I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4416 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to remove barriers for students 

seeking Federal financial aid by reducing the complexity and length 

of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and increasing 

support for working students and vulnerable populations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2017 

Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER (for herself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mrs. DAVIS of 

California, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. BERA, and Mr. DOGGETT) 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 remove 

barriers for students seeking Federal financial aid by 

reducing the complexity and length of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and increasing 

support for working students and vulnerable populations. 

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 ‘‘Simple FAFSA Act 

5 of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SPECIAL RULES. 

2 (a) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly 

3 provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal 

4 is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, 

5 a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid6 ered to be made to a section or other provision of the 

7 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 

8 (b) ORDERLY TRANSITION.—The Secretary shall 

9 take such steps as are necessary to provide for the orderly 

10 transition to, and implementation of, the amendments 

11 made by this Act. The authority provided in the preceding 

12 sentence shall cease on the day that is one year after the 

13 effective date of this Act. 

14 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

15 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act, and the amend16 ments made by this Act, shall take effect with respect to 

17 the first award year beginning after the first October after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act and each succeeding 

19 award year. 

20 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

21 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Special rules. 

Sec. 3. Effective date; table of contents. 

TITLE I—EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION 

Sec. 101. Expected family contribution. 

Sec. 102. Increasing support for working students by 35 percent. 

Sec. 103. Zero expected family contribution. 

Sec. 104. Using data from the second preceding year. 


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Sec. 105. Changes to untaxed income and benefits. 

TITLE II—SIMPLIFYING THE FAFSA 

Sec. 201. FAFSA pathways. 

Sec. 202. One-time FAFSA filing for dependent students. 

Sec. 203. FAFSA in various languages. 

Sec. 204. Use of Internal Revenue Service data retrieval tool to populate 

FAFSA. 

Sec. 205. Information on FAFSA verification. 

Sec. 206. Conforming amendments to section 483. 

TITLE III—FEDERAL AID ELIGIBILITY 

Sec. 301. Exception to required registration with selective service system. 

Sec. 302. Repeal of suspension of eligibility under the Higher Education Act 

of 1965 for grants, loans, and work assistance for drug-related 

offenses. 

Sec. 303. Federal aid eligibility for DREAMer students. 

TITLE IV—FINANCIAL AID SHOPPING SHEET 

Sec. 401. Financial aid shopping sheet. 

1 TITLE I—EXPECTED FAMILY 

2 CONTRIBUTION 

3 SEC. 101. EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION. 

4 (a) SPECIAL RULE.—Section 473(b) (20 U.S.C. 

5 1087mm) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘academic 

7 year’’ and inserting ‘‘award year’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘academic 

9 year 2009–2010 and succeeding academic years’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘award year 2018–2019 and suc11 ceeding award years’’. 

12 (b) DATA ELEMENTS.—Section 474(b) (20 U.S.C. 

13 1087nn(b)) is amended in paragraph (4), by inserting be14 fore ‘‘the net’’ the following: ‘‘only in the case of a path15 way three applicant,’’. 


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1 (c) DEPENDENT STUDENTS.—Section 475 (20 

2 U.S.C. 1087oo) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by inserting before 

4 ‘‘the student’’ the following: ‘‘only in the case of a 

5 pathway three applicant,’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by inserting before 

7 ‘‘the parents’ ’’ the following: ‘‘only in the case of a 

8 pathway three applicant,’’; and 

9 (3) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘award pe10 riod’’ and inserting ‘‘award year’’. 

11 (d) INDEPENDENT STUDENTS WITHOUT DEPEND12 ENTS OTHER THAN A SPOUSE.—Section 476(a)(1)(B) 

13 (20 U.S.C. 1087pp(a)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting be14 fore ‘‘the family’s contribution’’ the following: ‘‘only in the 

15 case of a pathway three applicant,’’. 

16 (e) INDEPENDENT STUDENTS WITH DEPENDENTS

17 OTHER THAN A SPOUSE.—Section 477(a)(1)(B) (20 

18 U.S.C. 1087qq(a)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting before 

19 ‘‘the family’s contribution’’ the following: ‘‘only in the case 

20 of a pathway three applicant,’’. 

21 SEC. 102. INCREASING SUPPORT FOR WORKING STUDENTS 

22 BY 35 PERCENT. 

23 (a) DEPENDENT STUDENTS.—Section 475(g)(2)(D) 

24 (20 U.S.C. 1087oo(g)(2)(D)) is amended to read as fol25 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(D) an income protection allowance (or a 

2 successor amount prescribed by the Secretary 

3 under section 478) of $9,010 for award year 

4 2018–2019;’’. 

