Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “CFPB Student Loan Integrity and Transparency Act”.
CFPB Student Loan Integrity and Transparency Act
A BILL
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.
Sec. 2 Definitions
In this Act:
Agency— The term “agency” means the Bureau or the Department, as applicable, and the term “agencies” means both the Bureau and the Department.
Bureau— The term “Bureau” means the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
Complaint— The term “complaint” means a comment, inquiry, or request for assistance from a student loan borrower.
Department— The term “Department” means the Department of Education.
Director— The term “Director” means the Director of the Bureau.
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).
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).
Nonpublic information— The term “nonpublic information” means—
confidential information, as such term is defined under section 1070.2 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations;
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
the name, address, or other personally identifiable information relating to any consumer, including any information so designated by a provider of information.
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)).
Provider— With respect to information shared between the agencies, the term “provider” means the agency providing the information to the other agency.
Receiver— With respect to information shared between the agencies, the term “receiver” means the agency receiving the information from the other agency.
Secretary— The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Education.
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.
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. 3 Cooperation between the Bureau and the Department
In general— The Director and the Secretary shall—
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;
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;
coordinate the Bureau’s supervision activities and the Department’s oversight activities to promote the efficient use of resources;
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
work to ensure the Bureau and the Department understand the respective reporting categories and definitions of each agency and how such categories and definition relate to each other for comparison.
Sharing of information—
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.
Consumer complaints—
Bureau access to Department consumer complaints— The 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.
Sharing of student loan borrower complaints—
In general— The Director and the Secretary shall transfer each complaint received by their agency from student loan borrowers to the other agency.
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.
Addressing complaints related to defaulted title IV loans— The 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.
Standards for the format and sharing of complaint data—
Format— In providing complaint data described under this paragraph, the Director and the Secretary shall provide the complaint data in a secure, digital format.
Process— The Director and the Secretary shall establish an efficient, secure, and legally compliant process to provide complaint data.
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 Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to the extent necessary to carry out the oversight activities of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.”
Other information— In addition to the information permitted to be shared under this section, the Director and the Secretary may share any other information with each other as the Director and the Secretary determine appropriate.
Amendment to title 5— Section 552a(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
in paragraph (11), by striking “or” at the end;
in paragraph (12), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(13) a disclosure between the Secretary of Education and the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection authorized under the CFPB Student Loan Integrity and Transparency Act.”
Data privacy—
Memorandum of understanding— The 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 Act.
Safeguarding nonpublic information— The 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 Act (as well as any derived information), including—
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;
informing those persons who are provided access to the nonpublic information of their responsibilities under this Act; and
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.
Handling of complaints by the Bureau— The Director shall—
accept complaints related to private education loans and the servicing of title IV loans; and
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).
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.
Responsibilities of the agencies by type of complaint—
Complaints regarding the title IV loan programs— With respect to complaints regarding the title IV loan programs, the Department is responsible for—
program issue resolution;
attempting to resolve such complaints; and
as appropriate, discussing such complaints with the Bureau regarding the impact, if any, on Federal consumer financial law.
Complaints regarding title IV loans with Federal consumer financial law issues—
In general— With respect to complaints regarding title IV loans with Federal consumer financial law issues—
the Department shall collaborate with the Bureau;
the Bureau is responsible for providing the Department with expertise, analysis, and recommendations regarding resolution consistent with Federal consumer financial law; and
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.
Interagency process to discuss, track, and resolve complaints— The Director and the Secretary shall determine an efficient process to—
discuss and track complaints related to both a title IV loan and a private education loan; and
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)).
Complaints regarding private education loans with Federal consumer financial law issues— With respect to complaints regarding private education loans, the Bureau is responsible for—
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
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.
Payment of costs—
In general— The Bureau and the Department shall each bear its own costs of complying with this Act.
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 Act, including access to Department databases described under subsection (b)(1), such transfer shall be accomplished by a separate interagency agreement.
Rules of Construction—
Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the existing authorities of the Bureau or the Department.
Nothing in this Act 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 Act.
Nothing in this Act 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.