Federal consolidation loans

For the purpose of providing loans to eligible borrowers for consolidation of their obligations with respect to eligible student loans, the Secretary or a guaranty agency shall enter into agreements in accordance with subsection (b) with the following eligible lenders: Except as provided in section 1079(e) of this title, no contract of insurance under this part shall apply to a consolidation loan unless such loan is made under an agreement pursuant to this section and is covered by a certificate issued in accordance with subsection (b)(2). Loans covered by such a certificate that is issued by a guaranty agency shall be considered to be insured loans for the purposes of reimbursements under section 1078(c) of this title, but no payment shall be made with respect to such loans under section 1078(f) of this title to any such agency. For the purpose of this section, the term “eligible borrower” means a borrower who— at the time of application for a consolidation loan— 11 So in original. No cl. (ii) has been enacted. An individual’s status as an eligible borrower under this section or under section 1087e(g) of this title terminates under both sections upon receipt of a consolidation loan under this section or under section 1087e(g) of this title, except that— an individual may obtain a subsequent consolidation loan under section 1087e(g) of this title only— For the purpose of paragraph (1), the term “eligible student loans” means loans— Any lender described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (a)(1) who wishes to make consolidation loans under this section shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary or a guaranty agency which provides— that the lender shall disclose to a prospective borrower, in simple and understandable terms, at the time the lender provides an application for a consolidation loan— with respect to Federal Perkins Loans under part E— that if a borrower includes a Federal Perkins Loan under part E in the consolidation loan, the borrower will lose all interest-free periods that would have been available for the Federal Perkins Loan, such as— The Secretary shall issue a certificate of comprehensive insurance coverage under section 1079(b) of this title to a lender which has entered into an agreement with the Secretary under paragraph (1) of this subsection. The guaranty agency may issue a certificate of comprehensive insurance coverage to a lender with which it has an agreement under such paragraph. The Secretary shall not issue a certificate to a lender described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection (a)(1) unless the Secretary determines that such lender has first applied to, and has been denied a certificate of insurance by, the guaranty agency which insures the preponderance of its loans (by value). A certificate issued under paragraph (2) shall, at a minimum, provide— that a consolidation loan will not be insured unless the lender has determined to its satisfaction, in accordance with reasonable and prudent business practices, for each loan being consolidated— A consolidation loan made pursuant to this section shall be insurable by the Secretary or a guaranty agency pursuant to paragraph (2) only if the loan is made to an eligible borrower who has agreed to notify the holder of the loan promptly concerning any change of address and the loan is evidenced by a note or other written agreement which— provides that interest shall accrue and be paid during any such period— If, before July 1, 2010, a borrower is unable to obtain a consolidation loan from a lender with an agreement under subsection (a)(1), or is unable to obtain a consolidation loan with income-sensitive repayment terms or income-based repayment terms acceptable to the borrower from such a lender, or chooses to obtain a consolidation loan for the purposes of using the public service loan forgiveness program offered under section 1087e(m) of this title, the Secretary shall offer any such borrower who applies for it, a Federal Direct Consolidation loan. In addition, in the event that a borrower chooses to obtain a consolidation loan for the purposes of using the no accrual of interest for active duty service members program offered under section 1087e(o) of this title, the Secretary shall offer a Federal Direct Consolidation loan to any such borrower who applies for participation in such program. A direct consolidation loan offered under this paragraph shall, as requested by the borrower, be repaid either pursuant to income contingent repayment under part D of this subchapter, pursuant to income-based repayment under section 1098e of this title, or pursuant to any other repayment provision under this section, except that if a borrower intends to be eligible to use the public service loan forgiveness program under section 1087e(m) of this title, such loan shall be repaid using one of the repayment options described in section 1087e(m)(1)(A) of this title. The Secretary shall not offer such loans if, in the Secretary’s judgment, the Department of Education does not have the necessary origination and servicing arrangements in place for such loans. An eligible lender that makes consolidation loans under this section shall not discriminate against any borrower seeking such a loan— Notwithstanding subparagraphs (B) and (C), with respect to any loan made under this section for which the application is received by an eligible lender— A consolidation loan made before July 1, 1994, shall bear interest at an annual rate on