1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Better Service to Borrowers Act of 2019”.
Better Service to Borrowers Act of 2019
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Education to develop a common manual for loan servicers to ensure quality of practice and increase borrower satisfaction.
2. Requiring a common manual for servicers
In general— Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“493E. Requiring a common manual for loan servicers
“(a) In general—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Better Service to Borrowers of 2019, the Secretary shall develop a manual of common procedures and policies for entities with which the Secretary enters into contracts for the origination, servicing, and collection of covered loans to standardize procedures to ensure consistency of quality and practice across loan servicers, and a minimum standard of quality and practice to ensure that borrowers are well-served.
“(b) Updates—The Secretary shall update the manual under subsection (a) as frequently as may be necessary, but not less frequently than every 5 years.
“(c) Covered loans defined—The term covered loans means—
“(1) loans sold or assigned to the Secretary under part B;
“(2) loans made or purchased under part D; and
“(3) loans referred, transferred, or assigned to the Secretary under part E.”
Part D loans— Section 456(a)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087f(a)(2)) is amended in the first sentence by inserting before the period at the end the following: “, including the applicable procedures and policies described in the manual developed under section 493E”.