[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4245 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4245
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reduce the complexity and
length of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 9, 2019
Mrs. McBath (for herself and Mr. Garcia of Illinois) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reduce the complexity and
length of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
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 ``HOPE (Heightening Opportunities for
Pathways to Education) for FAFSA Act''.
SEC. 2. EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION.
(a) Data Elements.--Section 474(b) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087nn(b)) is amended in paragraph (4), by inserting
before ``the net'' the following: ``only in the case of a pathway three
applicant,''.
(b) Dependent Students.--Section 475 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087oo)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(3), by inserting before ``the
student'' the following: ``only in the case of a pathway three
applicant,'';
(2) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by inserting before ``the
parents''' the following: ``only in the case of a pathway three
applicant,''; and
(3) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ``award period'' and
inserting ``award year''.
(c) Independent Students Without Dependents Other Than a Spouse.--
Section 476(a)(1)(B) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087pp(a)(1)(B)) is amended
by inserting before ``the family's contribution'' the following: ``only
in the case of a pathway three applicant,''.
(d) Independent Students With Dependents Other Than a Spouse.--
Section 477(a)(1)(B) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087qq(a)(1)(B)) is amended
by inserting before ``the family's contribution'' the following: ``only
in the case of a pathway three applicant,''.
SEC. 3. ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION.
Section 479 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ss)
is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 479. ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall consider an applicant to
have an expected family contribution equal to zero if--
``(1) in the case of a dependent student--
``(A)(i) the student's parents are not required to
file--
``(I) a Federal income tax return;
or
``(II) with respect to Internal
Revenue Service Form 1040, any of the
following forms: Schedule A, Schedule
B, Schedule C, Schedule C-EZ, Schedule
D, Schedule E, Schedule F, Schedule H,
Schedule J, and Schedule SE; and
``(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross income
of the parents is less than or equal to
$34,000; or
``(B) the student's parents, or the student,
received a benefit at some time during the previous 24-
month period under a means-tested Federal benefit
program;
``(2) in the case of an independent student without regard
to whether the student has dependents other than a spouse--
``(A)(i) the student (and the student's spouse, if
any) certifies--
``(I) that the student (and the
student's spouse, if any)--
``(aa) is not required to
file a Federal income tax
return; or
``(bb) with respect to
Internal Revenue Service Form
1040, any of the following
forms: Schedule A, Schedule B,
Schedule C, Schedule C-EZ,
Schedule D, Schedule E,
Schedule F, Schedule H,
Schedule J, and Schedule SE;
and
``(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross income
of the student and spouse (if appropriate) is
less than or equal to $34,000; or
``(B) the student received a benefit at some time
during the previous 24-month period under a means-
tested Federal benefit program; or
``(3) the applicant is a pathway one applicant under
section 483(a)(13).
``(b) Earned Income Credit.--An individual is not required to
qualify or file for the earned income credit in order to be eligible
under this section.
``(c) Adjustments.--The Secretary shall annually adjust the income
level necessary to qualify an applicant for the zero expected family
contribution. The income level shall be annually increased by the
estimated percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, as defined in
section 478(f), for the most recent calendar year ending prior to the
beginning of an award year, and rounded up to the nearest $1,000.
``(d) Means-Tested Federal Benefit Program Defined.--For purposes
of this paragraph, a `means-tested Federal benefit program' means a
mandatory spending program of the Federal Government, other than a
program under this title, in which eligibility for the program's
benefits, or the amount of such benefits, are determined on the basis
of income or resources of the individual or family seeking the benefit,
and may include such programs as--
``(1) the supplemental security income program under title
XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.);
``(2) the supplemental nutrition assistance program under
the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), a
nutrition assistance program carried out under section 19 of
such Act (7 U.S.C. 2028), and a supplemental nutrition
assistance program carried out under section 1841(c) of title
48 of the United States Code;
``(3) the program of block grants for States for temporary
assistance for needy families established under part A of title
IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
``(4) the special supplemental nutrition program for women,
infants, and children established by section 17 of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786);
``(5) the State Medicaid program under title XIX of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); and
``(6) any other program identified by the Secretary.''.
