To amend chapter 131 of title 5, United States Code, to require Senior Executive Service and schedule C employees to disclose Federal student loan debt, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Andy Biggs
R-AZ | Primary Sponsor
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Biggs of Arizona (for himself and Mr. Brecheen) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill requires high-level federal government employees—specifically Senior Executive Service (SES) members and Schedule C political appointees—to annually disclose how much they owe in federal student loans. The goal is to increase transparency about potential conflicts of interest, particularly among officials who may influence student loan policy decisions.
Who Benefits and How
Transparency and accountability advocates gain new insight into the financial circumstances of senior government officials. Congress receives annual reports showing total student debt among covered employees and which employees failed to comply. Taxpayers and the public benefit from increased visibility into whether officials making decisions about student loan programs might have personal financial stakes in those policies.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Senior Executive Service employees and Schedule C appointees with student loans must file annual disclosures of their loan balances (principal and interest) within 60 days of the law taking effect, and by February 28 each year thereafter. New employees entering these positions must file within 60 days of assuming their role. The Office of Government Ethics takes on new reporting responsibilities to compile and transmit the data to Congress each year.
Key Provisions
- Requires covered employees to report outstanding balances on all federal student loans (Direct Loans, FFEL, and Perkins Loans)
- Initial reports due within 60 days of enactment; annual reports due by February 28 each year
- Office of Government Ethics must submit aggregate data to Congress by May 1 annually
- Congress receives names of any employees who fail to file required reports
- Applies only to executive branch employees in SES positions or Schedule C political appointments
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Requires Senior Executive Service and Schedule C employees to annually disclose their outstanding federal student loan debt to promote transparency in government.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "director"
- → Director of the Office of Government Ethics
- "covered_employees"
- → Senior Executive Service and Schedule C employees of the executive branch
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
An employee of the executive branch who occupies (A) a Senior Executive Service position (as defined in section 3132(a)); or (B) a position of a confidential or policy-determining nature under schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations
Loans made under part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (Direct Loans), and any loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part B or E of such title (FFEL and Perkins Loans)
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology