I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7575 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide loan deferment 

and loan cancellation for certain founders and employees of small business start-ups, to amend the Small Business Act to establish a young 

entrepreneurs business center, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 6, 2024 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ (for herself, Ms. CHU, Mr. PHILLIPS, and Mr. MCGARVEY) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on 

Ways and Means, and Small Business, 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 Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 

loan deferment and loan cancellation for certain founders 

and employees of small business start-ups, to amend 

the Small Business Act to establish a young entrepreneurs business center, 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 ‘‘Supporting America’s 

5 Young Entrepreneurs Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS START-UP EMPLOYEE LOAN 

2 DEFERMENT AND CANCELLATION. 

3 (a) DEFERMENT.—Section 455(f) of the Higher Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘A borrower 

6 of a loan’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

7 paragraph (5), a borrower of a loan’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(5) NO INTEREST DEFERMENT ELIGIBILITY

10 FOR FOUNDERS OF SMALL BUSINESS START-UPS.— 

11 A borrower of a loan made under this part shall be 

12 eligible for a deferment, during which periodic in13 stallments of principal and interest need not be paid, 

14 during any period not in excess of 3 years during 

15 which the borrower is employed as a founder of a 

16 distressed area business (as defined in subsection 

17 (r)(3)).’’. 

18 (b) LOAN CANCELLATION.—Section 455 of the High19 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e) is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(r) LOAN CANCELLATION FOR CERTAIN SMALL

22 BUSINESS START-UP FOUNDERS AND EMPLOYEES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) FOUNDERS OF A DISTRESSED AREA BUSI24 NESS.— 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

26 cancel up to $20,000 of the balance of interest 


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1 and principal due, in accordance with subpara2 graph (B), on any eligible Federal Direct Loan 

3 not in default for a borrower who— 

4 ‘‘(i) has made 24 monthly payments 

5 on the eligible Federal Direct Loan after 

6 the date of the enactment of this sub7 section pursuant to any one or a combina8 tion of payments under a repayment plan 

9 under subsection (d)(1) or (g); 

10 ‘‘(ii) has been employed by a dis11 tressed area business founded by the bor12 rower during the period in which the bor13 rower makes each of the 24 payments; 

14 ‘‘(iii) is employed by such distressed 

15 area business at the time of such cancella16 tion; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) has been approved for such can18 cellation by the young entrepreneurs busi19 ness center established under section 49 of 

20 the Small Business Act (16 U.S.C. 631 et 

21 seq.). 

22 ‘‘(B) LOAN CANCELLATION AMOUNT.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After the conclu24 sion of the employment period described in 

25 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall canVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:31 Mar 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7575.IH H7575

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1 cel the obligation to repay $20,000 of the 

2 balance of interest and principal due as of 

3 the time of such cancellation on the eligible 

4 Federal Direct Loans made to the bor5 rower under this part. 

6 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—A borrower may 

7 not receive an aggregate amount of more 

8 than $20,000 under this subparagraph. 

9 ‘‘(C) INELIGIBILITY FOR DOUBLE BENE10 FITS.—No borrower may, for the same service, 

11 receive a reduction of loan obligations under 

12 both this paragraph and— 

13 ‘‘(i) paragraph (2); 

14 ‘‘(ii) subsection (m); or 

15 ‘‘(iii) section 428J, 428K, 428L, or 

16 460. 

17 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYEES OF A SMALL BUSINESS

18 START-UP.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

20 cancel up to $3,000 of the balance of interest 

21 and principal due, in accordance with subpara22 graph (B), on any eligible Federal Direct Loan 

23 not in default for a borrower who— 

24 ‘‘(i) has made 12 monthly payments 

25 on the eligible Federal Direct Loan after 


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1 the date of the enactment of this sub2 section pursuant to any one or a combina3 tion of payments under a repayment plan 

4 under subsection (d)(1) or (g); 

5 ‘‘(ii) has been employed full-time by a 

6 small business start-up during the period 

7 in which the borrower makes each of the 

8 12 payments; 

9 ‘‘(iii) is employed full-time by a small 

10 business start-up at the time of such can11 cellation; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) has been approved for such can13 cellation by the young entrepreneurs busi14 ness center established under section 49 of 

15 the Small Business Act (16 U.S.C. 631 et 

16 seq.). 

17 ‘‘(B) LOAN CANCELLATION AMOUNT.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After the conclu19 sion of the employment period described in 

20 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall can21 cel the obligation to repay $3,000 of the 

22 balance of interest and principal due as of 

23 the time of such cancellation, on the eligi24 ble Federal Direct Loans made to the bor25 rower under this part. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—A bor2 rower may not receive an aggregate 

3 amount of more than $15,000 under this 

4 subparagraph. 

5 ‘‘(C) INELIGIBILITY FOR DOUBLE BENE6 FITS.—No borrower may, for the same service, 

7 receive a reduction of loan obligations under 

8 both this paragraph and— 

9 ‘‘(i) paragraph (1); 

10 ‘‘(ii) subsection (m); or 

11 ‘‘(iii) section 428J, 428K, 428L, or 

12 460. 

