I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3676

To strengthen the national security through the expansion and improvement 

of foreign language study, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 8, 2003

Mr. HOLT (for himself, Mr. HYDE, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. 

HARMAN, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. CASE, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. HASTINGS of 

Florida, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. REYES, Mr. BOSWELL, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 

RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. SNYDER, Mrs. 

TAUSCHER, Mr. COOPER, Mr. FROST, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Ms. 

DELAURO, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 

FARR, Mr. FORD, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. NADLER, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. 

ACKERMAN, and Mr. BELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition 

to the Select Committees on Intelligence (Permanent Select) and Armed 

Services, 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 strengthen the national security through the expansion 

and improvement of foreign language study, 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,
2

•HR 3676 IH 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Security Lan3 guage Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ENCOURAGING EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN5 STRUCTION. 

6 Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.) is amended—

8 (1) by redesignating part D as part E; 

9 (2) by redesignating section 631 (20 U.S.C. 

10 1132) as section 641; and 

11 (3) by inserting after section 628 the following 

12 new part: 

13 ‘‘PART D—EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE 

14 INSTRUCTION 

15 ‘‘SEC. 631. EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION. 

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

17 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘eligi18 ble partnership’ means a partnership that—

19 ‘‘(A) shall include—

20 ‘‘(i) a foreign language department of 

21 an institution of higher education; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) a local educational agency; and 

23 ‘‘(B) may include—

24 ‘‘(i) another foreign language or 

25 teacher training department of an institu26 tion of higher education; 
3

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘(ii) another local educational agency, 

2 or an elementary or secondary school; 

3 ‘‘(iii) a business; 

4 ‘‘(iv) a nonprofit organization of dem5 onstrated effectiveness, including a mu6 seum; 

7 ‘‘(v) heritage or community centers 

8 for language study; 

9 ‘‘(vi) language resource centers; or 

10 ‘‘(vii) the State foreign language coor11 dinator or State educational agency. 

12 ‘‘(2) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN13 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 

14 has the meaning given the term in section 2102 of 

15 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

16 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6602). 

17 ‘‘(3) LESS-COMMONLY TAUGHT FOREIGN LAN18 GUAGES.—The term ‘less-commonly taught foreign 

19 languages’ includes the languages of Arabic, Korean, 

20 Chinese, Pashto, Persian-Farsi, Serbian-Croatian, 

21 Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, and any other lan22 guage identified by the Secretary of Education, in 

23 consultation with the Defense Language Institute, 

24 the Foreign Service Institute, and the National Se-
4

•HR 3676 IH 

1 curity Education Program, as a foreign language 

2 critical to the national security of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(4) SUMMER WORKSHOP OR INSTITUTE.—The 

4 term ‘summer workshop or institute’ means a work5 shop or institute, conducted during the summer, 

6 that—

7 ‘‘(A) is conducted for a period of not less 

8 than 2 weeks; 

9 ‘‘(B) provides for a program that provides 

10 direct interaction between students and faculty; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(C) provides for follow-up training during 

13 the academic year that—

14 ‘‘(i) except as provided in clause (ii) 

15 or (iii), shall be conducted in the classroom 

16 for a period of not less than 3 days, which 

17 may or may not be consecutive; 

18 ‘‘(ii) if the program described in sub19 paragraph (B) is for a period of not more 

20 than 2 weeks, shall be conducted for a pe21 riod of more than 3 days; or 

22 ‘‘(iii) if the program is for teachers in 

23 rural school districts, may be conducted 

24 through distance education. 
5

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to im2 prove the performance of students in the study of foreign 

3 languages by encouraging States, institutions of higher 

4 education, elementary schools, and secondary schools to 

5 participate in programs that—

6 ‘‘(1) upgrade the status and stature of foreign 

7 language teaching by encouraging institutions of 

8 higher education to assume greater responsibility for 

9 improving foreign language teacher education 

10 through the establishment of a comprehensive, inte11 grated system of recruiting and advising such teach12 ers; 

13 ‘‘(2) focus on education of foreign language 

14 teachers as a career-long process that should con15 tinuously stimulate teachers’ intellectual growth and 

16 upgrade teachers’ knowledge and skills; 

17 ‘‘(3) bring foreign language teachers in elemen18 tary schools and secondary schools together with lin19 guists or higher education foreign language profes20 sionals to increase the subject matter knowledge and 

21 improve the teaching skills of teachers through the 

22 use of more sophisticated resources that institutions 

23 of higher education are better able to provide than 

24 the schools; and 
6

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘(4) develop more rigorous foreign language 

2 curricula that are aligned with—

3 ‘‘(A) professionally accepted standards for 

4 elementary and secondary education instruction; 

5 and

6 ‘‘(B) the standards expected for post-sec7 ondary study in foreign language. 

