 
      CHAPTER 28--HIGHER EDUCATION RESOURCES AND STUDENT ASSISTANCE
 
                    SUBCHAPTER IV--STUDENT ASSISTANCE
 
              Part B--Federal Family Education Loan Program
 
Sec. 1080a. Reports to credit bureaus and institutions of higher 
        education
        

(a) Agreements to exchange information

    For the purpose of promoting responsible repayment of loans covered 
by Federal loan insurance pursuant to this part or covered by a guaranty 
agreement pursuant to section 1078 of this title, the Secretary, each 
guaranty agency, eligible lender, and subsequent holder shall enter into 
agreements with credit bureau organizations to exchange information 
concerning student borrowers, in accordance with the requirements of 
this section. For the purpose of assisting such organizations in 
complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act [15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.], 
such agreements may provide for timely response by the Secretary 
(concerning loans covered by Federal loan insurance), by a guaranty 
agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder (concerning loans covered 
by a guaranty agreement), or to requests from such organizations for 
responses to objections raised by borrowers. Subject to the requirements 
of subsection (c) of this section, such agreements shall require the 
Secretary, the guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder, 
as appropriate, to disclose to such organizations, with respect to any 
loan under this part that has not been repaid by the borrower--
        (1) the total amount of loans made to any borrower under this 
    part and the remaining balance of the loans;
        (2) information concerning the date of any default on the loan 
    and the collection of the loan, including information concerning the 
    repayment status of any defaulted loan on which the Secretary has 
    made a payment pursuant to section 1080(a) of this title or the 
    guaranty agency has made a payment to the previous holder of the 
    loan; and
        (3) the date of cancellation of the note upon completion of 
    repayment by the borrower of the loan or payment by the Secretary 
    pursuant to section 1087 of this title.

(b) Additional information

    Such agreements may also provide for the disclosure by such 
organizations to the Secretary or a guaranty agency, whichever insures 
or guarantees a loan, upon receipt of a notice under subsection (a)(2) 
of this section that such a loan is in default, of information 
concerning the borrower's location or other information which may assist 
the Secretary, the guaranty agency, the eligible lender, or the 
subsequent holder in collecting the loan.

(c) Contents of agreements

    Agreements entered into pursuant to this section shall contain such 
provisions as may be necessary to ensure that--
        (1) no information is disclosed by the Secretary or the guaranty 
    agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder unless its accuracy 
    and completeness have been verified and the Secretary or the 
    guaranty agency has determined that disclosure would accomplish the 
    purpose of this section;
        (2) as to any information so disclosed, such organizations will 
    be promptly notified of, and will promptly record, any change 
    submitted by the Secretary, the guaranty agency, eligible lender, or 
    subsequent holder with respect to such information, or any 
    objections by the borrower with respect to any such information, as 
    required by section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 
    1681i);
        (3) no use will be made of any such information which would 
    result in the use of collection practices with respect to such a 
    borrower that are not fair and reasonable or that involve 
    harassment, intimidation, false or misleading representations, or 
    unnecessary communication concerning the existence of such loan or 
    concerning any such information; and
        (4) with regard to notices of default under subsection (a)(2) of 
    this section, except for disclosures made to obtain the borrower's 
    location, the Secretary, or the guaranty agency, eligible lender, or 
    subsequent holder whichever is applicable (A) shall not disclose any 
    such information until the borrower has been notified that such 
    information will be disclosed to credit bureau organizations unless 
    the borrower enters into repayment of his or her loan, but (B) 
    shall, if the borrower has not entered into repayment within a 
    reasonable period of time, but not less than 30 days, from the date 
    such notice has been sent to the borrower, disclose the information 
    required by this subsection.

(d) Contractor status of participants

    A guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder or credit 
bureau organization which discloses or receives information under this 
section shall not be considered a Government contractor within the 
meaning of section 552a of title 5.