13 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

14 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN.— 

15 The term ‘eligible Federal Direct Loan’ means 

16 a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, Federal Direct 

17 PLUS Loan, or Federal Direct Unsubsidized 

18 Stafford Loan, or a Federal Direct Consolida19 tion Loan. 

20 ‘‘(B) SMALL BUSINESS ACT DEFINI21 TIONS.—The terms ‘distressed area business’, 

22 ‘founder’, and ‘small business start-up’ have the 

23 meanings given, respectively, under section 49 

24 of the Small Business Act.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS BUSINESS CENTER. 

2 The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating section 49 as section 50; 

5 and 

6 (2) by inserting after section 48 the following 

7 new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 49. YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS BUSINESS CENTER. 

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

10 the Administration a young entrepreneurs business center 

11 that shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) provide certifications described under sub13 section (b); 

14 ‘‘(2) identify distressed areas under subsection 

15 (c); and 

16 ‘‘(3) approve loan cancellation requests under 

17 subsection (d). 

18 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION FOR FOUNDERS OF DIS19 TRESSED AREA BUSINESSES.—A founder of a distressed 

20 area business seeking certification from the young entre21 preneurs business center under this section for such dis22 tressed area business shall submit to the Administrator 

23 an application that includes— 

24 ‘‘(1) a 5-year business plan for such distressed 

25 area business; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the number of employees such distressed 

2 area business intends to employ for each year of 

3 such plan; and 

4 ‘‘(3) evidence that the founder— 

5 ‘‘(A) is also an employee of such distressed 

6 area business; and 

7 ‘‘(B) is a recent graduate of an institution 

8 of higher education. 

9 ‘‘(c) DISTRESSED AREA.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 24 months 

11 after the date of the enactment of this section, and 

12 at least every 3 years thereafter, the young entre13 preneurs business center shall identify and make 

14 publically available on the website of the Administra15 tion a list of distressed areas. 

16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A distressed area iden17 tified under paragraph (1) shall be a county or 

18 equivalent unit of local government of a State— 

19 ‘‘(A) that has, for the most recent 24- 

20 month period for which statistics are avail21 able— 

22 ‘‘(i) a per capita income of 80 percent 

23 or less of the national average; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an unemployment rate that is 

2 not less than 1 percent greater than the 

3 national average; and 

4 ‘‘(B) for which the young entrepreneurs 

5 business center determines establishing small 

6 business start-ups in such area would be eco7 nomically beneficial. 

8 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL FOR LOAN CANCELLATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) FOUNDERS OF DISTRESSED AREA BUSI10 NESSES.—The young entrepreneurs business center 

11 shall approve a founder of a distressed area business 

12 who submits an application under subsection (b) for 

13 loan cancellation under section 455(r)(1) of the 

14 Higher Education Act of 1965 if such distressed 

15 area business— 

16 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date of such estab17 lishment and ending on the date of the 24th 

18 monthly payment on a loan described in such 

19 section 455(r)(1), was located in a distressed 

20 area (as identified under subsection (c)); 

21 ‘‘(B) was certified under subsection (b); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(C) on the date of approval under this 

24 paragraph, has been operating continuously for 

25 not less than 5 years. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYEES OF SMALL BUSINESS START2 UPS.—For purposes of loan cancellation under sec3 tion 455(r)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 

4 1965— 

5 ‘‘(A) an employee of a small business 

6 start-up seeking such loan cancellation shall 

7 submit to the Administrator an application, 

8 which shall include evidence of the employee’s 

9 full-time employment at such small business 

10 start-up; and 

11 ‘‘(B) if the Administrator verifies the in12 formation submitted in such application, the 

13 young entrepreneurs business center shall ap14 prove such an employee. 

15 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION.—The young entrepreneurs 

16 business center shall submit to the Secretary of 

17 Education any approval for loan cancellation made 

18 under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(e) TERMINATION.—An approval made under this 

20 section shall terminate 5 years after the date of submis21 sion to the Secretary of Education under subsection 

22 (d)(3). 

23 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) DISTRESSED AREA BUSINESS.—The term 

25 ‘distressed area business’ means a small business 


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1 concern located in a distressed area (as identified 

2 under subsection (c)) that has been in operation for 

3 not more than 8 years as of the date of submission 

4 of an application under subsection (b). 

5 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

6 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

7 meaning given such term in section 102 of the High8 er Education Act. 

9 ‘‘(3) SMALL BUSINESS START-UP.—The term 

10 ‘small business start-up’ means a small business 

11 concern that, as of the date of submission of an ap12 plication under subsection (b)— 

13 ‘‘(A) does not exist; or 

14 ‘‘(B) has been in existence for not more 

15 than 3 years.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF LOAN CANCELLATION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 108(f) of the Internal 

18 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(6) CANCELLATION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL

21 STUDENT LOANS.—In the case of an individual, 

22 gross income shall not include the discharge (in 

23 whole or in part) of any student loan pursuant to 

24 the cancellation (in whole or in part) of such loan 

25 by the Secretary of Education under subsection (r) 


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1 of section 455 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

2 (20 U.S.C. 1087e).’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

4 this section shall apply to discharges of indebtedness oc5 curring after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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