[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3124 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3124

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for no accrual of 
  interest on Federal Direct Loans for individuals employed in public 
                                service.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 25, 2018

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for no accrual of 
  interest on Federal Direct Loans for individuals employed in public 
                                service.

    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 ``Help Encourage a Lifetime of Public 
Service Act''.

SEC. 2. INTEREST WAIVER FOR INDIVIDUALS EMPLOYED IN PUBLIC SERVICE.

    (a) In General.--Section 455 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1087e) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (n), (o), (p), and (q), as 
        subsections (o), (p), (q), and (r), respectively;
            (2) in subsection (m)(3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' after 
                        the semicolon;
                            (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the period 
                        at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iii) volunteer work as a qualified 
                        volunteer first responder (as defined in 
                        subsection (n)(7)); or
                            ``(iv) a full-time job as an employee or 
                        manager of a qualified farm or ranch.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Qualified farm or ranch.--The term `qualified 
                farm or ranch' means, with respect to a year, a farm or 
                ranch whose earnings of gross revenue during the year 
                from the sale of agricultural products are equal to or 
                greater than--
                            ``(i) in the case of 2019, $35,000; or
                            ``(ii) in the case of any succeeding year, 
                        the amount applicable under this subparagraph 
                        for the previous year increased by the 
                        estimated percentage change in the Consumer 
                        Price Index (as determined by the Secretary, 
                        using the definition in section 478(f)) for the 
                        most recent year preceding such year.''; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (m) the following:
    ``(n) Interest Waiver for Individuals Employed in Public Service.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this part, interest shall not accrue for an eligible public 
        servant on a loan made under this part for which the first 
        disbursement is made on or after the date of enactment of the 
        Help Encourage a Lifetime of Public Service Act.
            ``(2) Consolidation loans.--In the case of any 
        consolidation loan made under this part that is disbursed on or 
        after the date of enactment of the Help Encourage a Lifetime of 
        Public Service Act, interest shall not accrue pursuant to this 
        subsection only on such portion of such loan as was used to 
        repay a loan made under this part for which the first 
        disbursement is made on or after the date of enactment of the 
        Help Encourage a Lifetime of Public Service Act.
            ``(3) Annual certification.--Not later than 120 days after 
        the date of enactment of the Help Encourage a Lifetime of 
        Public Service Act, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) prescribe regulations that require an 
                eligible public servant to annually certify through an 
                employment certification form the individual's 
                employment in a public service job in order to receive 
                the interest waiver described in paragraph (1); and
                    ``(B) to the maximum extent practicable, streamline 
                the process described in subparagraph (A) with the 
                process borrowers use to certify employment to qualify 
                for loan cancellation under subsection (m).
            ``(4) Alignment of deadlines.--In carrying out this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, align the borrower's deadline for annual 
        employment certification under this subsection with the 
        deadline for participation under the income contingent 
        repayment plans or income-based repayment plans to reduce the 
        burden on the borrower.
            ``(5) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate, after 
        consultation with public safety organizations, regulations to 
        carry out this subsection, including regulations relating to--
                    ``(A) the minimum volunteer time required for a 
                qualified volunteer first responder to be treated as an 
                individual employed in a full-time job for purposes of 
                this subsection; and
                    ``(B) the process of tracking and verifying that 
                volunteer time.
            ``(6) Engagement of public safety organizations.--The 
        Secretary shall develop a plan regarding how the Department 
        will--
                    ``(A) disseminate information and raise awareness 
                about eligibility for qualified volunteer first 
                responders for the interest waiver under this 
                subsection; and
                    ``(B) engage qualified volunteer first responders 
                and public safety organizations in the process of 
                tracking and verifying volunteer hours for purposes of 
                this subsection.
            ``(7) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Eligible public servant.--The term `eligible 
                public servant' means an individual who--
                            ``(i) is employed in a public service job;
                            ``(ii) is a qualified volunteer first 
                        responder; or
                            ``(iii) has a full-time job as an employee 
                        or manager of a qualified farm or ranch (as 
                        defined in subsection (m)(3)(C)).
                    ``(B) Public safety organization.--The term `public 
                safety organization' means any State, local, or tribal 
                governmental agency or nonprofit organization that has 
                the principal purpose of protecting the safety of life, 
                health, or property.
                    ``(C) Public service job.--The term `public service 
                job' has the meaning given the term in subsection 
                (m)(3)(B).
                    ``(D) Qualified volunteer first responder.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The term `qualified 
                        volunteer first responder' means an individual 
                        who volunteers to perform services on not less 
                        than the basis determined by the Secretary 
                        under clause (ii) for a public safety 
                        organization (which may include firefighters, 
                        law enforcement officers, emergency medical 
                        personnel, or other first responders to 
                        emergencies) and is certified as a firefighter, 
                        law enforcement officer, emergency medical 
                        services provider, or other responder in the 
                        State, unit of general local government, Indian 
                        tribe, or nonprofit organization in which the 
                        individual serves and receives no compensation 
                        for such service or is paid expenses, 
                        reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee to 
                        perform the services.
                            ``(ii) Full-time employment for volunteer 
                        first responders.--The Secretary shall--
                                    ``(I) determine the minimum 
                                volunteer time required for a qualified 
                                volunteer first responder to be treated 
                                as an individual employed in a full-
                                time job for purposes of this 
                                subsection and subsection (m); and
                                    ``(II) ensure that such minimum 
                                volunteer time is not less than the 
                                amount of volunteer time that is 
                                required for the qualified volunteer 
                                first responder to be considered an 
                                active member of the relevant public 
                                safety organization.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 428C of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-3) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(3)(B)(i)(V)(cc), by striking 
        ``section 455(o)'' and inserting ``section 455(p)''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ``section 455(o)'' 
        and inserting ``section 455(p)''.
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