Emergency Grant Aid for College Students Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4465 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish an emergency grant aid program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 6, 2020 Ms. SMITH (for herself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 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 ‘‘Emergency Grant Aid 4 for College Students Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANT PROGRAM. 6 Part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b et seq.) is amended by adding at 8 the end the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4465 IS ‘‘Subpart 11—Emergency Financial Aid Grants 1 ‘‘SEC. 420T. EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANT PROGRAM. 2 ‘‘(a) EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANT PROGRAMS 3 AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall carry out a grant pro- 4 gram to make grants, in accordance with subsection (b), 5 to eligible entities to provide emergency financial aid 6 grants to eligible students in accordance with subsection 7 (c). 8 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity desir- 10 ing to carry out an emergency grant aid program 11 under this section shall submit an application to the 12 Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and con- 13 taining such information as the Secretary may re- 14 quire. 15 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall, at least 16 60 days before each deadline to submit applications 17 under paragraph (1), conduct outreach to institu- 18 tions of higher education, and systems of higher 19 education, eligible for assistance under title III or V, 20 to provide such institutions with information on the 21 opportunity to apply under paragraph (1) to carry 22 out an emergency grant aid program under this sec- 23 tion. 24 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—Each application under para- 25 graph (1) shall include a description of the emer- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4465 IS gency grant aid program to be carried out by the eli- 1 gible entity, including— 2 ‘‘(A) an estimate of the number of emer- 3 gency financial aid grants that such entity will 4 make in an award year and how such eligible 5 entity assessed such estimate; 6 ‘‘(B) the criteria the eligible entity will use 7 to determine an emergency for which an eligible 8 student will be eligible to receive an emergency 9 financial aid grant; 10 ‘‘(C) an assurance that an emergency for 11 which an eligible student will be eligible to re- 12 ceive an emergency financial aid grant will in- 13 clude financial challenges related to any compo- 14 nent of the student’s cost of attendance or fi- 15 nancial challenges that would impact the ability 16 of an eligible student to continue the course of 17 study of such student, including— 18 ‘‘(i) a loss of employment (including a 19 temporary loss of employment) or a reduc- 20 tion in pay or hours; 21 ‘‘(ii) costs related to transportation, 22 child care, utilities, or housing of the stu- 23 dent; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4465 IS ‘‘(iii) a medical condition or health 1 needs, including pregnancy and mental 2 health, of the student, or a spouse or de- 3 pendent of the student; 4 ‘‘(iv) with respect to the eligible stu- 5 dent, food insecurity; and 6 ‘‘(v) in the case of an eligible student 7 who is a dependent student— 8 ‘‘(I) the death of a parent or 9 guardian of such eligible student; or 10 ‘‘(II) a medical condition of the 11 parent or guardian of such eligible 12 student which results in the loss of 13 employment (including a temporary 14 loss of employment) of such parent or 15 guardian; 16 ‘‘(D) an assurance that the eligible entity, 17 when applicable, will make information available 18 to eligible students about the eligibility of such 19 students, and their dependents as applicable, 20 for assistance under— 21 ‘‘(i) the supplemental security income 22 program under title XVI of the Social Se- 23 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4465 IS ‘‘(ii) the supplemental nutrition assist- 1 ance program under the Food and Nutri- 2 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 3 ‘‘(iii) the free and reduced price 4 school lunch program established under the 5 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 6 Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); 7 ‘‘(iv) the program of block grants for 8 States for temporary assistance for needy 9 families established under part A of title 10 IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 11 601 et seq.); 12 ‘‘(v) the special supplemental nutri- 13 tion program for women, infants, and chil- 14 dren established by section 17 of the Child 15 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 16 ‘‘(vi) Medicaid program under title 17 XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 18 1396 et seq.); 19 ‘‘(vii) Federal housing assistance pro- 20 grams, including tenant-based assistance 21 under section 8(o) of the United States 22 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 23 1437f(o)), and public housing, as defined 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4465 IS in section 3(b)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1 1437a(b)(1)); and 2 ‘‘(viii) any other means-tested pro- 3 gram determined by the Secretary to be 4 appropriate; 5 ‘‘(E) how the eligible entity will administer 6 the emergency grant aid program, including— 7 ‘‘(i) the process by which an eligible 8 student may apply for and receive an 9 emergency grant, including an opportunity 10 to do so online; 11 ‘‘(ii) the processes the eligible entity 12 will use to respond to applications, approve 13 applications, and disburse emergency fi- 14 nancial aid grants, including outside of 15 normal business hours; and 16 ‘‘(iii) how the eligible entity will ad- 17 vertise emergency grants to eligible stu- 18 dents; 19 ‘‘(F) an assurance that the process by 20 which an eligible student applies for an emer- 21 gency financial aid grant includes at least one 22 opportunity to appeal a denial of such a grant; 23 ‘‘(G) an assurance that the eligible entity 24 will acknowledge receipt of a student’s request 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4465 IS and fund approved applications not later than 1 10 business days after the date of the approval; 2 ‘‘(H) a description of how the eligible enti- 3 ty will prioritize eligible students with financial 4 need to receive emergency financial aid grants; 5 and 6 ‘‘(I) any other information the Secretary 7 may require. 