,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dddd  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #af1 #bjbe,mr4 
,correa 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,adams1 ,ms4 
,balint1 ,mr4 ,carter of ,louisiana1    
,mr4 ,fields1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,mr4       
,johnson of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,lee of      
,pennsylvania1 ,ms4 ,lofgren1 ,ms4      
,norton1 ,ms4 ,ross1 ,mr4 ,swalwell1    
,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,mr4 ,thanedar1 ,mr4       
,tonko1 and ,ms4 ,velzquez7 introduced  
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a 
,,bill  ,to provide a more equitable    
discharge standard for student loan     
borrowers4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,student ,loan      
,bankruptcy ,improvement ,act of #bjbe4 
#b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the  
following3  7#a7 ,student loan borrowers
 deserve an opportunity to discharge    
debt using a fair1 nation-wide standard 
for relief4  7#b7 ,the current standard 
of undue hardship fails to provide an   
achievable avenue for relief of student 

loan debt requiring significant costs   
and a paperwork burden4  7#c7 ,student  
loan borrowers rarely meet the arbitrary
 and draconian standard of undue        
hardship1 especially in jurisdictions   
using the ,brunner test1 with only #j4ja
 successfully being discharged as of    
#bjbb4  7#d7 ,the criteria utilized in  
the ,brunner test1 which is used by most
 bankruptcy courts in the ,united       
,states1 is inconsistent with the main  
goal of bankruptcy of giving honest     
debtors a fresh start1 enabling them to 
more fully participate and contribute to
 the economy4  7#e7 ,the ,brunner test  
was developed by the courts decades ago 
when debtors could discharge their      
student loans in bankruptcy by simply   
waiting five or seven years--it should  
no longer be used now that the waiting  
period for discharge was eliminated by  
,congress4  7#f7 ,by changing the       
standard of hardship1 ,congress would   
provide bankruptcy courts with needed   
flexibility to adopt more reasonable    

criteria in determining discharge       
standards for student loan debt4  7#g7  
,adopting this new hardship standard    
does not negate requirements for        
discharge under bankruptcy proceedings  
like means testing1 disclosure          
requirements1 and exemption limitations1
 securing bankruptcy's integrity and    
benefitting both debtors and creditors  
who have an increased opportunity for   
repayment4  7#h7 ,as of ,june #bjbe1    
around six million borrowers of ,federal
 student loans are passed due by at     
least #ij days4  7#i7 ,a majority of    
borrowers with #ij days or more past due
 student loans as of ,june #bjbe could  
move into default by ,september #bjbe4  
7#aj7 ,millions of student loan         
borrowers are facing significant credit 
score declines making it more expensive 
or difficult to get necessary insurance1
 loans1 and credit cards4  7#aa7 ,the   
vast majority of debtors seeking        
bankruptcy discharges for student loans 
never obtained degrees or got degrees   

that have not enabled them to secure    
better employment or have a higher      
earning potential as predicted when     
,congress adopted the undue hardship    
standard4  7#ab7 ,according to a ,duke  
,law ,journal article1 between #bjaa and
 #bjai1 less than #j4a percent of       
applications made by student loan       
debtors in bankruptcy court seeking a   
discharge of student loan debt were     
successful1 largely because attorneys   
discourage their clients from seeking an
 adversary proceeding on the belief that
 it is too hard to meet the undue       
hardship standard4  7#ac7 ,each year1   
less than one percent of the            
approximately #bej1jjj people who file  
for bankruptcy seek to discharge student
 loan debt based on undue hardship1 a   
mere fraction of the nearly #dc million 
people who have ,federal student loan   
debt4  7#ad7 ,between ,november #bjbb   
and ,september #bjbd1 approximately     
#b1ejj people sought to discharge       
student loan debt through bankruptcy4   

7#ae7 ,the ,department of ,education    
7,department7 recently reported that    
twenty percent of borrowers are in      
default and another four million are    
between three and six months behind on  
their payments4 ,the ,department        
estimates that as many as #aj million   
borrowers could be in default within a  
few months4  7#af7 ,there is little     
evidence of debtors abusing the         
bankruptcy system by seeking unfair     
discharges of student loan obligations1 
a concern raised by ,congress when it   
adopted the undue hardship standard4    
7#ag7 ,the concerns of abuse were       
addressed and minimized with the passage
 in #bjje of the ,bankruptcy ,abuse     
,prevention and ,consumer ,protection   
,act with the enactment of a rigorous   
,means ,test to evaluate debtors'       
ability to repay debts4  7#ah7 ,student 
loan debt owed by ,americans who file   
for bankruptcy with student loans is    
often never paid1 whereas bankruptcy    
proceedings provide an opportunity to   

address this reality4  7#ai7 ,with the  
restart of student loan collections1 the
 number of borrowers with student loan  
debt is expected to rise4 ,the change to
 a hardship standard will facilitate    
fair and appropriate discharges and     
repayment plans4  #c4 ,amendment #aa    
,section #ebc7;a77#h7 of title #aa1     
,united ,states ,code1 is amended by    
striking undue4  #d4 ,application of    
amendment ,the amendment made by this   
,act shall apply with respect to cases  
commenced before1 on1 and after the date
 of the enactment of this ,act4