2 USC 4579 - Student loan repayment program for Senate employees

View all text of Part A [§ 4571 - § 4581]

§ 4579. Student loan repayment program for Senate employees

(a) DefinitionsIn this section:

(1) Departure dateThe term “departure date” means the earlier of—

(A) the date on which the term of a departing Senator or Vice President ends; or

(B) the date on which the departing Senator or Vice President will retire or resign.

(2) Departing Senator or Vice President

(3) Eligible employeeThe term “eligible employee” means an individual, except as provided under subsection (b)(3)—

(A) who is an employee of the Senate; and

(B) whose rate of pay as an employee of the Senate, on the date on which such eligibility is determined, does not exceed the rate of basic pay payable for a position at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5.

(4) Employee of the SenateThe term “employee of the Senate”—

(A) has the meaning given the term under section 1301 of this title; and

(B) includes any employee of the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate.

(5) Employing officeThe term “employing office”—

(A) means the employing office, as defined under section 1301 of this title, of an employee of the Senate; and

(B) includes the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services with respect to employees of that office whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate.

(6) Secretary

(7) Student loanThe term “student loan” means—

(A) a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part B, D, or E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq., 1087a et seq., or 1087aa et seq.); and

(B) a health education assistance loan made or insured under part A of title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.), or under part E of title VIII of such Act (42 U.S.C. 297a et seq.).

(b) Senate student loan repayment program

(1) Service agreements

(A) In generalThe head of an employing office and an eligible employee may enter into a written service agreement under which—

(i) the employing office shall agree to repay, by direct payments on behalf of the eligible employee, any student loan indebtedness of the eligible employee that is outstanding at the time the eligible employee and the employing office enter into the agreement, subject to this section; and

(ii) the eligible employee shall agree to complete the required period of employment described in subsection (c)(1) with the employing office in exchange for the student loan payments.

(B) Contents of service agreements

(i) ContentsA service agreement under this paragraph shall contain—(I) the start and end dates of the required period of employment covered by the agreement;(II) the monthly amount of the student loan payments to be provided by the employing office;(III) the employee’s agreement to reimburse the Senate under the conditions set forth in subsection (d)(1);(IV) disclosure of the program limitations provided for in subsection (d)(4) and paragraphs (2), (3), (6), and (7) of subsection (f);(V) other terms to which the employing office and employee agree (such as terms relating to job responsibilities or job performance expectations); and(VI) any other terms prescribed by the Secretary.

(ii) Standard service agreements

(2) Submission of agreements

(3) Exclusion from participation in dual programs

(1) Period of employment

(A) In general

(B) Departing Senators and Vice PresidentsAfter the date that is 1 year before the departure date of a departing Senator or Vice President, the departing Senator or Vice President may enter into a service agreement under this section with an eligible employee of the office of the Senator or Vice President (including an eligible employee who has completed a required period of employment under a previous service agreement) that includes a required period of employment that—

(i) is less than 1 year; and

(ii) shall end on the last day of the last full pay period ending on or before the departure date of the departing Senator or Vice President.

(2) Amount of payments

(A) In generalThe amount of student loan payments made under service agreements under this section on behalf of an eligible employee may not exceed—

(i) $833 in any month; or

(ii) a total of $80,000.

(B) Payments included in gross compensation limitations

(3) Timing of payments

(d) Loss of eligibility for student loan payments and obligation to reimburse

(1) In generalAn employee shall not be eligible for continued student loan payments under a service agreement under this section and (except in a case in which an employee’s duty is terminated under paragraph (2) or an employing office assumes responsibilities under paragraph (3)) shall reimburse the Senate for the amount of all student loan payments made on behalf of the employee under the agreement, if, before the employee completes the required period of employment specified in the agreement—

(A) the employee voluntarily separates from service with the employing office;

(B) the employee engages in misconduct or does not maintain an acceptable level of performance, as determined by the head of the employing office; or

(2) Termination of agreementThe duty of an eligible employee to fulfill the required period of employment under the service agreement shall be terminated if—

(A) funds are not made available to cover the cost of the student loan repayment program carried out under this section;

(B) the employee and the head of the employing office involved mutually agree to terminate the service agreement;

(D) the employee separates from service with the office of a departing Senator or Vice President.

