Emergency Grant Aid for College Students Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1344 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 APRIL 27, 2023 Ms. SMITH introduced the following 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 Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 7 U.S.C. 1070b et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 8 the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1344 IS ‘‘PART F—EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS 1 ‘‘SEC. 791. 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 (including such institutions 19 that are eligible for priority under this section) and 20 systems of higher education to provide such institu- 21 tions and systems with information on the oppor- 22 tunity to apply under paragraph (1) to carry out an 23 emergency grant aid program under this section. 24 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—Each application under para- 25 graph (1) shall include a description of the emer- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1344 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 a student’s eligibility for an emer- 8 gency financial aid grant; 9 ‘‘(C) an assurance that an emergency for 10 which an eligible student will be eligible to re- 11 ceive an emergency financial aid grant will in- 12 clude financial challenges related to any compo- 13 nent of the student’s cost of attendance or fi- 14 nancial challenges that would impact the ability 15 of an eligible student to continue the course of 16 study of such student; 17 ‘‘(D) an assurance that the eligible entity, 18 when applicable, will make information available 19 to eligible students about the eligibility of such 20 students, and their dependents, as applicable, 21 for assistance under means-tested Federal ben- 22 efit programs, including— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1344 IS ‘‘(i) the supplemental security income 1 program under title XVI of the Social Se- 2 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 3 ‘‘(ii) the supplemental nutrition assist- 4 ance program under the Food and Nutri- 5 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), 6 a nutrition assistance program carried out 7 under section 19 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 8 2028), or a supplemental nutrition assist- 9 ance program carried out under section 10 3(c) of the Act entitled ‘An Act to author- 11 ize appropriations for certain insular areas 12 of the United States, and for other pur- 13 poses’ (Public Law 95–348); 14 ‘‘(iii) the free and reduced price 15 school lunch program established under the 16 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 17 Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); 18 ‘‘(iv) the program of block grants for 19 States for temporary assistance for needy 20 families established under part A of title 21 IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 22 601 et seq.); 23 ‘‘(v) the special supplemental nutri- 24 tion program for women, infants, and chil- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1344 IS dren established by section 17 of the Child 1 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 2 ‘‘(vi) the Medicaid program under 3 title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 4 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); 5 ‘‘(vii) Federal housing assistance pro- 6 grams, including tenant-based assistance 7 under section 8(o) of the United States 8 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 9 1437f(o)), and public housing, as defined 10 in section 3(b)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 11 1437a(b)(1)); 12 ‘‘(viii) the refundable credit for cov- 13 erage under a qualified health plan under 14 section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code 15 of 1986; 16 ‘‘(ix) the Earned Income Tax Credit 17 under section 32 of the Internal Revenue 18 Code of 1986; or 19 ‘‘(x) any other means-tested program 20 determined by the Secretary to be appro- 21 priate; 22 ‘‘(E) how the eligible entity will administer 23 the emergency grant aid program, including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1344 IS ‘‘(i) the process by which an eligible 1 student may apply for and receive an 2 emergency grant, which shall include an 3 opportunity to apply online, and at least 1 4 opportunity to appeal a grant denial; 5 ‘‘(ii) the processes the eligible entity 6 will use to respond to applications, approve 7 applications, and disburse emergency fi- 8 nancial aid grants, including outside of 9 normal business hours; 10 ‘‘(iii) how the eligible entity will ad- 11 vertise emergency grants to eligible stu- 12 dents; and 13 ‘‘(iv) how quickly the eligible entity 14 will disburse emergency aid grants to stu- 15 dents after applications have been sub- 16 mitted; 17 ‘‘(F) an assurance that the eligible entity 18 will acknowledge receipt of a student’s applica- 19 tion and fund approved applications not later 20 than 10 business days after the date of the ap- 21 proval; 22 ‘‘(G) an assurance that the eligible entity 23 will conduct outreach to students to inform 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1344 IS them of the availability of, and process for ap- 1 plying for, emergency aid grants; 2 ‘‘(H) a description of how the eligible enti- 3 ty will prioritize eligible students with financial 4 need in awarding emergency financial aid 5 grants; 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; 13 ‘‘(B) an eligible entity that is an institu- 14 tion of higher education described in section 15 371(a); 16 ‘‘(C) an eligible entity that is considered 17 rural according to the National Center for Edu- 18 cation Statistics for purposes of the Integrated 19 Postsecondary Education Data System; 20 ‘‘(D) an eligible entity in which not less 21 than 33 percent of the students enrolled at such 22 eligible entity are eligible to receive a Federal 23 Pell Grant; or 24 ‘‘(E) an eligible entity that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1344 IS ‘‘(i) has an admissions rate that is 50 1 percent or higher and is under-resourced; 2 or 3 ‘‘(ii) is an eligible institution as de- 4 fined in section 312(b). 