[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4343 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4343
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of
Education to publish requirements for financial aid offers to be
provided by institutions of higher education to enrolled and
prospective students, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 17, 2019
Mrs. Trahan (for herself and Mr. Smucker) 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 direct the Secretary of
Education to publish requirements for financial aid offers to be
provided by institutions of higher education to enrolled and
prospective students, 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 ``Financial Aid Communication and
Transparency Act of 2019'' or the ``FACT Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. FINANCIAL AID OFFERS.
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(n) Financial Aid Offers.--
``(1) Requirements for offers.--
``(A) Secretarial requirements.--Not later than 18
months after the date of enactment of the Financial Aid
Communication and Transparency Act of 2019 the
Secretary shall, based on the consumer testing
conducted under subparagraph (E), publish requirements
for financial aid offers that shall--
``(i) include a requirement that financial
aid offers shall serve as the primary source
for Federal, State, and institutional financial
aid information provided by an institution of
higher education participating in any program
under this title to each prospective student
accepted for admission and each enrolled
student at such institution;
``(ii) include a requirement that such
offers include a standardized quick reference
box described in subparagraph (D);
``(iii) establish standardized terms and
definitions, including for the elements listed
in subparagraph (C), that shall be included in
each such offer;
``(iv) establish formatting requirements
with respect to the organization of the
elements listed in subparagraph (C), which
shall include, at a minimum, a requirement that
prohibits such offers from displaying loans in
a manner that indicates or implies that such
loans reduce the amount owed to the institution
or reduce the net price; and
``(v) specify the simple, plain-language,
and consumer-friendly information to be
included in each such offer with respect to the
financial aid being offered to a student, which
shall include--
``(I) an explanation of differences
among each such type of financial aid,
including clear explanations that--
``(aa) grants and
scholarships do not have to be
repaid;
``(bb) loans (including
loans made under part D and
private education loans (as
defined in section 140 of the
Truth in Lending Act)) must be
repaid with interest; and
``(cc) payments under
Federal work-study programs
under part C are contingent on
finding qualified employment
and are typically disbursed
incrementally in paychecks;
``(II) information clarifying that
students may--
``(aa) decline to accept a
loan made under part D; or
``(bb) accept an amount of
such loan that is less than the
amount of such loan included in
the financial aid offer; and
``(III) in a case in which the
institution offers a student such a
loan in an amount that is less than the
maximum amount for which the student is
eligible, an explanation that the
student is eligible for additional
loans under part D.
``(B) Institutional requirements.--Beginning with
the award year that begins not less than 1 year after
the Secretary publishes requirements under subparagraph
(A), each institution of higher education described in
subparagraph (A)(i) shall provide a financial aid offer
to each student described in such subparagraph prior to
each academic year that--
``(i) shall comply with the requirements
published by the Secretary under subparagraph
(A); and
``(ii) may be supplemented by the
institution with additional, non-contradictory
information related to financial aid as long as
such supplementary information uses the
standardized terms and definitions described in
subparagraph (A)(iii).
``(C) Elements.--A financial aid offer provided by
an institution of higher education shall include the
following elements with respect to the academic year
for which the offer is being provided:
``(i) The cost of attendance, which shall
include separately calculated subtotals of--
``(I) an itemized list of estimated
direct costs owed to the institution;
and
``(II) an itemized list of
anticipated student expenses not
covered under subclause (I).
``(ii) Federal, State, and institutional
financial aid available to the student, which
shall include separately calculated subtotals
of--
``(I) grants and scholarships;
``(II) loans made under part D
(excluding Federal Direct Parent PLUS
Loans); and
``(III) Federal work-study programs
under part C and other on-campus
employment.
``(iii) Other options that may be available
to students to cover the cost of attendance
(including Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans,
tuition payment plans, savings, and earnings
from other employment).
``(iv) The net price, which shall be
determined by calculating the difference
between--
``(I) the cost of attendance
described in clause (i); and
``(II) the grants and scholarships
described in clause (ii)(I).
``(v) Next step instructions, including--
``(I) the process and deadlines for
accepting the financial aid; and
``(II) information about where to
find additional information on the
financial aid offered.
``(vi) Any other information determined
necessary by the Secretary based on the
consumer testing conducted under subparagraph
(E), which may include the following:
``(I) An estimate of the net direct
cost, which shall be determined by
calculating the difference between--
``(aa) the direct costs
owed to the institution
described in clause (i)(I); and
``(bb) the grants and
scholarships described in
clause (ii)(I).
``(II) Information on average
student debt, loan repayment and
default rates, loan repayment options,
and graduation rates.
``(III) In the case of a
prospective student, the process and
deadlines for enrolling at the
institution.
``(IV) Information regarding the
enrollment period covered by the aid
offer, and whether the cost and aid
estimates are based on full-time or
part-time enrollment.
``(D) Standardized quick reference box.--A
financial aid offer provided by an institution of
higher education shall include a standardized quick
reference box to enable students to quickly and easily
compare key information on college costs and financial
aid--
``(i) that shall be included in an
identical fashion for each student receiving a
financial aid offer from the institution on the
first page of such offer;
``(ii) the contents and structure of which
shall be developed through consumer testing
conducted under paragraph (E); and
``(iii) shall include three data elements:
``(I) Cost of attendance.
``(II) Total grants and
scholarships offered.
``(III) Net price.
``(E) Consumer testing.--The Secretary shall--
``(i) conduct consumer testing that shall
serve as the basis in determining the
requirements for financial aid offers published
under subparagraph (A), which shall include
students (including low-income students,
English learners, first generation college
students, veteran students, graduate students,
and undergraduate students (including
prospective students and returning students)),
students' families (including low-income
families, families of English learners, and
families with first generation college
students), institutions of higher education
(including representatives from two- and four-
year institutions, public and private
institutions, and minority-serving
institutions), secondary school and
postsecondary counselors, financial aid
administrators, nonprofit college access
organizations, and nonprofit consumer groups;
and
``(ii) not later than 60 days after the
publication of the requirements under
subparagraph (A)--
``(I) issue a report on the
findings of the consumer testing under
this subparagraph; and
``(II) specify ways in which the
findings are reflected in such
requirements.
``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `cost of attendance' has the meaning
given the term in section 472;
``(B) the term `English learner' has the meaning
given the term in section 8101(20) of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801(20)), except that such term does not include
individuals described in subparagraph (B) of such
section;
``(C) the term `first generation college student'
has the meaning given the term in section 402A(h);
``(D) the term `low-income student' has the meaning
given the term in section 419N(b)(7); and
``(E) the term `minority-serving institution' means
an institution of higher education described in section
371(a).''.
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