8 ‘‘(c) GRANTS TO PARTNERSHIPS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award 

10 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible partner11 ships to enable the eligible partnerships to pay the 

12 Federal share of the costs of carrying out the au13 thorized activities described in this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award 

15 grants under this section for a period of 5 years. 

16 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

17 the costs of the activities assisted under this section 

18 shall be—

19 ‘‘(A) 75 percent of the costs for the first 

20 year that an eligible partnership receives a 

21 grant payment under this section; 

22 ‘‘(B) 65 percent of such costs for the sec23 ond such year; and 

24 ‘‘(C) 50 percent of such costs for each of 

25 the third, fourth, and fifth such years. 
7

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘(4) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

2 share of the costs of carrying out the authorized ac3 tivities described in this section may be provided in 

4 cash or in kind, fairly evaluated. 

5 ‘‘(5) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

6 section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible 

7 partnerships—

8 ‘‘(A) that include high-need local edu9 cational agencies; or 

10 ‘‘(B) that emphasize the teaching of the 

11 less-commonly taught foreign languages. 

12 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible partnership 

14 desiring a grant under this section shall submit an 

15 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

16 manner, and accompanied by such information as 

17 the Secretary may require. 

18 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application under para19 graph (1) shall include—

20 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the teacher quality 

21 and professional development needs of all the 

22 schools and agencies participating in the eligible 

23 partnership with respect to the teaching and 

24 learning of foreign languages; 
8

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘(B) a description of how the activities to 

2 be carried out by the eligible partnership will be 

3 based on a review of relevant research, and an 

4 explanation of why the activities are expected to 

5 improve student performance and to strengthen 

6 the quality of foreign language instruction; and 

7 ‘‘(C) a description of—

8 ‘‘(i) how the eligible partnership will 

9 carry out the authorized activities de10 scribed in subsection (e); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the eligible partnership’s evalua12 tion and accountability plan as described 

13 in subsection (f). 

14 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible partner15 ship shall use the grant funds provided under this section 

16 for 1 or more of the following activities related to elemen17 tary schools or secondary schools: 

18 ‘‘(1) Creating opportunities for enhanced and 

19 ongoing professional development that improves the 

20 subject matter knowledge of foreign language teach21 ers. 

22 ‘‘(2) Recruiting university students with foreign 

23 language majors for teaching. 

24 ‘‘(3) Promoting strong teaching skills for for25 eign language teachers and teacher educators. 
9

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘(4) Establishing foreign language summer 

2 workshops or institutes (including follow-up train3 ing) for teachers. 

4 ‘‘(5) Establishing distance learning programs 

5 for foreign language teachers. 

6 ‘‘(6) Designing programs to prepare a teacher 

7 at a school to provide professional development to 

8 other teachers at the school and to assist novice 

9 teachers at such school, including (if applicable) a 

10 mechanism to integrate experiences from a summer 

11 workshop or institute. 

12 ‘‘(7) Developing instruction materials. 

13 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN.—

14 Each eligible partnership receiving a grant under this sec15 tion shall develop an evaluation and accountability plan 

16 for activities assisted under this section that includes 

17 strong performance objectives. The plan shall include ob18 jectives and measures for—

19 ‘‘(1) increased participation by students in ad20 vanced courses in foreign language; 

21 ‘‘(2) increased percentages of secondary school 

22 classes in foreign language taught by teachers with 

23 academic majors in foreign language, respectively; 

24 and 
10

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘(3) increased numbers of foreign language 

2 teachers who participate in content-based profes3 sional development activities. 

4 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Each eligible partnership receiving a 

5 grant under this section shall annually report to the Sec6 retary regarding the eligible partnership’s progress in 

7 meeting the performance objectives described in sub8 section (f). 

