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H.R. 6597: Equity in Student Loan Relief Act

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H.R. 6597: Equity in Student Loan Relief Act

116th Congress · introduced 2020-04-22 · Education · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2020-04-22 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Equity in Student Loan Relief Act

Plain summary

Equity in Student Loan Relief Act This bill establishes a temporary program to suspend payments and interest through September 30, 2020, on Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) that are not held by the Department of Education (ED). (Currently, payments and interest are suspended through this period on certain Federal Direct Loans and FFELs held by ED.) Specifically, ED must (1) enter into agreements with eligible lenders and guaranty agencies to reduce the interest rate to 0% on FFELs, and (2) make monthly payments to lenders and guaranty agencies to offset the cost of the reduced interest rate. A lender or guaranty agency that enters into an agreement with ED must (1) temporarily waive interest and suspend all payments due from borrowers through September 30, 2020; (2) suspend all involuntary collections; (3) notify borrowers, within 15 days, that their loan payments have been suspended and interest has been waived; and (4) carry out a program, beginning on August 1, 2020, to provide not fewer than six notices to borrowers that normal payment obligations will resume. Additionally, ED must deem each month for which a loan payment was suspended as if the borrower of the loan had made a payment for the purpose of any authorized loan forgiveness program or loan rehabilitation program. Finally, ED must ensure that any suspended payment on such a loan is treated as a regularly scheduled payment made by a borrower for the purpose of reporting information about the loan to a consumer reporting agency.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Equity in Student Loan Relief Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] · 29 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Lori Trahan (D-MA), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Alma S. Adams (D-NC), Susie Lee (D-NV), Peter Welch (D-VT), Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Josh Harder (D-CA), Bill Foster (D-IL), Adam Smith (D-WA), James A. Himes (D-CT), Lucy McBath (D-GA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] reported raising $5.0 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Obligation
A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong116-hr6597 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116