A Democratic bill with 15 Democratic cosponsors · See all 15 cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill is called the Halting Education Loan Payments during Federal Employment Disruptions Act or the HELP FEDs Act. It protects federal employees from financial penalties and credit damage on their student loans when the government shuts down and stops paying wages. Specifically, the bill stops late fees, interest from piling up, and bad credit reports during these unpaid times. It also applies retroactively to any pay disruptions happening on or after October 1, 2025. Loan servicers and credit agencies must cooperate to fix any wrong credit reports and follow these rules. Finally, the bill does not forgive loans, meaning workers still have to pay back their full loan amounts eventually.
Yes· 3 of 7
- Scored +6
Does this reduce what student borrowers owe or repay?
The bill provides targeted student loan relief by waiving interest accrual, late fees, and negative credit reporting for federal employees during government shutdowns.
- Scored +5
Would middle-income households be better off under this?
Middle-class households dependent on federal salaries are shielded from unexpected student loan penalties during government shutdowns.
- Scored +4
Would people in their twenties and thirties be better off under this?
Younger federal employees holding recent student loans benefit directly from temporary interest and fee waivers during pay disruptions.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Section 3(a) protects federal employees from being assessed any late fee, penalty, or other adverse action on a qualified education loan for missed payments during a lapse in federal funding. This is a positive outcome because it keeps hardworking public servants from being unfairly punished financially when the government stops their pay.
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Section 3(b) stops federal employees from incurring additional interest on their qualified education loans during a funding lapse. This benefits workers by ensuring their overall loan debt does not grow larger simply because they are not receiving their scheduled wages.
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Section 3(c) prevents any adverse information related to delayed or missed payments from being sent to consumer reporting agencies. This is helpful because it protects the credit scores of federal employees who miss payments due to no fault of their own during a government shutdown.
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Section 3(d) applies these protections retroactively to any pay disruption happening on or after October 1, 2025, and requires the removal of any incorrectly reported bad credit information. This ensures that employees who were already harmed by a recent funding lapse get immediate relief and have their credit records cleaned up.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Section 5 states that nothing in the bill excuses the full repayment of qualified education loans or eliminates any existing repayment obligations. This might be seen as a burden because workers still owe the exact same amount of money in the end, meaning the bill only delays the financial pressure rather than forgiving the debt.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would middle-income households be better off under this? — Middle-class households dependent on federal salaries are shielded from unexpected student loan penalties during government shutdowns. Would people in middle age be better off under this? — Middle-aged federal employees with qualified student loans are protected from financial penalties and credit damage during funding lapses. Would people in their twenties and thirties be better off under this? — Younger federal employees holding recent student loans benefit directly from temporary interest and fee waivers during pay disruptions. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — Lower-income federal workers experiencing unpaid funding lapses receive financial breathing room by avoiding fees and interest accumulation.
- Education And Technology
- Does this reduce what student borrowers owe or repay? — The bill provides targeted student loan relief by waiving interest accrual, late fees, and negative credit reporting for federal employees during government shutdowns.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices? — The bill protects federal employees from adverse credit reporting and financial penalties on student loans during government shutdowns.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this give the federal government more power? — The bill increases federal coordination requirements between the Department of Education, OPM, and loan servicers to enforce student loan protections.
- 11/17/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 11/12/2025
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 10/31/2025
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 10/28/2025
- 10 Cosponsors added.
- 10/24/2025
- Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
- Introduced in House
Jim CostaDemocrat · California
André CarsonDemocrat · Indiana
Angie CraigDemocrat · Minnesota
Troy CarterDemocrat · Louisiana
Dwight EvansDemocrat · Pennsylvania
Cleo FieldsDemocrat · Louisiana
Shomari FiguresDemocrat · Alabama
Daniel GoldmanDemocrat · New York
Jonathan JacksonDemocrat · Illinois
Greg LandsmanDemocrat · Ohio
LaMonica McIverDemocrat · New Jersey
Eleanor NortonDemocrat · District of Columbia
Bennie ThompsonDemocrat · Mississippi
Nydia VelázquezDemocrat · New York
Frederica WilsonDemocrat · Florida