I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7260 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a program that 

enables college-bound residents of the Northern Mariana Islands and 

American Samoa to have greater choices among institutions of higher 

education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2024 

Mr. SABLAN (for himself and Mrs. RADEWAGEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish 

a program that enables college-bound residents of the 

Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to have 

greater choices among institutions of higher education, 

and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Northern Mariana Is5 lands and American Samoa College Access Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS AND AMERICAN 

2 SAMOA COLLEGE ACCESS. 

3 Subpart 10 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070h) is amended to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘Subpart 10—Northern Mariana Islands and 

7 American Samoa College Access 

8 ‘‘SEC. 420R. PUBLIC SCHOOL GRANTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this subpart to 

10 establish a program that enables college-bound residents 

11 of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to 

12 have greater choices among institutions of higher edu13 cation. 

14 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro16 priated under subsection (j), the Secretary shall pro17 vide— 

18 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of such amount to the 

19 Northern Mariana Islands for the Governor to 

20 award grants to eligible institutions that enroll 

21 eligible students to pay the difference between 

22 the tuition and fees charged for in-State stu23 dents and the tuition and fees charged for out24 of-State students on behalf of each eligible stu25 dent enrolled in the eligible institution; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) 50 percent of such amount to the 

2 American Samoa for the Governor to award 

3 grants to eligible institutions that enroll eligible 

4 students to pay the difference between the tui5 tion and fees charged for in-State students and 

6 the tuition and fees charged for out-of-State 

7 students on behalf of each eligible student en8 rolled in the eligible institution. 

9 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM STUDENT AMOUNTS.—The 

10 amount paid on behalf of an eligible student under 

11 this section shall be— 

12 ‘‘(A) not more than $15,000 for any one 

13 award year (as defined in section 481); and 

14 ‘‘(B) not more than $45,000 in the aggre15 gate. 

16 ‘‘(3) PRORATION.—The Governor shall prorate 

17 payments under this section for students who attend 

18 an eligible institution on less than a full-time basis. 

19 ‘‘(c) REDUCTION FOR INSUFFICIENT APPROPRIA20 TIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the funds appropriated 

22 pursuant to subsection (j) for any fiscal year are in23 sufficient to award a grant in the amount deter24 mined under subsection (a) on behalf of each eligible 

25 student enrolled in an eligible institution, then the 


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1 Governor, in consultation with the Secretary of Edu2 cation, shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) first, ratably reduce the amount of 

4 the tuition and fee payment made on behalf of 

5 each eligible student who has not received funds 

6 under this section for a preceding year; and 

7 ‘‘(B) after making reductions under sub8 paragraph (A), ratably reduce the amount of 

9 the tuition and fee payments made on behalf of 

10 all other eligible students. 

11 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Governor, in con12 sultation with the Secretary of Education, may ad13 just the amount of tuition and fee payments made 

14 under paragraph (1) based on— 

15 ‘‘(A) the financial need of the eligible stu16 dents to avoid undue hardship to the eligible 

17 students; or 

18 ‘‘(B) undue administrative burdens on the 

19 Governor. 

20 ‘‘(3) FURTHER ADJUSTMENTS.—Notwith21 standing paragraphs (1) and (2), the Governor may 

22 prioritize the making or amount of tuition and fee 

23 payments under this subsection based on the income 

24 and financial need of eligible students. 

25 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpart: 


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1 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi2 ble institution’ means an institution that— 

3 ‘‘(A) is a public four-year institution of 

4 higher education located in one of the several 

5 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 

6 the United States Virgin Islands, or Guam; 

7 ‘‘(B) is eligible to participate in the stu8 dent financial assistance programs under this 

9 title; and 

10 ‘‘(C) enters into an agreement with the 

11 Governors of the Northern Mariana Islands and 

12 American Samoa containing such conditions as 

13 each Governor may specify, including a require14 ment that the institution use the funds made 

15 available under this section to supplement and 

16 not supplant assistance that otherwise would be 

17 provided to eligible students from the Northern 

18 Mariana Islands and American Samoa. 

19 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘eligible 

20 student’ means an individual who— 

21 ‘‘(A) graduated from a public institution of 

22 higher education located in the Northern Mar23 iana Islands or American Samoa; 

24 ‘‘(B) begins the individual’s course of 

25 study within the 3 calendar years (excluding 


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1 any period of service on active duty in the 

2 Armed Forces or service under the Peace Corps 

3 Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) or subtitle D of 

4 title I of the National and Community Service 

5 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.)) of grad6 uation from a public institution of higher edu7 cation located in the Northern Mariana Islands 