(3) Another employing office

(4) Failure of employee to reimburseIf an eligible employee fails to reimburse the Senate for the amount owed under paragraph (1), such amount shall be collected—

(A) under section 6568(c) of this title or section 5514 of title 5 if the eligible employee is employed by any other office of the Senate or agency of the Federal Government; or

(B) under other applicable provisions of law if the eligible employee is not employed by any other office of the Senate or agency of the Federal Government.

(5) Crediting of amounts

(e) Records and reports

(1) In generalNot later than January 1, 2003, and each January 1 thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, a report for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the report is submitted, that contains information specifying—

(A) the number of eligible employees that received student loan payments under this section; and

(B) the costs of such payments, including—

(i) the amount of such payments made for each eligible employee;

(ii) the amount of any reimbursement amounts for early separation from service or whether any waivers were provided with respect to such reimbursements; and

(iii) any other information determined to be relevant by the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate or the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

(2) Confidentiality

(f) Other administrative matters

(1) Account

(A) In general

(B) Office subaccounts

(2) Beginning of paymentsStudent loan payments may begin under this section with respect to an eligible employee upon—

(A) the receipt by the Secretary of a signed service agreement; and

(B) verification by the Secretary with the holder of the loan that the eligible employee has an outstanding student loan balance that qualifies for payment under this section.

(3) Limitation

(4) Payment on multiple loans

(5) Treatment of payments

(6) No relief from liability

(7) Change in payments

(A) Reduction

(i) In general

(ii) NoticeIf the head of an employing office decides to reduce the amount of student loan payments to an eligible employee under clause (i)—(I) the employing office shall concurrently notify the eligible employee and the Secretary of the Senate of the reduction; and(II) not later than 30 days after the date of the concurrent notice, the eligible employee may terminate the service agreement.

(B) IncreaseNotwithstanding the terms of a service agreement under this section, the head of an employing office, with the consent of an eligible employee, may increase the amount of student loan payments made under the agreement with the eligible employee, if—

(i) the office has adequate funds available for the purpose of agreements under this section;

(ii) the amount of the increased payment does not exceed the limitations under this section; and

(iii) the total amount of the loan payments to be made (including such increase) during the remainder of the required period of employment does not exceed the amount of student loan indebtedness of the eligible employee as of the date of the increase.

(8) No right to continued employment

(9) No entitlement

(10) Treatment of paymentsA student loan payment under this section—

(A) shall not be basic pay of an employee for purposes of chapters 83 and 84 of title 5 (relating to retirement) and chapter 87 of such title (relating to life insurance coverage); and

(B) shall not be included in Federal wages for purposes of chapter 85 of such title (relating to unemployment compensation).

(g) Allocation of funds

(1) Maximum amountIn this subsection, the term “maximum amount”, used with respect to a fiscal year, means—

(A) in the case of an employing office described in subsection (h)(1)(A), the amount described in that subsection for that fiscal year; and

(B) in the case of an employing office described in subsection (h)(1)(B), the amount described in that subsection for that fiscal year.

(2) AllocationFrom the total amount made available to carry out this section for a fiscal year, there shall be allocated to each employing office for that fiscal year—

(A) the maximum amount for that employing office for that fiscal year; or

(B) if the total amount is not sufficient to provide the maximum amount to each employing office, an amount that bears the same relationship to the total amount as the maximum amount for that employing office for that fiscal year bears to the total of the maximum amounts for all employing offices for that fiscal year.

(3) Apportionment

(h) Authorization of appropriations

(1) In generalThere are authorized to be appropriated (or otherwise made available from appropriations) to carry out this section the following amounts for each fiscal year:

(A) For each employing office that is the personal office of a Senator, an amount equal to 2.5 percent of the total sums appropriated for the fiscal year involved for administrative and clerical salaries for such office.

(B) For each other employing office, an amount equal to 2.5 percent of the total sums appropriated for the fiscal year involved for salaries for such office.

(2) Limitation

(i) Effective date

(Pub. L. 107–68, title I, § 102, Nov. 12, 2001, 115 Stat. 563; Pub. L. 107–117, div. B, § 916, Jan. 10, 2002, 115 Stat. 2324; Pub. L. 112–74, div. G, title I, § 1001(a), (b), Dec. 23, 2011, 125 Stat. 1124; Pub. L. 115–141, div. I, title I, § 103(a), Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 772; Pub. L. 116–260, div. I, title I, § 105(a), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 1632.)