[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5568 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5568

 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of 
Education to award interest-free student loans to certain students, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 2014

 Mr. Castro of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
            to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of 
Education to award interest-free student loans to certain students, 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 ``B-On-Time Student Loan Relief Act of 
2014''.

SEC. 2. B-ON-TIME LOANS AND LOAN FORGIVENESS.

    Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new part:

                       ``PART J--B-ON-TIME LOANS

``SEC. 499A. LOAN REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a program to--
            ``(1) award loans with an applicable rate of interest of 
        zero to eligible students for study at an institution of higher 
        education; and
            ``(2) forgive the outstanding principal on such loans 
        awarded to students who meet the requirements of subsection 
        (c).
    ``(b) Student Eligibility for Loans.--To be eligible to receive a 
loan under subsection (a)(1), a student shall meet any requirements 
that the Secretary may require, which shall include requirements that 
the student--
            ``(1)(A) has graduated on or after the 2013-2014 school 
        year from a secondary school in the United States or a 
        secondary school operated by the Department of Defense, or its 
        equivalent; or
            ``(B) has earned an associate's degree from an institution 
        of higher education on or after May 1, 2013;
            ``(2) has not earned a bachelor's degree;
            ``(3) is enrolled as a full-time student in an 
        undergraduate degree or certificate program at an institution 
        of higher education; and
            ``(4) has completed a FAFSA and meets the requirements of 
        section 484(a).
    ``(c) Student Eligibility for Loan Forgiveness.--To be eligible to 
receive loan forgiveness under subsection (a)(2), a student shall meet 
any requirements that the Secretary may require, which shall include 
requirements that the student--
            ``(1) receives a bachelor's degree within a set timeframe, 
        as determined by the Secretary;
            ``(2) while enrolled at the program of study at an 
        institution of higher education for which the student received 
        a loan under subsection (a)(1)--
                    ``(A) has maintained a certain grade point average; 
                or
                    ``(B) has majored in a science, technology, 
                engineering, or mathematics field; and
            ``(3) meets any other requirements as determined by the 
        Secretary.
    ``(d) Priority.--The Secretary shall award loans under subsection 
(a)(1) and grant loan forgiveness under subsection (a)(2) on a first-
come, first-served basis, and subject to the availability of 
appropriations.
    ``(e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to prohibit a student from applying for other financial 
assistance under this title.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary 
for fiscal year 2015 and each succeeding fiscal year through fiscal 
year 2024.''.
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