[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 687 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 687

   To expand the teacher loan forgiveness programs under the Federal 
        Family Education Loan and Federal Direct Loan programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2001

   Mr. Moore (for himself, Ms. McKinney, Mr. Frost, Ms. McCarthy of 
Missouri, Mr. Bentsen, Ms. Berkley, and Mrs. Jones of Ohio) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
                           and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To expand the teacher loan forgiveness programs under the Federal 
        Family Education Loan and Federal Direct Loan programs.

    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 ``Teacher Recruitment and Retention 
Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY.

    (a) Elimination of New Borrower Restrictions.--
            (1) FFEL program.--Section 428J(b) of the Higher Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-10(b)) is amended by striking ``for 
        any new borrower on or after October 1, 1998, who'' and 
        inserting ``for any borrower who''.
            (2) Federal direct loan program.--Section 460(b)(1) of such 
        Act (20 U.S.C. 1087j(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``for any 
        new borrower on or after October 1, 1998, who'' and inserting 
        ``for any borrower who''.
    (b) Expansion of Eligible Teaching Locations and Subjects; 
Eliminating Delay in Service Benefit.--
            (1) FFEL program.--Section 428J(b)(1) of such Act is 
        amended by striking everything preceding subparagraph (B) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(1) has been employed as a full-time teacher--
                    ``(A)(i) in a school that qualifies under section 
                465(a)(2)(A) for loan cancellation for Perkins loan 
                recipients who teach in such schools;
                    ``(ii) as a full-time special education teacher, as 
                described in section 465(a)(2)(C); or
                    ``(iii) as a full-time teacher of mathematics, 
                science, foreign languages, bilingual education, or any 
                other field of expertise where the State educational 
                agency determines there is a shortage of qualified 
                teachers;''.
            (2) Federal direct loan program.--Section 460(b)(1)(A) of 
        such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087j(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 
        everything preceding clause (ii) and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) has been employed as a full-time teacher--
                            ``(i)(I) in a school that qualifies under 
                        section 465(a)(2)(A) for loan cancellation for 
                        Perkins loan recipients who teach in such 
                        schools;
                            ``(II) as a full-time special education 
                        teacher, as described in section 465(a)(2)(C); 
                        or
                            ``(III) as a full-time teacher of 
                        mathematics, science, foreign languages, 
                        bilingual education, or any other field of 
                        expertise where the State educational agency 
                        determines there is a shortage of qualified 
                        teachers;''.

SEC. 3. AMOUNT AND RATE OF REPAYMENT.

    (a) FFEL Program.--Section 428J(c) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-10(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and 
inserting the following:
            ``(1) Amount and rate of repayment.--The Secretary shall 
        repay an amount that is not more than $10,000 in the aggregate 
        of the loan obligation on a loan made under section 428 or 428H 
        that is outstanding after the completion of the first complete 
        school year of teaching described in subsection (b)(1) for 
        which the borrower seeks repayment under this section. Such 
        amount shall be repaid at the rate of 15 percent for the first 
        or second year of such service, 20 percent for the third or 
        fourth year of such service, and 30 percent for the fifth year 
        of such service. No borrower may receive a reduction of loan 
        obligations under both this section and section 460.''.
    (b) Federal Direct Loan Program.--Section 460(c) of such Act (20 
U.S.C. 1087j(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 
following:
            ``(1) Amount and rate of repayment.--The Secretary shall 
        cancel an amount that is not more than $10,000 in the aggregate 
        of the loan obligation on a loan made under section 428 or 428H 
        that is outstanding after the completion of the first complete 
        school year of teaching described in subsection (b)(1)(A). Such 
        amount shall be canceled at the rate of 15 percent for the 
        first or second year of such service, 20 percent for the third 
        or fourth year of such service, and 30 percent for the fifth 
        year of such service.''.
                                 <all>