[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 916 Engrossed in House (EH)]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 916

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To provide for loan repayment for prosecutors and public defenders.

    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 ``John R. Justice Prosecutors and 
Defenders Incentive Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. LOAN REPAYMENT FOR PROSECUTORS AND DEFENDERS.

    Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``PART JJ--LOAN REPAYMENT FOR PROSECUTORS AND PUBLIC DEFENDERS

``SEC. 3111. GRANT AUTHORIZATION.

    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to encourage 
qualified individuals to enter and continue employment as prosecutors 
and public defenders.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Prosecutor.--The term `prosecutor' means a full-time 
        employee of a State or local agency who--
                    ``(A) is continually licensed to practice law; and
                    ``(B) prosecutes criminal or juvenile delinquency 
                cases (or both) at the State or local level, including 
                an employee who supervises, educates, or trains other 
                persons prosecuting such cases.
            ``(2) Public defender.--The term `public defender' means an 
        attorney who--
                    ``(A) is continually licensed to practice law; and
                    ``(B) is--
                            ``(i) a full-time employee of a State or 
                        local agency who provides legal representation 
                        to indigent persons in criminal or juvenile 
                        delinquency cases (or both), including an 
                        attorney who supervises, educates, or trains 
                        other persons providing such representation;
                            ``(ii) a full-time employee of a nonprofit 
                        organization operating under a contract with a 
                        State or unit of local government, who devotes 
                        substantially all of such full-time employment 
                        to providing legal representation to indigent 
                        persons in criminal or juvenile delinquency 
                        cases (or both), including an attorney who 
                        supervises, educates, or trains other persons 
                        providing such representation; or
                            ``(iii) employed as a full-time Federal 
                        defender attorney in a defender organization 
                        established pursuant to subsection (g) of 
                        section 3006A of title 18, United States Code, 
                        that provides legal representation to indigent 
                        persons in criminal or juvenile delinquency 
                        cases (or both).
            ``(3) Student loan.--The term `student loan' means--
                    ``(A) a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under 
                part B of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
                (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.);
                    ``(B) a loan made under part D or E of title IV of 
                the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et 
                seq. and 1087aa et seq.); and
                    ``(C) a loan made under section 428C or 455(g) of 
                the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-3 and 
                1087e(g)) to the extent that such loan was used to 
                repay a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct 
                Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or a loan made under 
                section 428 or 428H of such Act.
    ``(c) Program Authorized.--The Attorney General shall, subject to 
the availability of appropriations, establish a program by which the 
Department of Justice shall assume the obligation to repay a student 
loan, by direct payments on behalf of a borrower to the holder of such 
loan, in accordance with subsection (d), for any borrower who--
            ``(1) is employed as a prosecutor or public defender; and
            ``(2) is not in default on a loan for which the borrower 
        seeks forgiveness.
    ``(d) Terms of Loan Repayment.--
            ``(1) Borrower agreement.--To be eligible to receive 
        repayment benefits under subsection (c), a borrower shall enter 
        into a written agreement with the Attorney General that 
        specifies that--
                    ``(A) the borrower will remain employed as a 
                prosecutor or public defender for a required period of 
                service of not less than 3 years, unless involuntarily 
                separated from that employment;
                    ``(B) if the borrower is involuntarily separated 
                from employment on account of misconduct, or 
                voluntarily separates from employment, before the end 
                of the period specified in the agreement, the borrower 
                will repay the Attorney General the amount of any 
                benefits received by such employee under this section; 
                and
                    ``(C) if the borrower is required to repay an 
                amount to the Attorney General under subparagraph (B) 
                and fails to repay such amount, a sum equal to that 
                amount shall be recoverable by the Federal Government 
                from the employee (or such employee's estate, if 
                applicable) by such methods as are provided by law for 
                the recovery of amounts owed to the Federal Government.
            ``(2) Repayment by borrower.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any amount repaid by, or 
                recovered from, an individual or the estate of an 
                individual under this subsection shall be credited to 
                the appropriation account from which the amount 
                involved was originally paid.
                    ``(B) Merger.--Any amount credited under 
                subparagraph (A) shall be merged with other sums in 
                such account and shall be available for the same 
                purposes and period, and subject to the same 
                limitations, if any, as the sums with which the amount 
                was merged.
                    ``(C) Waiver.--The Attorney General may waive, in 
                whole or in part, a right of recovery under this 
                subsection if it is shown that recovery would be 
                against equity and good conscience or against the 
                public interest.
            ``(3) Limitations.--
                    ``(A) Student loan payment amount.--Student loan 
                repayments made by the Attorney General under this 
                section shall be made subject to the availability of 
                appropriations, and subject to such terms, limitations, 
                or conditions as may be mutually agreed upon by the 
                borrower and the Attorney General in an agreement under 
                paragraph (1), except that the amount paid by the 
                Attorney General under this section shall not exceed--
                            ``(i) $10,000 for any borrower in any 
                        calendar year; or
                            ``(ii) an aggregate total of $60,000 in the 
                        case of any borrower.
                    ``(B) Beginning of payments.--Nothing in this 
                section shall authorize the Attorney General to pay any 
                amount to reimburse a borrower for any repayments made 
                by such borrower prior to the date on which the 
                Attorney General entered into an agreement with the 
                borrower under this subsection.
    ``(e) Additional Agreements.--
            ``(1) In general.--On completion of the required period of 
        service under an agreement under subsection (d), the borrower 
        and the Attorney General may, subject to paragraph (2), enter 
        into an additional agreement in accordance with subsection (d).
            ``(2) Term.--An agreement entered into under paragraph (1) 
        may require the borrower to remain employed as a prosecutor or 
        public defender for less than 3 years.
    ``(f) Award Basis; Priority.--
            ``(1) Award basis.--The Attorney General shall provide 
        repayment benefits under this section--
                    ``(A) subject to the availability of 
                appropriations; and
                    ``(B) in accordance with paragraph (2), except that 
                the Attorney General shall determine a fair allocation 
                of repayment benefits among prosecutors and defenders, 
                and among employing entities nationwide.
            ``(2) Priority.--In providing repayment benefits under this 
        section in any fiscal year, the Attorney General shall give 
        priority to borrowers--
                    ``(A) who, when compared to other eligible 
                borrowers, have the least ability to repay their 
                student loans (considering whether the borrower is the 
                beneficiary of any other student loan repayment 
                program), as determined by the Attorney General; or
                    ``(B) who--
                            ``(i) received repayment benefits under 
                        this section during the preceding fiscal year; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) have completed less than 3 years of 
                        the first required period of service specified 
                        for the borrower in an agreement entered into 
                        under subsection (d).
    ``(g) Regulations.--The Attorney General is authorized to issue 
such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of 
this section.
    ``(h) Report by Inspector General.--Not later than 3 years after 
the date of the enactment of this section, the Inspector General of the 
Department of Justice shall submit to Congress a report on--
            ``(1) the cost of the program authorized under this 
        section; and
            ``(2) the impact of such program on the hiring and 
        retention of prosecutors and public defenders.
    ``(i) GAO Study.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Comptroller General shall conduct a 
study of, and report to Congress on, the impact that law school 
accreditation requirements and other factors have on the costs of law 
school and student access to law school, including the impact of such 
requirements on racial and ethnic minorities.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2008 through 2013.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 15, 2007.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
110th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 916

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To provide for loan repayment for prosecutors and public defenders.