5 (b) INDEPENDENT STUDENTS WITHOUT DEPEND6 ENTS OTHER THAN A SPOUSE.—Section 476 (20 U.S.C. 

7 1087pp) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘award pe9 riod’’ and inserting ‘‘award year’’; and 

10 (2) by amending subsection (b)(1)(A)(iv) to 

11 read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(iv) an income protection allowance 

13 (or a successor amount prescribed by the 

14 Secretary under section 478)— 

15 ‘‘(I) for single or separated stu16 dents, or married students where both 

17 are enrolled pursuant to subsection 

18 (a)(2), of $14,010 for award year 

19 2018–2019; and 

20 ‘‘(II) for married students where 

21 1 is enrolled pursuant to subsection 

22 (a)(2), of $22,460 for award year 

23 2018–2019;’’. 


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1 (c) INDEPENDENT STUDENTS WITH DEPENDENTS

2 OTHER THAN A SPOUSE.—Section 477 (20 U.S.C. 

3 1087qq) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘award pe5 riod’’ and inserting ‘‘award year’’; and 

6 (2) by amending subsection (b)(4) to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(4) INCOME PROTECTION ALLOWANCE.—The 

9 income protection allowance is determined by the fol10 lowing table (or a successor table prescribed by the 

11 Secretary under section 478), for award year 2018– 

12 2019: 

‘‘Income Protection Allowance 

Family 

Size 

Number in College 

(including 

student) 

1 2 3 4 5 

For each 

additional 

subtract: 

2 $35,470 $29,410 $6,030

3 44,170 38,130 $32,070 

4 54,540 45,490 42,450 $36,370 

5 64,360 58,280 52,240 46,190 $40,160 

6 75,260 69,210 63,190 57,090 51,070 

For each 

additional 

add: 8,500 ’’. 

13 (d) UPDATED TABLES AND AMOUNTS.—Section 478 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1087rr) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara17 graphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each award year 

19 after award year 2018–2019, the Secretary 


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1 shall publish in the Federal Register a revised 

2 table of income protection allowances for the 

3 purpose of sections 475(c)(4) and 477(b)(4), 

4 subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C). 

5 ‘‘(B) TABLE FOR INDEPENDENT STU6 DENTS.—For each award year after award year 

7 2018–2019, the Secretary shall develop the re8 vised table of income protection allowances by 

9 increasing each of the dollar amounts contained 

10 in the table of income protection allowances 

11 under section 477(b)(4) by a percentage equal 

12 to the estimated percentage increase in the 

13 Consumer Price Index (as determined by the 

14 Secretary for the most recent calendar year 

15 ending prior to the beginning of the award year 

16 for which the determination is being made), and 

17 rounding the result to the nearest $10.’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

20 ‘‘academic year after academic year 2007– 

21 2008’’ and inserting ‘‘award year after 

22 award year 2018–2019’’; and 

23 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking 

24 ‘‘shall be developed’’ and all that follows 

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1 ing ‘‘shall be developed for each award 

2 year after award year 2018–2019, by in3 creasing each of the dollar amounts con4 tained in such section for award year 

5 2018–2019 by a percentage equal to the 

6 estimated percentage increase in the Con7 sumer Price Index (as determined by the 

8 Secretary for the most recent calendar 

9 year ending prior to the beginning of the 

10 award year for which the determination is 

11 being made), and rounding the result to 

12 the nearest $10.’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘academic 

14 year’’ and inserting ‘‘award year’’. 

15 SEC. 103. ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION. 

16 Section 479 (20 U.S.C. 1087ss) is amended to read 

17 as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 479. ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall consider an 

20 applicant to have an expected family contribution equal 

21 to zero if— 

22 ‘‘(1) in the case of a dependent student— 

23 ‘‘(A)(i) the student’s parents file, or are el24 igible to file, a qualifying form or certify that 


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1 the parents are not required to file a Federal 

2 income tax return; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross income 

4 of the parents is less than or equal to $34,000; 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(B) the student’s parents, or the student, 

7 received benefits at some time during the pre8 vious 24-month period under a means-tested 

9 Federal benefit program; 

10 ‘‘(2) in the case of an independent student 

11 without regard to whether the student has depend12 ents other than a spouse— 

13 ‘‘(A)(i) the student (and the student’s 

14 spouse, if any) files, or is eligible to file, a 

15 qualifying form or certifies that the student 

16 (and the student’s spouse, if any) is not re17 quired to file a Federal income tax return; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross income 

19 of the student and spouse (if appropriate) is 

20 less than or equal to $34,000; or 

21 ‘‘(B) the student received benefits at some 

22 time during the previous 24-month period 

23 under a means-tested Federal benefit program; 

24 or 


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1 ‘‘(3) the applicant is a pathway one applicant 

2 under section 483(a)(13). 

