I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4414 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require students who do 

not complete a program of study to repay Federal Pell Grants. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 

Mr. FRANCIS ROONEY of Florida (for himself, Mr. NORMAN, and Mr. ALLEN) 

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 require 

students who do not complete a program of study to 

repay Federal Pell Grants. 

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 ‘‘Pell for Performance 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REPAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO COMPLETE PRO7 GRAM. 

8 Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 1070a) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘The period’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (k), 

3 the period’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(k) REPAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO COMPLETE PRO6 GRAM.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (3), if a recipient of a Federal Pell Grant fails 

9 to complete the program for which the Federal Pell 

10 Grant was awarded within the maximum timeframe 

11 for completion of such program, the sum of the 

12 amounts of any Federal Pell Grants received by the 

13 recipient for the program shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) be treated as a Federal Direct Un15 subsidized Stafford Loan under part D; and 

16 ‘‘(B) be subject to repayment, together 

17 with interest thereon accruing from the date of 

18 the grant award, in accordance with terms and 

19 conditions specified by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(2) PERIOD FOR COMPLETION.—For purposes 

21 of this subsection, the term ‘maximum timeframe’, 

22 used with respect to the completion of an under23 graduate program, has the meaning given such term 

24 in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 668.34(b) of title 

25 34, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 


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1 date of enactment of this Act), as applicable to such 

2 program. 

3 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall 

5 not apply with respect to a student who fails to 

6 complete a program within the maximum time7 frame for completion of such program— 

8 ‘‘(i) because the student enrolls in an9 other program at an institution of higher 

10 education— 

11 ‘‘(I) not later than 12 months 

12 after the date of the student’s last day 

13 of the previous program; and 

14 ‘‘(II) for which the previous pro15 gram provided substantial prepara16 tion; 

17 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a student who has 

18 a Federal Pell Grant that is being treated 

19 as a loan under paragraph (1) and who 

20 meets the requirements of subparagraph 

21 (B) of this paragraph, with respect to a 

22 subsequent Federal Pell Grant for which 

23 the student is eligible and which is award24 ed beyond such maximum timeframe; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) due to undue hardship, includ2 ing— 

3 ‘‘(I) active duty military service; 

4 ‘‘(II) the death of a relative of 

5 the student; 

6 ‘‘(III) the personal injury or ill7 ness of the student; or 

8 ‘‘(IV) other special circumstances 

9 as determined by the institution. 

10 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In order to qualify 

11 for the exception under subparagraph (A)(ii) of 

12 this paragraph, a student shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) have a Federal Pell Grant that is 

14 being treated as a loan under paragraph 

15 (1) for which the student has met the loan 

16 repayment obligations for not less than 6 

17 months; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) not be an individual described in 

19 paragraph (4)(B). 

20 ‘‘(4) LOSS OF FEDERAL PELL GRANT ELIGI21 BILITY.— 

22 ‘‘(A) DEFAULT.—An individual who is in 

23 default of an obligation to repay a Federal Pell 

24 Grant that is being treated as a loan under 


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1 paragraph (1) shall be ineligible to receive a 

2 Federal Pell Grant under this section. 

3 ‘‘(B) SECOND TIME DROPOUT.—An indi4 vidual who has received a Federal Pell Grant 

5 for enrollment in a program that is being treat6 ed as a loan under paragraph (1), and who 

7 leaves such program for a second time (other 

8 than for a reason described in clause (i) or (iii) 

9 of paragraph (3)(A)), shall be ineligible to re10 ceive a Federal Pell Grant under this section. 

11 ‘‘(5) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

12 each recipient of a Federal Pell Grant receives notice 

13 of the terms of this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(6) RECORD.—An institution shall keep a 

15 record that tracks the progress (including the grad16 uation and default rate) of any student described in 

17 paragraph (3)(B) who receives a Federal Pell Grant 

18 for enrollment in a program beyond the maximum 

19 timeframe for completion of such program.’’. 

Æ 


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