9 ‘‘(h) TERMINATION.—If the Secretary determines 

10 that an eligible partnership is not making substantial 

11 progress in meeting the performance objectives described 

12 in subsection (f) by the end of the third year of a grant 

13 under this section, the grant payments shall not be made 

14 for the fourth and fifth year of the grant. 

15 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

16 carry out this part, there are authorized to be appro17 priated $48,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums 

18 as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal 

19 years.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVANCED FOREIGN 

21 LANGUAGE EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

23 support programs in colleges and universities that—

24 (1) encourage students to develop both—
11

•HR 3676 IH 

1 (A) an understanding of science and tech2 nology; and 

3 (B) foreign language proficiency; and

4 (2) foster future international scientific collabo5 ration. 

6 (b) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary of Education 

7 shall develop a program for the awarding of grants to in8 stitutions of higher learning that develop innovative pro9 grams for the teaching of foreign languages. 

10 (c) REGULATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec11 retary of Education shall promulgate regulations for the 

12 awarding of grants under subsection (b). Such regulations 

13 shall require institutions of higher learning to use grant 

14 funds for, among other things—

15 (1) the development of an on-campus cultural 

16 awareness program by which students attend classes 

17 taught in the foreign language and study the science 

18 and technology developments and practices in a non19 English speaking country; 

20 (2) immersion programs where students take 

21 science or technology related course work in a non22 English speaking country; and 

23 (3) other programs, such as summer work24 shops, that emphasize the intense study of a foreign 

25 language and science technology. 
12

•HR 3676 IH 

1 (d) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.—In distributing grants to 

2 institutions of higher education under this section, the 

3 Secretary of Education shall give priority to—

4 (1) institutions that have programs focusing on 

5 curriculum that combine the study of foreign lan6 guages and the study of science and technology and 

7 produce graduates who have both skills; and 

8 (2) institutions teaching the less-commonly 

9 taught languages of Arabic, Korean, Chinese, 

10 Pashto, Persian-Farsi, Serbian-Croatian, Japanese, 

11 Russian, Portuguese, and any language identified by 

12 the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the 

13 Defense Language Institute, the Foreign Service In14 stitute, and the National Security Education Pro15 gram, as a critical foreign language need. 

16 (e) SCIENCE.—In this section, the term ‘‘science’’ 

17 means any of the natural and physical sciences including 

18 chemistry, biology, physics, and computer science. Such 

19 term does not include any of the social sciences. 

20 (f) APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED.—To carry out 

21 this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 

22 $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may 

23 be necessary for each subsequent fiscal year. 
13

•HR 3676 IH 

1 SEC. 4. FEDERAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION MAR2 KETING CAMPAIGN. 

3 The Secretary of Education shall establish a foreign 

4 language education marketing campaign to encourage stu5 dents at secondary schools and institutions of higher 

6 learning to study foreign languages, particularly lan7 guages that are less commonly taught and critical to the 

8 national security of the United States. 

9 SEC. 5. NATIONAL STUDY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE HERIT10 AGE COMMUNITIES. 

11 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Education shall con12 duct a study to identify foreign language heritage commu13 nities, particularly such communities that include speakers 

14 of languages that are critical to the national security of 

15 the United States. 

16 (b) FOREIGN LANGUAGE HERITAGE COMMUNITY.—

17 For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘foreign language 

18 heritage community’’ means a community of residents or 

19 citizens of the United States—

20 (1) who are native speakers of, or who have 

21 partial fluency in, a foreign language; and 

22 (2) who should be actively recruited for employ23 ment by Federal security agencies with a need for 

24 linguists. 

25 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

26 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education 
14

•HR 3676 IH 

1 shall submit a report to the Congress on the results of 

2 the study conducted under this section. 

3 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERNATIONAL FLAGSHIP 

4 LANGUAGE INITIATIVE WITHIN THE NA5 TIONAL SECURITY EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

6 (a) NATIONAL FLAGSHIP LANGUAGE INITIATIVE.—

7 (1) EXPANSION OF GRANT PROGRAM AUTHOR8 ITY.—Subsection (a)(1) of section 802 of the David 

9 L. Boren National Security Education Act of 1991 

10 (50 U.S.C. 1902) is amended—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub12 paragraph (C); 

13 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

14 subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

16 subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(E) awarding grants to institutions of 

18 higher education to carry out activities under 

19 the International Flagship Language Initiative 

20 (described in subsection (j)).’’. 