3 ‘‘(b) EARNED INCOME CREDIT.—An individual is not 

4 required to qualify or file for the earned income credit in 

5 order to be eligible under this section. 

6 ‘‘(c) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary shall annually 

7 adjust the income level necessary to qualify an applicant 

8 for the zero expected family contribution. The income level 

9 shall be annually increased by the estimated percentage 

10 change in the Consumer Price Index, as defined in section 

11 478(f), for the most recent calendar year ending prior to 

12 the beginning of an award year, and rounded to the near13 est $1,000. 

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

15 ‘‘(1) QUALIFYING FORM.—The term ‘qualifying 

16 form’ means, in the case of an independent student, 

17 the student, or in the case of a dependent student, 

18 the family, files— 

19 ‘‘(A) a form 1040A or 1040EZ (including 

20 any prepared or electronic version of such form) 

21 required pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code 

22 of 1986; 

23 ‘‘(B) a form 1040 (including any prepared 

24 or electronic version of such form) required 

25 pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 


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1 except that such form shall be considered a 

2 qualifying form only if the student or family 

3 files such form in order to take a tax credit 

4 under section 25A of the Internal Revenue 

5 Code of 1986, and would otherwise be eligible 

6 to file a form described in subparagraph (A); or 

7 ‘‘(C) an income tax return (including any 

8 prepared or electronic version of such return) 

9 required pursuant to the tax code of the Com10 monwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 

11 Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Republic of the 

12 Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Mi13 cronesia, or Palau. 

14 ‘‘(2) MEANS-TESTED FEDERAL BENEFIT PRO15 GRAM.—For purposes of this paragraph, a ‘means16 tested Federal benefit program’ means a mandatory 

17 spending program of the Federal Government, other 

18 than a program under this title, in which eligibility 

19 for the program’s benefits, or the amount of such 

20 benefits, are determined on the basis of income or 

21 resources of the individual or family seeking the ben22 efit, and may include such programs as— 

23 ‘‘(A) the supplemental security income pro24 gram under title XVI of the Social Security Act 

25 (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(B) the supplemental nutrition assistance 

2 program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 

3 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 

4 ‘‘(C) the program of block grants for 

5 States for temporary assistance for needy fami6 lies established under part A of title IV of the 

7 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

8 ‘‘(D) the special supplemental nutrition 

9 program for women, infants, and children es10 tablished by section 17 of the Child Nutrition 

11 Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 

12 ‘‘(E) the State Medicaid program under 

13 title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 1396 et seq.); and 

15 ‘‘(F) other programs identified by the Sec16 retary.’’. 

17 SEC. 104. USING DATA FROM THE SECOND PRECEDING 

18 YEAR. 

19 Section 480(a)(1)(B) (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(a)(1)(B)) is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘may’’ in both places it appears and 

21 inserting ‘‘shall’’. 

22 SEC. 105. CHANGES TO UNTAXED INCOME AND BENEFITS. 

23 Section 480(b) (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(b) is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (1), to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘untaxed income and benefits’ 

2 means— 

3 ‘‘(A) child support received; 

4 ‘‘(B) untaxed portion of pensions; and 

5 ‘‘(C) payments to individual retirement ac6 counts and Keogh accounts excluded from in7 come for Federal income tax purposes.’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara10 graph (E); 

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

12 subparagraph (F) and inserting a semicolon; 

13 and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(G) workman’s compensation; 

16 ‘‘(H) veteran’s benefits such as death pen17 sion, dependency, and indemnity compensation, 

18 but excluding veterans’ education benefits as 

19 defined in subsection (c); 

20 ‘‘(I) interest on tax-free bonds; 

21 ‘‘(J) housing, food, and other allowances 

22 (excluding rent subsidies for low-income hous23 ing) for military, clergy, and others (including 

24 cash payments and cash value of benefits), ex25 cept that the value of on-base military housing 


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1 or the value of basic allowance for housing de2 termined under section 403(b) of title 37, 

3 United States Code, received by the parents, in 

4 the case of a dependent student, or the student 

5 or student’s spouse, in the case of an inde6 pendent student, shall be excluded; 

7 ‘‘(K) cash support or any money paid on 

8 the student’s behalf, except, for dependent stu9 dents, funds provided by the student’s parents; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(L) any other untaxed income and bene12 fits, such as Black Lung Benefits, Refugee As13 sistance, or railroad retirement benefits, or ben14 efits received through participation in employ15 ment and training activities under title I of the 

16 Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 

17 2801 et seq.).’’. 

