Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2081 To improve the structure of the Federal Pell Grant program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 16, 2021 Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. REED, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. SMITH, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. BROWN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To improve the structure of the Federal Pell Grant program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pell Grant Preserva- 4 tion and Expansion Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2081.IS S2081 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2081 IS (1) The United States needs individuals with 1 the knowledge, skills, and abilities that enable them 2 to thrive as educated citizens in society and success- 3 fully participate in an interconnected economy. 4 (2) Investments in higher education through 5 student aid such as the Federal Pell Grant program 6 under section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) help students and families 8 reach, afford, and complete education and training 9 opportunities beyond high school. 10 (3) The Federal Pell Grant program is the larg- 11 est source of federally funded grant aid for postsec- 12 ondary education. 13 (4) The Federal Pell Grant program allows mil- 14 lions of people of the United States to attend college 15 and is especially vital for students of color. Three in 16 5 African American undergraduate students, and 17 one-half of all Latino undergraduate students, rely 18 on the Federal Pell Grant program. 19 (5) The Federal Pell Grant program should 20 continue to be a reliable source of funding for aspir- 21 ing students, their families, and future generations 22 that they can count on to be there for them when 23 they seek higher education. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2081.IS S2081 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2081 IS (6) To stabilize Federal Pell Grant funding and 1 ensure the grant will continue to serve millions of 2 students now and in the future, the program should 3 become a fully mandatory program that grows with 4 inflation. 5 (7) Restoring prior eligibility cuts and expand- 6 ing access to underserved students will give millions 7 of students and families the critical student aid sup- 8 port they need and deserve. 9 SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS; REFERENCES. 10 (a) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 11 this Act is as follows: 12 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Table of contents; references. Sec. 4. Doubling Federal Pell Grants and providing all Federal Pell Grants through mandatory funding. Sec. 5. Providing increased Federal Pell Grants and other assistance for recipi- ents of means-tested benefits. Sec. 6. Federal Pell Grant eligibility for Dreamer students. Sec. 7. Providing Federal Pell Grants for dependents of fallen heroes. Sec. 8. Restoring the total semesters of Federal Pell Grant eligibility. Sec. 9. Reducing financial aid penalties from satisfactory academic progress de- terminations. Sec. 10. Conforming amendments. Sec. 11. Effective date. (b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly 13 provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal 14 is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, 15 a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid- 16 ered to be made to a section or other provision of the 17 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2081.IS S2081 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2081 IS SEC. 4. DOUBLING FEDERAL PELL GRANTS AND PRO- 1 VIDING ALL FEDERAL PELL GRANTS 2 THROUGH MANDATORY FUNDING. 3 (a) AMOUNT OF MINIMUM FEDERAL PELL 4 GRANTS.—Section 401 (20 U.S.C. 1070a), as amended by 5 section 703 of the FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII 6 of division FF of Public Law 116–260) (referred to in 7 this Act as the ‘‘FAFSA Simplification Act’’), is further 8 amended— 9 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(F), by striking ‘‘10 per- 10 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘5 percent’’; 11 (2) in subsection (b)— 12 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking 13 ‘‘paragraph (5)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 14 (5)’’; 15 (B) by striking paragraph (5) and insert- 16 ing the following: 17 ‘‘(5) MAXIMUM FEDERAL PELL GRANT.— 18 ‘‘(A) AWARD YEAR 2023–2024.—For award 19 year 2023–2024, the total maximum Federal 20 Pell Grant award shall be $9,000. 21 ‘‘(B) AWARD YEAR 2024–2025.—For award 22 year 2024–2025, the total maximum Federal 23 Pell Grant award shall be $10,000. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2081.IS S2081 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2081 IS ‘‘(C) AWARD YEAR 2025–2026.