To Offer Refugees College Help (TORCH) Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3391 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for in-State tuition rates for refugees and asylees. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 20, 2019 Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. WELCH, Mr. PETERS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. OMAR, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. COHEN, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. POCAN, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. LANGEVIN, and Ms. ESHOO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for in-State tuition rates for refugees and asylees. 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 ‘‘To Offer Refugees Col- 4 lege Help (TORCH) Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3391.IH H3391 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3391 IH SEC. 2. IN-STATE TUITION RATES FOR REFUGEES, ASYLEES, 1 AND CERTAIN SPECIAL IMMIGRANTS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Higher Education Act of 3 1965 is amended by inserting after section 135 (20 U.S.C. 4 1015d) the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 135A. IN-STATE TUITION RATES FOR REFUGEES, 6 ASYLEES, AND CERTAIN SPECIAL IMMI- 7 GRANTS. 8 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—In the case of an alien de- 9 scribed in subsection (b) whose domicile is in a State that 10 receives assistance under this Act, such State shall not 11 charge such alien tuition for attendance at a public insti- 12 tution of higher education in the State at a rate that is 13 greater than the rate charged for residents of the State. 14 ‘‘(b) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien is described in 15 this subsection if the alien was granted— 16 ‘‘(1) refugee status and admitted to the United 17 States under section 207 of the Immigration and 18 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157); 19 ‘‘(2) asylum under section 208 of such Act (8 20 U.S.C. 1158); or 21 ‘‘(3) special immigrant status under section 22 101(a)(27) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) pur- 23 suant to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3391.IH H3391 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3391 IH ‘‘(A) section 1244 of the National Defense 1 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (8 2 U.S.C. 1157 note); 3 ‘‘(B) section 1059 of the National Defense 4 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (8 5 U.S.C. 1101 note); or 6 ‘‘(C) section 602 of the Afghan Allies Pro- 7 tection Act of 2009 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note). 8 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—The requirement under sub- 9 section (a) shall apply with respect to an alien only until 10 the alien has established residency in the State, and only 11 with respect to the first State in which the alien was first 12 domiciled after being admitted into the United States as 13 a refugee or special immigrant or being granted asylum. 14 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef- 15 fect at each public institution of higher education in a 16 State that receives assistance under this Act for the first 17 period of enrollment at such institution that begins after 18 July 1, 2019.’’. 19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 20 tents for the Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended 21 by inserting after the item relating to section 135 the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘Sec. 135A. In-State tuition rates for refugees, asylees, and certain special im- migrants.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3391.IH H3391 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS