CAMPUS Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4308 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish an emergency grant aid program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 Mr. MORELLE (for himself, Ms. HILL of California, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. BRINDISI, and Mr. NADLER) 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 establish an emergency grant aid 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 ‘‘Cost Assistance Made 4 Possible for Undergraduate Students Act’’ or the ‘‘CAM- 5 PUS Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4308 IH SEC. 2. EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANT PROGRAM. 1 Part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 2 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b et seq.) is amended by adding at 3 the end the following: 4 ‘‘Subpart 11—Emergency Financial Aid Grants 5 ‘‘SEC. 440D. EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANT PROGRAM. 6 ‘‘(a) EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANT PROGRAMS 7 AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall carry out a grant pro- 8 gram to make grants, in accordance with subsection (c), 9 to eligible entities to provide emergency financial aid 10 grants to students in accordance with subsection (e). 11 ‘‘(b) MATCHING FUNDS.— 12 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF FEDERAL 13 SHARE.—Except as provided in paragraph (3), the 14 Federal share of the cost of any emergency grant 15 aid program carried out under this section may not 16 exceed 50 percent. 17 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Matching funds provided by 18 an eligible entity under this subsection may not in- 19 clude in-kind contributions. 20 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—The Federal share of the 21 cost of an emergency grant aid program carried out 22 under this section shall equal 100 percent if the in- 23 stitution carrying out the emergency grant aid is an 24 institution of higher education described in section 25 371(a). 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4308 IH ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity desir- 2 ing to carry out an emergency grant aid program 3 under this section shall submit an application to the 4 Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and con- 5 taining such information as the Secretary may re- 6 quire. 7 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall, at least 8 30 days before each deadline to submit applications 9 under paragraph (1), conduct outreach to eligible in- 10 stitutions (as defined in section 371(a)) to provide 11 such institutions with information on the oppor- 12 tunity to apply under paragraph (1) to carry out an 13 emergency grant aid program under this section. 14 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—Each application under para- 15 graph (1) shall include a description of the emer- 16 gency grant aid program to be carried out by the eli- 17 gible entity, including— 18 ‘‘(A) an estimate of the number of emer- 19 gency financial aid grants that such entity will 20 make in an award year and how such eligible 21 entity assessed such estimate; 22 ‘‘(B) the criteria the eligible entity will use 23 to determine an emergency for which an eligible 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4308 IH student will be eligible to receive an emergency 1 financial aid grant; 2 ‘‘(C) an assurance that an emergency for 3 which an eligible student will be eligible to re- 4 ceive an emergency financial aid grant will in- 5 clude financial challenges that would directly 6 impact the ability of an eligible student to con- 7 tinue the course of study of such student, in- 8 cluding— 9 ‘‘(i) a loss of employment, transpor- 10 tation, child care, or housing of the stu- 11 dent; 12 ‘‘(ii) a medical condition of the stu- 13 dent, or a dependent of the student; 14 ‘‘(iii) with respect to the eligible stu- 15 dent, food insecurity; and 16 ‘‘(iv) in the case of an eligible student 17 who is a dependent student— 18 ‘‘(I) the death of a parent or 19 guardian of such eligible student; or 20 ‘‘(II) a medical condition of the 21 parent or guardian of such eligible 22 student which results in the loss of 23 employment of such parent or guard- 24 ian; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4308 IH ‘‘(D) a description of the process by which 1 an eligible student may apply and receive an 2 emergency financial aid grant; 3 ‘‘(E) an assurance that the eligible entity, 4 when applicable, will make information available 5 to eligible students about