5 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may only 7 use funds provided under this section to make emer- 8 gency financial aid grants to eligible students. 9 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF AWARDS.— 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible student 11 may receive an amount under this section that 12 would cause the amount of total financial aid 13 received by such student to exceed the cost of 14 attendance of the institution of higher edu- 15 cation in which the student is enrolled. 16 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS RECEIVED.—An 17 eligible student may not receive a cumulative 18 amount under this section for an academic year 19 that is more than the maximum Federal Pell 20 Grant available for such academic year. 21 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATIONS.—In determining eligi- 22 bility for and awarding emergency financial aid 23 grants under this section, an eligible entity may— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1344 IS ‘‘(A) waive the amount of need calculation 1 under section 471; and 2 ‘‘(B) utilize a contract with a scholarship- 3 granting organization designated for the sole 4 purpose of accepting applications from, or dis- 5 bursing funds to, students enrolled in the insti- 6 tution of higher education, if such scholarship- 7 granting organization disburses the full allo- 8 cated amount provided to the institution of 9 higher education to the student recipients. 10 ‘‘(d) REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 12 once annually, each eligible entity that receives a 13 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec- 14 retary a report on the progress of the eligible entity 15 in carrying out the programs supported by such 16 grant. 17 ‘‘(2) FORM OF REPORT.—The report under 18 paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Secretary at 19 such time, in such manner, and containing such in- 20 formation as the Secretary may require. The Sec- 21 retary shall issue uniform guidelines describing the 22 information that shall be reported by grantees under 23 such paragraph. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1344 IS ‘‘(3) CONTENT OF REPORT.—The report under 1 paragraph (1) shall include, at minimum, the fol- 2 lowing: 3 ‘‘(A) The average, minimum, and max- 4 imum amount of grants made available to eligi- 5 ble students, including any average, minimum, 6 or maximum grant levels made to any specific 7 subgroups of eligible students, including the 8 subgroups listed in subparagraph (B). 9 ‘‘(B) A description of any specific sub- 10 groups of eligible students who were prioritized 11 for the emergency financial aid grants, includ- 12 ing students of color, low-income students, first- 13 generation college students, students with dis- 14 abilities, English learners, students experiencing 15 homelessness, former foster youth, or student 16 parents. 17 ‘‘(C) The number of eligible students who 18 received an emergency financial aid grant, in- 19 cluding the number of eligible students who re- 20 ceived more than one such grant, and the num- 21 ber of eligible students in each of the subgroups 22 described in subparagraph (B) who received an 23 emergency financial aid grant, including the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1344 IS number of eligible students in each of such sub- 1 groups who received more than one such grant. 2 ‘‘(D) The types of emergencies declared 3 and frequencies of emergencies declared by eli- 4 gible students. 5 ‘‘(E) The number of students who applied 6 for an emergency financial aid grant, including 7 the number of eligible students in each of the 8 subgroups described in subparagraph (B) who 9 applied for an emergency financial aid grant. 10 ‘‘(F) The number of students who were de- 11 nied such a grant. 12 ‘‘(G) The number of students who ap- 13 pealed a denial of such grant. 14 ‘‘(H) The average amount of time it took 15 an eligible entity to respond to requests for 16 such a grant and the average amount of time 17 it took the eligible entity to award or deny such 18 a grant. 19 ‘‘(I) A description and amount of any in- 20 stitutional funds used to supplement emergency 21 financial aid grants provided in accordance with 22 this section. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1344 IS ‘‘(J) Outcomes of the eligible students who 1 received such a grant, including rates of persist- 2 ence, retention, and completion. 3 ‘‘(K) A description of the method used to 4 disburse emergency grants to students. 5 ‘‘(e) DETERMINATION OF AWARDS.—Notwith- 6 standing any other provision of law, an eligible entity that 7 receives a grant under this section shall solely determine 8 which students receive emergency financial aid grants 9 under this section. 10 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES.—An emergency financial aid 11 grant awarded to a student under this section— 12 ‘‘(1) shall not be treated as estimated financial 13 assistance or other financial assistance for the pur- 14 poses of section 471 or section 480; 15 ‘‘(2) shall not be considered— 16 ‘‘(A) income or assets (including untaxed 17 income and benefits under section 480(b)) in 18 the computation of a student’s expected family 19 contribution or student aid index in determining 20 the amount of aid for which the student is eligi- 21 ble under title IV for any academic year; and 22 ‘‘(B) in determining eligibility for other 23 public benefits; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1344.IS S1344 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1344 IS ‘‘(3) shall not be included in the gross income 1 of such student for purposes of the Internal Revenue 2 Code of 1986. 3 ‘‘(g) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.—No individual 4 shall be determined to be ineligible to receive benefits pro- 5 vided under this section on the basis of citizenship, 6 alienage, or immigration status. 7 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com- 9 munity co [Text truncated for display. 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