—For award 1 year 2025–2026, the total maximum Federal 2 Pell Grant award shall be $11,000. 3 ‘‘(D) AWARD YEAR 2026–2027.—For award 4 year 2026–2027, the total maximum Federal 5 Pell Grant award shall be $12,000. 6 ‘‘(E) AWARD YEAR 2027–2028.—For award 7 year 2027–2028, the total maximum Federal 8 Pell Grant award shall be $13,000. 9 ‘‘(F) AWARD YEAR 2028–2029 AND SUBSE- 10 QUENT YEARS.—For award year 2028–2029, 11 and each subsequent award year, the total max- 12 imum Federal Pell Grant award shall be 13 $13,000— 14 ‘‘(i) increased by the adjustment per- 15 centage for the award year for which the 16 amount under this subparagraph is being 17 determined; and 18 ‘‘(ii) rounded to the nearest $50. 19 ‘‘(G) DEFINITION OF ADJUSTMENT PER- 20 CENTAGE.—In this paragraph, the term ‘adjust- 21 ment percentage,’ as applied to an award year, 22 is equal to the percentage increase in the Con- 23 sumer Price Index, as defined in section 478(f), 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2081.IS S2081 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2081 IS between April 2026 and the April in the year 1 prior to the beginning of the award year.’’; 2 (C) by striking paragraphs (6) and (7) and 3 inserting the following: 4 ‘‘(6) APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS.—There are 5 authorized to be appropriated, and there are appro- 6 priated, out of any money in the Treasury not other- 7 wise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary 8 for fiscal year 2023 and each subsequent fiscal year 9 to provide the total maximum Federal Pell Grant for 10 which a student shall be eligible under this section 11 during an award year.’’; and 12 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and 13 (9) as paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; 14 (3) in subsection (d)(5)(B)(ii)— 15 (A) in subclause (I)(bb), by striking ‘‘or’’ 16 after the semicolon; 17 (B) in subclause (II)(bb)(CC), by striking 18 the period and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 19 (C) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(III) during a period for which 21 the student did not receive a loan 22 under this title but for which, if the 23 student had received such a loan, the 24 student would have qualified for loan 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2081.IS S2081 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2081 IS forgiveness under subclause 1 (II)(bb)(CC).’’; 2 (4) by striking subsections (g) and (h); and 3 (5) by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) as 4 subsections (g) and (h), respectively. 5 (b) REPEAL OF SCORING REQUIREMENT.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 406 of H. Con. Res. 7 95 (109th Congress) is amended— 8 (A) by striking subsection (b); and 9 (B) by striking ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon’’ 10 and inserting the following: ‘‘Upon’’. 11 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 12 by paragraph (1) shall take effect beginning on July 13 1, 2023. 14 (c) ADJUSTMENT FOR AWARD YEAR 2022–2023.— 15 Notwithstanding section 401(b)(7)(C)(iii) of the Higher 16 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(7)(C)(iii)), 17 the amount determined under such clause for purposes of 18 section 401(b)(7)(B)(iii) of such Act for award year 2022– 19 2023 shall be $2,535. 20 SEC. 5. PROVIDING INCREASED FEDERAL PELL GRANTS 21 AND OTHER ASSISTANCE FOR RECIPIENTS 22 OF MEANS-TESTED BENEFITS. 23 (a) INCREASED AMOUNT OF MAXIMUM FEDERAL 24 PELL GRANTS FOR STUDENTS WITH NEGATIVE STU- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2081.IS S2081 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2081 IS DENT AID INDEXES.—Section 401(b)(1) (20 U.S.C. 1 1070a(b)(1)), as amended by section 4 and section 703 2 of the FAFSA Simplification Act, is further amended— 3 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 4 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 5 striking ‘‘A student’’ and inserting ‘‘Except in 6 the case of a student with a student aid index 7 of less than zero, a student’’; 8 (B) by striking clause (i); and 9 (C) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) 10 as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; 11 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 12 through (E) as subparagraphs (C) through (F), re- 13 spectively; 14 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol- 15 lowing: 16 ‘‘(B) A student with a student aid index of 17 less than zero shall receive a Federal Pell Grant 18 award that exceeds the total maximum Federal 19 Pell Grant by an amount equal to the amount 20 by which the student’s student aid index is less 21 than zero.’’; 22 (4) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated by 23 paragraph (2)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2081.IS S2081 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2081 IS (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 1 striking ‘‘subparagraph (A) for an academic 2 year,’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A), or an 3 increased Federal Pell Grant under subpara- 4 graph (B), for an academic year,’’; and 5 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘, except that 6 a student aid index of less than zero shall be 7 considered to be zero for the purposes of this 8 clause’’; 9 (5) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated by 10 paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(A) or (B)’’ and insert- 11 ing ‘‘(A), (B), or (C)’’; 12 (6) in subparagraph (E), as redesignated by 13 paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or an increased Federal 14 Pell Grant under subparagraph (B)’’ after ‘‘subpara- 15 graph (A)’’; or 16 (7) in subparagraph (F), as redesignated by 17 paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or a minimum Federal 18 Pell Grant under subparagraph (C)’’ and inserting 19 ‘‘an increased Federal Pell Grant under subpara- 20 graph (B), or a minimum Federal Pell Grant under 21 subparagraph (D)’’. 22 (b) SPECIAL STUDENT AID INDEX RULE FOR RE- 23 CIPIENTS OF MEANS-TESTED BENEFITS.—Section 473 24 (20 U.S.C. 1087mm), as amended by section 702(b) of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2081.IS S2081 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2081 IS the FAFSA Simplification Act, is further amended by 1 adding at the end the following: 2 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR MEANS-TESTED BENEFIT 3 RECIPIENTS.—Notwithstanding subsection (b), for an ap- 4 plicant (or, as applicable, an applicant and spouse, or an 5 applicant’s parents) who, at any time during the previous 6 24-month period, received a benefit under a means-tested 7 Federal benefit program (or whose parent or spouse re- 8 ceived such a benefit, as applicable), the Secretary shall 9 for the purposes of this title consider the student aid index 10 as equal to –$1,500 for the applicant.’’. 11 SEC. 6. FEDERAL PELL GRANT ELIGIBILITY FOR DREAMER 12 STUDENTS. 13 Section 484 (20 U.S.C. 1091), as amended by section 14 702(n) of the FAFSA Simplification Act, is further 15 amended— 16 (1) in subsection (a)(5), by inserting ‘‘, or be a 17 Dreamer student, as defined in subsection (u)’’ after 18 ‘‘becoming a citizen or permanent resident’’; and 19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(u) DREAMER STUDENTS.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 22 ‘Dreamer student’ means an individual who— 23 ‘‘(A)(i) is not a citizen or national of the 24 United States; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2081.IS S2081 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2081 IS ‘‘(ii) is inadmissible or deportable under 1 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 2 1101 et seq.); and 3 ‘‘(B)(i) in the case of such an individual 4 who was younger than 18 years of age on the 5 date on which the individual initially entered 6 the United States— 7 ‘‘(I) has earned a high school diploma, 8 the recognized equivalent of such diploma 9 from a secondary school, or a high school 10 equivalency diploma recognized by State 11 law, or is scheduled to complete the re- 12 quirements for such a diploma or equiva- 13 lent before the next academic year begins; 14 ‘‘(II) is enrolled at an institution of 15 higher education pursuant to subsection 16 (d); 17 ‘‘(III) has served in the uniformed 18 services (as such term is defined in section 19 101 of title 10, United States Code) for 20 not less than 2 years and, if discharged, 21 received an honorable discharge; 22 ‘‘(IV) has acquired a degree, certifi- 23 cate, or recognized postsecondary creden- 24 tial from an institution of higher education 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2081.IS S2081 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2081 IS or area career and technical education 1 school (as such term is defined in section 2 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech- 3 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 4 2302)); or 5 ‘‘(V) has completed not less than 2 6 years in a postsecondary program at an in- 7 stitution of higher education, or area ca- 8 reer and technical education school, in the 9 United States and has made satisfactory 10 academic progress, as defined in subsection 11 (c), during such time period; or 12 ‘‘(ii)(I) is, or at any time was, eligible for 13 a grant of deferred action pursuant to— 14 ‘‘(aa) the memorandum of the De- 15 partment of Homeland Security entitled 16 ‘Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with 17 Respect to Individuals Who Came to the 18 United States as Children’ issued on June 19 15, 2012; or 20 ‘‘(bb) the memorandum of the De- 21 partment of Home [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]