,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ddhj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #aj1 #bjad    
,mr4 ,richmond 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,al   
,green of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,hastings of     
,florida1 ,mr4 ,carson of ,indiana1 ,ms4
 ,lee of ,california1 ,mr4 ,thompson of 
,mississippi1 ,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4 ,fattah1 
,ms4 ,brown of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,danny ,k4
 ,davis of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,david ,scott
 of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,payne1 ,mrs4        
,christensen1 ,ms4 ,eddie ,bernice      
,johnson of ,texas1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4  
,cummings1 ,mr4 ,cleaver1 ,ms4 ,wilson  
of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,butterfield1 ,mr4    
,meeks1 ,ms4 ,moore1 ,mr4 ,jeffries1    
,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,jackson
 ,lee1 ,mr4 ,clyburn1 ,mr4 ,conyers1    
,mrs4 ,beatty1 ,ms4 ,bass1 ,mr4         
,ellison1 ,mr4 ,veasey1 ,ms4 ,fudge1    
,ms4 ,waters1 ,mr4 ,clay1 ,ms4 ,kelly of
 ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,georgia1   
,ms4 ,sewell of ,alabama1 and ,ms4      
,clarke of ,new ,york7 introduced the   
following bill2 which was referred to   

the ,committee on ,education and the    
,workforce  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend adverse
 credit history determinations for      
purposes of ,federal ,direct ,,plus     
,loan eligibility4  #a4 ,short title    
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,protecting ,educational ,loans for     
,underserved ,students ,act4  #b4       
,adverse credit history determinations  
for ,federal ,direct ,,plus ,loan       
eligibility ,section #dee of the ,higher
 ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4
 #ajhg;e7 is amended by adding at the   
end the following3  7r7 ,federal ,direct
 ,,plus ,loans  7#a7 ,in general        
,beginning ,july #a1 #bjad1 in          
determining the eligibility of a student
 to borrow ,federal ,direct ,,plus      
,loans1 the ,secretary shall determine  
whether the student has an adverse      
credit history in accordance with       
paragraph 7#b74  7#b7 ,determination of 
adverse credit history ,in determining  
whether a student has an adverse credit 
history for purposes of paragraph 7#a71 

the ,secretary--  7,a7 shall obtain a   
credit report on the student from at    
least one consumer reporting agency     
described under section #fjc7p7 of the  
,fair ,credit ,reporting ,act 7#ae      
,u4,s4,c4 #afha;a7p77 and within a      
timeframe that would ensure the most    
accurate1 current representation of the 
student's credit history before the     
first day of the period of enrollment   
for which the loan is intended2  7,b7   
unless the ,secretary determines that   
the student has extenuating             
circumstances1 shall consider that a    
student has an adverse credit history   
based on the student's credit report1   
if--  7i7 the student is considered #ij 
or more days delinquent on the repayment
 of a debt exceeding #b1jjj2 or  7ii7   
during the #c years before the date of  
the credit report1 the student has been 
the subject of a--  7,i7 default        
determination2  7,,ii7 bankruptcy       
discharge2  7,,iii7 foreclosure2  7,,iv7
 repossession2  7,v7 tax lien2  7,,vi7  

wage garnishment2 or  7,,vii7 write-off 
of a debt under this title2  7,c7 shall 
not consider a student with debt that is
 unrelated to loans made under this     
title and that1 as of the date of the   
student's credit report1 are in         
collections or have been charged off1 to
 have an adverse credit history and     
shall not deny a ,federal ,direct ,,plus
 ,loan to the student for having such   
debt2  7,d7 shall require that any      
student described in subparagraph 7,c7  
or a student who has been the subject of
 #a or more of the actions described in 
subclauses 7,i7 through 7,,vii7 of      
subparagraph 7,b77ii7 during a period   
ending more than #c years before the    
date of the student's credit report1 to 
participate in loan counseling provided 
by the applicable institution of higher 
education as a condition of being       
eligible to receive a ,federal ,direct  
,,plus ,loan2  7,e7 shall not consider a
 student with no credit history as an   
individual with an adverse credit       

history1 and shall not use a student's  
absence of credit history as a reason to
 deny a ,federal ,direct ,,plus ,loan to
 such student2  7,f7 shall retain a     
record of the ,secretary's basis for    
determining that the student has        
extenuating circumstances under         
subparagraph 7,b71 which may include an 
updated credit report1 debt related to a
 medical condition1 a statement from a  
creditor that the student has made      
satisfactory arrangements to repay the  
debt owed to the creditor1 a            
satisfactory statement from the student 
explaining any delinquencies with       
outstanding balances of less than       
#b1jjj1 or a reduction of the credit    
requirements under this subsection in   
response to a natural disaster or poor  
economic conditions that are unforeseen 
or prolonged2 and  7,g7 in a case in    
which the ,secretary determines that a  
student does not to have an adverse     
credit history in accordance with this  
subsection1 shall consider such         

determination to be in effect for a     
#b-year period beginning on the date the
 ,secretary makes such determination4   
7#c7 ,definition ,for purposes of this  
subsection1 the term student means a    
graduate or professional student or the 
parents of a dependent student4  4  #c4 
,inapplicability of title ,,iv          
negotiated rulemaking requirement and   
master calendar exception ,sections     
#dhb7;c7 and #dib of the ,higher        
,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 
#ajhi7;c71 #ajih;a7 shall not apply to  
the amendment made by section #b1 or to 
any regulations promulgated under such  
amendment4