21 (2) PROVISIONS OF NATIONAL FLAGSHIP LAN22 GUAGE INITIATIVE.—Such section is further amend23 ed by adding at the end the following new sub24 section: 
15

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘(j) INTERNATIONAL FLAGSHIP LANGUAGE INITIA2 TIVE.—(1) Under the International Flagship Language 

3 Initiative, qualified institutions of higher education shall 

4 establish, operate, or improve foreign language immersion

5 programs and activities at sites overseas designed to train 

6 students in programs in a range of disciplines to achieve 

7 advanced levels of proficiency in those foreign languages 

8 that the Secretary identifies as being the most critical in 

9 the interests of the national security of the United States. 

10 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, an institution 

11 of higher education is deemed to be qualified if the Sec12 retary determines that the institution has demonstrated 

13 expertise in the establishment and operation of foreign 

14 language immersion programs at sites overseas. 

15 ‘‘(3) In awarding grants under subsection (a)(1)(E), 

16 the Secretary shall give preference to those qualified insti17 tutions of higher learning that—

18 ‘‘(A) collaborate with established study abroad 

19 professional organizations, 

20 ‘‘(B) demonstrate experience in recruitment, 

21 placement, programming, and assessment of stu22 dents in specific countries and regions of the world; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(C) demonstrate relationships with language 

25 acquisition specialists. 
16

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘(4) An undergraduate student who has been award2 ed a scholarship under subsection (a)(1)(A) or a graduate 

3 student who has been awarded a fellowship under sub4 section (a)(1)(B) may participate in the activities carried 

5 out under the National Flagship Language Initiative. 

6 ‘‘(5) An institution of higher education that receives 

7 a grant pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(E) shall give special 

8 consideration to applicants who are employees of the Fed9 eral Government.’’. 

10 (3) INAPPLICABILITY OF FUNDING ALLOCATION

11 RULES.—(A) The first sentence in the matter fol12 lowing subsection (a)(2) of such section is amended 

13 by inserting ‘‘or under paragraph (1)(E) for the 

14 International Flagship Language Initiative described 

15 in subsection (j)’’ after ‘‘under paragraph (1)(D) for 

16 the National Flagship Language Initiative described 

17 in subsection (i)’’. 

18 (B) The second sentence in such matter is 

19 amended by inserting ‘‘and the International Flag20 ship Language Initiative’’ after ‘‘the National Flag21 ship Language Initiative’’. 

22 (4) BOARD REQUIREMENT.—Section 

23 803(d)(4)(E) of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1903(d)(4)(E)) 

24 is amended by inserting before the period the fol25 lowing: ‘‘and section 802(a)(1)(E) (relating to 
17

•HR 3676 IH 

1 grants for the International Flagship Language Ini2 tiative).’’. 

3 (b) FUNDING.—Section 811(a) of the David L. Boren 

4 National Security Education Act of 1991 (50 U.S.C. 

5 1911(a)) is amended—

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a) IN GEN7 ERAL.—’’; and 

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

9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(2) In addition to amounts that may be made avail11 able to the Secretary under the Fund for a fiscal year, 

12 there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for 

13 each fiscal year, beginning with fiscal year 2004, 

14 $12,000,000, to carry out the grant program for the Inter15 national Flagship Language Initiative under section 

16 802(a)(1)(E).’’. 

17 (c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

18 construed as affecting any program or project carried out 

19 under the David L. Boren National Security Education 

20 Act of 1991 as in effect on the date that precedes the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 7. FORGIVENESS OF LOANS TO STUDENTS AT INSTITU23 TIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 

24 (a) GUARANTEED STUDENT LOANS.—Part B of title 

25 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended by 
18

•HR 3676 IH 

1 inserting after section 428K (20 U.S.C. 1078–11) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 428L. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR UNDERGRADUATES IN 

4 CRITICAL FOREIGN LANGUAGES. 

5 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Education 

6 shall establish and implement a program to cancel the ob7 ligation of loan borrowers to pay the principal and interest 

8 on a loan provided under this part in order to serve as 

9 an incentive for students to obtain a degree in a critical 

10 foreign language. 

