I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2815

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand and enhance the 

HOPE and Lifetime Learning Credits, and to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide loan forgiveness opportunities for public 

service employees. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 8, 2005

Mr. MENENDEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, 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 amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand 

and enhance the HOPE and Lifetime Learning Credits, 

and to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to 

provide loan forgiveness opportunities for public service 

employees.

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 ‘‘College Access and 

5 Affordability Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF HOPE AND LIFETIME LEARNING 

2 CREDITS. 

3 (a) INCREASE IN PER STUDENT LIMITATION FOR

4 HOPE SCHOLARSHIP CREDIT.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (B) of section 

6 25A(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘the applicable limit’’ and in8 serting ‘‘$4,000’’. 

9 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Paragraph (1) 

10 of section 25A(h) of such Code is amended by redes11 ignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C) and 

12 by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following 

13 new subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(B) $4,000 AMOUNT.—In the case of a 

15 taxable year beginning after 2005, the $4,000 

16 amount contained in subsection (b)(1)(B) shall 

17 be increased by an amount equal to—

18 ‘‘(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by 

19 ‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de20 termined under section 1(f)(3) for the cal21 endar year in which the taxable year be22 gins, determined by substituting ‘calendar 

23 year 2004’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in sub24 paragraph (B) thereof.’’. 
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1 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b) 

2 of section 25A of such Code is amended by striking 

3 paragraph (4). 

4 (b) INCREASE IN GROSS INCOME LIMITATION .—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Clause (ii) of section 

6 25A(d)(2)(A) of such Code is amended by striking 

7 ‘‘$40,000 ($80,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$58,000 (twice 

8 such amount’’. 

9 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Subparagraph 

10 (A) of section 25A(h)(2) of such Code is amended 

11 to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a tax13 able year beginning after 2005, the $58,000 

14 amount in subsection (d)(2) shall be increased 

15 by an amount equal to—

16 ‘‘(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by 

17 ‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de18 termined under section 1(f)(3) for the cal19 endar year in which the taxable year be20 gins, determined by substituting ‘calendar 

21 year 2004’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in sub22 paragraph (B) thereof.’’. 

23 (c) HOPE SCHOLARSHIP CREDIT AVAILABLE FOR 4 

24 YEARS.—Paragraph (2) of section 25A(b) of such Code 
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1 is amended by striking ‘‘2’’ each place it appears in sub2 paragraphs (A) and (C) and inserting ‘‘4’’. 

3 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

5 December 31, 2004. 

6 SEC. 3. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE EM7 PLOYEES. 

8 Section 428K (20 U.S.C. 1078–11) is amended to 

9 read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 428K. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE EM11 PLOYEES. 

12 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are—

13 ‘‘(1) to reduce the burden of student debt, par14 ticularly for Americans who dedicate their careers to 

15 meeting certain urgent national needs; and 

16 ‘‘(2) to attract more excellent individuals into 

17 important public service careers. 

18 ‘‘(b) LOAN FORGIVENESS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall assume 

20 the obligation to repay, pursuant to subsection (c), 

21 a loan made under section 428 or 428H, a Federal 

22 Direct Stafford Loan or Federal Direct Unsub23 sidized Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Consolida24 tion Loan, or a Federal Perkins Loan for any new 
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1 borrower after the date of enactment of the Higher 

2 Education Amendments of 1998, who—

3 ‘‘(A) is employed full time in a qualified 

4 public service position described in paragraph 

5 (2); and 

6 ‘‘(B) is not in default on a loan for which 

7 the borrower seeks forgiveness. 

8 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED PUBLIC SERVICE POSITIONS.—

9 For purposes of this section, an individual shall be 

10 treated as employed in a qualified public service po11 sition if the individual is any of the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS OF

13 MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, AND BILINGUAL AND

14 SPECIAL EDUCATION AND IN LOW-INCOME COM15 MUNITIES.—An individual who—

16 ‘‘(i) is highly qualified as such term is 

17 defined in section 9101 of the Elementary 

18 and Secondary Education Act of 1965; and 

19 ‘‘(ii)(I) has obtained employment as a 

20 teacher for service in a public or nonprofit 

21 private elementary or secondary school 

22 which is in the school district of a local 

23 educational agency which is eligible in such 

24 year for assistance pursuant to title I of 

25 the Elementary and Secondary Education 
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1 Act of 1965, and which for the purpose of 

2 this paragraph and for that year has been 

3 determined by the Secretary (pursuant to 

4 regulations and after consultation with the 

5 State educational agency of the State in 

6 which the school is located) to be a school 

7 in which the enrollment of children counted 

8 under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elemen9 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

10 exceeds 40 percent of the total enrollment 

11 of that school; or 

12 ‘‘(II) has obtained employment as a 

13 full-time teacher of mathematics, science, 

14 or bilingual or special education. 

15 ‘‘(B) FIRST RESPONDERS IN LOW-INCOME

16 COMMUNITIES.—An individual who, as deter17 mined by the Secretary of Education by regula18 tion—

19 ‘‘(i) has obtained employment as a 

20 firefighter, police officer, or emergency 

21 medical technician; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) serves a low-income community. 

23 ‘‘(C) NURSES IN LOW INCOME COMMU24 NITIES.—An individual who is an eligible nurse 

25 and has obtained employment—
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1 ‘‘(i)(I) in a clinical setting; or 

2 ‘‘(II) as a member of the nursing fac3 ulty at an accredited school of nursing (as 

4 those terms are defined in section 801 of 

5 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 296)); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) serves a low-income or needy 

8 community. 

