# 119-hr-9609: Less Bureaucracy, Better Student Aid Act

119-hr-9609, Less Bureaucracy, Better Student Aid Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Walberg, Tim [R-MI-5] (R-MI); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-22).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9609
- As of: 2026-10-22
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9609
- Congress: 119
- Title: Less Bureaucracy, Better Student Aid Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2026-07-09
- Sponsor: Rep. Walberg, Tim [R-MI-5] (R-MI)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-22

## Summary

**This bill would shift responsibility for federal student aid from the Department of Education to the Department of the Treasury, creating a single federal home for loan servicing, collections, and program administration.** It would also let the Secretaries of the Treasury and Education set the dates for each part of the transfer so the moves can be staged over time. - Families and borrowers would see Treasury handle loan servicing, repayment plans, borrower notifications, disputes, and both voluntary and involuntary collections. This includes default certification, rehabilitation, consolidation, bankruptcy matters, and credit reporting. - Loan servicers and debt collectors would change which agency sets rules and manages operations for non-defaulted and defaulted loans. The bill covers routine servicing tasks like payment processing and repayment plan administration as well as collections actions. - Colleges and program administrators would have Treasury assume oversight of major Higher Education Act programs named in the bill. That list includes Pell Grants, Federal Work-Study, the William D. Ford Direct Loan program, Federal Family Education Loans, Perkins Loans, need analysis rules, and other Title IV and related programs.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Rulli, Michael A. [R-OH-6] (R-OH), 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Pending student-aid cases kept active: benefit, low. If you have a lawsuit, application, or proceeding about student aid that started before this bill, the case would continue after the transfer. Treasury officials would be substituted for Education officials as needed. Existing orders, grants, contracts, rules, and administrative determinations tied…
- More collection tools for defaulted loans: cost, high. Beginning when the first transfers take effect, delinquent or defaulted federal student loan debt covered by this bill would no longer be exempt from a key federal collection statute (31 U.S.C. 3711). If enacted, this would let the government use additional collection tools and actions (for example…
- Move student aid to Treasury: mixed, medium. This bill would move most federal student aid work from the Education Department to the Treasury in stages. It would transfer loan servicing, collections, Pell grants, Direct Loans, Perkins, FFEL, FSEOG, work-study, Health Education Assistance Loans, and related rules, staff, contracts, records, an…
- No net federal job increase: mixed, low. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget would have to make sure these transfers do not increase net full-time federal jobs at affected agencies compared to the number on enactment day. OMB could move staff, property, contracts, grants, and unspent funds as needed to implement the transf…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-8870: BUILD America 250 Act
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1897: ESA Amendments Act of 2025
- 119-hr-833: Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-9609 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9609)

## Related
- [119-hr-8870: BUILD America 250 Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8870)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1229)
- [119-hr-1897: ESA Amendments Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1897)
- [119-hr-833: Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-833)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9609 (as of 2026-10-22).