11 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

13 out a program, through the holder of the loan, of as14 suming the obligation to repay in accordance with 

15 subsection (c) the principal and interest, not to ex16 ceed a total of $10,000, on a loan made under this 

17 part for a borrower who—

18 ‘‘(A) has obtained an undergraduate de19 gree in a critical foreign language; 

20 ‘‘(B) is employed in a full-time position—

21 ‘‘(i) in an elementary or secondary 

22 school as a teacher of a critical foreign lan23 guage; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) in an agency of the United 

25 States Government in a position that regu-
19

•HR 3676 IH 

1 larly requires the use of such critical for2 eign language; 

3 ‘‘(C) is a United States citizen, United 

4 States national, permanent legal resident, or 

5 citizen of the Freely Associated States; and 

6 ‘‘(D) is in repayment status on such loan 

7 and is not in default on a loan for which the 

8 borrower seeks forgiveness of principal and in9 terest payments. 

10 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION BY BORROWERS.—The Sec11 retary shall, by regulation, establish procedures by 

12 which borrowers shall apply for loan repayment 

13 under this section. 

14 ‘‘(c) TERMS.—

15 ‘‘(1) PROMISE TO COMPLETE SERVICE RE16 QUIRED FOR PAYMENT.—Any application for pay17 ment under subsection (b) shall contain an agree18 ment by the applicant that the applicant will con19 tinue in a qualifying service described in subsection 

20 (b)(1)(B) for not less than 5 consecutive complete 

21 years, or will, upon a failure to complete such 5 

22 years, repay the United States the amount of the 

23 principal and interest repaid by the Secretary under 

24 subsection (b), at a rate and schedule, and in ac25 cordance with regulations, prescribed by the Sec-
20

•HR 3676 IH 

1 retary. Such regulations may provide for waiver by 

2 the Secretary of such repayment obligations upon

3 proof of economic hardship as specified in such regu4 lations. 

5 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT IN INSTALLMENTS.—After a 

6 borrower has obtained a bachelor’s degree in a crit7 ical foreign language, the Federal Government shall 

8 make payments under this section while the bor9 rower is in loan repayment status and continues in 

10 an employment position described in subsection 

11 (b)(1)(B). The Secretary shall repay a portion of a 

12 borrower’s outstanding loan, not to exceed a total of 

13 $10,000, in the following increments: 

14 ‘‘(A) up to $1,500 or 15 percent of the 

15 borrower’s outstanding loan balance, which ever 

16 is less, at the completion of the second year of 

17 such service; 

18 ‘‘(B) up to $1,500 or 15 percent of the 

19 borrower’s outstanding loan balance, which ever 

20 is less, at the completion of the third year of 

21 such service; 

22 ‘‘(C) up to $2,000 or 20 percent of the 

23 borrower’s outstanding loan balance, which ever 

24 is less, at the completion of the fourth year of 

25 such service; and 
21

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘(D) up to $5,000 or 50 percent of the 

2 borrower’s outstanding loan balance, which ever 

3 is less, at the completion of the fifth year of 

4 such service. 

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

6 ‘‘(1) CRITICAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE.—The term 

7 ‘critical foreign language’ includes the languages of 

8 Arabic, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Pashto, Persian9 Farsi, Serbian-Croatian, Russian, Portuguese, and 

10 any other language identified by the Secretary of 

11 Education, in consultation with the Defense Lan12 guage Institute, the Foreign Service Institute, and 

13 the National Security Education Program, as a crit14 ical foreign language need. 

15 ‘‘(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency of the United 

16 States Government’ means any agency, office, estab17 lishment, instrumentality, or other entity of the ex18 ecutive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Govern19 ment.’’. 

20 (b) DIRECT STUDENT LOANS.—Part D of title IV of 

21 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et 

22 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
22

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 460A. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR UNDERGRADUATES 

2 IN CRITICAL FOREIGN LANGUAGES. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Education 

4 shall establish and implement a program to cancel the ob5 ligation of loan borrowers to pay the principal and interest 

6 on a loan provided under this part in order to serve as 

7 an incentive for students to obtain a degree in a critical 

8 foreign language. 