18 TITLE II—SIMPLIFYING THE 

19 FAFSA 

20 SEC. 201. FAFSA PATHWAYS. 

21 Section 483(a) (20 U.S.C. 1090) is amended by add22 ing at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(13) FAFSA PATHWAYS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) MEMORANDUM OF UNDER25 STANDING.—Not later than the effective date of 


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1 the Simple FAFSA Act of 2017, the Secretary 

2 shall seek to enter into a Memorandum of Un3 derstanding with the Secretary of Health and 

4 Human Services, the Secretary of Agriculture, 

5 and the Secretary of the Treasury, under which 

6 any information exchanged under an income 

7 and eligibility verification system established 

8 pursuant to section 1137 of the Social Security 

9 Act by State agencies administering a program 

10 listed in paragraph (1), (4), or (5) of subsection 

11 (b) of such section which may be of use in es12 tablishing or verifying eligibility or benefit 

13 amounts under such program shall be made 

14 available to the Secretary of Education to assist 

15 in determining whether the applicant (or the 

16 applicant’s parents) received a benefit under a 

17 means-tested Federal benefit program at some 

18 time during the previous 24-month period 

19 under a means-tested Federal benefit program, 

20 but subject to the requirements of Federal law. 

21 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT FOR ALL APPLICANTS

22 AND THE SECRETARY.—For any award year for 

23 which an applicant applies for financial assist24 ance under this title (except for any award year 


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1 for which, pursuant to paragraph (14), the ap2 plicant is not required to submit a FAFSA)— 

3 ‘‘(i) the applicant shall provide on the 

4 form described in this subsection whether 

5 the applicant received, or in the case of a 

6 dependent applicant, whether the parents 

7 of the applicant received, a benefit under a 

8 means-tested Federal benefit program at 

9 some time during the previous 24-month 

10 period under a means-tested Federal ben11 efit program; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary, to the extent prac13 ticable and pursuant to the Memorandum 

14 of Understanding entered into under sub15 paragraph (A), and without any further 

16 action by the applicant, shall verify the ap17 plicant’s (or the applicant’s parents) re18 ceipt of such benefit. 

19 ‘‘(C) PATHWAY ONE APPLICANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—With respect to an 

21 applicant who received, or in the case of a 

22 dependent applicant, whose parents re23 ceived, benefits at some time during the 

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1 cant shall not be required to provide any 

2 further income or asset information on the 

3 form under this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(ii) DESIGNATION.—For purposes of 

5 this section and part F, an applicant de6 scribed in clause (i) shall be referred to as 

7 a ‘pathway one applicant’. 

8 ‘‘(D) PATHWAY TWO APPLICANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—With respect to an 

10 applicant who is not a pathway one appli11 cant and who is not required to file or, in 

12 the case of a dependent applicant, no par13 ent of the applicant is required to file, any 

14 schedule (other than a schedule R, sched15 ule 8812, or schedule EIC) with a Federal 

16 income tax return, the Secretary, to the ex17 tent practicable, shall use the data re18 trieval tool under section 484(q) to obtain 

19 any information for the applicant beyond 

20 the information described in subparagraph 

21 (A) for purposes of the form under this 

22 subsection. 

23 ‘‘(ii) DESIGNATION.—For purposes of 

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1 scribed in clause (i) shall be referred to as 

2 a ‘pathway two applicant’. 

3 ‘‘(E) PATHWAY THREE APPLICANTS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—With respect to an 

5 applicant who is not a pathway one appli6 cant or a pathway two applicant, the Sec7 retary, to the extent practicable, shall use 

8 the data retrieval tool under section 484(q) 

9 to obtain any information for the applicant 

10 beyond the information described in sub11 paragraph (A) for purposes of the form 

12 under this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(ii) DESIGNATION.—For purposes of 

14 this section and part F, an applicant de15 scribed in clause (i) shall be referred to as 

16 a ‘pathway three applicant’. 

