FAFSA Simplification Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2667 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make it easier to apply for Federal student aid, to make that aid predictable, to amend the Federal Pell Grant program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 22, 2019 Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself and Mr. JONES) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make it easier to apply for Federal student aid, to make that aid predictable, to amend the Federal Pell Grant pro- gram, 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 ‘‘FAFSA Simplification 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. MAKING IT EASIER TO APPLY FOR FEDERAL AID 6 AND MAKING THAT AID PREDICTABLE. 7 (a) NEED ANALYSIS.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2667.IS S2667 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2667 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 471 of the Higher 1 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk) is 2 amended to read as follows: 3 ‘‘SEC. 471. AMOUNT OF NEED. 4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 5 therein, beginning with award year 2021–2022, the 6 amount of need of any student for financial assistance 7 under this title (except subpart 1 or 2 of part A) is equal 8 to— 9 ‘‘(1) the cost of attendance of such student, 10 minus 11 ‘‘(2) the student aid index (as defined in section 12 473) for such student, minus 13 ‘‘(3) other financial assistance not received 14 under this title (as defined in section 480(j)). 15 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE OF CHANGES.—The amend- 16 ments made to this title under the FAFSA Simplification 17 Act of 2019 shall take effect beginning with award year 18 2021–2022. The amounts provided under such amend- 19 ments for award year 2020–2021 shall be used solely as 20 a base to determine adjustments for subsequent award 21 years.’’. 22 (2) MAXIMUM AID UNDER PART D.—Section 23 451 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2667.IS S2667 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2667 IS U.S.C. 1087a) is amended by adding at the end the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(c) MAXIMUM AID.—The maximum dollar amount 3 of financial assistance provided under this part to a stu- 4 dent shall not exceed the cost of attendance for such stu- 5 dent.’’. 6 (3) GUIDANCE TO STATES.—The Secretary of 7 Education shall issue guidance for States on inter- 8 pretation and implementation of the terminology and 9 formula adjustments made under the amendments 10 made by this Act, including the student aid index, 11 formerly known as the expected family contribution, 12 and the need analysis formulas. 13 (b) STUDENT AID INDEX.—Section 473 of the High- 14 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087mm) is amend- 15 ed to read as follows: 16 ‘‘SEC. 473. STUDENT AID INDEX. 17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of this title, 18 other than subpart 1 or 2 of part A, the term ‘student 19 aid index’ means, with respect to a student, an index that 20 reflects an evaluation of a student’s approximate financial 21 resources to contribute toward the student’s postsecondary 22 education for the academic year, as determined in accord- 23 ance with this part. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2667.IS S2667 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2667 IS ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE FOR STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FOR 1 THE TOTAL MAXIMUM PELL GRANT.—The Secretary 2 shall consider an applicant to automatically have a student 3 aid index equal to zero if the applicant is eligible for the 4 total maximum Federal Pell Grant under subpart 1 of 5 part A, except if the applicant has a calculated student 6 aid index of less than zero the Secretary shall consider 7 the negative number as the student aid index for the appli- 8 cant. 9 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR NONFILERS.—For an appli- 10 cant (or, as applicable, an applicant and spouse, or an ap- 11 plicant’s parents) not required filed a Federal tax return 12 for the applicable tax year, the Secretary shall for the pur- 13 poses of this title consider the student aid index as equal 14 to ¥$1,500 for the applicant. 15 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR RECIPIENTS OF MEANS- 16 TESTED BENEFITS.—For an applicant (including the stu- 17 dent, the student’s parent, or the student’s spouse, as ap- 18 plicable) who at any time during the previous 24-month 19 period was a recipient of a means-tested Federal benefit 20 program, the Secretary shall consider an applicant to 21 automatically have a student aid index equal to zero, ex- 22 cept if the applicant has a calculated student aid index 23 of less than zero the Secretary shall consider the negative 24 number as the student aid index for the applicant. