ms.
Norton, and Mr. Thanedar) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition
to the Committees on Financial Services, 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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to establish the
position of the Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate
of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, to provide a framework
for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and the Department of
Education to coordinate in providing assistance to and serving
borrowers seeking to resolve complaints related to their private
education or Federal 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Students and Young
Consumers Empowerment Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--STUDENTS AND YOUNG CONSUMERS EMPOWERMENT
Sec. 101. Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate.
Sec. 102. Duties of the Department of Education.
TITLE II--STUDENT LOAN INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY
Sec. 201. Definitions.
Sec. 202. Cooperation between the Bureau and the Department.
TITLE I--STUDENTS AND YOUNG CONSUMERS EMPOWERMENT
SEC. 101. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND STUDENT LOAN BORROWER ADVOCATE.
(a) In General.--Section 1035 of the Consumer Financial Protection
Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5535) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 1035. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND STUDENT LOAN BORROWER ADVOCATE.
``(a) Establishment.--There is established the position of
Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate, who shall be
appointed by the Director.
``(b) Duties.--The Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower
Advocate shall--
``(1) serve as the head of the Office for Students and
Young Consumers established under subsection (e);
``(2) not later than the end of the 60-day period beginning
on the date of enactment of this section, enter into a
memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Education,
the Chief Operating Officer appointed under section 141(d) of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1018(d)), and the
Student Loan Ombudsman appointed under section 141(f) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1018(f)) that--
``(A) ensures coordination in providing assistance
to and serving borrowers seeking to resolve complaints
related to their private education loans or Federal
student loans; and
``(B) authorizes the Bureau to access all relevant
Department of Education information systems, records,
and data, including any relevant information systems,
records, or data maintained by contractors of the
Department of Education;
``(3) accept and attempt to resolve complaints from
borrowers with both private education loans and Federal student
loans, including complaints against lenders, servicers, and
debt collectors; and
``(4) carry out such other duties as the Director may
determine appropriate.
``(c) Notification to Congress.--The Director shall provide written
notice and an explanation to the appropriate congressional committees,
if--
``(1) the position of the Assistant Director and Student
Loan Borrower Advocate has been vacant for a period of 60 days
or more; or
``(2) the memorandum of understanding required under
subsection (b)(2) has lapsed for a period of 60 days or more.
``(d) Reports.--
``(1) Annual report on the student loan marketplace.--The
Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate shall--
``(A) compile and analyze complaints from borrowers
with Federal student loans or private education loans;
``(B) not less than once per year, submit a report
to Congress summarizing the activities of the Assistant
Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate in the
previous year and including an independent evaluation
of risks to consumers posed by policies and practices
in the student loan marketplace; and
``(C) as part of each report submitted in
accordance with subparagraph (B), and any other time
deemed prudent by the Student Loan Borrower Advocate,
make recommendations to the Director, the Secretary of
the Treasury, the Secretary of Education, and the
appropriate congressional committees to address risk to
student loan borrowers and strengthen the student loan
marketplace.
``(2) Annual report on campus banking.--Not less than once
per year, the Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower
Advocate shall issue a report to the appropriate congressional
committees analyzing the use of consumer financial products and
services by students enrolled at institutions of higher
education, including an evaluation of contracts and other
financial arrangements between institutions of higher education
and providers of consumer financial products and services,
including an evaluation of revenue sharing provisions,
marketing provisions, and fees assessed to students who use
such products and services.
``(3) Report on risks to young consumers.--Not less than
once per year, the Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower
Advocate shall issue a report to the appropriate congressional
committees containing an analysis of complaints submitted to
the Bureau by young consumers during the previous year and
offering an independent evaluation of risks to consumers posed
by policies and practices in the marketplace for consumer
financial products and services.
``(e) Office for Students and Young Consumers.--There is
established an Office for Students and Young Consumers, which shall be
responsible for developing and implementing initiatives for students,
young consumers, and their families intended to--
``(1) educate and empower students, young consumers, and
their families to make better informed decisions regarding
consumer financial products and services; and
``(2) coordinate efforts among Federal and State agencies,
as appropriate, regarding consumer protection measures relating
to consumer financial products and services offered to, or used
by, students, young consumers, and their families.
