[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5489 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5489

   To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to create the Pell Plus 
                                program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 14, 2023

    Mr. Joyce of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Peters, and Mr. 
 Fitzpatrick) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to create the Pell Plus 
                                program.

    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 ``Pell Plus Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. PELL PLUS PROGRAM.

    Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a), 
as amended by section 703 of the FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII of 
division FF of Public Law 116-260), is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(k) Pell Plus Program.--
            ``(1) Program established.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Beginning with award year 2025-
                2026, for each award year for which a student receives 
                a Federal Pell Grant and meets the requirements of 
                paragraph (2), the Secretary shall award such student 
                an additional Federal Pell Grant, referred to as a 
                `Federal Pell Plus Grant', in an amount equal to the 
                amount of the student's Federal Pell Grant award 
                determined under this section for such award year, 
                except as provided in subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Cost of attendance reductions.--In any case 
                in which a student is awarded a Federal Pell Grant 
                under this section and a Federal Pell Plus grant under 
                this subsection, the combined total of such Federal 
                Pell Grant, such Federal Pell Plus Grant, and the 
                amount provided by a Pell Plus institution in 
                accordance with paragraph (4)(B)(i)(II)(aa) shall not 
                exceed the cost of attendance (as defined in section 
                472) at the institution at which that student is in 
                attendance. In the case that such combined total would 
                exceed such cost of attendance, the Secretary shall 
                reduce the amount of the Federal Pell Plus grant 
                awarded to the student, taking into consideration the 
                corresponding reduction in the amount provided by a 
                Pell Plus institution in accordance with paragraph 
                (4)(B)(i)(II)(aa) as a result of the reduced Federal 
                Pell Plus grant amount, until the combined total of 
                such reduced Federal Pell Plus Grant, such reduced 
                amount provided by a Pell Plus institution in 
                accordance with paragraph (4)(B)(i)(II)(aa), and the 
                Federal Pell Grant award of the student does not exceed 
                such cost of attendance.
    ``(2) Student Eligibility.--A student meets the requirements of 
this paragraph, if the student--
            ``(A) during the award year during which the student 
        receives a Federal Pell Plus Grant under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(i) is enrolled--
                            ``(I) in the student's first undergraduate 
                        baccalaureate course of study; and
                            ``(II) at a Pell Plus institution; and
                    ``(ii) is maintaining progress toward completion of 
                such course of study in not more than a total of 4 
                academic years; and
            ``(B) has completed at least 4 semesters, or the 
        equivalent, of such course of study.
    ``(3) Duration Limits.--The period during which a student receives 
a Federal Pell Plus Grant under paragraph (1) shall be included in 
calculating the duration limits with respect to such student under 
subsection (d)(5), and to the extent that such period was a fraction of 
a semester or the equivalent, only that same fraction of such semester 
or equivalent shall count towards such duration limits.
    ``(4) Pell Plus Institutional Eligibility.--For purposes of this 
subsection, a Pell Plus institution is an eligible institution for 
purposes of this subpart that--
            ``(A) notifies the Secretary that the institution desires 
        to participate in the program under this subsection;
            ``(B) agrees to provide, to each student receiving a 
        Federal Pell Plus Grant under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(i) for each award year for which the student 
                receives such Federal Pell Plus Grant--
                            ``(I) a notification that shall include--
                                    ``(aa) whether the student is 
                                maintaining the progress toward 
                                completion required under paragraph 
                                (2)(A)(ii);
                                    ``(bb) in a case in which the 
                                student is not maintaining such 
                                progress toward completion, a list of 
                                available student support services and 
                                additional resources to assist the 
                                student in completing the course of 
                                study for which the student is 
                                receiving the Federal Pell Plus Grant 
                                in not more than a total of 4 academic 
                                years; and
                                    ``(cc) the amount of funds the 
                                student is receiving under the Federal 
                                Pell Plus Grant and from the 
                                institution under subclause (II)(aa); 
                                and
                            ``(II) an amount of funds--
                                    ``(aa) equal to the amount of such 
                                Federal Pell Plus Grant received by the 
                                student for such award year; and
                                    ``(bb) using the non-Federal 
                                resources of the institution, such as--
                                            ``(AA) an institutional 
                                        grant or scholarship;
                                            ``(BB) through a tuition or 
                                        fee waiver; or
                                            ``(CC) foundation or other 
                                        charitable organization funds; 
                                        and
                    ``(ii) in the case of a student who, as of the 
                beginning of the third academic year of the course of 
                study for which the student is receiving the Federal 
                Pell Plus Grant, is not maintaining the progress toward 
                completion required under paragraph (2)(A)(ii), a 
                warning during such third academic year that the 
                student will not be eligible for a Federal Pell Plus 
                Grant under paragraph (1) for the fourth academic year 
                of such course of study unless the student 
                demonstrates, by not later than the end of such third 
                academic year, progress toward completing such course 
                of study by the end of the fourth academic year of such 
                course of study; and
            ``(C) in the case of an institution that provides 
        institutional grant or scholarship aid to a student for the 
        academic year preceding the academic year for which the student 
        receives a Federal Pell Plus Grant under paragraph (1), agrees 
        to provide the amount of such institutional grant or 
        scholarship aid for any academic year for which the student 
        receives such Federal Pell Plus Grant that the institution 
        would have provided to such student in the absence of such 
        Federal Pell Plus Grant, except that such amount of aid may be 
        reduced to ensure that the combined amount of such aid, and the 
        Federal Pell Plus Grant, the amount under subparagraph 
        (B)(i)(II)(aa), and the Federal Pell Grant award provided to 
        the student does not exceed the cost of attendance (as defined 
        in section 472) at such institution for such academic year; and
            ``(D) the Secretary determines meets the requirements of 
        this paragraph.''.

SEC. 3. INFORMATION DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Amendment.--Section 485(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (U); and
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (V) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(W) in the case of an institution that is a Pell 
                Plus institution under section 401(k), any applicable 
                information with respect to the institution's 
                participation in the Federal Pell Plus Grant program 
                under such subsection.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect with respect to award year 2025-2026 and each succeeding 
award year.
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