I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1421 

To establish a program that enables college-bound residents of outlying areas 

of the United States to have greater choices among institutions of higher 

education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2021 

Ms. PLASKETT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To establish a program that enables college-bound residents 

of outlying areas of the United States to have greater 

choices among institutions of higher education, 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 ‘‘Territories College Ac5 cess Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 It is the purpose of this Act to establish a program 

8 that enables college-bound residents of outlying areas to 


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1 have greater choices among institutions of higher edu2 cation. 

3 SEC. 3. COLLEGE ACCESS GRANTS. 

4 (a) GRANTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

6 (A) ALLOCATION TO OUTLYING AREAS.— 

7 From the total amount appropriated under sub8 section (n) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall 

9 allocate 25 percent to each outlying area to 

10 make grants to eligible institutions in accord11 ance with subparagraph (B). 

12 (B) GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE INSTITU13 TIONS.—From the amount allocated to an out14 lying area under subparagraph (A) for a fiscal 

15 year, the Governor of the outlying area shall 

16 carry out a program under which the Governor 

17 awards grants to eligible institutions, on behalf 

18 of each eligible student from the outlying area 

19 who is enrolled in such institution, to pay the 

20 difference between— 

21 (i) the base amount of tuition and 

22 fees charged to the eligible student; and 

23 (ii) the base amount of tuition and 

24 fees charged to a student of the institution 


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1 who is a resident of the State in which the 

2 institution is located. 

3 (2) MAXIMUM STUDENT AMOUNTS.—The 

4 amount paid on behalf of an eligible student under 

5 this section shall be— 

6 (A) not more than $15,000 for any one 

7 award year (as defined in section 481 of the 

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

9 1088)); and 

10 (B) not more than $45,000 in the aggre11 gate. 

12 (3) PRORATION.—In the case of a grant made 

13 under this section on behalf of an eligible student 

14 who is attending an eligible institution on a less 

15 than full-time basis, the amount of the grant shall 

16 be reduced in proportion to the degree to which that 

17 student is not so attending on a full-time basis. 

18 (b) REDUCTION FOR INSUFFICIENT APPROPRIA19 TIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the funds appropriated 

21 pursuant to subsection (n) for any fiscal year are in22 sufficient to enable the Governor of an outlying area 

23 to award a grant in the amount determined under 

24 subsection (a) on behalf of each eligible student from 

25 the outlying area enrolled in an eligible institution, 


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1 then the Governor, in consultation with the Sec2 retary, shall— 

3 (A) first, ratably reduce the amount of the 

4 tuition and fee payment made on behalf of each 

5 eligible student from the outlying area who has 

6 not received funds under this section for a pre7 ceding year; and 

8 (B) after making reductions under sub9 paragraph (A), ratably reduce the amount of 

10 the tuition and fee payments made on behalf of 

11 all other eligible students from the outlying 

12 area. 

13 (2) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Governor of an out14 lying area, in consultation with the Secretary, may 

15 adjust the amount of tuition and fee payments made 

16 under paragraph (1) based on— 

17 (A) the financial need of the eligible stu18 dents to avoid undue hardship to the eligible 

19 students; or 

20 (B) undue administrative burdens on the 

21 Governor. 

22 (3) FURTHER ADJUSTMENTS.—Notwith23 standing paragraphs (1) and (2), the Governor of an 

24 outlying area may prioritize the making or amount 


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1 of tuition and fee payments under this subsection 

2 based on the income and need of eligible students. 

3 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec4 tion shall be construed to require an institution of higher 

5 education to alter the institution’s admissions policies or 

6 standards in any manner to enable an eligible student to 

7 enroll in the institution. 

8 (d) APPLICATIONS.—Each student desiring that a 

9 Governor award a grant under this section to an eligible 

10 institution on behalf of the student shall submit an appli11 cation to the eligible institution at such time, in such man12 ner, and accompanied by such information as the eligible 

13 institution may require. 

14 (e) EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub16 section (g), each application submitted under sub17 section (d) shall contain or be accompanied by an 

18 agreement by the applicant that the applicant will— 

19 (A) maintain full-time employment within 

20 the outlying area where the applicant was domi21 ciled, as described in subsection (l)(3)(A), for a 

22 period of not less than 2 years within the 4- 

23 year period after the date the applicant com24 pletes the course of study for which the appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:25 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1421.IH H1421

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1 cant received grant assistance under this sec2 tion; and 

3 (B) submit evidence of such employment in 

4 the form of a certification by the employer upon 

5 completion of each year of such employment. 

