WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A bill aimed at cleaning up misconduct in the U.S. student loan industry and encouraging colleges to restrain tuition inflation was introduced in the House of Representatives on Friday.
The legislation comes after a scandal earlier this year that revealed kickbacks and conflicts of interest among lenders and some colleges, embarrassing the $85 billion industry and drawing more attention to rising college costs.
"Today's students face far too many obstacles when trying to go to college: skyrocketing college prices; an absurdly confusing financial aid application; and a student loan industry overrun with conflicts of interest," said Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.
The bill from Miller, a California Democrat, would require colleges and lenders to adopt loan codes of conduct; give students more loan information; curtail aggressive loan marketing; and force colleges to report reasons for increasing tuition and plans for lowering costs.
In addition, it would shorten and simplify the long and confusing standard application form students must complete when applying for financial aid.
Legislation raising student grant funding and slashing government subsidies to lenders -- such as Sallie Mae (SLM.N: Quote, Profile , Research), Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile , Research), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile , Research) and many others -- was enacted earlier this year. (Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh, editing by Mark Porter)
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