[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1306 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1306

To provide student loan forgiveness to Americans employed in service to 
                  the public, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 2003

Mr. George Miller of California (for himself, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Doggett, 
Mr. Payne, Mr. Andrews, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Farr, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Neal 
 of Massachusetts, Ms. Lee, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Towns, Mr. Stark, Mr. 
Nadler, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Ford, Mr. 
    Olver, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Baca, Mr. 
Rodriguez, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Etheridge, Ms. 
 Solis, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Frost, Ms. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. 
  Sanders, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Owens, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, Mr. 
Markey, Mr. Meehan, Mr. Case, Mr. Engel, Mr. Serrano, Ms. Majette, Mr. 
   Wexler, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. Watson, Ms. Hooley of Oregon, Mr. 
Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Holden, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Ms. 
  Schakowsky, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Oberstar, Mrs. Jones of 
Ohio, Mr. Evans, Mr. Hoeffel, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Allen, Mr. 
   Ackerman, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mrs. Lowey, and Mr. 
  Hinojosa) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide student loan forgiveness to Americans employed in service to 
                  the public, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``College 
Opportunity for a Better America Act of 2003''.
    (b) Reference.--Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, 
whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an 
amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference 
shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Education after high school, including two-year and 
        four-year college degrees, is more important than ever for 
        Americans' future economic security. A four-year college degree 
        is estimated to be worth $1 million in earnings more than a 
        high school diploma over the course of a lifetime.
            (2) The cost of attending college has steadily increased 
        faster than the rate of inflation. The average tuition and fees 
        at four-year public and private universities are now $4,081 and 
        $18,273, respectively, an increase of approximately 75 percent 
        over the past decade.
            (3) More and more, American students are relying on debt to 
        finance higher education. In 1999-2000, the average student 
        loan debt totaled $16,948, a dramatic increase from the average 
        debt of $9,188 in 1992-93. At the same time, the percentage of 
        students borrowing increased from 42 percent to 64 percent.
            (4) Student debt constrains the career options of millions 
        of college graduates. Nearly two-fifths of graduates with debt 
        find it unmanageable, defined as exceeding eight percent of 
        their income. As a result, many college graduates may chose 
        higher-paying jobs rather than enter public service.
            (5) Many of our Nation's public service professions, 
        including teaching, nursing, and child care, face shortages of 
        highly qualified personnel that imperil the health and future 
        welfare of our citizens.
            (6) Record school enrollments, an aging teaching force, and 
        chronic attrition of new teachers make it difficult to ensure 
        that every child has a qualified, engaged, caring teacher. 
        Excellent teachers are particularly rare in high-poverty 
        schools and in subjects like mathematics, science, and special 
        education.
            (7) There is a national shortage of 126,000 nurses, 
        according to the American Hospital Association. At the same 
        time, the number of nursing school graduates decreased by 29 
        percent between 1995 and 2001.
            (8) According to a growing body of research, the single 
        most important determinant of child care quality is the 
        presence of consistent, well-trained child care providers. 
        However, the Nation's child care programs are plagued by high 
        staff turnover fueled by poor compensation.
            (9) A well-trained and stable child welfare workforce is 
        needed to protect our country's most vulnerable children and 
        families. The number of unfilled child welfare jobs is large 
        and growing rapidly. Nearly one-tenth of positions in State 
        child welfare agencies are unfilled and staff turnover has 
        doubled since 1991.
            (10) The number of infant and toddler specialists are 
        insufficient to meet the health and special education needs of 
        infants and toddlers.

SEC. 3. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYEES.

    Section 428K (20 U.S.C. 1078-11) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 428K. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYEES.

