II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2065 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the income 

protection allowances. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. REED, and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase 

the income protection allowances. 

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 ‘‘Working Student Act 

5 of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR WORKING STUDENTS. 

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

8 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 1087oo(g)(2)(D)) is amended to read as follows: 


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

2 successor amount prescribed by the Secretary 

3 under section 478) of $8,519 for academic year 

4 2016–2017;’’. 

5 (b) INDEPENDENT STUDENTS WITHOUT DEPEND6 ENTS OTHER THAN A SPOUSE.—Section 476(b)(1)(A)(iv) 

7 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

8 1087pp(b)(1)(A)(iv)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(iv) an income protection allowance 

10 (or a successor amount prescribed by the 

11 Secretary under section 478)— 

12 ‘‘(I) for single or separated stu13 dents, or married students where both 

14 are enrolled pursuant to subsection 

15 (a)(2), of $13,244 for academic year 

16 2016–2017; and 

17 ‘‘(II) for married students where 

18 1 is enrolled pursuant to subsection 

19 (a)(2), of $21,222 for academic year 

20 2016–2017;’’. 

21 (c) INDEPENDENT STUDENTS WITH DEPENDENTS

22 OTHER THAN A SPOUSE.—Section 477(b)(4) of the High23 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087qq(b)(4)) is 

24 amended to read as follows: 


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

2 income protection allowance is determined by the fol3 lowing table (or a successor table prescribed by the 

4 Secretary under section 478), for academic year 

5 2016–2017: 

‘‘Income Protection Allowance 

Family 

Size 

Number in College 

(including 

student) 

1 2 3 4 5 

For each 

additional 

subtract: 

2 $33,534 $27,797 $4,230

3 41,742 36,045 $30,308 

4 51,543 45,833 40,122 $34,385 

5 60,831 55,080 49,370 43,659 $37,949 

6 71,321 65,408 59,724 53,960 48,276 

For each 

additional 

add: 5,950 ’’. 

6 (d) UPDATED TABLES AND AMOUNTS.—Section 

7 478(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

8 1087rr(b)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraphs 

10 (A) and (B) and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each academic 

12 year after academic year 2016–2017, the Sec13 retary shall publish in the Federal Register a 

14 revised table of income protection allowances 

15 for the purpose of sections 475(c)(4) and 

16 477(b)(4), subject to subparagraphs (B) and 

17 (C). 

18 ‘‘(B) TABLE FOR INDEPENDENT STU19 DENTS.—For each academic year after acaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Sep 26, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065

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1 demic year 2016–2017, the Secretary shall de2 velop the revised table of income protection al3 lowances by increasing each of the dollar 

4 amounts contained in the table of income pro5 tection allowances under section 477(b)(4) by a 

6 percentage equal to the estimated percentage 

7 increase in the Consumer Price Index (as deter8 mined by the Secretary) between December 

9 2014 and the December next preceding the be10 ginning of such academic year, and rounding 

11 the result to the nearest $10.’’; and 

12 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘shall be de13 veloped’’ and all that follows through the period at 

14 the end and inserting ‘‘shall be developed for each 

15 academic year after academic year 2016–2017, by 

16 increasing each of the dollar amounts contained in 

17 such section for academic year 2016–2017 by a per18 centage equal to the estimated percentage increase 

19 in the Consumer Price Index (as determined by the 

20 Secretary) between December 2014 and the Decem21 ber next preceding the beginning of such academic 

22 year, and rounding the result to the nearest $10.’’. 

23 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

24 this section shall be effective on July 1, 2016. 

Æ 


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