17 ‘‘(F) MEANS-TESTED FEDERAL BENEFIT

18 PROGRAM DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

19 paragraph, the term ‘means-tested Federal ben20 efit program’ has the meaning given the term 

21 in section 479(d)(2).’’. 

22 SEC. 202. ONE-TIME FAFSA FILING FOR DEPENDENT STU23 DENTS. 

24 Section 483(a) (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)) is further 

25 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(14) ONE-TIME FAFSA FILING FOR DEPEND2 ENT STUDENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

4 other provision of this section and subject to 

5 subparagraphs (B) and (C), an applicant who 

6 submits a FAFSA for the first time during the 

7 period required for the completion of the first 

8 undergraduate baccalaureate course of study 

9 being pursued by such applicant and is deter10 mined to be a dependent student who is eligible 

11 to receive a Federal Pell Grant for the award 

12 year for which the applicant submitted such 

13 FAFSA, for any succeeding award year— 

14 ‘‘(i) for which the applicant does not 

15 submit a FAFSA and for which the appli16 cant submits a certification form described 

17 in subparagraph (D) based upon which the 

18 Secretary confirms that the applicant is a 

19 dependent student for such year, such ap20 plicant— 

21 ‘‘(I) shall not be required to sub22 mit a FAFSA to receive financial as23 sistance under this title; and 

24 ‘‘(II) shall have an expected fam25 ily contribution for such year that is 


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1 equal to the expected family contribu2 tion of the applicant determined for 

3 the award year for which the appli4 cant submitted a FAFSA during such 

5 period, except that an adjustment to 

6 such expected family contribution may 

7 be made under section 479A; 

8 ‘‘(ii) for which the applicant submits a 

9 FAFSA, such applicant— 

10 ‘‘(I) shall have an expected fam11 ily contribution for such year that is 

12 determined based on such FAFSA; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(II) shall be required to submit 

15 a FAFSA for any other award year 

16 for which the applicant seeks financial 

17 assistance under this title; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) for which the applicant is deter19 mined to be an independent student or 

20 does not submit a certification form de21 scribed in subparagraph (D), such appli22 cant shall submit a FAFSA for such suc23 ceeding award year and any other award 

24 year for which the applicant seeks financial 

25 assistance under this title. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT OF EXPECTED FAMILY

2 CONTRIBUTION.—With respect to an applicant 

3 described in subparagraph (A)(i) who receives 

4 an adjustment under section 479A to the ex5 pected family contribution of the applicant for 

6 an award year, for any succeeding award year 

7 after the award year for which the adjustment 

8 was made, subclause (II) of such subparagraph 

9 shall be applied to such applicant by sub10 stituting ‘expected family contribution of the 

11 applicant as most recently adjusted under sec12 tion 479A for such applicant’ for the ‘expected 

13 family contribution of the applicant determined 

14 for the award year for which the applicant sub15 mitted a FAFSA during such period’. 

16 ‘‘(C) RULE FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS.— 

17 With respect to an applicant who submits a 

18 FAFSA for award year 2018–2019 and enrolls 

19 in an institution of higher education for such 

20 year, subparagraph (A) shall be applied— 

21 ‘‘(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

22 by substituting ‘award year 2018–2019’ 

23 for ‘the first time’; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) in clause (i)(II), by substituting 

25 ‘award year 2018–2019’ for ‘the award 


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1 year for which the applicant submitted a 

2 FAFSA during such period’. 

3 ‘‘(D) DEPENDENT STUDENT CERTIFI4 CATION FORM.—The Secretary, in cooperation 

5 with representatives of agencies and organiza6 tions involved in student financial assistance, 

7 shall use behavioral science insights to produce, 

8 distribute, and process free of charge a short 

9 and simple consumer-tested dependent student 

10 certification form that uses skip logic to bypass 

11 fields that are inapplicable to an applicant. 

12 Such form shall not require an applicant to pro13 vide data that the Secretary may otherwise ob14 tain with respect to the applicant (such as age 

15 or active duty military status), and may only 

16 contain the data elements required for purposes 

17 of subparagraph (A)(i)— 

18 ‘‘(i) to confirm that the applicant is a 

19 dependent student; 

20 ‘‘(ii) to allow the applicant to update 

21 the contact information of such applicant 

22 or the Federal School Code of the institu23 tion of higher education in which the appli24 cant is, or will be enrolled, for the award 


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1 year for which the applicant submits such 

2 form; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) to ask whether the applicant’s 

4 need and eligibility for financial assistance 

5 under this title has not changed substan6 tially since the most recent of the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(I) The applicant submitted a 

9 FAFSA. 

10 ‘‘(II) The applicant received an 

11 adjustment under section 479A to the 

12 expected family contribution of the 

13 applicant. 