    ``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
            ``(1) to reduce the burden of student debt, particularly 
        for Americans who dedicate their careers to meeting certain 
        urgent national needs; and
            ``(2) to attract more excellent individuals into important 
        public service careers.
    ``(b) Loan Forgiveness.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall assume the 
        obligation to repay, pursuant to subsection (c), a loan made 
        under section 428 or 428H, a Federal Direct Stafford Loan or 
        Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct 
        Consolidation Loan, or a Federal Perkins Loan for any new 
        borrower after the date of enactment of the Higher Education 
        Amendments of 1998, who--
                    ``(A) is employed full time in a qualified public 
                service position described in paragraph (2); and
                    ``(B) is not in default on a loan for which the 
                borrower seeks forgiveness.
            ``(2) Qualified public service positions.--For purposes of 
        this section, an individual shall be treated as employed in a 
        qualified public service position if the individual is any of 
        the following:
                    ``(A) Highly qualified teachers in low-income 
                communities and of mathematics, science, and bilingual 
                and special education.--An individual who--
                            ``(i) is highly qualified as such term is 
                        defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and 
                        Secondary Education Act of 1965; and
                            ``(ii)(I) has obtained employment as a 
                        teacher for service in a public or nonprofit 
                        private elementary or secondary school which is 
                        in the school district of a local educational 
                        agency which is eligible in such year for 
                        assistance pursuant to title I of the 
                        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 
                        and which for the purpose of this paragraph and 
                        for that year has been determined by the 
                        Secretary (pursuant to regulations and after 
                        consultation with the State educational agency 
                        of the State in which the school is located) to 
                        be a school in which the enrollment of children 
                        counted under section 1113(a)(5) of the 
                        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
                        exceeds 40 percent of the total enrollment of 
                        that school; or
                            ``(II) has obtained employment as a full-
                        time teacher of mathematics, science, or 
                        bilingual or special education.
                    ``(B) Early childhood educators.--An individual 
                who--
                            ``(i) has received a degree in early 
                        childhood education; and
                            ``(ii) has obtained employment in a child 
                        care facility, such as employment as a 
                        preschool teacher, in a low-income community.
                    ``(C) Nurses.--An individual who has obtained 
                employment--
                            ``(i) in a clinical setting; or
                            ``(ii) as a member of the nursing faculty 
                        at an accredited school of nursing (as those 
                        terms are defined in section 801 of the Public 
                        Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296)).
                    ``(D) Child welfare workers.--An individual who--
                            ``(i) has completed a degree in social work 
                        or related field with a focus on serving 
                        children and families (as determined in 
                        accordance with regulations prescribed by the 
                        Secretary); and
                            ``(ii) has obtained employment in public or 
                        private child welfare services.
                    ``(E) Nutrition professionals.--An individual who--
                            ``(i) is a certified registered dietician 
                        who has completed a degree in a relevant field; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) has obtained employment in a local 
                        agency of the special supplemental nutrition 
                        program for women, infants, and children under 
                        section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 
                        (42 U.S.C. 1786).
                    ``(F) Infant and toddler specialists.--An 
                individual who--
                            ``(i) has obtained an associate's or 
                        bachelor's degree in a discipline that would 
                        qualify the individual to work in the program 
                        under part C of the Individuals with 
                        Disabilities Education Act in the State in 
                        which such individual resides; and
                            ``(ii) has obtained employment in an 
                        occupation that is directly related to such 
                        degree and that (I) provides services to 
                        infants, toddlers, and their families under an 
                        individualized family service plan under 
                        section 636 of the Individuals with 
                        Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1436) or 
                        an individualized education plan under section 
                        614(d) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(d)); or (II) 
                        provides training or technical assistance to 
                        providers of such services.
                    ``(G) Additional public servants.--An individual 
                who, as determined by the Secretary of Education by 
                regulation--
                            ``(i) works in a public service profession 
                        that suffers from a critical lack of qualified 
                        personnel;
                            ``(ii) serves a low-income or needy 
                        community; and
                            ``(iii) is highly qualified.
    ``(c) Loan Repayment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall assume the 
        obligation to repay--
                    ``(A) after each of the first or second years of 
                service by an individual in a qualified public service 
                position, 15 percent of the total amount of principal 
                and interest of the loans described in subsection 
                (b)(1) to such individual that are outstanding 
                immediately preceding such first year of such service;
                    ``(B) after each of the third or fourth years of 
                such service, 20 percent of such total amount; and
                    ``(C) after the fifth year of such service, 30 
                percent of such total amount.
            ``(2) Treatment of consolidation loans.--A loan amount for 
        a loan made under section 428C or for a Federal Direct 
        Consolidation Loan may be a qualified loan amount for the 
        purposes of this subsection only to the extent that such loan 
        amount was used to repay a loan described in subsection (b)(1) 
        for a borrower who meets the requirements of subsection (b), as 
        determined in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 
        Secretary.
            ``(3) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
        construed to authorize the refunding of any repayment of a loan 
