[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1507 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1507

To incentivize State support for postsecondary education and to promote 
 increased access and affordability for higher education for students, 
                      including Dreamer students.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 2015

    Mr. Polis (for himself and Mr. Castro of Texas) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To incentivize State support for postsecondary education and to promote 
 increased access and affordability for higher education for students, 
                      including Dreamer students.

    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 ``Investing in States to Achieve 
Tuition Equality for Dreamers Act of 2015'' or ``IN STATE Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that 
        comprehensive immigration reform would reduce the national 
        deficit by billions, strengthen Social Security solvency, 
        increase the number of jobs, and raise Gross Domestic Product.
            (2) According to a report by the Partnership for a New 
        American Economy, in 2010 more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 
        companies were founded by immigrants or their children, 
        generating a combined revenue of $4,200,000,000,000.
            (3) Thousands of deferred action childhood arrival students 
        graduate from high schools in the United States every year but 
        only a small fraction of those students enroll in higher 
        education.
            (4) Many jobs in the 21st century economy require some form 
        of postsecondary education.
            (5) Education provides an important pathway to the middle 
        class; college graduates have higher earnings and lower 
        unemployment rates than their less educated peers.
            (6) Since 2008, States are spending 28 percent less per 
        student in higher education, and tuition and fees continue to 
        rise. The increased costs are being shifted to students and 
        student loan debt continues to grow.
            (7) Investments in higher education provide youth a ladder 
        to achieving the American dream.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) allow States to provide immigrant students timely and 
        affordable access to higher education;
            (2) incentivize States to maintain support for higher 
        education; and
            (3) promote increased access and affordability to 
        postsecondary education for students through State need-based 
        financial aid.

SEC. 3. AMERICAN DREAM GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--Subpart 4 of part A of title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070c et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``SEC. 415G. AMERICAN DREAM GRANTS.

    ``(a) Dreamer Students.--
            ``(1) In general.--In this section, the term `Dreamer 
        student' means an individual who--
                    ``(A) was younger than 16 years of age on the date 
                on which the individual initially entered the United 
                States;
                    ``(B) has provided a list of each secondary school 
                (as that term is defined in section 9101 of the 
                Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) that 
                the student attended in the United States; and
                    ``(C)(i) has earned a high school diploma or a 
                commensurate alternative award from a public or private 
                high school or secondary school, has obtained a general 
                education development certificate recognized under 
                State law, has obtained a high school equivalency 
                diploma in the United States, or is scheduled to 
                complete the requirements for such a credential before 
                the next academic year begins;
                    ``(ii) has acquired a degree from an institution of 
                higher education or has completed not less than 2 
                years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor's 
                degree or higher degree in the United States;
                    ``(iii) has served in the uniformed services for 
                not less than 4 years and, if discharged, received an 
                honorable discharge; or
                    ``(iv) is a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for 
                Childhood Arrivals program pursuant to the memoranda 
                issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security on June 
                15, 2012, or November 20, 2014.
            ``(2) Hardship exception.--The Secretary shall issue 
        regulations that direct when a State shall waive the 
        requirement of subparagraph (A) or (B), or both, of paragraph 
        (1) to qualify as a Dreamer student under paragraph (1), if the 
        individual--
                    ``(A) demonstrates compelling circumstances for the 
                inability to satisfy the requirement of such 
                subparagraph (A) or (B), or both; and
                    ``(B) satisfies the requirement under subparagraph 
                (C) of paragraph (1).
    ``(b) Grants to States.--
            ``(1) Reservation for administration.--From the amounts 
        appropriated to carry out this section for each fiscal year, 
        the Secretary may reserve not more than 1 percent of such 
        amounts to administer this section.
            ``(2) Grants authorized to eligible states.--From the 
        amounts appropriated to carry out this section for each fiscal 
        year and not reserved under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
        award grants to eligible States to enable the States to carry 
        out the activities described in this section.
            ``(3) Eligibility.--A State is eligible to receive a grant 
        under this section if the State--
                    ``(A) increases access and affordability to higher 
                education for students by--
                            ``(i) offering in-State tuition for Dreamer 
                        students; or
                            ``(ii) expanding in-State financial aid to 
                        Dreamer students; and
                    ``(B) submits an application to the Secretary that 
                contains an assurance that--
                            ``(i) the State has made significant 
                        progress establishing a longitudinal data 
                        system that includes the elements described in 
                        section 6201(e)(2)(D) of the America COMPETES 
                        Act (20 U.S.C. 9871(e)(2)(D)); and
                            ``(ii) notwithstanding any other provision 
                        of law, the State will not discriminate, in 
                        awarding student financial assistance or 
                        determining who is eligible for in-State 
                        tuition, against a Dreamer student if the 
                        student would otherwise be eligible for in-
                        State financial aid.
            ``(4) Allotments.--The Secretary shall allot the amount 
        appropriated to carry out this section for each fiscal year and 
        not reserved under paragraph (1) among the eligible States in 
        proportion to the number of Dreamer students enrolled at least 
        half-time in postsecondary education who reside in the State 
        for the most recent fiscal year for which satisfactory data are 
        available, compared to the number of such students who reside 
        in all eligible States for that fiscal year.
    ``(c) Supplement Not Supplant.--Grant funds awarded under this 
section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal 
funds that would otherwise be used for activities authorized under this 
section.
    ``(d) Authorization and Appropriation of Funds.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated, and there are appropriated, to carry out 
this section--
            ``(1) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2015;
            ``(2) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2016;
            ``(3) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2017;
            ``(4) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2018;
            ``(5) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2019;
            ``(6) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2020;
            ``(7) $85,000,000 for fiscal year 2021;
            ``(8) $85,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
            ``(9) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; and
            ``(10) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024.''.
    (b) Offset.--Section 281 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1351) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The fees'' and inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--The fees'';
            (2) by striking ``: Provided, That nonimmigrant visas'' and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(b) United Nations Visitors.--Nonimmigrant visas'';
            (3) by striking ``Subject to'' and inserting the following:
    ``(c) Fee Waivers or Reductions.--Subject to''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) F-1 Visa Fee.--In addition to the fees authorized under 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall collect a $150 
fee from each nonimmigrant admitted under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i), 
which fee shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.''.
    (c) Restoration of State Option To Determine Residency for Purposes 
of Higher Education.--
            (1) Repeal.--Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform 
        and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623) is 
        repealed.
            (2) Effective date.--The repeal under paragraph (1) shall 
        take effect as if included in the original enactment of the 
        Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 
        1996 (division C of Public Law 104-208).
    (d) Naturalization.--Section 328(a) (8 U.S.C. 1439(a)) is amended 
by inserting ``, without having been lawfully admitted to the United 
States for permanent residence, and'' after ``naturalized''.
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