6 (2) FAILURE OR REFUSAL TO CARRY OUT EM7 PLOYMENT OBLIGATION.—In the event that an ap8 plicant is determined to have failed or refused to 

9 carry out the employment obligation described in 

10 paragraph (1), the sum of the grant assistance 

11 under this section received by such applicant shall be 

12 treated as a loan and collected from the applicant in 

13 accordance with subsection (f) and the policies and 

14 procedures under subsection (h)(2). 

15 (f) REPAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO COMPLETE EM16 PLOYMENT.—In the event that a student on whose behalf 

17 a grant is made under this section fails or refuses to com18 ply with the employment obligation in the agreement 

19 under subsection (e), the sum of the amounts of any such 

20 grant received by such student shall, upon a determination 

21 of such a failure or refusal in such employment obligation, 

22 be treated as a loan, and shall be subject to repayment, 

23 together with interest thereon accruing from the date of 

24 the grant award, in accordance with terms and conditions 


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1 specified by the Governor through policies and procedures 

2 under subsection (h)(2). 

3 (g) EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Governor shall identify 

5 extenuating circumstances under which a student on 

6 whose behalf a grant is made under this section who 

7 is unable to fulfill all or part of the student’s em8 ployment obligation under subsection (e) may be ex9 cused from fulfilling that portion of the employment 

10 obligation. 

11 (2) CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT.—If a student 

12 on whose behalf a grant is made under this section 

13 is continuously enrolled at an institution of higher 

14 education in one or more postbaccalaureate pro15 grams and is maintaining satisfactory progress in 

16 the course of study the student is pursuing in ac17 cordance with section 484(c) of the Higher Edu18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(c)), the employ19 ment obligation in the agreement under subsection 

20 (e) shall begin once such recipient is no longer con21 tinuously enrolled. 

22 (h) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Governor shall carry 

24 out the program authorized under this section in 

25 consultation with the Secretary. Each Governor may 


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1 enter into a grant, contract, or cooperative agree2 ment with another public or private entity to admin3 ister the program under this section if the Governor 

4 determines that doing so is a more efficient way of 

5 carrying out the program. 

6 (2) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—Each Gov7 ernor, in consultation with institutions of higher 

8 education eligible for participation in the program 

9 authorized under this section, shall develop policies 

10 and procedures for the administration of the pro11 gram. 

12 (3) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Each 

13 Governor and the Secretary shall enter into a memo14 randum of agreement that describes— 

15 (A) the manner in which the Governor 

16 shall consult with the Secretary with respect to 

17 administering the program authorized under 

18 this section; and 

19 (B) any technical or other assistance to be 

20 provided to the Governor by the Secretary for 

21 purposes of administering the program (which 

22 may include access to the information in the 

23 common financial reporting form developed 

24 under section 483 of the Higher Education Act 

25 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090)). 


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1 (i) GOVERNOR’S REPORT.—Each Governor shall re2 port to the authorizing committees annually regarding— 

3 (1) the number of eligible students from the 

4 outlying area attending each eligible institution and 

5 the amount of the grant assistance paid to such in6 stitutions on behalf of the eligible students; 

7 (2) the extent, if any, to which a ratable reduc8 tion was made in the amount of tuition and fee pay9 ments made on behalf of eligible students from the 

10 outlying area; 

11 (3) the progress in obtaining recognized aca12 demic credentials of the cohort of eligible students 

13 from the outlying area for each year; and 

14 (4) the number of eligible students whose grant 

15 assistance under this section has been converted to 

16 a loan, and the repayment of such loans. 

17 (j) GAO REPORT.—Beginning on the date of enact18 ment of this section, the Comptroller General of the 

19 United States shall monitor the effect of the program au20 thorized under this section on educational opportunities 

21 for eligible students. The Comptroller General shall ana22 lyze whether eligible students had difficulty gaining admis23 sion to eligible institutions because of any preference af24 forded in-State residents by eligible institutions, and shall 

25 expeditiously report any findings regarding such difficulty 


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1 to the authorizing committees. In addition, the Comp2 troller General shall— 

3 (1) analyze the extent to which there are an in4 sufficient number of eligible institutions to which 

5 students from outlying areas can gain admission, in6 cluding admission aided by assistance provided 

7 under this section, due to— 

8 (A) caps on the number of out-of-State 

9 students the institution will enroll; 

10 (B) significant barriers imposed by aca11 demic entrance requirements (such as grade 

12 point average and standardized scholastic ad13 missions tests); and 

14 (C) absence of admission programs benefit15 ting minority students; and 

16 (2) report the findings of the analysis described 

17 in paragraph (1) to the authorizing committees. 