9 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

11 out a program of assuming the obligation to repay 

12 in accordance with subsection (c) the principal and 

13 interest, not to exceed a total of $10,000, on a loan 

14 made under this part for a borrower who—

15 ‘‘(A) has obtained an undergraduate de16 gree in a critical foreign language; 

17 ‘‘(B) is employed in a full-time position—

18 ‘‘(i) in an elementary or secondary 

19 school as a teacher of a critical foreign lan20 guage; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) in an agency of the United 

22 States Government in a position that regu23 larly requires the use of such critical for24 eign language; 
23

•HR 3676 IH 

1 ‘‘(C) is a United States citizen, United 

2 States national, permanent legal resident, or 

3 citizen of the Freely Associated States; and 

4 ‘‘(D) is in repayment status on such loan 

5 and is not in default on a loan for which the 

6 borrower seeks forgiveness of principal and in7 terest payments. 

8 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION BY BORROWERS.—The Sec9 retary shall, by regulation, establish procedures by 

10 which borrowers shall apply for loan repayment 

11 under this section. 

12 ‘‘(c) TERMS.—

13 ‘‘(1) PROMISE TO COMPLETE SERVICE RE14 QUIRED FOR PAYMENT.—Any application for pay15 ment under subsection (b) shall contain an agree16 ment by the applicant that the applicant will con17 tinue in a qualifying service described in subsection 

18 (b)(1)(B) for not less than 5 consecutive complete 

19 years, or will, upon a failure to complete such 5 

20 years, repay the United States the amount of the 

21 principal and interest repaid by the Secretary under 

22 subsection (b), at a rate and schedule, and in ac23 cordance with regulations, prescribed by the Sec24 retary. Such regulations may provide for waiver by 

25 the Secretary of such repayment obligations upon 
24

•HR 3676 IH 

1 proof of economic hardship as specified in such regu2 lations. 

3 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT IN INSTALLMENTS.—After a 

4 borrower has obtained a bachelor’s degree in a crit5 ical foreign language, the Federal Government shall 

6 make payments under this section while the bor7 rower is in loan repayment status and continues in 

8 an employment position described in subsection 

9 (b)(1)(B). The Secretary shall repay a portion of a 

10 borrower’s outstanding loan, not to exceed a total of 

11 $10,000, in the following increments: 

12 ‘‘(A) up to $1,500 or 15 percent of the 

13 borrower’s outstanding loan balance, which ever 

14 is less, at the completion of the second year of 

15 such service; 

16 ‘‘(B) up to $1,500 or 15 percent of the 

17 borrower’s outstanding loan balance, which ever 

18 is less, at the completion of the third year of 

19 such service; 

20 ‘‘(C) up to $2,000 or 20 percent of the 

21 borrower’s outstanding loan balance, which ever 

22 is less, at the completion of the fourth year of 

23 such service; and 

24 ‘‘(D) up to $5,000 or 50 percent of the 

25 borrower’s outstanding loan balance, which ever 
25

•HR 3676 IH 

1 is less, at the completion of the fifth year of 

2 such service. 

3 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) CRITICAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE.—The term 

5 ‘critical foreign language’ includes the languages of 

6 Arabic, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Pashto, Persian7 Farsi, Serbian-Croatian, Russian, Portuguese, and 

8 any other language identified by the Secretary of 

9 Education, in consultation with the Defense Lan10 guage Institute, the Foreign Service Institute, and 

11 the National Security Education Program, as a crit12 ical foreign language need. 

13 ‘‘(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency of the United 

14 States Government’ means any agency, office, estab15 lishment, instrumentality, or other entity of the ex16 ecutive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Govern17 ment.’’. 

18 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 

19 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary of Education shall propose regulations to carry out 

21 this section and submit to the appropriate committees of 

22 the Congress a report on how the Secretary plans to imple23 ment the programs under amendments made by this sec24 tion and advertise such programs to institutions of higher 

25 learning and potential applicants. Not later than 6 months 
26

•HR 3676 IH 

1 after the date on which the comment period for the regula2 tions proposed under the preceding sentence ends, the Sec3 retary shall promulgate final regulations to carry out this 

4 section.

Æ