8 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to 9 carry out an emergency grant aid program under 10 this section, the Secretary may give priority to— 11 ‘‘(A) an eligible entity that is a community 12 college or has an admissions rate that is 50 13 percent or higher; 14 ‘‘(B) an eligible entity that is eligible to re- 15 ceive a grant under part A or B of title III or 16 title V, including— 17 ‘‘(i) a historically Black college or uni- 18 versity; 19 ‘‘(ii) a Hispanic-serving institution; 20 ‘‘(iii) a Tribal College or University; 21 or 22 ‘‘(iv) a minority-serving institution; 23 ‘‘(C) an eligible entity that is a rural-serv- 24 ing institution; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4465 IS ‘‘(D) an eligible entity located in— 1 ‘‘(i) a census tract or region in which 2 is located a local educational agency that 3 receives special assistance payments under 4 section 11(a)(1)(F) of the Richard B. Rus- 5 sell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 6 1759a(a)(1)(F)); or 7 ‘‘(ii) an area of deep poverty where 40 8 percent or more of the population are at or 9 below the Federal poverty line, as meas- 10 ured by the decennial Census; or 11 ‘‘(E) an eligible entity in which not less 12 than 30 percent of the students enrolled at such 13 eligible entity are eligible to receive a Federal 14 Pell Grant. 15 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may only 17 use funds provided under this section to make emer- 18 gency financial aid grants to eligible students. 19 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF AWARDS.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible student 21 may receive an amount under this section that 22 would cause the amount of total financial aid 23 received by such student to exceed the cost of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4465 IS attendance of the institution of higher edu- 1 cation in which the student is enrolled. 2 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS RECEIVED.—An 3 eligible student may not receive a cumulative 4 amount under this section for an academic year 5 that is more than the maximum Federal Pell 6 Grant available for such academic year. 7 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATIONS.—In determining eligi- 8 bility for and awarding emergency financial aid 9 grants under this section, an eligible entity may— 10 ‘‘(A) waive the amount of need calculation 11 under section 471; and 12 ‘‘(B) utilize a contract with a scholarship- 13 granting organization designated for the sole 14 purpose of accepting applications from, or dis- 15 bursing funds to, students enrolled in the insti- 16 tution of higher education, if such scholarship- 17 granting organization disburses the full allo- 18 cated amount provided to the institution of 19 higher education to the student recipients. 20 ‘‘(d) REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 22 once annually, each eligible entity that receives a 23 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec- 24 retary a report on the progress of the eligible entity 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4465 IS in carrying out the programs supported by such 1 grant. 2 ‘‘(2) FORM OF REPORT.—The report under 3 paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Secretary at 4 such time, in such manner, and containing such in- 5 formation as the Secretary may require. The Sec- 6 retary shall issue uniform guidelines describing the 7 information that shall be reported by grantees under 8 such paragraph. 9 ‘‘(3) CONTENT OF REPORT.— 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The report under 11 paragraph (1) shall include, at minimum, the 12 following: 13 ‘‘(i) Whether the eligible entity re- 14 quired an application for emergency finan- 15 cial aid grants. 16 ‘‘(ii) The average, minimum, and 17 maximum amount of grants made available 18 to eligible students, including any average, 19 minimum, or maximum grant levels made 20 to any specific subgroups of eligible stu- 21 dents, including the subgroups listed in 22 clause (iii). 23 ‘‘(iii) A description of any specific 24 subgroups of eligible students who were 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4465 IS prioritized for the emergency financial aid 1 grants, including students of color, low-in- 2 come students, first-generation college stu- 3 dents, students with disabilities, English 4 learners, students experiencing homeless- 5 ness, former foster youth, or student par- 6 ents. 7 ‘‘(iv) The number of eligible students 8 who received an emergency financial aid 9 grant, including the number of eligible stu- 10 dents who received more than one such 11 grant, and the number of eligible students 12 in each of the subgroups described in 13 clause (iii) who received an emergency fi- 14 nancial aid grant, including the number of 15 eligible students in each of such subgroups 16 who received more than one such grant. 17 ‘‘(v) The types of emergencies de- 18 clared and frequencies of emergencies de- 19 clared by eligible students. 20 ‘‘(vi) The number of students who ap- 21 plied for an emergency financial aid grant, 22 including the number of eligible students 23 in each of the subgroups described in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4465 IS clause (iii) who applied for an emergency 1 financial aid grant. 2 ‘‘(vii) The number of students who 3 were denied such a grant. 4 ‘‘(viii) The number of students who 5 appealed a denial of such grant. 6 ‘‘(ix) The average amount of time it 7 took an eligible entity to respond to re- 8 quests for such a grant and the average 9 amount of time it took the eligible entity to 10 award or deny such a grant. 11 ‘‘(x) A description and amount of any 12 institutional funds used to supplement 13 emergency financial aid grants provided in 14 accordance with this section. 15 ‘‘(xi) Outcomes of the eligible students 16 who received such a grant, including rates 17 of persistence, retention, and completion. 18 ‘‘(xii) A description of the method 19 used to disburse emergency grants to stu- 20 dents. 21 ‘‘(e) DETERMINATION OF AWARDS.—Notwith- 22 standing any other provision of law, an eligible entity that 23 receives a grant under this section shall solely determine 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4465.IS S4465 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4465 IS which students receive emergency financial aid grants 1 under this section. 2 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES.—An emergency financial aid 3 grant awarded to a student under this section— 4 ‘‘(1) shall not be treated as other financial as- 5 sistance for the purposes of section 471; 6 ‘‘(2) shall not be considered— 7 ‘‘(A) in determining the amount of aid for 8 which the student is eligible under this title for 9 any succeeding academic year; and 10 ‘‘(B) in determining eligibility for other 11 public benefits for any succeeding academic 12 year; and 13 ‘‘(3) shall not be includ [Text truncated for display. 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