[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8332 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8332
To prohibit student loan forgiveness for certain students, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 8, 2024
Mr. Williams of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit student loan forgiveness for certain 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 ``No Student Loan Forgiveness for
Antisemitic Criminals Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Antisemitism is on the rise in the United States and is
impacting Jewish students in K-12 schools, colleges, and
universities.
(2) Jewish and Israeli students have faced physical
violence, hate-filled disruptions in the classroom and on
campus, calls from students and faculty advocating for the
elimination and destruction of Israel, and other forms of
persistent harassment.
(3) Antisemitic protests have taken over college campuses
in the United States.
(4) University administrations have failed to address these
acts of antisemitism and stop the spread of these pro-
terrorist, antisemitic protests.
(5) Violent campus protestors should not be bailed out by
irresponsible student loan forgiveness.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
2000d et seq.), prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving
Federal financial assistance;
(2) while such title does not cover discrimination based
solely on religion, individuals who face discrimination based
on actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic
characteristics do not lose protection under such title for
also being members of a group that share a common religion;
(3) discrimination against Jewish people may give rise to a
violation of such title when the discrimination is based on
race, color, or national origin, which can include
discrimination based on actual or perceived shared ancestry or
ethnic characteristics; and
(4) the Department of Education relating to ``Improving
Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal Direct
Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL)
Program'' (88 Fed. Reg. 43820 (July 10, 2023)), and such rule
shall have no force or effect.
(c) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Antisemitic activities.--The term ``antisemitic
activities'' means any actions or behaviors that discriminate
against individuals or groups based on their Jewish heritage,
religion, or ethnicity.
(2) Federal student loan forgiveness.--The term ``Federal
student loan forgiveness'' means the forgiveness of Federal
student loans under President Biden's income-driven repayment
(``IDR'') forgiveness program.
(d) Prohibition.--
(1) Any student who is arrested for engaging in antisemitic
activities at universities, in communities, or anywhere within
the United States shall be barred from receiving Federal
student loan forgiveness through President Biden's income-
driven repayment forgiveness program.
(2) This prohibition shall apply regardless of whether the
student is convicted of the charges related to antisemitic
activities.
(e) Implementation.--
(1) The Secretary of Education shall establish procedures
to identify students who have been arrested for engaging in
antisemitic activities and ensure their ineligibility for
Federal student loan forgiveness through the IDR program.
(2) The Secretary of Education shall collaborate with law
enforcement agencies, educational institutions, and relevant
stakeholders to effectively implement the provisions of this
Act.
(f) Enforcement.--
(1) Any educational institution found to knowingly provide
false information or fail to report incidents of antisemitic
activities by its students shall be subject to penalties,
including but not limited to fines and loss of all Federal
funding.
(2) The Department of Education shall conduct periodic
audits to monitor compliance with the provisions of this Act
and take appropriate enforcement actions against non-compliant
entities.
(g) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect 90 days after its
enactment into law.
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