18 (k) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (1) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall arrange 

20 for the assignment of an individual, pursuant to sub21 chapter VI of chapter 33 of title 5, United States 

22 Code, to serve as an adviser to each Governor with 

23 respect to the program authorized under this sec24 tion. 


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1 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Each Gov2 ernor may use not more than 5 percent of the funds 

3 made available for the program authorized under 

4 this section for a fiscal year to pay the administra5 tive expenses of the program for the fiscal year. 

6 (3) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.—The pro7 gram authorized under this section shall be subject 

8 to audit and other review by the Inspector General 

9 of the Department of Education in the same manner 

10 as programs are audited and reviewed under the In11 spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

12 (4) GIFTS.—Each Governor may accept, use, 

13 and dispose of donations of services or property for 

14 purposes of carrying out this section. 

15 (5) MAXIMUM STUDENT AMOUNT ADJUST16 MENTS.—Each Governor shall establish rules to ad17 just the maximum student amounts described in 

18 subsection (a)(2)(B) for eligible students who trans19 fer between the eligible institutions. 

20 (l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) AUTHORIZING COMMITTEES.—The term 

22 ‘‘authorizing committees’’ has the meaning given the 

23 term in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 

24 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi2 ble institution’’ means an institution that— 

3 (A) is a public 4-year institution of higher 

4 education located in one of the several States of 

5 the United States, the District of Columbia, or 

6 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

7 (B) is eligible to participate in the student 

8 financial assistance programs under title IV of 

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

10 1070 et seq.); and 

11 (C) enters into an agreement with a Gov12 ernor containing such terms and conditions as 

13 the Governor and institution may jointly speci14 fy, including a requirement that the institution 

15 use the funds made available under this section 

16 to supplement and not supplant assistance that 

17 otherwise would be provided to eligible students. 

18 (3) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

19 student’’ means an individual who— 

20 (A) was domiciled in the outlying area 

21 from which a grant is sought under this section 

22 for not less than the 12 consecutive months 

23 preceding the commencement of the freshman 

24 year of the individual at an institution of higher 

25 education; 


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1 (B) graduated from a secondary school in 

2 such outlying area, or received the recognized 

3 equivalent of a secondary school diploma while 

4 domiciled in such outlying area, on or after 

5 January 1, 2017; 

6 (C) begins the individual’s undergraduate 

7 course of study within the 3 calendar years (ex8 cluding any period of service on active duty in 

9 the Armed Forces, or service under the Peace 

10 Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) or subtitle 

11 C of title I of the National and Community 

12 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.)) 

13 of graduation from a secondary school, or ob14 taining the recognized equivalent of a secondary 

15 school diploma; 

16 (D) is enrolled or accepted for enrollment, 

17 on at least a half-time basis, in a baccalaureate 

18 degree or other program (including a program 

19 of study abroad approved for credit by the eligi20 ble institution at which such student is en21 rolled) leading to a recognized educational cre22 dential at an eligible institution; 

23 (E) if enrolled in an eligible institution, is 

24 maintaining satisfactory progress in the course 

25 of study the student is pursuing in accordance 


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1 with section 484(c) of the Higher Education 

2 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(c)); 

3 (F) while enrolled in an eligible institution, 

4 maintains the outlying area where the applicant 

5 was domiciled pursuant to subparagraph (A) as 

6 the individual’s principal place of residence for 

7 purposes of the laws of such outlying area; and 

8 (G) has not completed the individual’s first 

9 undergraduate baccalaureate degree course of 

10 study. 

11 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

12 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

13 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

15 (5) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ 

16 means— 

17 (A) the Governor of the United States Vir18 gin Islands, with respect to the grants author19 ized to be made by such Governor under sub20 section (a); 

21 (B) the Governor of the Commonwealth of 

22 the Northern Mariana Islands, with respect to 

23 the grants authorized to be made by such Gov24 ernor under subsection (a); 


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1 (C) the Governor of Guam, with respect to 

2 the grants authorized to be made by such Gov3 ernor under subsection (a); and 

4 (D) the Governor of American Samoa, with 

5 respect to the grants authorized to be made by 

6 such Governor under subsection (a). 

7 (6) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘‘outlying 

8 area’’ means any of the four insular areas specified 

9 under section 8101(36)(A) of the Elementary and 

10 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

11 7801(36)(A)). 

12 (7) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec13 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

14 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

16 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Education. 

18 (9) STATE.—Except as used in paragraph 

19 (2)(A), the term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given the 

20 term in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 

22 (m) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef23 fect with respect to payments for periods of instruction 

24 that begin on or after January 1, 2021. 


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1 (n) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $40,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 

4 2027, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 

5 succeeding fiscal years. Such funds shall remain available 

6 until expended. 

Æ 


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