14 ‘‘(E) SUCCEEDING AWARD YEAR DE15 FINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘suc16 ceeding award year’— 

17 ‘‘(i) when used with respect to an ap18 plicant who submits a FAFSA for the first 

19 time for an award year during the period 

20 required for the completion of the first un21 dergraduate baccalaureate course of study 

22 being pursued by such applicant, means 

23 any award year during such period that 

24 follows the award year for which the appli25 cant submits such FAFSA; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) when used with respect to an ap2 plicant described in subparagraph (C), 

3 means any award year after award year 

4 2018–2019 during the period required for 

5 the completion of the first undergraduate 

6 baccalaureate course of study being pur7 sued by such applicant.’’. 

8 SEC. 203. FAFSA IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES. 

9 Section 483(a) (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)) is further 

10 amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(15) FAFSA IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES.—The 

12 Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) translate the form developed under 

14 this subsection into not fewer than 11 foreign 

15 languages based on the languages most often 

16 spoken by English learner students and their 

17 parents, and make the translated form available 

18 to applicants in paper and electronic formats; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) ensure that the form developed under 

21 this subsection is available in formats accessible 

22 to individuals with disabilities.’’. 


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1 SEC. 204. USE OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE DATA RE2 TRIEVAL TOOL TO POPULATE FAFSA. 

3 Section 483(f) (20 U.S.C. 1090(f)) is amended to 

4 read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(f) USE OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE DATA

6 RETRIEVAL TOOL TO POPULATE FAFSA.— 

7 ‘‘(1) SIMPLIFICATION EFFORTS.—The Sec8 retary shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) make every effort to allow applicants 

10 to utilize the current data retrieval tool to 

11 transfer data available from the Internal Rev12 enue Service to reduce the amount of original 

13 data entry by applicants and strengthen the re14 liability of data used to calculate expected fam15 ily contributions, including through the use of 

16 technology to— 

17 ‘‘(i) allow an applicant to automati18 cally populate the electronic version of the 

19 forms under this paragraph with data 

20 available from the Internal Revenue Serv21 ice; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) direct an applicant to appro23 priate questions on such forms based on 

24 the applicant’s answers to previous ques25 tions; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) allow single taxpayers, married tax2 payers filing jointly, and married taxpayers fil3 ing separately to utilize the current data re4 trieval tool to its full capacity. 

5 ‘‘(2) USE OF TAX RETURN IN APPLICATION

6 PROCESS.—The Secretary shall continue to examine 

7 whether data provided by the Internal Revenue Serv8 ice can be used to generate an expected family con9 tribution without additional action on the part of the 

10 student and taxpayer. 

11 ‘‘(3) REPORTS ON FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION EF12 FORTS.—Not less than once every other year, the 

13 Secretary shall report to the authorizing committees 

14 and the Committees on Appropriations of the House 

15 of Representatives and the Senate on the progress of 

16 the simplification efforts under this subsection.’’. 

17 SEC. 205. INFORMATION ON FAFSA VERIFICATION. 

18 Section 483 (20 U.S.C. 1090) is further amended by 

19 adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) FAFSA VERIFICATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to applicants 

22 who submit a FAFSA for an award year and were 

23 eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant for such 

24 award year, the Secretary shall submit to the auVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Nov 21, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4416.IH H4416

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1 thorizing committees, and make publicly available, a 

2 report for such award year on— 

3 ‘‘(A) the percentage of such applicants who 

4 received a Federal Pell Grant for such award 

5 year; 

6 ‘‘(B) the percentage of such applicants 

7 who did not receive a Federal Pell Grant for 

8 such year; 

9 ‘‘(C) the percentage of such applicants who 

10 were selected by the Secretary for verification of 

11 the data provided in the FAFSA; 

12 ‘‘(D) the percentage of applicants de13 scribed in paragraph (1)(C) who received a 

14 Federal Pell Grant for such award year; and 

15 ‘‘(E) the percentage of applicants de16 scribed in paragraph (1)(C) who did not receive 

17 a Federal Pell Grant for such award year. 