        made under section 428 or 428H, a Federal Direct Stafford Loan 
        or Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct 
        Loan, or a Federal Perkins Loan.
            ``(4) Interest.--If a portion of a loan is repaid by the 
        Secretary under this section for any year, the proportionate 
        amount of interest on such loan that accrues for such year 
        shall be repaid by the Secretary.
            ``(5) Ineligibility of national service award recipients.--
        No student borrower may, for the same service, receive a 
        benefit under both this section and subtitle D of title I of 
        the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12601 
        et seq.).
            ``(6) Ineligibility for double benefits.--No borrower may 
        receive a reduction of loan obligations under both this section 
        and section 428J or 460.
            ``(7) Continued eligibility.--
                    ``(A) Teachers.--Any teacher who performs service 
                in a school that--
                            ``(i) meets the requirements of subsection 
                        (b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) in any year during such 
                        service; and
                            ``(ii) in a subsequent year fails to meet 
                        the requirements of such subsection,
        may continue to teach in such school and shall be eligible for 
        loan forgiveness pursuant to subsection (b).
                    ``(B) Teachers in low-income communities.--Any 
                early childhood educator who performs service in a 
                community that--
                            ``(i) meets the definition of low-income 
                        community in any year during such service; and
                            ``(ii) in a subsequent year fails to meet 
                        such definition,
        may continue to perform service in such community and shall be 
        eligible for loan forgiveness pursuant to subsection (b).
    ``(d) Repayment to Eligible Lenders and Holders.--The Secretary 
shall pay to each eligible lender or holder for each fiscal year an 
amount equal to the aggregate amount of the lender's or holder's loans 
that are subject to repayment pursuant to this section for such year.
    ``(e) Application for Repayment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each eligible individual desiring loan 
        repayment under this section shall submit a complete and 
        accurate application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
        manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
        require.
            ``(2) Conditions.--An eligible individual may apply for 
        loan repayment under this section after completing each of the 
        consecutive years of qualifying service described in subsection 
        (c)(1). The borrower may elect to receive forbearance while 
        engaged in qualifying service described in subsection (c)(1) 
        unless the borrower is in deferment while so engaged.
    ``(f) Regulations.--The Secretary is authorized to prescribe such 
regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 
section.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Child care facility.--The term `child care facility' 
        means a facility, including a home, that--
                    ``(A) provides child care services; and
                    ``(B) meets applicable State or local government 
                licensing, certification, approval, or registration 
                requirements, if any.
            ``(2) Child care services.--The term `child care services' 
        means activities and services provided for the education and 
        care of children from birth through age 5 by an individual who 
        has a degree in early childhood education, including a 
        preschool teacher.
            ``(3) Child welfare services.--The term `child welfare 
        services' has the meaning given the term in section 425 of the 
        Social Security Act.
            ``(4) Degree.--The term `degree' means an associate's or 
        bachelor's degree awarded by an institution of higher 
        education.
            ``(5) Early childhood education.--The term `early childhood 
        education' means education in the area of early child 
        development and education, child care, or any other educational 
        area related to early child education or child care that the 
        Secretary determines to be appropriate.
            ``(6) Eligible nurse.--The term `eligible nurse' means a 
        nurse who meets all of the following:
                    ``(A) The nurse graduated from--
                            ``(i) an accredited school of nursing (as 
                        those terms are defined in section 801 of the 
                        Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296));
                            ``(ii) a nursing center; or
                            ``(iii) an academic health center that 
                        provides nurse training.
                    ``(B) The nurse holds a valid and unrestricted 
                license to practice nursing in the State in which the 
                nurse practices in a clinical setting.
                    ``(C) The nurse holds 1 or more of the following:
                            ``(i) A graduate degree in nursing, or an 
                        equivalent degree.
                            ``(ii) A nursing degree from a collegiate 
                        school of nursing (as defined in section 801 of 
                        the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296)).
                            ``(iii) A nursing degree from an associate 
                        degree school of nursing (as defined in section 
                        801 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        296)).
                            ``(iv) A nursing degree from a diploma 
                        school of nursing (as defined in section 801 of 
                        the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296)).
            ``(7) Eligible preschool program provider.--The term 
        `eligible preschool program provider' means a preschool program 
        provider serving children younger than the age of compulsory 
        school attendance that is--
                    ``(A) a public or private school;
                    ``(B) a provider that is supported, sponsored, 
                supervised, or administered by a local educational 
                agency;
                    ``(C) a Head Start agency designated under the Head 
                Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.);
                    ``(D) a nonprofit or community-based organization; 
                or
                    ``(E) a licensed child care center or family child 
                care provider.
            ``(8) Low-income community.--In this subsection, the term 
        `low-income community' means a community in which 70 percent of 
        households earn less than 85 percent of the State median 
        household income.
            ``(9) Preschool teacher.--The term `preschool teacher' 
        means an individual--
                    ``(A) who has received at least an associate's 
                degree in early childhood education and who is working 
                toward or who has already received a bachelor's degree 
                in early childhood education; and
                    ``(B) who works for an eligible preschool program 
                provider supporting the children's cognitive, social, 
                emotional, and physical development to prepare the 
                children for the transition to kindergarten.
            ``(10) Year.--The term `year', where applied to service as 
        a teacher (or service as a member of an accredited school of 
        nursing (as those terms are defined in section 801 of the 
        Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296))), means an academic 
        year as defined by the Secretary.''.