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2667.IS S2667 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2667 IS ‘‘(e) MEANS-TESTED FEDERAL BENEFIT PRO- 1 GRAM.—In this section, the term ‘means-tested Federal 2 benefit program’ means any of the following: 3 ‘‘(1) The supplemental security income program 4 under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 5 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.). 6 ‘‘(2) The supplemental nutrition assistance pro- 7 gram under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 8 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 9 ‘‘(3) The program of block grants for States for 10 temporary assistance for needy families established 11 under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act 12 (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 13 ‘‘(4) The special supplemental nutrition pro- 14 gram for women, infants, and children established 15 by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 16 U.S.C. 1786). 17 ‘‘(5) The Medicaid program under title XIX of 18 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.).’’. 19 (c) DETERMINATION OF STUDENT AID INDEX.—Sec- 20 tion 474 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 21 1087nn) is amended to read as follows: 22 ‘‘SEC. 474. DETERMINATION OF STUDENT AID INDEX. 23 ‘‘The student aid index— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2667.IS S2667 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2667 IS ‘‘(1) for a dependent student shall be deter- 1 mined in accordance with section 475; 2 ‘‘(2) for a single independent student or a mar- 3 ried independent student without dependents (other 4 than a spouse) shall be determined in accordance 5 with section 476; and 6 ‘‘(3) for an independent student with depend- 7 ents other than a spouse shall be determined in ac- 8 cordance with section 477.’’. 9 (d) STUDENT AID INDEX FOR DEPENDENT STU- 10 DENTS.—Section 475 of the Higher Education Act of 11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087oo) is amended to read as follows: 12 ‘‘SEC. 475. STUDENT AID INDEX FOR DEPENDENT STU- 13 DENTS. 14 ‘‘(a) COMPUTATION OF STUDENT AID INDEX.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each dependent stu- 16 dent, the student aid index is equal to (except as 17 provided in paragraph (2)) the sum of— 18 ‘‘(A) the assessment of the parents’ ad- 19 justed available income (determined in accord- 20 ance with subsection (b)); 21 ‘‘(B) the assessment of the student’s avail- 22 able income (determined in accordance with 23 subsection (g)); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2667.IS S2667 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2667 IS ‘‘(C) the student’s available assets (deter- 1 mined in accordance with subsection (h)). 2 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—If the sum of paragraphs 3 (1), (2), and (3) with respect to a dependent student 4 is less than ¥$1,500, the student aid index for the 5 dependent student shall be ¥$1,500. 6 ‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT OF PARENTS’ ADJUSTED AVAIL- 7 ABLE INCOME.—The assessment of parents’ adjusted 8 available income is equal to the amount determined by— 9 ‘‘(1) computing adjusted available income by 10 adding— 11 ‘‘(A) the parents’ available income (deter- 12 mined in accordance with subsection (c)); and 13 ‘‘(B) the parents’ available assets (deter- 14 mined in accordance with subsection (d)); 15 ‘‘(2) assessing such adjusted available income in 16 accordance with the assessment schedule set forth in 17 subsection (e); and 18 ‘‘(3) considering such assessment resulting 19 under paragraph (2) as the amount determined 20 under this subsection. 21 ‘‘(c) PARENTS’ AVAILABLE INCOME.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The parents’ available in- 23 come is determined by subtracting from total income 24 (as defined in section 480)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2667.IS S2667 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2667 IS ‘‘(A) Federal income taxes; 1 ‘‘(B) an allowance for payroll taxes, deter- 2 mined in accordance with paragraph (2); 3 ‘‘(C) an income protection allowance, de- 4 termined in accordance with paragraph (3); and 5 ‘‘(D) an employment expense allowance, 6 determined in accordance with paragraph (4). 7 ‘‘(2) ALLOWANCE FOR PAYROLL TAXES.—The 8 allowance for payroll taxes is equal to the sum of— 9 ‘‘(A) the total amount earned by the par- 10 ents, multiplied by the rate of tax under section 11 3101(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 12 and 13 ‘‘(B) the amount earned by the parents 14 that does not exceed such contribution and ben- 15 efit base (twice such contribution and benefit 16 base, in the case of a joint return) for the year 17 of the earnings, multiplied by the rate of tax 18 applicable to such earnings under section 19 3101(a) of such Code. 20 ‘‘(3) INCOME PROTECTION ALLOWANCE.