(WAND) – A bill to increase protections for American student loan borrowers has a lawmaker from Illinois as a sponsor.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) joins Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Jack Reed (D-RI) as sponsors of what’s called the Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights Act of 2019. A press release says the legislation would address the $1.5 trillion in student loan debt currently held by over 40 million Americans by creating “consistent servicing and disclosure standards across private and federal student loans”.

The sponsors say student loan debt is a major problem in the U.S. – the second-highest debt held by consumers behind only mortgages.

“Student loan debt is a crushing weight on the backs of American students and families. This bill sets out basic rights that we believe all student borrowers are entitled to, and that can protect them from falling behind in payments. We have to address this problem now, not years from now, because America’s future depends on it,” Durbin said.

The release argues the servicing system for student loan repayment is sometimes “complex and confusing” for borrowers. It says costs rise for students when they can’t find other payment options to avoid default, fix errors in a timely way, make payments in a way that lowers the overall loan cost or get the right information to tell them what benefits they could be eligible for under the law.

The bill specifically would make the following changes, according to the exact words of the release:

  • Improves disclosures to borrowers when their loan is sold or transferred, the borrower is identified as at-risk of default or having trouble making payments, or the borrower is eligible for alternative repayment options or other benefits;
  • Standardizes the application of payments and the allocation of payments among multiple loans in a manner most beneficial to the borrower;
  • Limits when borrowers are subject to late fees and other negative consequences;
  • Improves timely resolution of errors by servicers;
  • Prohibits servicers from using mandatory arbitration clauses or class action restrictions to prevent borrowers from bring suit against the servicer in a court of law;
  • Requires servicers to establish Repayment Specialists—specially-trained units focused on keeping at-risk borrowers from defaulting, without pushing them into forbearance, and getting them back on track to repayment;
  • Improves private loan protections, including ensuring private student loans are discharged upon death or disability of the borrower;
  • Requires institutions of higher education to certify private student loans prior to a borrower taking out a private loan to ensure that federal loan eligibility is exhausted first; and
  • Codifies the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Student Loan Ombudsman