the unpaid principal balance of the loan that is equal to the greater of— Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, to the extent authorized by its certificate of insurance under subsection (b)(2) and approved by the issuer of such certificate, the lender of a consolidation loan shall establish repayment terms as will promote the objectives of this section, which shall include the establishment of graduated, income-sensitive, or income-based repayment schedules, established by the lender in accordance with the regulations of the Secretary. Except as required by such income-sensitive or income-based repayment schedules, or by the terms of repayment pursuant to income contingent repayment offered by the Secretary under subsection (b)(5), such repayment terms shall require that if the sum of the consolidation loan and the amount outstanding on other student loans to the individual— Notwithstanding paragraph (2)— Repayment of a consolidation loan shall commence within 60 days after all holders have, pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(D), discharged the liability of the borrower on the loans selected for consolidation. No insurance premium shall be charged to the borrower on any consolidation loan, and no insurance premium shall be payable by the lender to the Secretary with respect to any such loan, but a fee may be payable by the lender to the guaranty agency to cover the costs of increased or extended liability with respect to such loan. Subject to the provisions of this subsection, the Secretary or a guaranty agency shall enter into agreements with eligible lenders described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of subsection (a)(1) for the consolidation of eligible student loans. Unless otherwise provided in this subsection, the agreements entered into under subparagraph (A) and the loans made under such agreements for the consolidation of eligible student loans under this subsection shall have the same terms, conditions, and benefits as all other agreements and loans made under this section. For the purpose of this subsection, the term “eligible student loans” means loans— The portion of each consolidated loan that is attributable to an eligible student loan described in paragraph (1)(C)(ii) shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed the rate determined under subparagraph (B). For the 12-month period beginning after July 1, 1992, and for each 12-month period thereafter, beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30, the interest rate applicable under subparagraph (A) shall be equal to the average of the bond equivalent rates of the 91-day Treasury bills auctioned for the quarter prior to July 1, for each 12-month period for which the determination is made, plus 3 percent. The Secretary shall determine the applicable rate of interest under subparagraph (B) after consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and shall publish such rate in the Federal Register as soon as practicable after the date of such determination. No special allowance under section 1087–1 of this title shall be paid with respect to the portion of any consolidated loan under this subsection that is attributable to any loan described in paragraph (1)(C)(ii). No interest subsidy under section 1078(a) of this title shall be paid on behalf of any eligible borrower for any portion of a consolidated loan under this subsection that is attributable to any loan described in paragraph (1)(C)(ii). Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, additional reserves shall not be required for any guaranty agency with respect to a loan made under this subsection. Any insurance premium paid by the borrower under subpart I of part A of title VII of the Public Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.] with respect to a loan made under that subpart and consolidated under this subsection shall be retained by the student loan insurance account established under section 710 of the Public Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. 292i]. The Secretary is authorized to promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to facilitate carrying out the provisions of this subsection. The authority to make loans under this section expires at the close of June 30, 2010. No loan may be made under this section for which the disbursement is on or after July 1, 2010. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the Secretary to promulgate rules or regulations governing the terms or conditions of the agreements and certificates under subsection (b). Loans made under this section which are insured by the Secretary shall be considered to be new loans made to students for the purpose of section 1074(a) of this title. For any month beginning on or after October 1, 1993, each holder of a consolidation loan under this section for which the first disbursement was made on or after October 1, 1993, shall pay to the Secretary, on a monthly basis and in such manner as the Secretary shall prescribe, a rebate fee calculated on an annual basis equal to 1.05 percent of the principal plus accrued unpaid interest on such loan. For consolidation loans based on applications received during the period from October 1, 1998 through January 31, 1999, inclusive, the rebate described in paragraph (1) shall be equal to 0.62 percent of the principal plus accrued unpaid interest on such loan. The Secretary shall deposit all fees collected pursuant to this subsection into the insurance fund established in section 1081 of this title.