,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ahde  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #ac1     
#bjai ,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself1 ,mr4  
,booker1 and ,mrs4 ,gillibrand7         
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,health1 ,education1      
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
enable borrowers of ,federal student    
loans to refinance those loans at       
interest rates that are equivalent to   
the interest rates at which the ,federal
 ,government provides loans to banks    
through the discount window operated by 
the ,federal ,reserve ,system4  #a4     
,short title  ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,if ,it's ,good ,enough ,for the   
,banks1 ,it's ,good ,enough ,for        
,students ,act4  #b4 ,student loan      
refinancing  7a7 ,program authority     
,section #dea7;a7 of the ,higher        
,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 
#ajhg;a7a77 is amended--  7#a7 by       
striking and 7#b7 and inserting 7#b72   

and  7#b7 by inserting 2 and 7#c7 to    
make loans under section #dfj;,a after  
section #dei;,a4  7b7 ,refinancing      
,program ,part ,d of title ,,iv of the  
,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj   
,u4,s4,c4 #ajhg;a et seq47 is amended by
 adding at the end the following3       
#dfj;,a4 ,refinancing ,federal ,direct  
,loans at lower interest rates  7a7 ,in 
general ,beginning on the date of       
enactment of this section1 the          
,secretary shall establish a program    
under which the ,secretary1 upon the    
receipt of an application from a        
qualified borrower1 makes a loan under  
this part1 in accordance with the       
provisions of this section1 in order to 
permit the borrower to obtain the       
interest rate provided under subsection 
7c74  7b7 ,refinancing ,direct ,loans   
,upon application of a qualified        
borrower1 the ,secretary shall repay a  
,federal ,direct ,stafford ,loan1 a     
,federal ,direct ,unsubsidized ,stafford
 ,loan1 a ,federal ,direct ,,plus ,loan1

 or a ,federal ,direct ,consolidation   
,loan of the qualified borrower1 for    
which the first disbursement was made1  
or the application for the consolidation
 loan was received1 before the date of  
enactment of this section1 with the     
proceeds of a refinanced ,federal       
,direct ,stafford ,loan1 a ,federal     
,direct ,unsubsidized ,stafford ,loan1 a
 ,federal ,direct ,,plus ,loan1 or a    
,federal ,direct ,consolidation ,loan1  
respectively1 issued to the borrower in 
an amount equal to the sum of the unpaid
 principal1 accrued unpaid interest1 and
 late charges of the original loan4  7c7
 ,interest rates  7#a7 ,in general ,the 
interest rate for the refinanced        
,federal ,direct ,stafford ,loans1      
,federal ,direct ,unsubsidized ,stafford
 ,loans1 ,federal ,direct ,,plus ,loans1
 and ,federal ,direct ,consolidation    
,loans1 shall be a rate equal to the    
interest rate described in subsection   
7a7 of section #bja4ea of title #ab1    
,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or      

successor regulations74  7#b7 ,fixed    
,rate ,the applicable rate of interest  
determined under paragraph 7#a7 for a   
refinanced loan under this section shall
 be fixed for the period of the loan4   
7d7 ,terms and conditions of loans  7#a7
 ,in general ,a loan that is refinanced 
under this section shall have the same  
terms and conditions as the original    
loan1 except as otherwise provided in   
this section4  7#b7 ,repayment period   
,refinancing a loan under this section  
shall not result in the extension of the
 duration of the repayment period of the
 loan1 and the borrower shall retain the
 same repayment term that was in effect 
on the original loan4 ,nothing in this  
paragraph shall be construed to prevent 
a borrower from electing a different    
repayment plan at any time in accordance
 with section #dee7;d77#c74  7e7        
,definition of qualified borrower  ,for 
purposes of this section1 the term      
qualified borrower means a borrower--   
7#a7 of a loan under this part for which

 the first disbursement was made1 or the
 application for a consolidation loan   
was received before the date of         
enactment of this section2  7#b7 who    
submits an application under this       
section not later than #b years after   
the date of enactment of this section2  
and  7#c7 who is not in default on the  
loan the borrower seeks to refinance4   
7f7 ,notification to borrowers ,the     
,secretary1 in coordination with the    
,director of the ,bureau of ,consumer   
,financial ,protection1 shall carry out 
a campaign to alert borrowers of loans  
that are eligible for refinancing under 
this section that the borrowers are     
eligible to apply for such refinancing4 
,the campaign shall include the         
following activities3  7#a7 ,developing 
consumer information materials about the
 availability of ,federal student loan  
refinancing4  7#b7 ,requiring servicers 
of loans under this part to provide such
 consumer information to borrowers in a 
manner determined appropriate by the    

,secretary1 in consultation with the    
,director of the ,bureau of ,consumer   
,financial ,protection4  4