She will require the removal of a federal student loan default record from a borrower's credit history when the borrower obtains a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan that discharges the defaulted loan.

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the removal of the record of default from credit history upon obtaining a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan that discharges the defaulted loan.

Stevens introduced the Clean Slate through Consolidation Act, which would require default records to be removed from credit histories after a qualifying Federal Direct Consolidation Loan discharges the defaulted loan.

H.R. 8356 (IH) - Clean Slate through Consolidation Act - BILLS-119hr8356ih | Content Details | GovInfo
secondary · other · model gpt-5.5

Current Direct Loan regulations allow eligible federal education loans, including certain defaulted loans, to be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan and provide that the old loans are discharged when the consolidation loan is originated. The section does not require removal of default information from credit history after consolidation.

The current federal consolidation rule still treats consolidation as payoff/discharge of the old loan, not credit-history deletion of a default record.

never later_term

34 CFR § 685.220 - Consolidation
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 89%

Current Direct Loan regulations separately provide that, after a defaulted Direct Loan is rehabilitated, the Secretary instructs consumer reporting agencies to remove the default from the borrower's credit history.

Federal rules provide credit-history removal for rehabilitation, not for Direct Consolidation Loan discharge, indicating the promised consolidation-based removal has not been adopted.

never later_term

34 CFR § 685.211 - Miscellaneous repayment provisions
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 90%

Congress.gov records H.R.3621 as passed by the House on January 29, 2020, by 221-189, then received in the Senate on January 30, 2020. The bill status is Passed House, not enacted law.

A related credit-reporting reform bill advanced in the House during Stevens's first term but did not become law, so it did not fulfill the federal consolidation promise.

never same_term A for effort

H.R.3621 - Comprehensive CREDIT Act of 2020, All Actions
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 76%

The House-passed bill included a Student Borrower Credit Improvement Act title addressing adverse information for delinquent or defaulted private education loans after nine on-time monthly payments. It did not enact a federal Direct Consolidation Loan default-record removal rule.

The related House bill addressed private education-loan credit rehabilitation, not the specific federal consolidation default-record promise, and it was not enacted.

never same_term A for effort

Text of H.R.3621 - Comprehensive CREDIT Act of 2020
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 78%

The Washington Post reported that defaulted federal borrowers can use consolidation or rehabilitation to get out of default, but consolidation is faster and does not fully remove the default line from credit, while rehabilitation has greater credit-report benefits.

Contemporary reporting on Education Department default collections confirms that, as of 2025, consolidation still did not remove the default record from credit history.

never later_term

Did you default on your student loans? What to know as collections restart.
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 80%