SEC. 4. FAFSA PATHWAYS.
Section 483(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(13) FAFSA pathways.--
``(A) Memorandum of understanding.--Not later than
the first day of the first award year beginning after
the first October after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary shall seek to enter into a
Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, the Secretary of
Agriculture, and the Secretary of the Treasury, under
which any information exchanged under an income and
eligibility verification system established pursuant to
section 1137 of the Social Security Act by State
agencies administering a program listed in paragraph
(1), (4), or (5) of subsection (b) of such section
which may be of use in establishing or verifying
eligibility or benefit amounts under such program shall
be made available to the Secretary of Education to
assist in determining whether the applicant (or, in the
case of a dependent applicant, whether the applicant or
the applicant's parents) received a benefit at some
time during the previous 24-month period under a means-
tested Federal benefit program, but subject to the
requirements of Federal law.
``(B) Requirement for all applicants and the
secretary.--For any award year for which an applicant
applies for financial assistance under this title--
``(i) the applicant shall provide on the
form described in this subsection whether the
applicant received (or, in the case of a
dependent applicant, whether the applicant or
the parents of the applicant received) a
benefit at some time during the previous 24-
month period under a means-tested Federal
benefit program; and
``(ii) the Secretary, to the extent
practicable and pursuant to the Memorandum of
Understanding entered into under subparagraph
(A), and without any further action by the
applicant, shall verify the applicant's (or, in
the case of a dependent applicant, the
applicant's or the applicant's parents) receipt
of such benefit.
``(C) Pathway one applicants.--
``(i) In general.--With respect to an
applicant who received (or, in the case of a
dependent applicant, an applicant who received
or whose parents received) a benefit at some
time during the previous 24-month period under
a means-tested Federal benefit program, the
applicant shall not be required to provide any
further income or asset information on the form
under this subsection.
``(ii) Designation.--For purposes of this
section and part F, an applicant described in
clause (i) shall be referred to as a `pathway
one applicant'.
``(D) Pathway two applicants.--
``(i) In general.--With respect to an
applicant who is not a pathway one applicant
and is described in clause (ii), the Secretary,
to the extent practicable, shall use the data
retrieval tool under section 484(q) to obtain
any information for the applicant beyond the
information described in subparagraph (A) for
purposes of the form under this subsection.
``(ii) Requirements.--An applicant
described in this clause is an applicant who
certifies that--
``(I) the applicant is not required
to file or, in the case of a dependent
applicant, no parent of the applicant
is required to file--
``(aa) a Federal income tax
return; or
``(bb) with respect to
Internal Revenue Service Form
1040, any of the following
forms: Schedule A, Schedule B,
Schedule C, Schedule C-EZ,
Schedule D, Schedule E,
Schedule F, Schedule H,
Schedule J, and Schedule SE;
and
``(II) the sum of the adjusted
gross income of the applicant or, in
the case of a dependent applicant, the
parents of the applicant, is less than
or equal to $60,000.
``(iii) Designation.--For purposes of this
section and part F, an applicant described in
clause (i) shall be referred to as a `pathway
two applicant'.
``(E) Pathway three applicants.--
``(i) In general.--With respect to an
applicant who is not a pathway one applicant or
a pathway two applicant, the Secretary, to the
extent practicable, shall use the data
retrieval tool under section 484(q) to obtain
any information for the applicant beyond the
information described in subparagraph (A) for
purposes of the form under this subsection.
``(ii) Designation.--For purposes of this
section and part F, an applicant described in
clause (i) shall be referred to as a `pathway
three applicant'.
``(F) Means-tested federal benefit program
defined.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term
`means-tested Federal benefit program' has the meaning
given the term in section 479(d).''.
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