YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyTransparency & AccountabilityYour school could point you to state college loans with fewer notices — but must tell you to use federal loans first.
Your Money
A state or nonprofit loan program qualifies only if its interest rate and fees are at least as good as a federal Direct PLUS loan when the loan is made. Programs that charge more are left out.
The program can only lend to students whose school told them to use up their federal loans first. The school can say so in the financial aid offer.
The school must also spell out what federal loans cost and what they come with. That list includes income-driven repayment, loan forgiveness, pauses on payments, and tax breaks.
Transparency & Accountability
Congress's audit office would send the report to House and Senate school panels within two years. It would check how much students borrow, and whether states start new loan programs.
The report would also track how borrowers do — who repays, who falls behind, and who defaults. Results would be split by school type: public, private nonprofit, and for-profit.
Right now, schools that point students to a lender must post facts about federal aid and loan terms. These state loans would be left out, so schools would also skip the yearly report on lender choice.
More about this bill
If you borrow for college, your state may start offering more loan choices. A state agency or a nonprofit could run a loan program that sits outside some federal lender rules. Schools normally must follow extra disclosure steps when they point students toward a lender. Those steps would not apply to loans from a qualifying state program. To qualify, the loan must cost no more than a federal Direct PLUS loan. Your school would also have to tell you to use up your federal student loans first. It would have to explain what federal loans offer, such as income-based payments, forgiveness, and tax breaks. The Government Accountability Office (Congress's audit agency) would study how student borrowing is changing. Its report is due to two congressional committees within two years. It would track how much students borrow from federal, state, school, and private lenders. It would also follow default and delinquency rates by school type and program of study. The study would cover how the loan changes in Public Law 119-21 played out.
Congressional Summary
Congress's official summary of this bill still describes an earlier version of the text, so we have left it out here. You can read it on Congress.gov.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-03-16
- Date Added
- 2026-07-23
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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