Sponsors (5)
The bill increases oversight, advocacy, and coordination to protect students and borrowers from abusive practices and improve complaint resolution, at the cost of greater compliance and administrative burdens and increased data‑sharing risks that could raise costs for providers and potentially for students.
Students and student-loan borrowers will get a dedicated advocate at the CFPB and faster, routed complaint handling between CFPB and the Department of Education, improving responsiveness and chances of timely resolution.
Creates an Office for Students and Young Consumers to coordinate federal/state efforts and provide education initiatives for students, families, and young consumers about financial products and protections.
Gives the CFPB stronger investigatory tools (ability to require reports and information from covered persons and service providers) to detect and address abusive practices affecting student borrowers, while limiting collection of PII.
Lenders, servicers, campus banking partners, and contractors will face expanded reporting and compliance obligations that increase their administrative costs—costs that could be passed on to students and borrowers through higher fees or prices.
Expanding CFPB access to Department of Education systems and increased interagency data sharing raises the risk of exposure of sensitive borrower and taxpayer data despite required safeguards.
New mandates (MOUs, annual reports, vacancy notices, coordination duties) create administrative burdens for the Department of Education and the CFPB that could divert staff time and attention away from other borrower services and programs.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Replaces the Private Education Loan Ombudsman with a CFPB Assistant Director/Student Loan Borrower Advocate, creates an Office for Students and Young Consumers, and mandates CFPB–ED coordination, data sharing, and annual reports.
Official title: To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to establish the position of the Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, to provide a framework for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and the Department of Education to coordinate in providing assistance to and serving borrowers seeking to resolve complaints related to their private education or Federal student loans, and for other purposes.
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, replaces the existing Private Education Loan Ombudsman, and establishes an Office for Students and Young Consumers. It expands the Bureau’s authority to collect information, coordinate with the Department of Education, access Department systems and records (subject to limits on personally identifiable financial data), require memoranda of understanding for data sharing and coordination, and report annually to Congress on student loan and young consumer financial risks. Requires routine, documented coordination between the CFPB and the Department of Education (including regular meetings, shared examination schedules, and points of contact) to supervise entities that provide student financial services; defines terms used in the title; and mandates annual reporting and protections for nonpublic information.