``(f) Collection of Information; Market Monitoring.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the
Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate shall
have the authority to gather information from time to time
regarding the organization, business conduct, markets, and
activities of covered persons and service providers.
``(2) Sources of information.--In gathering information
described under paragraph (1), the Assistant Director and
Student Loan Borrower Advocate may gather and compile
information from a variety of sources, including examination
reports concerning covered persons or service providers,
consumer complaints, voluntary surveys and voluntary interviews
of consumers, surveys and interviews with covered persons and
service providers, and review of available databases.
``(3) Authority to require reports and other information.--
The Director shall, upon the recommendation of the Assistant
Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate, require covered
persons and service providers participating in consumer
financial services markets to file with the Bureau, under oath
or otherwise, in such form and within such reasonable period of
time as the Bureau may prescribe by rule or order, annual or
special reports, answers in writing to specific questions, or
other information described under section 1022(c)(4).
``(4) Limitation.--The Bureau may not use its authorities
under this subsection to obtain records from covered persons
and service providers participating in consumer financial
services markets for purposes of gathering or analyzing the
personally identifiable financial information of consumers.
``(g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
``(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
`appropriate congressional committees' means the Committees on
Education and Labor and Financial Services of the House of
Representatives and the Committees on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the
Senate.
``(2) Truth in lending act terms.--The terms `private
education loan' and `institution of higher education' have the
meanings given those terms, respectively, under section 140 of
the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents under section 1(b)
of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is
amended, in the item relating to section 1035, by striking ``Private
Education Loan Ombudsman'' and inserting ``Assistant Director and
Student Loan Borrower Advocate''.
SEC. 102. DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
Part D of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1018 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 144. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND
STUDENT LOAN BORROWER ADVOCATE.
``Not later than the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date
of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Education, the Chief
Operating Officer appointed under section 141(d), and the Student Loan
Ombudsman appointed under section 141(f) shall enter into a memorandum
of understanding with the Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower
Advocate of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection that--
``(1) ensures coordination in providing assistance to and
serving borrowers seeking to resolve complaints related to
their private education loans or loans made, insured, or
guaranteed under title IV; and
``(2) authorizes the Bureau to access all relevant
Department information systems, records, and data, including
any relevant information systems, records, or data maintained
by contractors of the Department.''.
TITLE II--STUDENT LOAN INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY
SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means the Bureau or the
Department, as applicable, and the term ``agencies'' means both
the Bureau and the Department.
(2) Bureau.--The term ``Bureau'' means the Bureau of
Consumer Financial Protection.
(3) Complaint.--The term ``complaint'' means a comment,
inquiry, or request for assistance from a student loan
borrower.
(4) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Education.
(5) Assistant director.--The term ``Assistant Director''
means the Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate
of the Bureau.
(6) Federal consumer financial law.--The term ``Federal
consumer financial law'' has the meaning given that term under
section 1002 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010
(12 U.S.C. 5481).
(7) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given that
term under section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1002).
(8) Nonpublic information.--The term ``nonpublic
information'' means--
(A) confidential information, as such term is
defined under section 1070.2 of title 12, Code of
Federal Regulations;
(B) any information collected by the Department
from persons engaged in student financial services
activities pursuant to the Department's oversight and
other authorities that is not publicly available; and
(C) the name, address, or other personally
identifiable information relating to any consumer,
including any information so designated by a provider
of information.
(9) Private education loan.--The term ``private education
loan'' has the meaning given that term under section 140(a) of
the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650(a)).
(10) Provider.--With respect to information shared between
the agencies, the term ``provider'' means the agency providing
the information to the other agency.
(11) Receiver.--With respect to information shared between
the agencies, the term ``receiver'' means the agency receiving
the information from the other agency.
