[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1793 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1793

                      One Hundred Seventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
             the third day of January, two thousand and one


                                 An Act


 
To provide the Secretary of Education with specific waiver authority to 
    respond to conditions in the national emergency declared by the 
                    President 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 (referred to in this Act as the 
    ``Secretary'') 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 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 
    seq.) 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 any provision described in paragraph (1) 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, to ease the burden on 
        such borrowers and avoid inadvertent, technical violations or 
        defaults;
            (C) the calculation of ``annual adjusted family income'' 
        and ``available income'', as used in the determination of need 
        for student financial assistance under title IV of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) for any such 
        affected individual (and the determination of such need for his 
        or her spouse and dependents, if applicable), may be 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 Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) that are located 
        in, or whose operations are directly affected by, 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.--
        (1) In general.--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.
        (2) Terms and conditions.--The notice under paragraph (1) shall 
    include the terms and conditions to be applied in lieu of such 
    statutory and regulatory provisions.
        (3) Case-by-case basis.--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 any 
waivers or modifications issued pursuant to subsection (a) on affected 
individuals and the programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), 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 FOR MEMBERS OF ARMED FORCES.
    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of 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 of Full Refund.--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. USE OF PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT.

    At the time of publishing any waivers or modifications pursuant to 
section 2(b), the Secretary shall publish examples of measures that 
institutions may take 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.

    In this Act:
        (1) Active duty.--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.
        (2) Affected individual.--The term ``affected individual'' 
    means an individual who--
            (A) is serving on active duty during the national 
        emergency;
            (B) is serving on National Guard duty during the national 
        emergency;
            (C) 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
            (D) suffered direct economic hardship as a direct result of 
        the national emergency, as determined under a waiver or 
        modification issued under this Act.
        (3) Federal student loan.--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 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et 
    seq., 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq., and 20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.).
        (4) National emergency.--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.
        (5) Serving on active duty during the national emergency.--The 
    term ``serving on active duty during the national emergency'' shall 
    include service by an individual who is--
            (A) a 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.
        (6) Serving on national guard duty during the national 
    emergency.--The term ``serving on National Guard duty during the 
    national emergency'' shall include performing training or other 
    duty authorized by section 502(f) of title 32, United States Code, 
    as a member of the National Guard, at the request of the President, 
    for or in support of an operation during the national emergency.

SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.

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

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.