College Debt Swap Act of 2011
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
College Debt Swap Act of 2011 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow certain borrowers to consolidate their private education loans as Direct Consolidation Loans.
Limits such borrowers to those who: (1) are not in default on a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV, except in certain instances of economic hardship; (2) were enrolled, between July 1, 1994, and July 1, 2010, as students eligible for unsubsidized Stafford loans or PLUS loans under the Federal Family Education Loan or Direct Loan programs; (3) borrowed at least one private education loan during such enrollment period; (4) are repaying their private education loan or are in a grace period preceding such repayment; (5) do not have an adverse credit history with respect to Direct Plus loans; and (6) have not previously obtained a Direct Consolidated Loan under title IV.
Makes the program applicable only to private education loans disbursed to borrowers between July 1, 1994, and July 1, 2010.
Directs the Secretary of Education to inform and educate students and their families about this loan consolidation program.
Terminates the authority to make Consolidation loans under such program on June 30, 2012.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 6, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 8, 2011: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
EDOLPHUS TOWNS (D-NY) introduced it on July 6, 2011, and 9 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 9 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 6, 2011, 5545 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5481 days ago, on September 8, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers