[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2621 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2621

     To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand the loan 
forgiveness program for teachers, to provide a loan forgiveness program 
                  for nurses, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 7, 2007

 Mrs. McCarthy of New York (for herself and Mr. Porter) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                                 Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand the loan 
forgiveness program for teachers, to provide a loan forgiveness program 
                  for nurses, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Teacher and Nurse Support Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the National Center for Education 
        Statistics, over the next 10 years, the United States will need 
        more than 2,000,000 new teachers to replace the teachers who 
        are retiring or leaving the classroom for other careers.
            (2) The Hart-Rudman National Security Report on education 
        recommended that the President direct the Department of 
        Education to work with the States to devise a comprehensive 
        plan to avert a looming shortage of high-quality teachers.
            (3) According to the National Center for Education 
        Statistics, 20 percent of all new teachers leave the teaching 
        profession within 3 years. Providing loan forgiveness or loan 
        cancellation is one step that would help retain high-quality 
        teachers in schools that need teachers.
            (4) The American Hospital Association has reported more 
        than 118,000 unfilled registered nurse positions in hospitals 
        in the United States. Additionally, the National Commission on 
        Nursing Workforce for Long-Term Care released a report in May, 
        2005, stating that there are nearly 100,000 vacant nursing 
        positions in long-term care facilities on any given day, and 
        the nurse turnover rate exceeds 50 percent. The shortage is 
        costing long-term care facilities an estimated $4 billion a 
        year in recruitment and training expenses.
            (5) College loans are more of a burden than ever for 
        students and families. According to a recent United States 
        Public Interest Research Group report, average student loan 
        debt almost doubled from $9,200 in 1992-1993 to $16,928 in 
        1999-2000.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to improve access to, and 
the delivery of, high-quality educational and health services 
throughout the United States by reducing the shortage of qualified 
teachers and nurses.

SEC. 3. LOAN FORGIVENESS.

    (a) Loan Forgiveness.--Section 428J of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-10) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 428J. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR TEACHERS AND NURSES.

    ``(a) Statement of Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to 
encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching and nursing 
professions.
    ``(b) Program Authorized.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a program 
        to forgive, in accordance with this section, the student loan 
        debt of any borrower who has one or more loans described under 
        paragraph (2) made on or after October 1, 1998, and who--
                    ``(A) has been employed--
                            ``(i) as a full-time teacher--
                                    ``(I) in a school that qualifies 
                                under section 465(a)(2)(A) for loan 
                                cancellation for Perkins loan 
                                recipients who teach in those schools;
                                    ``(II) if employed as a secondary 
                                school teacher, is teaching a subject 
                                area that is relevant to the borrower's 
                                academic major as certified by the 
                                chief administrative officer of the 
                                public or nonprofit private secondary 
                                school in which the borrower is 
                                employed; and
                                    ``(III) if employed as an 
                                elementary school teacher, has 
                                demonstrated, as certified by the chief 
                                administrative officer of the public or 
                                nonprofit private elementary school in 
                                which the borrower is employed, 
                                knowledge and teaching skills in 
                                reading, writing, mathematics, and 
                                other areas of the elementary school 
                                curriculum; or
                            ``(ii) as a full-time eligible nurse--
                                    ``(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)); and
                    ``(B) is not in default on a loan for which the 
                borrower seeks forgiveness.
            ``(2) Method of loan forgiveness.--To provide the loan 
        forgiveness authorized in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, 
        subject to paragraph (3), carry out a program--
                    ``(A) through the holder of the loan, to assume the 
                obligation to repay a qualified loan amount (as 
                determined under subsection (c)) for a loan made under 
                section 428 or 428H of this part; and
                    ``(B) to cancel a qualified loan amount (as so 
                determined) for a Federal Direct Stafford Loan or a 
                Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan made under 
                part D of this title;
            ``(3) Treatment of consolidation loans.--A loan amount for 
        a loan made under section 428C or section 455(g) may be a 
        qualified loan amount for the purposes of paragraph (2) only to 
        the extent that such loan amount was used to repay a loan made 
        under section 428 or 428H, a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, or a 
        Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan for a borrower who 
        meets the requirements of paragraph (1), as determined in 
        accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary.
    ``(c) Qualified Loan Amount.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Aggregate amount.--The Secretary shall, in 
                installments in accordance with subparagraph (B), 
                forgive under this section not more than $17,500 in the 
                aggregate of the student loan obligation of a borrower.
                    ``(B) Annual installments.--The Secretary shall 
                forgive the student loan obligation of a borrower in 
                annual installments after each of 5 years of service 
                described in clause (i) or (ii) of subsection 
                (b)(1)(A)(i) in an amount not to exceed the lesser of 
                the remaining outstanding obligation of the borrower 
                or--
                            ``(i) $2,000 at the completion of the first 
                        year of such service;
                            ``(ii) $2,500 at the completion of the 
                        second year of such service;
                            ``(iii) $3,500 at the completion of the 
                        third year of such service;
                            ``(iv) $4,500 at the completion of the 
                        fourth year of such service; and
                            ``(v) $5,000 at the completion of the fifth 
                        year of such service.
            ``(2) Forbearance on qualified loan amount.--A holder of a 
        loan on which a borrower is seeking forgiveness under this 
        section--
                    ``(A) shall grant forbearance, at the request of 
                the borrower, in annual increments for each of the 
                years of qualifying service if the holder believes, at 
                the time of the borrower's annual request, that the 
                amount expected to be forgiven under this section at 
                the completion of the period of qualifying service will 
                satisfy the anticipated remaining outstanding balance 
                on the loan; and
                    ``(B) may offer other forbearance options to the 
                borrower.
    ``(d) Regulations.--The Secretary is authorized to issue such 
regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 
section.
    ``(e) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
authorize any refunding of any repayment of a loan.
    ``(f) List of Schools.--If the list of schools in which a teacher 
may perform service pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A)(i) is not 
available before May 1 of any year, the Secretary may use the list for 
the year preceding the year for which the determination is made to make 
the service determination.
    ``(g) Additional Eligibility Provisions.--
            ``(1) Continued eligibility for teachers.--Any teacher who 
        performs service in a school that--
                    ``(A) meets the requirements of subsection 
                (b)(1)(A)(i)(I) in any year during such service; and
                    ``(B) in a subsequent year fails to meet the 
                requirements of that subsection,
        may continue to teach in the school and shall be eligible for 
        loan forgiveness pursuant to subsection (b).
            ``(2) Prevention of double benefits.--No borrower may, for 
        the same service, receive a benefit under both this subsection 
        and--
                    ``(A) subtitle D of title I of the National and 
                Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et 
                seq.); or
                    ``(B) section 846 of the Public Health Service Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 297n).
    ``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) 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 
                        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)).
            ``(2) Year.--The term `year', where applied to service as a 
        teacher (or service 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))), 
        means an academic year as defined by the Secretary.''.
    (b) Repeal of Loan Cancellation Provision.--Section 460 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087j) is repealed.

SEC. 4. PHASE OUT OF CURRENT PROGRAM.

    An individual who began the required period of teaching described 
in section 428J(b)(1) or 460(b)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-10 and 1087j) as such sections were in effect on 
the day before the date of enactment of this Act, shall--
            (1) be eligible to receive loan forgiveness or loan 
        cancellation in the amount described in, and in accordance with 
        the requirements of, such sections as in effect on the day 
        before the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) not be eligible to receive loan forgiveness under 
        section 428J of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as in effect 
        on the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>