—The 21 income protection allowance for award year 2020– 22 2021 and each succeeding award year shall equal 23 the amount determined in the following table, as ad- 24 justed by the Secretary pursuant to section 478(b): 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2667.IS S2667 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2667 IS ‘‘Income Protection Allowance 2020–2021 (to be adjusted for 2021–2022 and succeeding years) Family Size (including student) Amount 2 ...................................................................................................... $19,080 3 ...................................................................................................... $23,760 4 ...................................................................................................... $29,340 5 ...................................................................................................... $34,620 6 ...................................................................................................... $40,490 For each additional add .................................................................. $4,750. ‘‘(4) EMPLOYMENT EXPENSE ALLOWANCE.— 1 The employment expense allowance is equal to the 2 lesser of $4,000 or 35 percent of the single parent’s 3 earned income or married parents’ combined earned 4 income (or is equal to a successor amount as ad- 5 justed by the Secretary pursuant to section 478(g)). 6 ‘‘(d) PARENTS’ AVAILABLE ASSETS.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 8 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—Except as pro- 9 vided in subparagraph (B), the parents’ avail- 10 able assets are equal to— 11 ‘‘(i) the difference between the par- 12 ents’ net assets and the education savings 13 and asset protection allowance (determined 14 in accordance with paragraph (2)); multi- 15 plied by 16 ‘‘(ii) 12 percent. 17 ‘‘(B) NOT LESS THAN ZERO.—Parents’ 18 available assets under this subsection shall not 19 be less than zero. 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2667.IS S2667 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2667 IS ‘‘(2) EDUCATION SAVINGS AND ASSET PROTEC- 1 TION ALLOWANCE.—The education savings and asset 2 protection allowance is calculated according to the 3 following table (or a successor table prescribed by 4 the Secretary under section 478(d)): 5 ‘‘Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowances for Parents of Dependent Students If the age of the oldest parent is— And there are two parents one parent then the allowance is— 25 or less ........................ $0 $0 26 .................................... $300 $100 27 .................................... $700 $200 28 .................................... $1,000 $300 29 .................................... $1,300 $500 30 .................................... $1,600 $600 31 .................................... $2,000 $700 32 .................................... $2,300 $800 33 .................................... $2,600 $900 34 .................................... $2,900 $1,000 35 .................................... $3,300 $1,100 36 .................................... $3,600 $1,200 37 .................................... $3,900 $1,300 38 .................................... $4,200 $1,500 39 .................................... $4,600 $1,600 40 .................................... $4,900 $1,700 41 .................................... $5,100 $1,700 42 .................................... $5,200 $1,700 43 .................................... $5,300 $1,800 44 .................................... $5,400 $1,800 45 .................................... $5,500 $1,900 46 .................................... $5,700 $1,900 47 .................................... $5,800 $1,900 48 .................................... $6,000 $2,000 49 .................................... $6,100 $2,000 50 .................................... $6,300 $2,100 51 .................................... $6,400 $2,100 52 .................................... $6,600 $2,200 53 .................................... $6,800 $2,200 54 .................................... $6,900 $2,300 55 .................................... $7,100 $2,300 56 .................................... $7,300 $2,400 57 .................................... $7,500 $2,500 58 .................................... $7,700 $2,500 59 .................................... $7,900 $2,600 60 .................................... $8,200 $2,700 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2667.IS S2667 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2667 IS ‘‘Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowances for Parents of Dependent Students—Continued If the age of the oldest parent is— And there are two parents one parent then the allowance is— 61 .................................... $8,400 $2,700 62 .............................. 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