Sponsors (5)
The bill strengthens oversight and speeds complaint resolution for student loan borrowers (including private‑loan borrowers) through a dedicated CFPB office and interagency data‑sharing, but it increases data‑sharing privacy risks, administrative/compliance costs, and faces implementation and investigative‑scope tradeoffs.
Student loan borrowers (federal and private) will get faster, more effective complaint handling because a dedicated CFPB Assistant Director/Office, interagency MOUs, ED system access, and required complaint-transfer timelines (including a 10-day transfer for some loans) let agencies move and resolve complaints more quickly.
Private student loan borrowers gain expanded consumer protection options because the CFPB can process complaints about private education loans and jointly supervise servicers, increasing oversight of non‑federal loan servicing.
Congress, regulators, and consumers benefit from stronger market oversight and transparency via the Bureau's authority to gather market information, require reports, publish annual student‑loan marketplace reports, and conduct annual campus banking reviews that expose harmful revenue‑sharing and fee practices.
Students and borrowers face increased privacy and security risks because broader interagency and contractor access to sensitive borrower data (including changes allowing certain redisclosures) expands the number of parties handling PII and the surface for breaches or misuse.
Servicers, lenders, colleges, and federal agencies will incur new compliance and administrative costs (secure formats, reporting, safeguards) that may be borne by taxpayers, reduce servicer capacity, or be passed on to borrowers through higher costs or reduced service options.
Restrictions on collecting certain personally identifiable financial information could limit the Bureau's ability to perform account‑level investigations, constraining enforcement effectiveness for some complaints.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 25, 2026 by Suzanne Bonamici · Last progress February 25, 2026
Creates a new Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to lead an Office for Students and Young Consumers, accept and try to resolve complaints about private and federal student loans, and produce annual market and campus banking reports. Requires the CFPB and the Department of Education to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to share data, coordinate complaint handling and supervision, give the CFPB access to Department systems and contractor-held data, and set timelines for complaint transfers and reporting. Sets rules for secure data sharing (including limited changes to IRS and Privacy Act disclosure rules to permit certain redisclosures), requires training and safeguards for nonpublic information, and clarifies agency responsibilities for title IV (federal) loans versus private education loans. The bill establishes deadlines (MOUs within 60 days, certain complaint transfers within 10 days), reporting requirements, and procedures for collaborating on oversight while preserving each agency’s authorities and cost responsibilities.