the eligibility of such 6 students and their dependents for assistance 7 under the supplemental nutrition assistance 8 program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 9 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the special sup- 10 plemental nutrition program for women, in- 11 fants, and children under the Child Nutrition 12 Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), and the pro- 13 gram of block grants for States for temporary 14 assistance for needy families established under 15 part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 16 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 17 ‘‘(F) an assurance that the eligible entity 18 will, to the extent practicable, assist eligible stu- 19 dents in obtaining information about and ac- 20 cessing means-tested Federal benefit programs 21 (as defined in section 479(d)) for which such 22 students may be eligible; 23 ‘‘(G) how the eligible entity will administer 24 the emergency grant aid program, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4308 IH ‘‘(i) which employees and departments 1 of the eligible entity will administer the 2 emergency grant aid program; 3 ‘‘(ii) the role of the student financial 4 aid administrator of the eligible entity with 5 respect to the emergency grant aid pro- 6 gram; 7 ‘‘(iii) the online processes the eligible 8 entity will use to respond to applications, 9 approve applications, and disburse emer- 10 gency financial aid grants outside of nor- 11 mal business hours; 12 ‘‘(iv) the data management tools the 13 eligible entity will use— 14 ‘‘(I) to ensure efficient adminis- 15 tration of the emergency grant aid 16 program; and 17 ‘‘(II) for data collection for pur- 18 poses of evaluating the emergency 19 grant aid program; 20 ‘‘(v) the internal controls the eligible 21 entity will use to discourage fraud under 22 the emergency grant aid program; 23 ‘‘(vi) a description of other student 24 emergency financial support services of- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4308 IH fered by the eligible entity and the rela- 1 tionship between the emergency grant aid 2 program and such support services; and 3 ‘‘(vii) the process the eligible entity 4 will use to inform students who apply for 5 an emergency financial aid grant of the 6 services described under clause (vi); 7 ‘‘(H) an assurance that either the financial 8 aid department or the student services depart- 9 ment of the eligible entity will serve as the pri- 10 mary program administrator for the emergency 11 grant aid program; 12 ‘‘(I) an assurance that the process by 13 which an eligible student applies for an emer- 14 gency financial aid grant includes— 15 ‘‘(i) to the extent practicable, an 16 interview; and 17 ‘‘(ii) at least one opportunity to ap- 18 peal a denial of such a grant; 19 ‘‘(J) an assurance that the eligible entity 20 will— 21 ‘‘(i) acknowledge a request of a stu- 22 dent for an emergency financial aid grant 23 not later than 8 hours after such a request 24 is submitted to the eligible entity; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4308 IH ‘‘(ii) not later than 48 hours after 1 such a request is submitted to the eligible 2 entity— 3 ‘‘(I) decide whether to award an 4 emergency financial aid grant to such 5 student; and 6 ‘‘(II) if applicable, disburse such 7 emergency financial aid grant to such 8 eligible student; 9 ‘‘(K) a description of how the school in- 10 tends to limit excessive demand, fraud, or abuse 11 including through program audits and requiring 12 student documentation of the expenses for 13 which the emergency financial aid grant was 14 disbursed; 15 ‘‘(L) an assurance that the eligible entity 16 will provide the emergency financial aid grants 17 to eligible students— 18 ‘‘(i) subject to the availability of 19 funds, as requested by such eligible stu- 20 dents in the order such requests are made; 21 and 22 ‘‘(ii) without regard to any other cri- 23 teria; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Sep 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4308 IH ‘‘(M) any other information the Secretary 1 may require. 2 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to 3 carry out an emergency grant aid program under 4 this section, the Secretary shall give priority to an 5 eligible entity in which at least 30 percent of the 6 students enrolled at such eligible entity are eligible 7 to receive a Federal Pell Grant. 8 ‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 9 months after 9 the date of enactment of this subpart, the Secretary shall 10 make available to the authorizing committees and the pub- 11 lic a list of eligible entities selected to carry out an emer- 12 gency grant aid program under this section. 