Equitable Student Aid Access Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4680 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to simplify the financial aid application process, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 15, 2019 Mr. DOGGETT (for himself, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CART- WRIGHT, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. COHEN, Ms. DEAN, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. HIMES, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. SEAN PAT- RICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RYAN, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SEWELL of Ala- bama, Mr. SOTO, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. THOMP- SON of California, Ms. TITUS, Mr. TONKO, Mr. WELCH, Mr. LUJA´N, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, and Mr. KENNEDY) 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 simplify the financial aid application process, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4680 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equitable Student Aid 2 Access Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION. 4 Section 479 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 5 U.S.C. 1087ss) is amended to read as follows: 6 ‘‘SEC. 479. ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION. 7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall consider an 8 applicant to have an expected family contribution equal 9 to zero if— 10 ‘‘(1) in the case of a dependent student— 11 ‘‘(A)(i) the student’s parents are not re- 12 quired to file— 13 ‘‘(I) a Federal income tax return; or 14 ‘‘(II) with respect to Internal Revenue 15 Service Form 1040, any of the following 16 forms: Schedule A, Schedule B, Schedule 17 C, Schedule C–EZ, Schedule D, Schedule 18 E, Schedule F, Schedule H, Schedule J, 19 and Schedule SE; and 20 ‘‘(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross income 21 of the parents is less than or equal to $34,000; 22 or 23 ‘‘(B) the student’s parents, or the student, 24 received a benefit at some time during the pre- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4680 IH vious 24-month period under a means-tested 1 Federal benefit program; or 2 ‘‘(2) in the case of an independent student 3 without regard to whether the student has depend- 4 ents other than a spouse— 5 ‘‘(A)(i) the student (and the student’s 6 spouse, if any) certifies— 7 ‘‘(I) that the student (and the stu- 8 dent’s spouse, if any)— 9 ‘‘(aa) is not required to file a 10 Federal income tax return; or 11 ‘‘(bb) with respect to Internal 12 Revenue Service Form 1040, any of 13 the following forms: Schedule A, 14 Schedule B, Schedule C, Schedule C– 15 EZ, Schedule D, Schedule E, Sched- 16 ule F, Schedule H, Schedule J, and 17 Schedule SE; and 18 ‘‘(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross income 19 of the student and spouse (if appropriate) is 20 less than or equal to $34,000; or 21 ‘‘(B) the student received a benefit at some 22 time during the previous 24-month period 23 under a means-tested Federal benefit program. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4680 IH ‘‘(b) EARNED INCOME CREDIT.—An individual is not 1 required to qualify or file for the earned income credit in 2 order to be eligible under this section. 3 ‘‘(c) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary shall annually 4 adjust the income level necessary to qualify an applicant 5 for the zero expected family contribution. The income level 6 shall be annually increased by the estimated percentage 7 change in the Consumer Price Index, as defined in section 8 478(f), for the most recent calendar year ending prior to 9 the beginning of an award year, and rounded up to the 10 nearest $1,000. 11 ‘‘(d) MEANS-TESTED FEDERAL BENEFIT PROGRAM 12 DEFINED.—For purposes of this paragraph, a ‘means- 13 tested Federal benefit program’ means a mandatory 14 spending program of the Federal Government, other than 15 a program under this title, in which eligibility for the pro- 16 gram’s benefits, or the amount of such benefits, are deter- 17 mined on the basis of income or resources of the individual 18 or family seeking the benefit, and may include such pro- 19 grams as— 20 ‘‘(1) the supplemental security income program 21 under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 22 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 23 ‘‘(2) the supplemental nutrition assistance pro- 24 gram under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4680 IH U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), a nutrition assistance program 1 carried out under section 19 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2 2028), and a supplemental nutrition assistance pro- 3 gram carried out under section 1841(c) of title 48 4 of the United States Code; 5 ‘‘(3) the program of block grants for States for 6 temporary assistance for needy families established 7 under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act 8 (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 9 ‘‘(4) the special supplemental nutrition program 10 for women, infants, and children established by sec- 11 tion 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 12 U.S.C. 1786); 13 ‘‘(5) the State Medicaid program under title 14 XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 15 seq.); and 16 ‘‘(6) any other program identified by the Sec- 17 retary.’’. 18 SEC. 3. USING DATA FROM SECOND PRECEDING YEAR. 19 Section 480(a)(1)(B) of the Higher Education Act of 20 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(a)(1)(B)) is amended— 21 (1) by striking ‘‘may’’ in both places it appears 22 and inserting ‘‘shall’’; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4680 IH (2) by striking ‘‘sharing of data between’’ and 1 inserting ‘‘sharing of data, to the extent such data 2 is available, between’’. 3 SEC. 4. FINANCIAL AID OFFERS. 4 Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 5 U.S.C. 1092) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘(n) FINANCIAL AID OFFERS.— 8 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFERS.— 9 ‘‘(A) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS.—Not 10 later than 18 months after the date of enact- 11 ment of the Equitable Student Aid Access Act, 12 the Secretary shall, based on the consumer test- 13 ing conducted under subparagraph (E), publish 14 requirements for financial aid offers that 15 shall— 16 ‘‘(i) include a requirement that finan- 17 cial aid offers shall serve as the primary 18 source for Federal, State, and institutional 19 financial aid information provided by an 20 institution of higher education partici- 21 pating in any program under this title to 22 each prospective student accepted for ad- 23 mission and each enrolled student at such 24 institution; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4680 IH ‘‘(ii) include a requirement that such 1 offers include a standardized quick ref- 2 erence box described in subparagraph (D); 3 ‘‘(iii) establish standardized terms and 4 definitions, including for the elements list- 5 ed in subparagraph (C), that shall be in- 6 cluded in each such offer; 7 ‘‘(iv) establish formatting require- 8 ments with respect to the organization of 9 the elements listed in subparagraph (C), 10 which shall include a requirement that pro- 11 hibits such offers from displaying loans in 12 a manner that indicates or implies that 13 such loans reduce the amount owed to the 14 institution or reduce the net price; and 15 ‘‘(v) specify the simple, plain-lan- 16 guage, and consumer-friendly information 17 to be included in each such offer with re- 18 spect to the financial aid being offered to 19 a student, which shall include— 20 ‘‘(I) an explanation of differences 21 among each such type of financial aid, 22 including clear explanations that— 23 ‘‘(aa) grants and scholar- 24 ships do not have to be repaid; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4680 IH ‘‘(bb) loans (including loans 1 made under part D and private 2 education loans (as defined in 3 section 140 of the Truth in 4 Lending Act)) must be repaid 5 with interest; and 6 ‘‘(cc) payments under Fed- 7 eral-work study programs under 8 part C are contingent on finding 9 qualified employment and are 10 typically disbursed incrementally 11 in paychecks; 12 ‘‘(II) information encouraging 13 students to consider loans made under 14 part D before such private education 15 loans; 16 ‘‘(III) information clarifying that 17 students may— 18 ‘‘(aa) decline to accept a 19 loan made under part D; or 20 ‘‘(bb) accept an amount of 21 such loan that is less than the 22 amount of such loan included in 23 the financial aid offer; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4680 IH ‘‘(IV) in a case in which the in- 1 stitution offers a student such a loan 2 in an amount that is less than the 3 maximum amount for which the stu- 4 dent is eligible, an explanation that 5 the student is eligible for additional 6 loans under part D. 7 ‘‘(B) INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 8 Beginning with the award year that begins not 9 less than 1 year after the Secretary publishes 10 requirements under subparagraph (A), each in- 11 stitution of higher education described in sub- 12 paragraph (A)(i) shall provide a financial aid 13 offer to each student described in such subpara- 14 graph prior to each academic year that— 15 ‘‘(i) shall comply with the require- 16 ments published by the Secretary under 17 subparagraph (A); and 18 ‘‘(ii) may be supplemented by the in- 19 stitution with additional, non-contradictory 20 information related to financial aid as long 21 as such supplementary information uses 22 the standardized terms and definitions de- 23 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4680 IH ‘‘(C) ELEMENTS.—A financial aid offer 1 provided by an institution of higher education 2 shall include the following elements with respect 3 to the academic year for which the offer is 4 being provided: 5 ‘‘(i) The cost of attendance, which 6 shall include separately calculated sub- 7 totals of— 8 ‘‘(I) an itemized list of estimated 9 direct costs owed to the institution; 10 and 11 ‘‘(II) an itemized list of antici- 12 pated student expenses not covered 13 under subclause (I). 14 ‘‘(ii) Federal, State, and institutional 15 financial aid available to the student, 16 which shall include separately calculated 17 subtotals of— 18 ‘‘(I) grants and scholarships; 19 ‘‘(II) loans made under part D 20 (excluding Federal Direct Parent 21 PLUS Loans); and 22 ‘‘(III) Federal-work study pro- 23 grams under part C and other on- 24 campus employment. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4680 IH ‘‘(iii) Other options that may be avail- 1 able to students to cover the cost of at- 2 tendance (including Federal Direct Parent 3 PLUS Loans, tuition payment plans, sav- 4 ings, and earnings from other employ- 5 ment). 6 ‘‘(iv) The net price, which shall be de- 7 termined by calculating the difference be- 8 tween— 9 ‘‘(I) the cost of attendance de- 10 scribed in clause (i); and 11 ‘‘(II) the grants and scholarships 12 described in clause (ii)(I). 13 ‘‘(v) Next step instructions, includ- 14 ing— 15 ‘‘(I) the process and deadlines for 16 accepting the financial aid; and 17 ‘‘(II) information about where to 18 find additional information on the fi- 19 nancial aid offered. 20 ‘‘(vi) Any other information deter- 21 mined necessary by the Secretary based on 22 the consumer testing conducted under sub- 23 paragraph (E), which may include the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 4680 IH ‘‘(I) An estimate of the net direct 1 cost, which shall be determined by cal- 2 culating the difference between— 3 ‘‘(aa) the direct costs owed 4 to the institution described in 5 clause (i)(I); and 6 ‘‘(bb) the grants and schol- 7 arships described in clause (ii)(I). 8 ‘‘(II) Information on average stu- 9 dent debt, loan repayment and default 10 rates, loan repayment options, and 11 graduation rates. 12 ‘‘(III) In the case of a prospec- 13 tive student, the process and deadlines 14 for enrolling at the institution. 15 ‘‘(IV) Information regarding the 16 enrollment period covered by the aid 17 offer, and whether the cost and aid 18 estimates are based on full-time or 19 part-time enrollment. 20 ‘‘(V) Information developed in 21 consultation with the Internal Rev- 22 enue Service regarding any education- 23 related tax benefits for which a stu- 24 dent may qualify, including American 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 4680 IH Opportunity and Lifetime Learning 1 tax credits, deductions, exclusions, 2 and any other such benefits. 3 ‘‘(D) STANDARDIZED QUICK REFERENCE 4 BOX.—A financial aid offer provided by an in- 5 stitution of higher education shall include a 6 standardized quick reference box to enable stu- 7 dents to quickly and easily compare key infor- 8 mation on college costs and financial aid— 9 ‘‘(i) that shall be included in an iden- 10 tical fashion for each student receiving a 11 financial aid offer from the institution on 12 the first p [Text truncated for display. 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