I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4968 

To provide for the basic needs of students at institutions of higher education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 31, 2019 

Mrs. TORRES of California (for herself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. CARBAJAL, 

Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. HASTINGS, 

Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. 

CA ́RDENAS, and Mr. TAKANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To provide for the basic needs of students at institutions 

of higher education. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Basic Assistance for 

5 Students In College Act’’ or the ‘‘BASIC Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DATA SHARING. 

7 Not more than 90 days after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in coordination 

9 with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of HousVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:20 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4968.IH H4968

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1 ing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of Health 

2 and Human Services, shall develop and implement an 

3 agreement to— 

4 (1) securely share data among the respective 

5 Federal agencies of such Secretaries in order to 

6 identify students who are enrolled at institutions of 

7 higher education (as defined in section 102 of the 

8 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) 

9 (including full-time and part-time students) who 

10 may be eligible for benefits through— 

11 (A) the supplemental nutrition assistance 

12 program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 

13 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 

14 (B) the supplemental security income pro15 gram under title XVI of the Social Security Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 

17 (C) the program of block grants to States 

18 for temporary assistance for needy families 

19 under part A of title IV of the Social Security 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

21 (D) the special supplemental nutrition pro22 gram for women, infants, and children estab23 lished by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act 

24 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 


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1 (E) the Medicaid program under title XIX 

2 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 

3 seq.); 

4 (F) Federal housing assistance programs, 

5 including tenant-based assistance under section 

6 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

7 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), and public housing, as 

8 defined in section 3(b)(1) of such Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(1)); or 

10 (G) any other means-tested Federal benefit 

11 program as identified by the Secretary of Edu12 cation in accordance with section 479(d)(2)(F) 

13 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 1087ss(d)(2)(F)); and 

15 (2) coordinate efforts to provide assistance to 

16 institutions of higher education to facilitate the en17 rollment of eligible students in the programs listed 

18 in paragraph (1). 

19 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT THE BASIC NEEDS OF STU20 DENTS. 

21 Title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 1161a) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘PART BB—GRANTS TO SUPPORT THE BASIC 

2 NEEDS OF STUDENTS 

3 ‘‘SEC. 899. GRANTS TO SUPPORT THE BASIC NEEDS OF STU4 DENTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) BASIC NEEDS.—The term ‘basic needs’ 

7 means the needs of students that support their suc8 cess while enrolled at an eligible institution, includ9 ing needs such as— 

10 ‘‘(A) food; 

11 ‘‘(B) housing; 

12 ‘‘(C) transportation; 

13 ‘‘(D) child care; 

14 ‘‘(E) health care; and 

15 ‘‘(F) technology. 

16 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com17 munity college’ means a public institution of higher 

18 education at which the highest degree that is pre19 dominantly awarded to students is an associate de20 gree, including 2-year Tribal Colleges or Univer21 sities, as defined in section 316, and public 2-year 

22 State institutions of higher education. 

23 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi24 ble institution’ means an institution of higher edu25 cation (as defined in section 102) that participates 

26 in programs under title IV. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

3 planning grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 

4 institutions to enable the eligible institutions to con5 duct research and planning to reduce incidences of 

6 student food and housing insecurity and to meet 

7 other basic needs of students, by carrying out the 

8 activities described in paragraph (2). 

9 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—An eligible institution receiv10 ing a grant under this subsection shall use grant 

11 funds to carry out the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) Establish a basic needs steering com13 mittee that will be responsible for creating and 

14 approving the basic needs strategy described in 

15 subparagraph (C), and that will be comprised of 

16 relevant campus stakeholders, such as— 

17 ‘‘(i) students who have experienced 

18 challenges in meeting basic needs; 

19 ‘‘(ii) student government representa20 tives; 

21 ‘‘(iii) institutional staff representing 

22 the areas of student financial aid, housing, 

23 dining, student affairs, accessibility serv24 ices, and health services (including coun25 seling or psychological services); 


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1 ‘‘(iv) faculty; 

2 ‘‘(v) relevant administrators, including 

3 local human services administrators; and 

4 ‘‘(vi) community-based organizations. 

5 ‘‘(B) Conduct research regarding— 

6 ‘‘(i) the level of unmet basic needs at 

7 the institution, disaggregated by race and 

8 ethnicity, income quintile, status as a first9 generation college student (as defined in 

10 section 402A(h)), Federal Pell Grant eligi11 bility status, disability status, status as a 

12 student parent, sex (including sexual ori13 entation and gender identity), or other 

14 subgroup as determined by the institution; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the presence of institutional bar16 riers (such as award displacement) and 

17 current institutional interventions to ad18 dress such barriers; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the resources available to ad20 dress basic needs of students, both on cam21 pus and off campus; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) opportunities for coordination 

23 and collaboration between the institution 

24 and government or community-based orga25 nizations, such as— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the local office that admin2 isters benefits through the supple3 mental nutrition assistance program 

4 (SNAP) and SNAP employment and 

5 training programs under the Food 

6 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

7 2011 et seq.) or the temporary assist8 ance for needy families program 

9 (TANF) and subsidized programs 

10 that meet the work requirements 

11 under part A of title IV of the Social 

12 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

13 ‘‘(II) organizations that partici14 pate in the Federal work-study pro15 gram under part C of title IV of the 

16 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

17 U.S.C. 1087–51 et seq.); or 

18 ‘‘(III) low-income housing assist19 ance organizations, including those as20 sisting with tenant-based assistance 

21 under section 8(o) of the United 

22 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

23 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), and public housing, 

24 as defined in section 3(b)(1) of such 

25 Act (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(1)). 


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1 ‘‘(C) Create a basic needs strategy that de2 scribes how the institution will— 

3 ‘‘(i) seek to address or meet the basic 

4 needs of students through on-campus and 

5 off-campus providers; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) incorporate the research con7 ducted under subparagraph (B), including 

8 with respect to the subgroups identified 

9 under clause (i) of subparagraph (B), into 

10 the basic needs strategy. 