18 ‘‘(2) DISAGGREGATION.—The data provided in 

19 a report under paragraph (1) shall be 

20 disaggregated— 

21 ‘‘(A) by applicants who were pathway 1 

22 applicants for such year; 

23 ‘‘(B) by applicants who were pathway 2 

24 applicants for such year; 


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1 ‘‘(C) by applicants who were pathway 3 

2 applicants for such year; and 

3 ‘‘(D) to the extent practicable, by appli4 cants who enrolled in an institution of higher 

5 education for such award year.’’. 

6 SEC. 206. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 483. 

7 Section 483 (20 U.S.C. 1090), as amended by sec8 tions 201 through 205, is further amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

12 ‘‘process’’ and all that follows through the 

13 end of clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘process a 

14 paper version of the forms described in 

15 this subsection, in accordance with sub16 paragraph (C).’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B); 

18 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

19 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

20 the end sentence; and 

21 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B), and 

22 redesignating subparagraphs (C) through 

23 (H) as subparagraphs (B) through (G), re24 spectively; 

25 (C) in paragraph (4)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘academic year’’ each 

2 place it appears and inserting ‘‘award 

3 year’’; and 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

5 clause (iv); and 

6 (D) in paragraph (5)— 

7 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

8 ‘‘paragraphs (2)(B)(iii), (3)(B), and 

9 (4)(A)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

10 (4)(A)(ii)’’; 

11 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

12 (I) by striking ‘‘determine’’ and 

13 all that follows through ‘‘which’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘determine which’’; and 

15 (II) by striking clause (ii); 

16 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

17 ‘‘the Secretary’’ and all that follows 

18 through ‘‘of the’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec19 retary of the’’; and 

20 (iv) by striking subparagraphs (D) 

21 through (F), and redesignating subpara22 graph (G) as subparagraph (D); 

23 (2) in subsection (c), by striking the last sen24 tence; 

25 (3) in subsection (d)(3)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and 

2 EZ FAFSA’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and 

4 EZ FAFSA’’; 

5 (4) in subsection (e)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or, as 

7 appropriate, an EZ FAFSA’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (5)(D), by striking ‘‘or, 

9 as appropriate, an EZ FAFSA,’’; and 

10 (5) by repealing subsection (g). 

11 TITLE III—FEDERAL AID 

12 ELIGIBILITY 

13 SEC. 301. EXCEPTION TO REQUIRED REGISTRATION WITH 

14 SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM. 

15 (a) EXCEPTION.—Part B of title I (20 U.S.C. 1011 

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

17 ‘‘SEC. 124. EXCEPTION TO REQUIRED REGISTRATION WITH 

18 SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM. 

19 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 12(f) of the Military Selec20 tive Service Act (50 U.S.C. 3811(f)), a person shall not 

21 be ineligible for assistance or a benefit provided under title 

22 IV if the person is required under section 3 of such Act 

23 (50 U.S.C. 3802) to present himself for and submit to 

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1 cordance with any proclamation, rule, or regulation issued 

2 under such section.’’. 

3 (b) REPEAL.—Subsection (n) of section 484 (20 

4 U.S.C. 1901) is repealed. 

5 SEC. 302. REPEAL OF SUSPENSION OF ELIGIBILITY UNDER 

6 THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965 FOR 

7 GRANTS, LOANS, AND WORK ASSISTANCE FOR 

8 DRUG-RELATED OFFENSES. 

9 (a) REPEALS.— 

10 (1) SUSPENSION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Subsection 

11 (r) of section 484 (20 U.S.C. 1091(r)) is repealed. 

12 (2) NOTICE.—Subsection (k) of section 485 (20 

13 U.S.C. 1092) is repealed. 

14 (b) REVISION OF FAFSA FORM.—Section 483 (20 

15 U.S.C. 1090), as amended by title II, is further amended 

16 by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(j) CONVICTIONS.—The Secretary shall not include 

18 any question about the conviction of an applicant for the 

19 possession or sale of illegal drugs on the FAFSA (or any 

20 other form developed under subsection (a)).’’. 