SEC. 4. INCOME-CONTINGENT LOAN REFORM.

    (a) FFEL Income Contingent Repayment.--
            (1) Repayment plans consistent with direct loans.--Clause 
        (iii) of section 428(b)(9)(A) (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(9)(A)(iii)) is 
        amended to read as follows:
                            ``(iii) an income contingent repayment plan 
                        consistent with the income contingent repayment 
                        plans offered pursuant to section 455(e), with 
                        income contingent repayment amounts paid over a 
                        fixed period of time, not to exceed 25 years; 
                        and''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Each of the following provisions is amended by 
                striking ``income-sensitive'' each place it appears and 
                inserting ``income contingent'': section 427(a)(2)(H), 
                subsections (b)(1)(E)(i) and (e) of section 428, and 
                subsections (b)(1)(E), (b)(5), and (c)(2) of section 
                428C.
                    (B) The heading of subsection (e) of section 428 is 
                amended by striking ``Income-Sensitive'' and inserting 
                ``Income Contingent.''.
                    (C) Section 428C(b)(1)(E) is amended by striking 
                ``July 1, 1994'' and inserting ``July 1, 2004''.
            (3) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
        shall apply with respect to loans made on or after July 1, 
        2004.
    (b) Direct Loan Income Contingent Repayment.--
            (1) Maximum term for public service employees.--Section 
        455(d) (20 U.S.C. 1087e(d)) is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1) by 
                striking ``except that'' and all that follows through 
                the period at the end and inserting the following:
                ``except that--
                            ``(i) the plan described in this 
                        subparagraph shall not be available to the 
                        borrower of a Federal Direct PLUS loan; and
                            ``(ii) in the case of a borrower who, after 
                        electing to repay a loan on the income 
                        contingent repayment plan, has been employed by 
                        a qualified public service employer, whether or 
                        not continuously, for a least 8 years on a 
                        full-time basis, the extended period of time 
                        prescribed by the Secretary shall not exceed 15 
                        years.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(6) Definition of qualified public service employer.--For 
        purposes of paragraph (1)(D)(ii), the term `qualified public 
        service employer' means--
                    ``(A) any agency of Federal, State, or local 
                government;
                    ``(B) an other organization within the meaning of 
                section 3371(4) of title 5, United States Code; and
                    ``(C) an employer that is exempt from taxation 
                under section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986.''.
            (2) Treatment of spousal income.--Section 455(e)(2) is 
        amended by striking ``of the borrower'' and all that follows 
        through the period at the end and inserting ``of the borrower. 
        If the borrower is married, one-half the combined adjusted 
        gross income of the borrower and the borrower's spouse shall be 
        attributed to the borrower for the purposes of the preceding 
        sentence.''.
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