[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 900 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 900

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 7, 2017

   Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Reed, Mr. Franken, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. 
Markey, Mr. Heinrich, and Ms. Klobuchar) 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.

    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) Effective for the 2018-2019 award year and each award year 
thereafter, the Secretary shall award an eligible student a total of 
not more than 1\1/2\ Federal Pell Grants during a single award year to 
permit such student to work toward completion of an eligible program 
if, during that single award year, the student--
            ``(i) has received a Federal Pell Grant for the award year 
        and is enrolled in an eligible program for one or more 
        additional payment periods during the same award year that are 
        not otherwise fully covered by the student's Federal Pell 
        Grant; and
            ``(ii) is enrolled on at least a half-time basis while 
        receiving any funds under this section.
    ``(B) In the case of a student receiving more than one Federal Pell 
Grant in a single award year under subparagraph (A), the total amount 
of the Federal Pell Grants awarded to such student for the award year 
may exceed the maximum Federal Pell Grant available for an award year.
    ``(C) Any period of study covered by a Federal Pell Grant awarded 
under subparagraph (A) 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, as it determines is most beneficial to students.''.
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