13 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may only 15 use funds provided under this section to make emer- 16 gency financial aid grants to eligible students. 17 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 18 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—An emergency financial 19 aid grant to an eligible student may not be in 20 an amount greater than $750. 21 ‘‘(B) TOTAL AMOUNT.—The total amount 22 of emergency financial aid grants that an eligi- 23 ble student may receive from an eligible entity 24 may not exceed $2,000. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 4308 IH ‘‘(f) INFORMATION AND EVALUATION.— 1 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION.— 2 ‘‘(A) STUDENT-LEVEL DATA.—Each eligi- 3 ble entity that carries out an emergency grant 4 aid program under this section shall annually 5 submit to the Director of the Institute of Edu- 6 cation Sciences a report that includes, with re- 7 spect to each eligible student who received an 8 emergency financial aid grant from such eligible 9 entity in the preceding year, the following: 10 ‘‘(i) The number of credit hours such 11 eligible student earned prior to receiving 12 an emergency financial aid grant. 13 ‘‘(ii) The amount of the emergency fi- 14 nancial aid grant. 15 ‘‘(iii) The date in the academic year 16 such eligible student applied for an emer- 17 gency financial aid grant. 18 ‘‘(iv) The type of emergency declared 19 by such eligible student. 20 ‘‘(v) The period of time between the 21 request by the eligible student for an emer- 22 gency financial aid grant and when the eli- 23 gible entity— 24 ‘‘(I) acknowledged such request; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 4308 IH ‘‘(II) decided whether to award 1 an emergency financial aid grant; and 2 ‘‘(III) disbursed such emergency 3 financial aid grant. 4 ‘‘(vi) If the eligible student completed 5 the program of study of such eligible stu- 6 dent after receiving such emergency finan- 7 cial aid grant. 8 ‘‘(vii) In the case of an eligible stu- 9 dent described in clause (vi), the period of 10 time between the date such eligible student 11 received an emergency financial aid grant 12 and when such eligible student completed 13 the program of study of such eligible stu- 14 dent. 15 ‘‘(B) AGGREGATE INFORMATION.—The Di- 16 rector shall use the student-level data provided 17 under subparagraph (A) to annually determine 18 the following information with respect to each 19 emergency grant aid program carried out under 20 this section in the preceding year: 21 ‘‘(i) The average number of credit 22 hours eligible students earned prior to re- 23 ceiving an emergency financial aid grant. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 4308 IH ‘‘(ii) The average amount of an emer- 1 gency financial aid grant. 2 ‘‘(iii) The dates in the academic year 3 on which each student applied for an emer- 4 gency financial aid grant. 5 ‘‘(iv) The type of emergency declared 6 by each student. 7 ‘‘(v) The average period of time be- 8 tween the date an eligible student received 9 an emergency financial aid grant and when 10 such eligible student completed the pro- 11 gram of study of such eligible student. 12 ‘‘(vi) The average period of time be- 13 tween a request of a student for an emer- 14 gency financial aid grant and when the eli- 15 gible entity— 16 ‘‘(I) acknowledged such request; 17 ‘‘(II) decided whether to award 18 an emergency financial aid grant; and 19 ‘‘(III) disbursed the emergency 20 financial aid grant. 21 ‘‘(vii) In the case of eligible students 22 who received more than one emergency fi- 23 nancial aid grant, the average amount of 24 an emergency financial aid grant received 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4308.IH H4308 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 4308 IH over the period of enrollment of such eligi- 1 ble students. 2 ‘‘(viii) The completion and retention 3 rates of eligible students who received an 4 emergency financial aid grant. 5 ‘‘(C) DISAGGREGATION.—The information 6 determined under subparagraph (B) shall, in a 7 manner that does not identify any individual 8 student, be disaggregated as follows: 9 ‘‘(i) For each eligible entity that car- 10 ries out an emergency grant aid program 11 under this section, disaggregated by— 12 ‘‘(I) the eligible students who re- 13 ceived an emergency financial aid 14 grant under such emergency grant aid 15 program; 16 ‘‘(II) the students who applied [Text truncated for display. 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