(12) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
(13) Student financial services.--The term ``student
financial services'' means consumer financial products or
services (as defined under section 1002 of the Consumer
Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481)) that are
related to students of institutions of higher education,
including student loan origination and student loan servicing.
(14) Title iv loans.--The term ``title IV loans'' means
loans made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965.
SEC. 202. COOPERATION BETWEEN THE BUREAU AND THE DEPARTMENT.
(a) In General.--The Assistant Director and the Secretary shall--
(1) establish points of contact between the Bureau and the
Department with respect to Bureau supervision and Department
oversight matters that are of common jurisdiction to both the
Bureau and the Department;
(2) share with each other the Bureau's schedule of
examinations and the Department's schedule of reviews of
persons engaged in offering or providing student financial
services that are subject to the Bureau's supervisory authority
and the Department's oversight authority;
(3) coordinate the Bureau's supervision activities and the
Department's oversight activities to promote the efficient use
of resources;
(4) meet at least quarterly to discuss observations about
the nature of complaints received by the Bureau and the
Department, characteristics of borrowers, and available
information about resolution of complaints, as well as analysis
and recommendations; and
(5) work to ensure the Bureau and the Department understand
the respective reporting categories and definitions of each
agency and how such categories and definitions relate to each
other for comparison.
(b) Sharing of Information.--
(1) Bureau access to department databases.--For the purpose
of the Bureau's congressional reporting, research, market
analysis, complaint resolution, enforcement, supervision,
financial education, engagement, and rulemaking needs, the
Secretary shall work with the Bureau to provide the Bureau with
access to Department databases, as applicable.
(2) Consumer complaints.--
(A) Bureau access to department consumer
complaints.--The Assistant Director may request and
obtain information from the Secretary concerning
consumer complaints and other information pertaining to
specific entities or classes of entities that are
relevant to the exercise of the Bureau's supervisory,
enforcement, or regulatory functions.
(B) Sharing of student loan borrower complaints.--
(i) In general.--The Assistant Director and
the Secretary shall transfer each complaint
received by their agency from student loan
borrowers to the other agency.
(ii) Deadline for sharing certain
complaints.--With respect to a complaint
received by the Bureau related to the
origination, disbursement, or servicing of a
title IV loan or a complaint received by the
Department related to a private education loan,
the applicable agency shall direct the
complaint to the other agency within 10 days of
receipt of the complaint.
(C) Addressing complaints related to defaulted
title iv loans.--The Assistant Director and the
Secretary shall establish an efficient collaborative
process to address complaints received by the Bureau
about private collection agency actions related to
defaulted title IV loans.
(D) Standards for the format and sharing of
complaint data.--
(i) Format.--In providing complaint data
described under this paragraph, the Assistant
Director and the Secretary shall provide the
complaint data in a secure, digital format.
(ii) Process.--The Assistant Director and
the Secretary shall establish an efficient,
secure, and legally compliant process to
provide complaint data.
(3) Certain tax return information.--Section 6103(l)(13)(D)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(vii) Redisclosure to the bureau of
consumer financial protection.--Authorized
persons may redisclose return information
received under subparagraph (C) to the
Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower
Advocate of the Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection to the extent necessary to carry out
the oversight activities of the Bureau of
Consumer Financial Protection.''.
(4) Other information.--In addition to the information
permitted to be shared under this section, the Assistant
Director and the Secretary may share any other information with
each other as the Assistant Director and the Secretary
determine appropriate.
(5) Amendment to title 5.--Section 552a(b) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended--
(A) in paragraph (12), by striking ``or'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(14) a disclosure between the Secretary of Education and
the Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate of
the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection authorized under
the Students and Young Consumers Empowerment Act.''.
(6) Data privacy.--
(A) Memorandum of understanding.--The Assistant
Director and the Secretary shall enter into one or more
memoranda of understanding to address data privacy
issues related to information shared between the Bureau
and the Department pursuant to this title.
(B) Safeguarding nonpublic information.--The
Assistant Director and the Secretary shall establish
and maintain such safeguards as are necessary and
appropriate to protect the confidentiality of any
nonpublic information received by their agency pursuant
to this title (as well as any derived information),
including--
(i) restricting access to the nonpublic
information to only those of officers,
employees, and contractors who have a need for
such information to carry out the receiver's
responsibilities under applicable law;
(ii) informing those persons who are
provided access to the nonpublic information of
their responsibilities under this title; and
(iii) ensuring that the nonpublic
information is protected in accordance with the
standards applicable to Federal agencies for
protection of the privacy and confidentiality
of personally identifiable information and for
data security and integrity.
(c) Handling of Complaints by the Bureau.--The Assistant Director
shall--
(1) accept complaints related to private education loans
and the servicing of title IV loans; and
(2) process such complaints, including, where appropriate,
providing the complaints to the applicable servicer and
providing any response from the servicer to the borrower, in
accordance with section 1034 of the Consumer Financial
Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5534).
(d) Title IV Loan Servicer Requirement.--The Secretary may not
enter into an agreement with a contractor or vendor for the servicing
of title IV loans unless the contractor or vendor, as part of that
agreement, agrees to provide the Bureau, upon request, any information
that the contractor or vendor is required to provide the Department.
(e) Responsibilities of the Agencies by Type of Complaint.--
(1) Complaints regarding the title iv loan programs.--With
respect to complaints regarding the title IV loan programs, the
Department is responsible for--
(A) program issue resolution;
(B) attempting to resolve such complaints; and
(C) as appropriate, discussing such complaints with
the Bureau regarding the impact, if any, on Federal
consumer financial law.
(2) Complaints regarding title iv loans with federal
consumer financial law issues.--
(A) In general.--With respect to complaints
regarding title IV loans with Federal consumer
financial law issues--
(i) the Department shall collaborate with
the Bureau;
(ii) the Bureau is responsible for
providing the Department with expertise,
analysis, and recommendations regarding
resolution consistent with Federal consumer
financial law; and
(iii) the Department is responsible for
attempting to resolve informally such
complaints, in accordance with section
141(f)(3)(A) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1018(f)(3)(A)), with the
Bureau's input.
(B) Interagency process to discuss, track, and
resolve complaints.--The Assistant Director and the
Secretary shall determine an efficient process to--
(i) discuss and track complaints related to
both a title IV loan and a private education
loan; and
(ii) collaborate, where possible, to
attempt to resolve such complaints, including
through the use of the ombudsmen established
under section 1035 of the Consumer Financial
Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5535) and
section 141(f) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1018(f)).
(3) Complaints regarding private education loans with
federal consumer financial law issues.--With respect to
complaints regarding private education loans, the Bureau is
responsible for--
(A) attempting to resolve informally such
complaints, in accordance with section 1035(c)(1) of
the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12
U.S.C. 5535(c)(1)); and
(B) as appropriate, discussing issues with the
Department regarding products offered by institutions
of higher education or to students or prospective
students, or other issues that may impact Federal
programs overseen by the Department.
(f) Payment of Costs.--
(1) In general.--The Bureau and the Department shall each
bear its own costs of complying with this title.
(2) Interagency agreement for transfer of funds.--If funds
are transferred between the Bureau and the Department for the
provision of goods or services authorized by this title,
including access to Department databases described under
subsection (b)(1), such transfer shall be accomplished by a
separate interagency agreement.
(g) Rules of Construction.--
(1) Nothing in this title may be construed to limit the
existing authorities of the Bureau or the Department.
(2) Nothing in this title may be construed to prohibit the
Bureau or the Department from entering into memoranda of
understanding to establish additional policies and procedures
related to the requirements of this title.
(3) Nothing in this title may be construed to prevent an
agency from complying with a legally valid or enforceable order
of a court of competent jurisdiction, or, if compliance is
compulsory, with a request or demand from a duly authorized
committee of the United States Senate or House of
Representatives.
<all>
Students and Young Consumers Empowerment Act
#7671 | HR Congress #119
Policy Area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects:
Last Action: Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, 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. (2/25/2026)
Bill Text Source: Congress.gov
Summary and Impacts
Original Text