[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1062 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1062

   To improve the Federal Pell Grant program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 22, 2015

    Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Reed, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Schumer) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To improve the Federal Pell Grant program, 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 ``Year-Round Pell Grant Restoration 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Congressional Budget Office reports on any overall 
        financial surplus or shortfall in the funding provided for the 
        Federal Pell Grant program. However, in recent years, in order 
        to meet the maximum Federal Pell Grant level with the provided 
        level of funding, Congress has made cuts to the program through 
        imposing additional eligibility requirements for Federal Pell 
        Grants and limiting the availability of year-round Federal Pell 
        Grants, causing significant uncertainty and reducing access to 
        higher education for millions of hardworking college students.
            (2) The ``traditional student'' who attends college for 4 
        years immediately after high school is now a minority of 
        college students today. Ambitious students now need more 
        flexibility to attend school year-round while juggling work 
        schedules.
            (3) Section 1860 of the Department of Defense and Full-Year 
        Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (Public Law 112-10, 125 
        Stat. 169) eliminated the provision of the Federal Pell Grant 
        program of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a et 
        seq.) that allowed more than 1 Federal Pell Grant awards per 
        year, creating significant hardship for many students trying to 
        take courses over the summer or outside the traditional school 
        calendar. Allowing students to continue to receive Federal Pell 
        Grants in successive semesters, without a gap, would reduce the 
        time needed to complete their degrees.

SEC. 3. YEAR-ROUND FEDERAL PELL GRANT STUDENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 401(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(8)(A) In this paragraph, the term `eligible student' means a 
student who--
            ``(i) has received a Federal Pell Grant for an award year 
        and is enrolled in an eligible program for 1 or more additional 
        payment periods during the same award year that are not 
        otherwise fully covered by the student's Federal Pell Grant;
            ``(ii) continues to meets all eligibility requirements to 
        receive a Federal Pell Grant under this section; and
            ``(iii) attends an institution of higher education on 
        average, not less than a half-time basis.
    ``(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, the 
Secretary shall award an additional Federal Pell Grant to an eligible 
student for the additional payment periods during an award year that 
are not otherwise fully covered by the student's Federal Pell Grant for 
the award year.
    ``(C) In the case of a student receiving more than one Federal Pell 
Grant in a single award year under subparagraph (B), the total amount 
of the Federal Pell Grants awarded to such student for the award year 
shall not exceed an amount equal to 150 percent of the total maximum 
Federal Pell Grant for such award year calculated in accordance with 
paragraph (2).
    ``(D) Any period of study covered by a Federal Pell Grant awarded 
under subparagraph (B) shall be included in determining a student's 
duration limit under subsection (c)(5).
    ``(9) In any case where an eligible student is receiving a Federal 
Pell Grant for a payment period that spans 2 award years, the Secretary 
shall allow the eligible institution in which the student is enrolled 
to determine the award year to which the additional period shall be 
assigned.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on July 1, 2015.
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