9 ‘‘(D) CHILD WELFARE WORKERS.—An in10 dividual who—

11 ‘‘(i) has completed a degree in social 

12 work or related field with a focus on serv13 ing children and families (as determined in 

14 accordance with regulations prescribed by 

15 the Secretary); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) has obtained employment in pub17 lic or private child welfare services. 

18 ‘‘(c) LOAN REPAYMENT.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall assume 

20 the obligation to repay a total of not more than 

21 $20,000 of principal and interest as follows: 

22 ‘‘(A) after each of the first or second years 

23 of service by an individual in a qualified public 

24 service position, 15 percent of the total amount 

25 of principal and interest of the loans described 
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1 in subsection (b)(1) to such individual that are 

2 outstanding immediately preceding such first 

3 year of such service; 

4 ‘‘(B) after each of the third or fourth years 

5 of such service, 20 percent of such total 

6 amount; and 

7 ‘‘(C) after the fifth year of such service, 30 

8 percent of such total amount. 

9 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF CONSOLIDATION LOANS.—

10 A loan amount for a loan made under section 428C 

11 or for a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan may be 

12 a qualified loan amount for the purposes of this sub13 section only to the extent that such loan amount was 

14 used to repay a loan described in subsection (b)(1) 

15 for a borrower who meets the requirements of sub16 section (b), as determined in accordance with regula17 tions prescribed by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

19 shall be construed to authorize the refunding of any 

20 repayment of a loan made under section 428 or 

21 428H, a Federal Direct Stafford Loan or Federal 

22 Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct 

23 Loan, or a Federal Perkins Loan. 

24 ‘‘(4) INTEREST.—If a portion of a loan is re25 paid by the Secretary under this section for any 
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1 year, the proportionate amount of interest on such 

2 loan that accrues for such year shall be repaid by 

3 the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(5) INELIGIBILITY OF NATIONAL SERVICE

5 AWARD RECIPIENTS.—No student borrower may, for 

6 the same service, receive a benefit under both this 

7 section and subtitle D of title I of the National and 

8 Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12601 

9 et seq.). 

10 ‘‘(6) INELIGIBILITY FOR DOUBLE BENEFITS.—

11 No borrower may receive a reduction of loan obliga12 tions under both this section and section 428J or 

13 460. 

14 ‘‘(7) CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY OF TEACHERS.—

15 Any teacher who performs service in a school that—

16 ‘‘(A) meets the requirements of subsection 

17 (b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) in any year during such service; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) in a subsequent year fails to meet the 

20 requirements of such subsection, may continue 

21 to teach in such school and shall be eligible for 

22 loan forgiveness pursuant to subsection (b). 

23 ‘‘(d) REPAYMENT TO ELIGIBLE LENDERS AND

24 HOLDERS.—The Secretary shall pay to each eligible lend25 er or holder for each fiscal year an amount equal to the 
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1 aggregate amount of the lender’s or holder’s loans that 

2 are subject to repayment pursuant to this section for such 

3 year. 

4 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION FOR REPAYMENT.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible individual de6 siring loan repayment under this section shall sub7 mit a complete and accurate application to the Sec8 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

9 such information as the Secretary may require. 

10 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS.—An eligible individual may 

11 apply for loan repayment under this section after 

12 completing each of the consecutive years of quali13 fying service described in subsection (c)(1). The bor14 rower may elect to receive forbearance while engaged 

15 in qualifying service described in subsection (c)(1) 

16 unless the borrower is in deferment while so en17 gaged. 

18 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

19 prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

20 out the provisions of this section. 

21 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.—The term 

23 ‘child welfare services’ has the meaning given the 

24 term in section 425 of the Social Security Act. 
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1 ‘‘(2) DEGREE.—The term ‘degree’ means an as2 sociate’s or bachelor’s degree awarded by an institu3 tion of higher education. 

4 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE NURSE.—The term ‘eligible 

5 nurse’ means a nurse who meets all of the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) The nurse graduated from—

7 ‘‘(i) an accredited school of nursing 

8 (as those terms are defined in section 801 

9 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 296)); 

11 ‘‘(ii) a nursing center; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) an academic health center that 

13 provides nurse training. 

14 ‘‘(B) The nurse holds a valid and unre15 stricted license to practice nursing in the State 

16 in which the nurse practices in a clinical set17 ting. 

18 ‘‘(C) The nurse holds 1 or more of the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(i) A graduate degree in nursing, or 

21 an equivalent degree. 

22 ‘‘(ii) A nursing degree from a colle23 giate school of nursing (as defined in sec24 tion 801 of the Public Health Service Act 

25 (42 U.S.C. 296)). 
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1 ‘‘(iii) A nursing degree from an asso2 ciate degree school of nursing (as defined 

3 in section 801 of the Public Health Service 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 296)). 

5 ‘‘(iv) A nursing degree from a diploma 

6 school of nursing (as defined in section 

7 801 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 296)). 

9 ‘‘(4) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—In this sub10 section, the term ‘low-income community’ means a 

11 community in which 70 percent of households earn 

12 less than 85 percent of the State median household 

13 income. 

14 ‘‘(5) YEAR.—The term ‘year’, where applied to 

15 service as a teacher (or service as a member of an 

16 accredited school of nursing (as those terms are de17 fined in section 801 of the Public Health Service Act 

18 (42 U.S.C. 296))), means an academic year as de19 fined by the Secretary.’’.

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