loan borrower accounts to eligible student loan servicers on the basis of their performance compared to all loan servicers utilizing established common metrics, and on the basis of the capacity of each servicer to process new and existing accounts: Provided further , That the Secretary shall, no later than September 30, 2017, allow student loan borrowers who are consolidating Federal student loans to select from any student loan servicer to service their new consolidated student loan: Provided further , That in order to promote accountability and high-quality service to borrowers, the Secretary shall not issue any contract solicitation for a new Federal student loan servicing solution unless such a solution provides for the participation of multiple student loan servicers that contract directly with the Department of Education and allocates student loan borrower accounts to eligible student loan servicers based on performance. Higher education For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, titles II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII of the HEA, the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, and section 117 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, $2,048,439,000: Provided , That notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds made available in this Act to carry out title VI of the HEA and section 102(b)(6) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 may be used to support visits and study in foreign countries by individuals who are participating in advanced foreign language training and international studies in areas that are vital to United States national security and who plan to apply their language skills and knowledge of these countries in the fields of government, the professions, or international development: Provided further , That of the funds referred to in the preceding proviso up to 1 percent may be used for program evaluation, national outreach, and information dissemination activities: Provided further , That up to 1.5 percent of the funds made