(e) Disclosure to institutions

    The Secretary and each guaranty agency, eligible lender, and 
subsequent holder of a loan are authorized to disclose information 
described in subsections (a) and (b) of this section concerning student 
borrowers to the eligible institutions such borrowers attend or 
previously attended. To further the purpose of this section, an eligible 
institution may enter into an arrangement with any or all of the holders 
of delinquent loans made to borrowers who attend or previously attended 
such institution for the purpose of providing current information 
regarding the borrower's location or employment or for the purpose of 
assisting the holder in contacting and influencing borrowers to avoid 
default.

(f) Duration of authority

    Notwithstanding paragraphs (4) and (6) \1\ of subsection (a) of 
section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(4), 
(a)(6)), a consumer reporting agency may make a report containing 
information received from the Secretary or a guaranty agency, eligible 
lender, or subsequent holder regarding the status of a borrower's 
defaulted account on a loan guaranteed under this part until--
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    \1\ See References in Text note below.
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        (1) 7 years from the date on which the Secretary or the agency 
    paid a claim to the holder on the guaranty;
        (2) 7 years from the date the Secretary, guaranty agency, 
    eligible lender, or subsequent holder first reported the account to 
    the consumer reporting agency; or
        (3) in the case of a borrower who reenters repayment after 
    defaulting on a loan and subsequently goes into default on such 
    loan, 7 years from the date the loan entered default such subsequent 
    time.

(Pub. L. 89-329, title IV, Sec. 430A, as added Pub. L. 99-498, title IV, 
Sec. 402(a), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1398; amended Pub. L. 100-50, 
Sec. 10(v), June 3, 1987, 101 Stat. 346; Pub. L. 102-325, title IV, 
Sec. 424, July 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 543; Pub. L. 103-208, Sec. 2(c)(52), 
Dec. 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 2467.)

                       References in Text

    The Fair Credit Reporting Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is title 
VI of Pub. L. 90-321, as added by Pub. L. 91-508, title VI, Sec. 601, 
Oct. 26, 1970, 84 Stat. 1127, as amended, which is classified generally 
to subchapter III (Sec. 1681 et seq.) of chapter 41 of Title 15, 
Commerce and Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, 
see Short Title note set out under section 1601 of Title 15 and Tables.
    Paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of section 605 of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act, referred to in subsec. (f), was redesignated paragraph 
(5) of subsection (a) of section 605 of the Act by Pub. L. 105-347, 
Sec. 5(4), Nov. 2, 1998, 112 Stat. 3211.


                            Prior Provisions

    A prior section 1080a, Pub. L. 89-329, title IV, Sec. 430A, as added 
Pub. L. 99-272, title XVI, Sec. 16023, Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 349; 
amended Pub. L. 99-320, Sec. 2(c), May 23, 1986, 100 Stat. 491, related 
to reports to credit bureaus and institutions of higher education, prior 
to the general revision of this part by Pub. L. 99-498.


                               Amendments

    1993--Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 103-208 substituted a semicolon for 
the comma at end.
    1992--Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 102-325 struck out ``or'' at end of par. 
(1), added pars. (2) and (3), and struck out former par. (2) which read 
as follows: ``with regard to an account on a loan on which the Secretary 
or the guaranty agency has paid a claim but not reported the account to 
a consumer reporting agency on or before October 1, 1985, 7 years from 
that date.''
    1987--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100-50 inserted sentence at end 
permitting an eligible institution to enter into arrangements with 
holders of delinquent loans made to borrowers for purpose of providing 
current information on borrower's location or employment or to assist 
holder in contacting and influencing borrower to avoid default.


                    Effective Date of 1993 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 103-208 effective as if included in the Higher 
Education Amendments of 1992, Pub. L. 102-325, except as otherwise 
provided, see section 5(a) of Pub. L. 103-208, set out as a note under 
section 1051 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1987 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 100-50 effective as if enacted as part of the 
Higher Education Amendments of 1986, Pub. L. 99-498, see section 27 of 
Pub. L. 100-50, set out as a note under section 1001 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1077, 1078-3, 1087cc of this 
title.