11 ‘‘(3) GRANT AMOUNTS; DURATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—A grant under this sub13 section shall be in an amount not to exceed 

14 $50,000. 

15 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—A grant under this sub16 section shall be for a period of 1 year. 

17 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after 

18 the end of the planning grant period under this sub19 section, each eligible institution that receives such a 

20 grant shall submit a report to the Secretary describ21 ing the outcomes of the planning grant, regardless 

22 of whether the eligible institution intends to apply 

23 for an implementation grant. 

24 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION OF AWARD.—The 

2 Secretary shall award implementation grants, 

3 on a competitive basis, to eligible institutions to 

4 enable the eligible institutions to develop infra5 structure to meet the basic needs of students, 

6 by implementing a basic needs strategy devel7 oped through a grant award under subsection 

8 (b) or another existing basic needs plan ap9 proved by the Secretary, and carrying out the 

10 activities described in paragraph (2). 

11 ‘‘(B) ONGOING EXTERNAL FUNDING.—In 

12 order to be eligible to receive an implementation 

13 grant under this subsection, an eligible institu14 tion shall identify, in the application for such 

15 grant, an ongoing non-Federal funding mecha16 nism to support the activities carried out with 

17 grant funds after the grant period has expired. 

18 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—An eligible institution receiv19 ing a grant under this subsection shall use the grant 

20 funds to carry out at least two of the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) Providing free or subsidized food, se22 cure sleeping arrangements, temporary housing, 

23 priority access to existing on-campus child care, 

24 and other basic needs to eligible students. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Conducting outreach to students to 

2 encourage students to participate in programs 

3 and receive services (including programs and 

4 services provided through grant funding) to 

5 meet basic needs. 

6 ‘‘(C) Educating students about public as7 sistance programs (including State and local 

8 public assistance programs, and the supple9 mental nutrition assistance program under the 

10 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

11 2011 et seq.), Federal housing assistance pro12 grams, and other income-based Federal assist13 ance programs), supporting students’ applica14 tions for those programs, and providing case 

15 management and training for students to maxi16 mize the public assistance that students receive 

17 to meet basic needs. 

18 ‘‘(D) Coordination and collaboration be19 tween the eligible institution and government or 

20 community-based organizations, such as the 

21 local office that administers benefits through 

22 the supplemental nutrition assistance program 

23 under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

24 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) or a low-income housing 

25 assistance organization. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Purchasing materials, equipment, 

2 transportation, or facilities to reduce incidences 

3 of food and housing insecurity and address the 

4 basic needs of students at the eligible institu5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(F) Hiring personnel to build basic needs 

7 infrastructure and implement programming to 

8 meet the basic needs of students at the eligible 

9 institution. 

10 ‘‘(G) Other matters determined appro11 priate by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(3) GRANT AMOUNTS; DURATION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—A grant under this sub14 section shall be in an amount not to exceed 

15 $500,000 total for each 5-year period. 

16 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—A grant under this sub17 section shall be for a period of 5 years. 

18 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare 

19 and submit to Congress a report that describes— 

20 ‘‘(A) the impact of the grant under this 

21 subsection on eligible students; 

22 ‘‘(B) best practices for the provision of 

23 basic services to eligible students; 

24 ‘‘(C) the obstacles faced by grant recipi25 ents; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) State or Federal policy barriers to 

2 meeting the basic needs of students at institu3 tions of higher education. 

4 ‘‘(5) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary shall 

5 disseminate to eligible institutions information about 

6 best practices, as described in paragraph (4)(B). 

7 ‘‘(d) RESERVATION; PRIORITY; EQUITABLE DIS8 TRIBUTION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION.—In awarding grants under 

10 subsections (b) and (c), the Secretary shall reserve 

11 an amount equal to not less than 25 percent of the 

12 total amount available for grants under those sub13 sections for grant awards to community colleges. 

14 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under 

15 subsections (b) and (c), the Secretary shall give pri16 ority to the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) Eligible institutions with respect to 

18 which not less than 25 percent of enrolled stu19 dents are students that are eligible to receive a 

20 Federal Pell Grant under subpart 1 of part A 

21 of title IV. 

22 ‘‘(B) Eligible institutions that are histori23 cally Black colleges and universities. 

24 ‘‘(C) Eligible institutions that are de25 scribed in section 371(a). 


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1 ‘‘(3) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—In awarding 

2 grants under subsections (b) and (c), the Secretary 

3 shall ensure an equitable distribution of grant 

4 awards to eligible institutions in States based on 

5 State population. 

6 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—An eligible institution receiving a 

7 grant under— 

8 ‘‘(1) subsection (b) shall not use more than 50 

9 percent of grant funds for personnel expenses; and 

10 ‘‘(2) subsection (c) shall not use more than 75 

11 percent of grant funds for personnel expenses. 

12 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

14 $500,000,000 for fiscal years 2021 through 2027, of 

15 which— 

16 ‘‘(1) $40,000,000 are authorized to be appro17 priated to carry out planning grants under sub18 section (b); and 

19 ‘‘(2) $460,000,000 are authorized to be appro20 priated to carry out implementation grants under 

21 subsection (c).’’. 

Æ 


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