# Federal Employee Student Debt Transparency Act

This bill requires certain high-level federal government employees to publicly report how much student loan debt they owe. Specifically, it targets two groups: Senior Executive Service employees (the top career civil servants in federal agencies) and Schedule C employees (political appointees who work in policy-making roles). These employees would have to disclose the outstanding balance on all their federal student loans—including Direct Loans, Stafford Loans, and other federal education loans—to their agencies and ultimately to Congress.

The reporting would happen annually by February 28th each year, with an initial report due within 60 days of the law taking effect. New employees in these positions would also need to file a report within 60 days of starting their job. The Office of Government Ethics would then compile all this information and send a summary to Congress each May, showing the total amount of student debt owed by all covered employees and identifying anyone who failed to file their required reports.

The practical effect is that Congress and the public would gain transparency into how much student loan debt sits with top federal officials. Supporters of this bill likely argue this information matters because these employees make decisions affecting federal spending, including decisions about student loan programs themselves. Critics might worry about privacy concerns or question whether this information is actually relevant to job performance. For the affected employees, it means adding another disclosure requirement to their annual compliance obligations, similar to existing financial disclosure rules for federal officials.

Federal Employee Student Debt Transparency Act

Biggs, Andy

Federal Employee Student Debt Transparency ActThis bill requires certain executive branch employees to disclose their federal student loan debt in an annual report.The bill's requirement applies to an employee serving in a&nbsp;Senior Executive Service position or a position of a confidential or policy-determining nature (i.e., a Schedule C position). Covered employees must file a report detailing the principal and interest owed on loans under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, the Federal Family Education Loan Program, and the Federal Perkins Loan Program.&nbsp;The bill also requires the Office of Government Ethics to submit an annual report to Congress that contains (1) the total amount owed by all covered employees, and (2) the name of any covered employee who failed to report the required information.&nbsp;