[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2385 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2385

     To provide Federal Perkins Loan cancellation to fire fighters.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 16, 2007

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To provide Federal Perkins Loan cancellation to fire fighters.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Fire fighters provide an immeasurable service to the 
        Nation, putting their lives, health, and safety on the line 
        every day to protect communities and citizens from everyday 
        emergencies and large-scale disasters.
            (2) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 78 
        percent of fire fighters age twenty-five to forty-four have 
        pursued a higher education.
            (3) As modern fire fighter responsibilities have become 
        increasingly complex and more dependent on advanced technology, 
        achieving a highly educated fire service will enable fire 
        fighters to carry out a safe and effective response.
            (4) According to the International City/County Management 
        Association, the national average entrance salary for full-time 
        fire fighters is $34,688, while the average maximum salary is 
        $47,386.
            (5) The rising cost of college education, combined with the 
        relatively low wages earned by fire fighters, makes it 
        difficult for many full-time fire fighters to afford student 
        loan debt.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL PERKINS LOANS.

    Section 465(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087ee(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (H), by striking ``or'' after 
                the semicolon;
                    (B) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by inserting before the matter following 
                subparagraph (I) the following:
                    ``(J) as a full-time employee in fire protection 
                activities, as described in section 3(y) of the Fair 
                Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(y)), but 
                including a full-time employee in fire protection 
                activities of a Federal department or agency (as well 
                as an employee of a State, municipality, county, or 
                fire district).''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3)(A)(i), by striking ``or (I)'' and 
        inserting ``(I), or (J)''.
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