H.R. 8356 — Clean Slate through Consolidation Act

This section requires the Secretary of Education, a guaranty agency, or other holder of a defaulted Title IV loan (i.e., federal student loans made, insured, or guaranteed under the Higher Education Act) to request that consumer reporting agencies remove the default from the borrower's credit history when the borrower obtains a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan that discharges liability on the defaulted loan. (Thus, borrowers who consolidate defaulted loans into a single Direct Consolidation Loan—which combines multiple federal student loans and resolves the default for repayment purposes—will have the default notation erased from their credit reports.)