FAFSA Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4584 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal the suspension of eligibility for assistance under title IV due to drug-related offenses. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 1, 2019 Ms. BASS (for herself, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. TRONE, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. MOORE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. MENG, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. EVANS, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. RUSH, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. CLAY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Mr. CRIST, Mr. ROUDA, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. JOHNSON of Geor- gia, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, and Ms. JUDY CHU of California) 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 repeal the suspension of eligibility for assistance under title IV due to drug-related offenses. 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 ‘‘Financial Aid Fairness 4 for Students Act’’ or the ‘‘FAFSA Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:50 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4584.IH H4584 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4584 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Expanding the ability of low- and middle-in- 3 come borrowers to pursue higher education is critical 4 to reversing decades of exclusionary policies that 5 have adversely impacted people of color. 6 (2) Under current law, individuals with drug-re- 7 lated offenses are precluded from accessing Federal 8 grants, loans, and work-study aid pursuant to sec- 9 tion 484(r) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 10 (20 U.S.C. 1091(r)), commonly referred to as the 11 ‘‘Aid Elimination Penalty’’. 12 (3) The Free Application for Federal Student 13 Aid (FAFSA) screens applicants for Federal finan- 14 cial aid based on her or his history of drug offenses. 15 (4) Given that criminal sentencing laws in the 16 United States disproportionately impact racial mi- 17 norities and low-income communities, the Aid Elimi- 18 nation Penalty may disproportionately hinder these 19 same groups from accessing Federal financial aid. 20 (5) Recognizing that an educated citizenry is 21 the powerhouse of the Nation, that higher education 22 allows Americans to access well-paying jobs, health- 23 care, strong interpersonal relationships and a higher 24 quality of life, the Federal Government should incen- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:50 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4584.IH H4584 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4584 IH tivize the pursuit of higher education while ensuring 1 equality of opportunity. 2 SEC. 3. REPEAL OF SUSPENSION OF ELIGIBILITY UNDER 3 THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965 FOR 4 GRANTS, LOANS, AND WORK ASSISTANCE FOR 5 DRUG-RELATED OFFENSES. 6 (a) REPEAL.—Subsection (r) of section 484 of the 7 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(r)) is re- 8 pealed. 9 (b) REVISION OF FAFSA FORM.—Section 483 of the 10 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090) is 11 amended by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(i) CONVICTIONS.—The Secretary 13 shall not include any question about the 14 conviction of an applicant for the posses- 15 sion or sale of illegal drugs on the FAFSA 16 (or any other form developed under sub- 17 section (a)).’’. 18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Higher Edu- 19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended— 20 (1) in section 428(b)(3) (20 U.S.C. 21 1078(b)(3))— 22 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 23 ‘‘485(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘485(k)’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:50 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4584.IH H4584 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4584 IH (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking 1 ‘‘485(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘485(k)’’; 2 (2) in section 435(d)(5) (20 U.S.C. 3 1085(d)(5))— 4 (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking 5 ‘‘485(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘485(k)’’; and 6 (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking 7 ‘‘485(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘485(k)’’; 8 (3) in section 484 (20 U.S.C. 1091)— 9 (A) by striking subsection (r); and 10 (B) by redesignating subsections (s) and 11 (t) as subsections (r) and (s), respectively; 12 (4) in section 485 (20 U.S.C. 1092)— 13 (A) by striking subsection (k); and 14 (B) by redesignating subsections (l) and 15 (m) as subsections (k) and (l), respectively; and 16 (5) in section 487(e)(2)(B)(ii)(IV) (20 U.S.C. 17 1094(e)(2)(B)(ii)(IV)), by striking ‘‘(l) of section 18 485’’ and inserting ‘‘(k) of section 485’’. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:50 Oct 07, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4584.IH H4584 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS