[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1384 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1384

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a demonstration 
  program to support college and university communities that wish to 
 expand their book store services and savings for students through the 
              creation of course material rental programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 12, 2005

  Mr. Schumer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a demonstration 
  program to support college and university communities that wish to 
 expand their book store services and savings for students through the 
              creation of course material rental 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 ``Affordable Books for College Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF BOOKSTORE COURSE MATERIAL RENTAL PROGRAM.

    Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1133 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

          ``PART E--COLLEGE BOOKSTORE RENTAL EXPANSION PROGRAM

``SEC. 771. LOANS AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Authorization.--From the amounts appropriated 
        pursuant to subsection (h), the Secretary shall make loans on a 
        competitive basis to not more than 50 eligible entities to 
        support programs that expand the services of bookstores to 
        provide the option for students to rent course materials in 
        order to achieve savings for students.
            ``(2) Grant program.--The Secretary shall award grants to 
        eligible entities to enable such entities to conduct, prior to 
        submitting an application under subsection (c), a feasibility 
        study to determine whether a program described in paragraph (1) 
        would be effective at the school served by the entity. The 
        maximum amount of a grant made pursuant to this subsection 
        shall be $25,000.
            ``(3) Models for best practices.--Not less often than once 
        every 2 years, the Secretary shall compile and make publicly 
        available a document that contains potential models and best 
        practices for the use of entities carrying out college textbook 
        rental programs.
    ``(b) Allocation of Funds.--
            ``(1) Public comment period.--In promulgating regulations 
        to carry out the provision relating to the application 
        procedures under subsection (c), the Secretary shall provide 
        for a public comment period for outside groups to review and 
        comment on such procedures before they are finalized by the 
        Secretary.
            ``(2) Maximum amount.--The maximum amount of a loan made 
        pursuant to this section shall be $2,500,000. The maximum 
        amount for all loans made pursuant to this section shall be 
        $50,000,000.
    ``(c) Application.--An eligible entity that desires to obtain a 
loan under this part shall submit an application to the Secretary at 
such time, in such form, and containing or accompanied by such 
information, agreements, and assurances as the Secretary may reasonably 
require.
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--The funds made available by a loan under this 
part may be used for--
            ``(1) purchase of course materials that the entity will 
        make available by rent to students;
            ``(2) any equipment or software necessary for the conduct 
        of a rental program;
            ``(3) hiring staff needed for the conduct of a rental 
        program, with priority given to hiring enrolled undergraduate 
        students; and
            ``(4) building or acquiring extra storage space dedicated 
        to course materials for rent.
    ``(e) Amount and Terms of Loans.--The Secretary shall prescribe the 
terms and conditions of the loans under this part, except that the 
interest rate shall be equal to the rate applicable to funds borrowed 
by the Secretary from the Treasury to carry out the demonstration 
program under this part.
    ``(f) Eligible Entity.--To be eligible to receive a loan under this 
section, an entity shall be--
            ``(1)(A) an institution of higher education; or
            ``(B) a campus or local nonprofit or for-profit bookstore, 
        a bookstore cooperative, or an auxiliary service unit; and
            ``(2) if the entity is an entity described in paragraph 
        (1)(B), recognized by an institution of higher education as 
        effectively delivering course materials to undergraduate 
        college students.
    ``(g) Study.--Not later than September 30, 2010, the Secretary 
shall conduct a study on the savings achieved by students who 
participate in college textbook rental programs.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this part such sums as may be necessary for 
fiscal year 2006 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.''.
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