[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5186 Received in Senate (RDS)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 5186


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 7, 2004

                                Received

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To reduce certain special allowance payments and provide additional 
           teacher loan forgiveness on Federal student loans.

    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 ``Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act of 
2004''.

SEC. 2. REDUCTION OF SPECIAL ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS FOR LOANS FROM THE 
              PROCEEDS OF TAX EXEMPT ISSUES.

    Section 438(b)(2)(B) (20 U.S.C. 1087-1(b)(2)(B)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``this division'' and 
        inserting ``this clause'';
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking ``division (i) of this 
        subparagraph'' and inserting ``clause (i) of this 
        subparagraph'';
            (3) in clause (iv), by inserting ``or refunded after 
        September 30, 2004, and before January 1, 2006,'' after 
        ``October 1, 1993,''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new clause:
            ``(v) Notwithstanding clauses (i) and (ii), the quarterly 
        rate of the special allowance shall be the rate determined 
        under subparagraph (A), (E), (F), (G), (H), or (I) of this 
        paragraph, or paragraph (4), as the case may be, for a holder 
        of loans that--
                    ``(I) were made or purchased with funds--
                            ``(aa) obtained from the issuance of 
                        obligations the income from which is excluded 
                        from gross income under the Internal Revenue 
                        Code of 1986 and which obligations were 
                        originally issued before October 1, 1993; or
                            ``(bb) obtained from collections or default 
                        reimbursements on, or interest or other income 
                        pertaining to, eligible loans made or purchased 
                        with funds described in division (aa), or from 
                        income on the investment of such funds; and
                    ``(II) are--
                            ``(aa) financed by such an obligation that, 
                        after September 30, 2004, and before January 1, 
                        2006, has matured or been retired or defeased;
                            ``(bb) refinanced after September 30, 2004, 
                        and before January 1, 2006, with funds obtained 
                        from a source other than funds described in 
                        subclause (I) of this clause; or
                            ``(cc) sold or transferred to any other 
                        holder after September 30, 2004, and before 
                        January 1, 2006.''.

SEC. 3. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR TEACHERS.

    (a) Implementing Highly Qualified Teacher Requirements.--
            (1) Amendments.--
                    (A) FFEL loans.--Section 428J(b)(1) of the Higher 
                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-10(b)(1)) is 
                amended--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 
                        ``and'' after the semicolon; and
                            (ii) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) 
                        and inserting the following:
                    ``(B) if employed as an elementary school or 
                secondary school teacher, is highly qualified as 
                defined in section 9101 of the Elementary Secondary 
                Education Act of 1965; and''.
                    (B) Direct loans.--Section 460(b)(1)(A) of such Act 
                (20 U.S.C. 1087j(b)(1)(A)) is amended--
                            (i) in clause (i), by inserting ``and'' 
                        after the semicolon; and
                            (ii) by striking clauses (ii) and (iii) and 
                        inserting the following:
                            ``(ii) if employed as an elementary school 
                        or secondary school teacher, is highly 
                        qualified as defined in section 9101 of the 
                        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; 
                        and''.
            (2) Transition rule.--
                    (A) Rule.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) of 
                this subsection to sections 428J(b)(1) and 460(b)(1)(A) 
                of the Higher Education Act of 1965 shall not be 
                applied to disqualify any individual who, before the 
                date of enactment of this Act, commenced service that 
                met and continues to meet the requirements of such 
                sections as such sections were in effect on the day 
                before the date of enactment of this Act.
                    (B) Rule not applicable to increased qualified loan 
                amounts.--Subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall not 
                apply for purposes of obtaining increased qualified 
                loan amounts under sections 428J(c)(3) and 460(c)(3) of 
                the Higher Education Act of 1965 as added by subsection 
                (b) of this section.
    (b) Additional Amounts Eligible to Be Repaid.--
            (1) FFEL loans.--Section 428J(c) of the Higher Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-10(c)) is amended by adding at the 
        end the following:
            ``(3) Additional amounts for teachers in mathematics, 
        science, or special education.--Notwithstanding the amount 
        specified in paragraph (1), the aggregate amount that the 
        Secretary shall repay under this section shall be not more than 
        $17,500 in the case of--
                    ``(A) a secondary school teacher--
                            ``(i) who meets the requirements of 
                        subsection (b); and
                            ``(ii) whose qualifying employment for 
                        purposes of such subsection is teaching 
                        mathematics or science on a full-time basis; 
                        and
                    ``(B) an elementary school or secondary school 
                teacher--
                            ``(i) who meets the requirements of 
                        subsection (b);
                            ``(ii) whose qualifying employment for 
                        purposes of such subsection is as a special 
                        education teacher whose primary responsibility 
                        is to provide special education to children 
                        with disabilities (as those terms are defined 
                        in section 602 of the Individuals with 
                        Disabilities Education Act); and
                            ``(iii) who, as certified by the chief 
                        administrative officer of the public or non-
                        profit private elementary school or secondary 
                        school in which the borrower is employed, is 
                        teaching children with disabilities that 
                        correspond with the borrower's special 
                        education training and has demonstrated 
                        knowledge and teaching skills in the content 
                        areas of the elementary school or secondary 
                        school curriculum that the borrower is 
                        teaching.''.
            (2) Direct loans.--Section 460(c) of the Higher Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087j(c)) is amended by adding at the 
        end the following:
            ``(3) Additional amounts for teachers in mathematics, 
        science, or special education.--Notwithstanding the amount 
        specified in paragraph (1), the aggregate amount that the 
        Secretary shall cancel under this section shall be not more 
        than $17,500 in the case of--
                    ``(A) a secondary school teacher--
                            ``(i) who meets the requirements of 
                        subsection (b)(1); and
                            ``(ii) whose qualifying employment for 
                        purposes of such subsection is teaching 
                        mathematics or science on a full-time basis; 
                        and
                    ``(B) an elementary school or secondary school 
                teacher--
                            ``(i) who meets the requirements of 
                        subsection (b)(1);
                            ``(ii) whose qualifying employment for 
                        purposes of such subsection is as a special 
                        education teacher whose primary responsibility 
                        is to provide special education to children 
                        with disabilities (as those terms are defined 
                        in section 602 of the Individuals with 
                        Disabilities Education Act); and
                            ``(iii) who, as certified by the chief 
                        administrative officer of the public or non-
                        profit private elementary school or secondary 
                        school in which the borrower is employed, is 
                        teaching children with disabilities that 
                        correspond with the borrower's special 
                        education training and has demonstrated 
                        knowledge and teaching skills in the content 
                        areas of the elementary school or secondary 
                        school curriculum that the borrower is 
                        teaching.''.
            (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
        shall apply only with respect to eligible individuals who are 
        new borrowers (as such term is defined in 103 of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)) on or after October 1, 
        1998, and before October 1, 2005.
    (c) Information on Benefits to Rural School Districts.--The 
Secretary shall--
            (1) notify local educational agencies eligible to 
        participate in the Small Rural Achievement Program authorized 
        under subpart 1 of part B of title VI of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 of the benefits available under 
        the amendments made by this section; and
            (2) encourage such agencies to notify their teachers of 
        such benefits.

            Passed the House of Representatives October 7, 2004.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.