Haitian Educational Empowerment Act of 2017

Summary: Haitian Educational Empowerment Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of State to establish a scholarship program for eligible Haitian students who were enrolled as full-time students in a Haitian or U.S. university or institution of higher education and whose studies were interrupted as a result of the January 12, 2010, earthquake or the October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew. A Haitian student who receives such a scholarship shall return to Haiti upon completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree. The State Department may make grants to institutions of higher education that have enrolled a significant number of Haitian students who were enrolled as full-time students in a Haitian university at the time of such earthquake or hurricane. Such grants shall be used to provide social and educational support services.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Haitian Educational Empowerment Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti, 
        killing over 1,000 people, and directly affected 2.1 million 
        people, including the internal displacement of 175,000 and 1.4 
        million people in need of urgent humanitarian aid.
            (2) The storm damage has been estimated to be 
        $1,000,000,000, or about 11.4 percent of the gross domestic 
        product of Haiti.
            (3) Hurricane Matthew was the worst hurricane to hit Haiti 
        in over 50 years.
            (4) Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
            (5) Eighty percent of the population lives below the 
        poverty line, and approximately 45 percent of the population is 
        illiterate.
            (6) On January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck 
        the country of Haiti.
            (7) The earthquake caused massive devastation across Haiti, 
        destroying government buildings, hospitals, schools, and vital 
        aid offices, including the headquarters of the United Nations 
        mission to Haiti.
            (8) An estimated three million people were directly 
        affected by the earthquake in Haiti, nearly one-third of the 
        country's population.
            (9) Many universities suffered significant structural 
        damage, including the State University of Haiti, the country's 
        main public university, which had 80 percent of its buildings 
        destroyed.
            (10) The earthquake claimed the lives of many students and 
        several prominent academics.
            (11) Before the earthquake, at least 85 percent of Haitians 
        with a university degree left the island.
            (12) A more highly educated population is vital to Haiti's 
        long-term development.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN HAITIAN 
              STUDENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, acting through the 
Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, 
shall establish a scholarship program for Haitian students whose 
studies were interrupted as a result of the January 12, 2010, 
earthquake or the October 4, 2016, hurricane, Hurricane Matthew.
    (b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a scholarship under 
this section, a Haitian undergraduate or graduate student shall--
            (1) have been enrolled as a full-time student in a Haitian 
        university or institution of higher education in the United 
        States at the time of the January 12, 2010, earthquake or when 
        Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti on October 4, 2016; and
            (2) submit to the Assistant Secretary of State for 
        Educational and Cultural Affairs an application at such time, 
        in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Assistant Secretary may require.
    (c) Duration.--A scholarship under this section shall be awarded to 
a Haitian student for one academic year and may be renewed in 
accordance with subsection (d).
    (d) Renewal.--
            (1) In general.--A scholarship awarded under this section 
        may be renewed for an additional academic year upon 
        demonstration to the Secretary of State of satisfactory 
        academic achievement in the prior academic year.
            (2) Maximum renewals.--A scholarship awarded under this 
        section may not be renewed for more than six academic years.
    (e) Preference.--Preference in the awarding of scholarships shall 
be given to the following categories of Haitian students:
            (1) Haitian students who are studying subjects of 
        importance to Haiti's long-term social, economic, or political 
        development.
            (2) Haitian students who were enrolled in programs that 
        were forced to cease operations as a result of the January 12, 
        2010, earthquake or the October 4, 2016, hurricane, Hurricane 
        Matthew.
    (f) Return.--Upon completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree 
at an institution of higher education, a Haitian student who has 
received a scholarship under this section shall return to Haiti.
    (g) Scholarship Amount.--A scholarship awarded to a Haitian student 
under this section may not exceed an amount equal to the total costs 
related to the tuition and fees for one academic year at an institution 
of higher education in which the student is enrolled as a full-time 
student.

SEC. 4. GRANTS TO UNITED STATES COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.

    The Secretary of State, acting through the Assistant Secretary of 
State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, may make grants to 
institutions of higher education that have enrolled a significant 
number of Haitian students who have been enrolled as full-time students 
in a Haitian university at the time of the January 12, 2010, earthquake 
or the October 4, 2016, hurricane, Hurricane Matthew. Such grants shall 
be used to provide social and educational support services to such 
students.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Fees.--The term ``fees'' means--
                    (A) fees normally assessed a full-time student, as 
                determined by an institution of higher education, 
                including--
                            (i) costs for the rental or purchase of any 
                        equipment, materials, or supplies required of 
                        all students in the same course of study; and
                            (ii) an allowance for room and board at 
                        such institution; and
                    (B) travel expenses to such institution from Haiti 
                and, upon the completion of a degree at such 
                institution, from such institution to Haiti.
            (2) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001).
            (3) Scholarship.--The term ``scholarship'' means an amount 
        awarded to a Haitian student under this section that shall only 
        be used to pay costs related to the tuition and fees at the 
        institution of higher education in which the student is 
        enrolled as a full-time student.