,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cffb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #aj1 #bjai,mrs4
 ,mc,bath 7for herself1 ,ms4            
,finkenauer1 ,ms4 ,porter1 ,mrs4 ,axne1 
,ms4 ,davids of ,kansas1 and ,ms4       
,scanlon7 introduced the following bill2
 which was referred to the ,committee on
 ,education and ,labor  ,a ,,bill  ,to  
amend the ,higher ,education ,act of    
#aife to ensure that student borrowers  
are provided relief from their student  
loans in the instance of substantial    
misrepresentation or omission by an     
institution of higher education4  #a4   
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,relief for ,defrauded ,students    
,act of #bjai4  #b4 ,amendments to terms
 and conditions of borrower defenses    
,section #dee7;h7 of the ,higher        
,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 
#ajhg;e7h77 is amended to read as       
follows3  7h7 ,borrower defenses  7#a7  
,in general ,notwithstanding any other  
provision of ,state or ,federal law1 a  

defense to repayment of a loan under    
this part shall include--  7,a7 a       
substantial misrepresentation under by  
an institution of higher education      
described in section #dhg7;c77#c72  7,b7
 an act or omission of an institution of
 higher education that would give rise  
to a cause of action against such       
institution of higher education under   
applicable ,state law2 or  7,c7 any     
other act or omission by an institution 
of higher education that the ,secretary 
specifies in the regulations under      
paragraph 7#c74  7#b7 ,procedures  7,a7 
,in general ,the ,secretary shall1 for  
each borrower who submits to the        
,secretary an application asserting a   
defense to repayment of a loan made     
under this part--  7i7 provide an       
expeditious and fair process to consider
 such application 7without regard to    
whether the application is submitted by 
an individual borrower1 a group of      
borrowers1 or a representative of such  
individual or group72 and  7ii7         

determine the entitlement of the        
borrower to relief based on all evidence
 available to the ,department4  7,b7    
,independent determination ,a           
determination under subparagraph        
7,a77ii7 with respect to a borrower     
shall be independent of any action that 
the ,department may take under this ,act
 to recover funds from an institution of
 higher education for an act or omission
 related to such determination4  7,c7   
,cancellation of debt ,in a case in     
which the ,secretary determines under   
subparagraph 7,a77ii7 that the borrower 
is entitled to relief1 the ,secretary   
shall--  7i7 cancel any outstanding     
balance of principal and interest due on
 each loan made under this part that the
 borrower received for enrollment at the
 institution of higher education against
 which the borrower is asserting the    
defense to repayment2 and  7ii7 return  
to the borrower the amount of any       
payments made on such loans4  7#c7      
,regulations ,the ,secretary shall      

specify in regulations which acts or    
omissions of an institution of higher   
education a borrower may assert as a    
defense to repayment of a loan made     
under this part1 except that in no event
 may a borrower recover from the        
,secretary1 in any action arising from  
or relating to a loan made under this   
part1 an amount in excess of the amount 
such borrower has repaid on such loan4  
4