This Week in Legislation

Week of December 12 This week, both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate are in recess. Lawmakers will return to legislative business and begin the 115th Congress on Tuesday, January 3, 2017. Today at 10:00 a.m., U.S. Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell speaks at the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Completion Event in Philadelphia, PA. Mr. Mitchell will highlight ways that students and parents can access and pay for college, and make the college selection process easier. He will also share information about the new, early October 1 availability of the FAFSA and the College Scorecard and will answer questions about college. On Tuesday and Wednesday, all day, the Federal Reserve holds a two-day meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee. The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the committee, which include a description of economic and financial conditions, are made available three weeks after its policy decisions are posted in the Federal Reserve Board’s Annual Report. On Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., the Center for American Progress (CAP) hosts a conversation with Education Secretary John B. King, Jr. on the future of the nation’s education system. He will talk about the importance of public education and what it means for the strength of the nation’s democracy and economy. To RSVP, visit the CAP website. On Wednesday at 1:00 p.m., the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau hosts a free web-based Info session on robocalls that will provide information about consumers’ rights and the steps they can take to prevent robocalls. The session will explain the FCC’s role in addressing this issue and the steps consumers can take to protect themselves from and/or decrease the amount of robocalls they receive. For details on how to join the call, visit the FCC website. On Thursday and Friday, all-day, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) hosts its 2016 CFPB Research Conference, which aims to highlight research on the topic of consumer finance that can inform researchers and policymakers. The conference will focus on high-quality consumer finance research with academic and government researchers presenting their research papers. During the conference, attendees will hear from panelists on consumption dynamics and household balance sheets, discrete thresholds in the availability of credit, insights into consumer decision making, the impact of change in credit availability and usage, and information and disclosure.   Department Announces Debt Collection Contract Awards Late last Friday evening, the U.S. Department of Education announced awards for the unrestricted debt collection procurement released last December. That procurement replaced one initially released in 2013. The Department received proposals from 48 organizations. The contracts, which run for five years with an option of a five-year renewal, cannot exceed $417 million. Awards were made to the following bidders as provided by the Department: Financial Management Systems Investment Corp. 1701 Golf Road Tower 2-150 Rolling Meadows, IL 60008 GC Services Limited Partnership 6330 Gulfton Houston, TX 77081 Premiere Credit of North America, LLC 2002 N Wellesly Blvd. Suite 100 Indianapolis, IN 46219 The CBE Group Inc. 1309 Technology Parkway Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Transworld Systems Inc. 507 Prudential Road Horsham, PA 19044 Value Recovery Holding, LLC 919 Old Henderson Road Columbus, OH 43220 Windham Professionals, Inc. 380 Main Street Salem, NH 03079 Unsuccessful bidders were informed that their bids were not “deemed to conform to the solicitation and to be the most advantageous to the Government.” These organizations have three days to submit a written request to “receive a debriefing in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 15.506.”   Senate Passes Continuing Resolution and Averts Government Shutdown The Senate voted 63-36 shortly before midnight on Friday to approve a Continuing Resolution (CR) that would fund the federal government through April 28, 2017, narrowly avoiding a temporary shutdown. President Obama signed the bill shortly after receiving it early Saturday morning. The House approved the stopgap bill on Thursday by a 326-96 vote. The move came after Senate Democrats dropped threats to reject the CR in order to get a yearlong extension for retired coal miners’ healthcare benefits. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who led the resistance, said he would continue to press the issue next year. The 115th Congress, which convenes on January 3, will have a busy four months as it will be tasked to not only confirm nominees by President-elect Donald Trump to various positions, but confirm a possible Supreme Court nominee and reach an agreement on spending levels for the rest of fiscal year 2017. FICO Research: Average U.S. Student Loan Debt Doubled in 10 Years New research from FICO reveals the sharp rise of student loan debt over the last 10 years and shows that people with heavy student loans are less likely to have mortgages. According to the data, the number of U.S. consumers aged 25-34 with student loan debt of at least $50,000 doubled from 2005 to 2015. During that same time, the average student loan debt across all consumers aged 25-34 also doubled; by comparison, average credit card debt and mortgage debt for this population actually fell. While the number of consumers age 25-34 with student loans grew from 2005 to 2015 (from 27 percent of this population to 40 percent), there are fewer 25-34 year olds with mortgages or credit cards than 10 years ago. FICO also researched the impact of student loans on other types of borrowing, with the most dramatic finding in mortgages. Among people 25-34 years old: 22 percent of those who have never had a student loan have mortgages; 33 percent of people who have paid off their student loans have mortgages; and 17 percent of those who still have open student loans also have mortgages. Higher Education Legislation Introduced Prior to the closure of the 114th Congress, higher education-related bills were introduced in both Chambers. In the House, Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) introduced H.R. 6521 to “amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the deduction allowed for student loan interest and to exclude from gross income discharges of income contingent or income-based student loan indebtedness.” On the Senate side, Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced S. 3521, or the RISE Act, which would ease the burden of transitioning to college life for students with disabilities. The act, which amends the Higher Education Act, would clarify that documentation used in K-12 education and other settings to receive special education or accommodations would be acceptable as proof of a disability for students in higher education. “The RISE Act clears the path for students with disabilities to get the support they need to thrive and succeed in college,” Sen. Casey said. “No student with a documented disability should have to incur additional costs to prove it when they get to college and I commend the disability community and higher education for working together with me on solving this critical issue.” Education Department Update The following announcements have been posted to the IFAP website: 2016-12-09 (COD System) Subject: COD Processing Update 2016-12-09 (General) Subject: Important Information for Colleges and Counselors Regarding Supporting ITT Students

This information is shared by SASFAA's Legislative Affairs' Committee and NCHER.