21 SEC. 303. FEDERAL AID ELIGIBILITY FOR DREAMER STU22 DENTS. 

23 Section 484 (20 U.S.C. 1091) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(5), by inserting ‘‘, or be a 

2 Dreamer student, as defined in subsection (u)’’ after 

3 ‘‘becoming a citizen or permanent resident’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(u) DREAMER STUDENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

7 ‘Dreamer student’ means an individual who— 

8 ‘‘(A) was younger than 16 years of age on 

9 the date on which the individual initially en10 tered the United States; 

11 ‘‘(B) has provided a list of each secondary 

12 school that the student attended in the United 

13 States; and 

14 ‘‘(C)(i) has earned a high school diploma, 

15 the recognized equivalent of such diploma from 

16 a secondary school, or a high school equivalency 

17 diploma in the United States or is scheduled to 

18 complete the requirements for such a diploma 

19 or equivalent before the next academic year be20 gins; 

21 ‘‘(ii) has acquired a degree from an institu22 tion of higher education or has completed not 

23 less than 2 years in a program for a bacca24 laureate degree or higher degree at an institu25 tion of higher education in the United States 


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1 and has made satisfactory academic progress, 

2 as defined in subsection (c), during such time 

3 period; 

4 ‘‘(iii) at any time was eligible for a grant 

5 of deferred action under— 

6 ‘‘(I) the June 15, 2012, memorandum 

7 from the Secretary of Homeland Security 

8 entitled ‘Exercising Prosecutorial Discre9 tion with Respect to Individuals Who 

10 Came to the United States as Children’; or 

11 ‘‘(II) the November 20, 2014, memo12 randum from the Secretary of Homeland 

13 Security entitled ‘Exercising Prosecutorial 

14 Discretion with Respect to Individuals 

15 Who Came to the United States as Chil16 dren and with Respect to Certain Individ17 uals Who Are the Parents of U.S. Citizens 

18 or Permanent Residents’; or 

19 ‘‘(iv) has served in the uniformed services, 

20 as defined in section 101 of title 10, United 

21 States Code, for not less than 4 years and, if 

22 discharged, received an honorable discharge. 

23 ‘‘(2) HARDSHIP EXCEPTION.—The Secretary 

24 shall issue regulations that direct when the Depart25 ment shall waive the requirement of subparagraph 


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1 (A) or (B), or both, of paragraph (1) for an indi2 vidual to qualify as a Dreamer student under such 

3 paragraph, if the individual— 

4 ‘‘(A) demonstrates compelling cir5 cumstances for the inability to satisfy the re6 quirement of such subparagraph (A) or (B), or 

7 both; and 

8 ‘‘(B) satisfies the requirement of para9 graph (1)(C).’’. 

10 TITLE IV—FINANCIAL AID 

11 SHOPPING SHEET 

12 SEC. 401. FINANCIAL AID SHOPPING SHEET. 

13 (a) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the effective 

15 date of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in con16 sultation with the Secretaries of Defense and Vet17 erans Affairs, shall develop and finalize a financial 

18 shopping sheet that ensures each institution of high19 er education provides meaningful information about 

20 the financial cost and quality of such institution to 

21 students (including students who have authorized 

22 the Department of Education to send the student’s 

23 Institutional Student Information Record to such in24 stitution) to assist such students in determining how 


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1 to use financial aid to attend such institution, and 

2 which— 

3 (A) is standardized so that it can be used 

4 by all institutions of higher education; 

5 (B) is consumer tested, and presented in a 

6 manner that is simple and easily understand7 able; and 

8 (C) is personalized for each student who 

9 receives such sheet by including— 

10 (i) the cost of attendance of the edu11 cational program in which the student is 

12 enrolled or seeks to be enrolled; 

13 (ii) the type of Federal educational 

14 benefits available to assist in covering such 

15 cost of attendance, including loans and 

16 grants under title IV of the Higher Edu17 cation Act of 1965; 

18 (iii) the amount of financial aid, in19 cluding Federal, State, institutional, or 

20 other aid that can be used to assist in cov21 ering such cost of attendance; 

22 (iv) information about student out23 comes for students who graduate from 

24 such educational program, including, based 

25 upon the most recent data available— 


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1 (I) the graduation rate; 

2 (II) the loan repayment rate; and 

3 (III) the estimated loan debt 

4 upon graduation; and 

5 (v) any other information that facili6 tates comparison of aid packages offered 

7 by different institutions of higher edu8 cation. 

9 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

10 (A) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—The term 

11 ‘‘cost of attendance’’ has the meaning given the 

12 term in section 472 of the Higher Education 

13 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll). 

14 (B) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU15 CATION.—The term ‘‘institution of higher edu16 cation’’ has the meaning given the term in sec17 tion 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

19 (b) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION REQUIRE20 MENT.—Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: 

23 ‘‘(30) The institution will use a financial aid 

24 shopping sheet described in section 401(a) of the 

25 Simple FAFSA Act of 2017 as its sole financial 


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1 award letter or include such sheet as a supplemental 

2 cover to such financial award letter.’’. 

Æ 


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