[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3086 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3086

To provide the Secretary of Education with specific waiver authority to 
    respond to conditions in the national emergency declared by the 
         President of the United States on September 14, 2001.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 11, 2001

Mr. McKeon (for himself, Mr. Boehner, Mr. George Miller of California, 
Mr. Armey, Mr. Watts of Oklahoma, Mr. Gephardt, Mr. Petri, Mr. Kildee, 
  Mr. Hoekstra, Mr. Owens, Mr. Castle, Mr. Payne, Mr. Greenwood, Mrs. 
 Mink of Hawaii, Mr. Graham, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Hilleary, Mr. Scott, Mr. 
    Ehlers, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Fletcher, Ms. Rivers, Mr. Isakson, Mr. 
 Hinojosa, Mr. Goodlatte, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Mrs. Biggert, Mr. 
 Tierney, Mr. Platts, Mr. Ford, Mr. Tiberi, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Keller, 
Mr. Wu, Mr. Osborne, Mr. Holt, Ms. Solis, Mrs. Davis of California, Ms. 
   McCollum, Mr. Baker, Mr. Berman, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. 
   Buyer, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Dreier, Mr. 
   Evans, Mr. Filner, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Hall of Texas, Ms. Harman, Mr. 
 Herger, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Jones of North Carolina, Mr. King, Mr. Kirk, 
Mr. Quinn, Mr. Sabo, Mr. Shows, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Skelton, Mr. Smith of 
   New Jersey, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Stump, Mr. Taylor of Mississippi, Mr. 
     Turner, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Walsh, Ms. Waters, and Mr. Waxman) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                      Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide the Secretary of Education with specific waiver authority to 
    respond to conditions in the national emergency declared by the 
         President of the United States on September 14, 2001.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Higher Education Relief 
Opportunities for Students Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. WAIVER AUTHORITY FOR RESPONSE TO NATIONAL EMERGENCY.

    (a) Waivers and Modifications.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, unless enacted with specific reference to this section, 
        the Secretary of Education may waive or modify any statutory or 
        regulatory provision applicable to the student financial aid 
        programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as 
        the Secretary deems necessary in connection with the national 
        emergency to provide the waivers or modifications authorized by 
        paragraph (2).
            (2) Actions authorized.--The Secretary is authorized to 
        waive or modify such provisions as may be necessary to ensure 
        that--
                    (A) borrowers of Federal student loans who are 
                affected individuals are not placed in a worse position 
                financially in relation to those loans because of their 
                status as affected individuals;
                    (B) administrative requirements placed on affected 
                individuals who are borrowers of Federal student loans 
                are minimized, to the extent possible without impairing 
                the integrity of the student loan programs, in order to 
                ease the burden on such borrowers, and to avoid 
                inadvertent, technical violations or defaults;
                    (C) the terms ``annual adjusted family income'' and 
                ``available income'', as used in the determination of 
                need for student financial assistance under title IV of 
                the Act for any such affected individual (and the 
                determination of such need for his or her spouse and 
                dependents, if applicable), are modified to mean the 
                sums received in the first calendar year of the award 
                year for which such determination is made, in order to 
                reflect more accurately the financial condition of such 
                affected individual and his or her family; and
                    (D) institutions of higher education, eligible 
                lenders, guaranty agencies, and other entities 
                participating in the student assistance programs under 
                title IV of the Act that are located in areas that are 
                declared disaster areas by any Federal, State, or local 
                official in connection with the national emergency may 
                be granted temporary relief from requirements that are 
                rendered infeasible or unreasonable by the national 
                emergency, including due diligence requirements and 
                reporting deadlines.
    (b) Notice of Waivers or Modifications.--Notwithstanding section 
437 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232) and 
section 553 of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary shall, by 
notice in the Federal Register, publish the waivers or modifications of 
statutory and regulatory provisions the Secretary deems necessary to 
achieve the purposes of this section. Such notice shall include the 
terms and conditions to be applied in lieu of such statutory and 
regulatory provisions. The Secretary is not required to exercise the 
waiver or modification authority under this section on a case-by-case 
basis.
    (c) Impact Report.--The Secretary shall, not later than 15 months 
after first exercising any authority to issue a waiver or modification 
under subsection (a), report to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate on the impact of such 
waiver or modification on affected individuals and the programs under 
Title IV, and the basis for such determination, and include in such 
report the Secretary's recommendations for changes to the statutory or 
regulatory provisions that were the subject of such waiver or 
modification.
    (d) No Delay in Waivers and Modifications.--Sections 482(c) and 492 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1089(c), 1098a) shall 
not apply to the waivers and modifications authorized or required by 
this Act.

SEC. 3. TUITION REFUNDS OR CREDITS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) all institutions offering postsecondary education 
        should provide a full refund to students who are members of the 
        Armed Forces serving on active duty during the national 
        emergency, for that portion of a period of instruction such 
        student was unable to complete, or for which such individual 
        did not receive academic credit, because he or she was called 
        up for such service; and
            (2) if affected individuals withdraw from a course of study 
        as a result of such service, such institutions should make 
        every effort to minimize deferral of enrollment or 
        reapplication requirements and should provide the greatest 
        flexibility possible with administrative deadlines related to 
        those applications.
    (b) Definition.--For purposes of this section, a full refund 
includes a refund of required tuition and fees, or a credit in a 
comparable amount against future tuition and fees.

SEC. 4. GUIDANCE ON USE OF PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT.

    At the time of publishing any waivers or modifications pursuant to 
section 2(b), the Secretary shall publish guidance on which 
institutions may rely in the appropriate exercise of discretion under 
section 479A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087tt) to 
adjust financial need and aid eligibility determinations for affected 
individuals.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``Federal student loan'' means a loan made, 
        insured, or guaranteed under part B, D, or E of title IV of the 
        Higher Education Act of 1965.
            (2) The term ``national emergency'' means the national 
        emergency by reason of certain terrorist attacks declared by 
        the President on September 14, 2001, or subsequent national 
        emergencies declared by the President by reason of terrorist 
        attacks.
            (3) The term ``affected individual'' means an individual 
        who--
                    (A) is serving on active duty during the national 
                emergency;
                    (B) resides or is employed in an area that is 
                declared a disaster area by any Federal, State, or 
                local official in connection with the national 
                emergency; or
                    (C) suffered direct economic hardship as a direct 
                result of the national emergency, as determined under a 
                waiver or modification issued under this Act.
            (4) Individuals serving on active duty during the national 
        emergency shall include--
                    (A) any Reserve of an Armed Force ordered to active 
                duty under section 12301(a), 12301(g), 12302, 12304, or 
                12306 of title 10, United States Code, or any retired 
                member of an Armed Force ordered to active duty under 
                section 688 of such title, for service in connection 
                with such emergency or subsequent actions or 
                conditions, regardless of the location at which such 
                active duty service is performed; and
                    (B) any other member of an Armed Force on active 
                duty in connection with such emergency or subsequent 
                actions or conditions who has been assigned to a duty 
                station at a location other than the location at which 
                such member is normally assigned.
            (5) The term ``active duty'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 101(d)(1) of title 10, United States Code, 
        except that such term does not include active duty for training 
        or attendance at a service school.
            (6) The term ``the Act'' means the Higher Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).

SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.

    The provisions of this Act shall cease to be effective on September 
30, 2003.
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