[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7689 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7689
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide basic and
emergency supplemental living assistance grants under the student
support services program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 25, 2026
Mr. Davis of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide basic and
emergency supplemental living assistance grants under the student
support services 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 ``Earl N. Williams, Sr., First Chance
Act''.
SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL LIVING ASSISTANCE IN THE STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
PROGRAM.
Section 402D of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a-
14) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) basic and emergency supplemental living assistance
grants in accordance with subsection (f).''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Basic and Emergency Supplemental Living Assistance Grants.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out the activities required
under subsection (b)(7) with a grant received under this
section, the recipient of such grant shall provide basic and
emergency supplemental living assistance grants to assist
students who are current participants in the student support
services program offered by the institution (in this subsection
referred to as `eligible students')--
``(A) in the case of a basic supplemental living
assistance grant, in covering reasonable, anticipated
expenses necessary for the completion of an academic
year of the students' first undergraduate baccalaureate
course of study; and
``(B) in the case of an emergency supplemental
living assistance grant, in covering reasonable,
unanticipated expenses necessary for the students to
persist in college during such academic year.
``(2) Amount of grants.--The recipient may determine--
``(A) the appropriate division of the funds between
basic and emergency supplemental assistance grants,
except that funds shall be provided for both basic and
emergency grants;
``(B) the amount of each such grant and the total
grant funds that an eligible student may receive,
except that the maximum amount that a student may
receive in emergency supplemental assistance grants may
not exceed--
``(i) for academic year 2027-2028, $500;
and
``(ii) for academic year 2028-2029 and each
succeeding academic year, the maximum amount in
emergency supplemental assistance grants that a
student may receive for the preceding academic
year, as determined under this subparagraph,
increased by a percentage equal to the
estimated percentage change increase in the
Consumer Price Index (as determined by the
Secretary, using the definition in section
478(f)); and
``(C) the anticipated and unanticipated expenses
referred to in paragraph (1) that such grants will
cover based on the needs of eligible students, which--
``(i) may vary by factors including
academic year, housing, parental status,
location in urban or rural area, or other
circumstances; and
``(ii) for an individual student, may
cover--
``(I) any component of the cost of
attendance for the student;
``(II) an allowance for actual or
expected expenses incurred for
dependent care that exceeds such
expenses determined for the student
under section 472(a)(9);
``(III) an allowance for actual or
expected expenses for transportation
that exceeds such expenses determined
for the student under section 472; and
``(IV) personal items or expenses
not otherwise covered by the cost of
attendance for the student.
``(3) Percentage of total funds.--The recipient may use not
more than 2 percent of the funds awarded under this section for
grants under this subsection.
``(4) Determination of need.--A grant provided to a student
under this subsection shall not be considered in determining
that student's need for grant or work assistance under this
title, except that in no case shall the total amount of student
financial assistance awarded to a student under this title for
an academic year exceed that student's cost of attendance by
more than the maximum amount that such student may receive in
emergency supplemental assistance under paragraph (2)(B) for
such academic year.
``(5) Consultation.--In making grants to students under
this subsection, an institution shall ensure that adequate
consultation takes place between the student support service
program office and the institution's financial aid office.
``(6) Supplement, not supplant.--Funds received by a grant
recipient that are used under this subsection shall be used to
supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds expended for
student support services programs.
``(7) Funds.--For a fiscal year for which the funds
allocated for projects authorized under this section from the
amounts appropriated pursuant to the authority of section
402A(g) exceeds the funds allocated for such purpose for fiscal
year 2027, not more than 2 percent of such excess funds may be
made available for grants under this subsection.
``(8) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `cost of
attendance' has the meaning given the term in section 472.''.
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