[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5588 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5588

 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for deferment on 
   the repayment of loans for borrowers who are victims of sex-based 
                  harassment, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 2023

    Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania (for herself, Mr. Evans, Ms. Moore of 
 Wisconsin, Ms. Pressley, Mrs. Hayes, Mrs. Peltola, Ms. Crockett, Ms. 
Ross, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Escobar, and Mr. Mullin) 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 provide for deferment on 
   the repayment of loans for borrowers who are victims of sex-based 
                  harassment, 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 ``Student Loan Deferment for Sex-Based 
Harassment Survivors Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFERMENT FOR VICTIMS OF SEX-BASED HARASSMENT.

    Section 455(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087e(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (C);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (D) and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) not in excess of 3 years (for 1 or more 
                periods of not less than 3 months and not more than 12 
                months), beginning on the date on which the borrower--
                            ``(i) ceases to carry at least one-half the 
                        normal full-time work load for the course of 
                        study that the borrower is pursuing, as 
                        determined by the eligible institution (as such 
                        term is defined in section 435(a)) the borrower 
                        is attending; and
                            ``(ii) submits documentation to the 
                        Secretary showing that the borrower reported to 
                        a covered individual that the borrower was a 
                        victim of sex-based harassment (regardless of 
                        whether institutional findings were made 
                        regarding that harassment).''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Definitions regarding sex-based harassment.--For 
        purposes of paragraph (2)(E)--
                    ``(A) the term `covered individual' means--
                            ``(i) the title IX coordinator at the 
                        institution (within the meaning of section 
                        106.8 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, 
                        or successor regulations);
                            ``(ii) another title IX official or 
                        administrator at the institution; or
                            ``(iii) a health care provider; and
                    ``(B) the term `sex-based harassment' means--
                            ``(i) sexual harassment, as defined in 
                        paragraph (1) or (2) of section 106.30(a) of 
                        title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 
                        effect on September 30, 2023);
                            ``(ii) dating violence, domestic violence, 
                        or stalking, as those terms are defined in 
                        section 485(f)(6)(A)(i); or
                            ``(iii) sexual assault, as that term is 
                        defined in section 485(f)(6)(A)(v).''.

SEC. 3. RETURN OF FUNDS WAIVER.

    Section 484B(b)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1091b(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) Waivers of grant assistance and loan 
                repayment by students who are victims of sex-based 
                harassment.--In addition to the waivers authorized by 
                subparagraphs (D) and (E), the Secretary may waive the 
                amounts that students are required to return under this 
                section with respect to any grant assistance (including 
                Federal Pell Grants) or loans made under this title if 
                the withdrawals on which the returns are based are 
                withdrawals by students--
                            ``(i) whose attendance was interrupted due 
                        to being a victim of sex-based harassment (as 
                        such term is defined in section 455(f)(6)); and
                            ``(ii) in the case of students who, in the 
                        absence of this subparagraph, would have been 
                        required to return loans made under this title, 
                        who are receiving a deferment under section 
                        455(f)(2)(E) on such loans.''.

SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Education shall prepare and submit to Congress a report 
that includes an evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities 
established under this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, 
including opportunities for increased program integrity.
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