8 or American Samoa; 

9 ‘‘(C) is enrolled or accepted for enrollment, 

10 on at least a half-time basis, in a baccalaureate 

11 degree or other program (including a program 

12 of study abroad approved for credit by the insti13 tution at which such student is enrolled) lead14 ing to a recognized educational credential at an 

15 eligible institution; 

16 ‘‘(D) if enrolled in an eligible institution, is 

17 maintaining satisfactory progress in the course 

18 of study the student is pursuing in accordance 

19 with section 484(c); and 

20 ‘‘(E) has not completed the individual’s 

21 first undergraduate baccalaureate course of 

22 study. 

23 ‘‘(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

24 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

25 meaning given the term in section 101. 


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1 ‘‘(4) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘Governor’ means 

2 the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 

3 Mariana Islands or American Samoa. 

4 ‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subpart shall 

5 be construed to require an institution of higher education 

6 to alter the institution’s admissions policies or standards 

7 in any manner to enable an eligible student to enroll in 

8 the institution. 

9 ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS.—Each student desiring a tuition 

10 payment under this section shall submit an application to 

11 the eligible institution at such time, in such manner, and 

12 accompanied by such information as the eligible institution 

13 may require. 

14 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Governor shall carry 

16 out the program under this section in consultation 

17 with the Secretary. Each Governor may enter into a 

18 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with an19 other public or private entity to administer the pro20 gram under this section if the Governor determines 

21 that doing so is a more efficient way of carrying out 

22 the program. 

23 ‘‘(2) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—Each Gov24 ernor, in consultation with institutions of higher 

25 education eligible for participation in the program 


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1 authorized under this section, shall develop policies 

2 and procedures for the administration of the pro3 gram. 

4 ‘‘(3) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Each 

5 Governor and the Secretary shall enter into a Memo6 randum of Agreement that describes— 

7 ‘‘(A) the manner in which the Governor 

8 shall consult with the Secretary with respect to 

9 administering the program under this section; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) any technical or other assistance to 

12 be provided to the Governor by the Secretary 

13 for purposes of administering the program 

14 under this section (which may include access to 

15 the information in the common financial report16 ing form developed under section 483). 

17 ‘‘(h) GOVERNOR’S REPORT.—Each Governor shall re18 port to the Secretary and the authorizing committees an19 nually regarding— 

20 ‘‘(1) the number of eligible students attending 

21 each eligible institution and the amount of the grant 

22 awards paid to those institutions on behalf of the eli23 gible students; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the extent, if any, to which a ratable re2 duction was made in the amount of tuition and fee 

3 payments made on behalf of eligible students; and 

4 ‘‘(3) the progress in obtaining recognized aca5 demic credentials of the cohort of eligible students 

6 for each year. 

7 ‘‘(i) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 24 months of the 

8 date of enactment of the Northern Mariana Islands and 

9 American Samoa College Access Act, the Comptroller Gen10 eral of the United States shall report on the effect of the 

11 program assisted under this section on educational oppor12 tunities for eligible students. The Comptroller General 

13 shall analyze whether eligible students had difficulty gain14 ing admission to eligible institutions because of any pref15 erence afforded to in-State residents by eligible institu16 tions, and shall expeditiously report any findings regard17 ing such difficulty to Congress. In addition the Comp18 troller General shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) analyze and identify any challenges eligible 

20 students face in gaining admission to eligible institu21 tions, including admission aided by assistance pro22 vided under this subpart, due to— 

23 ‘‘(A) caps on the number of out-of-State 

24 students the institution will enroll; 


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1 ‘‘(B) significant barriers imposed by aca2 demic entrance requirements (such as grade 

3 point average and standardized scholastic ad4 missions tests); and 

5 ‘‘(C) absence of admission programs bene6 fitting minority students; and 

7 ‘‘(2) report the findings of the analysis de8 scribed in paragraph (1) and the assessment de9 scribed in paragraph (2) to Congress and the Gov10 ernor. 

11 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commonwealth 

13 of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to 

14 carry out this subpart $10,000,000, to be available until 

15 expended, for fiscal year 2024 and each of the 5 suc16 ceeding fiscal years. 

17 ‘‘(k) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subpart shall take ef18 fect with respect to payments for periods of instruction 

19 that begin on or after the date of enactment of the North20 ern Mariana Islands and American Samoa College Access 

21 Act.’’. 

Æ 


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