I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8904 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish the Federal Perkins 

ARC loan program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 8, 2020 

Mr. POCAN (for himself, Mr. DESAULNIER, and Ms. SEWELL of Alabama) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish 

the Federal Perkins ARC loan program, 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 ‘‘Perkins Access, Reten5 tion, and Completion (ARC) Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Since the inception of the Federal Perkins 

9 Loan Program in 1958, over $28,000,000,000 in 


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1 loans have been made to students through more 

2 than 25,000,000 aid awards. Millions of students 

3 and families in need have been helped by Federal 

4 Perkins Loans. 

5 (2) The Federal Perkins Loan Program was a 

6 revolving fund that utilized a model of risk sharing, 

7 local control, and school based servicing that greatly 

8 benefited students, borrowers, and institutions of 

9 higher education for six decades. 

10 (3) In the 2016–2017 academic year, the last 

11 year that Federal Perkins Loans were authorized, 

12 30 percent of families with dependent students re13 ceiving Federal Perkins Loans had annual incomes 

14 below $30,000 and 8 percent of families with de15 pendent students receiving Federal Perkins Loans 

16 had annual incomes below $12,000. 

17 (4) Since the expiration of the Federal Perkins 

18 Loan Program authorization in 2017, there has been 

19 no substitute or replacement aid for college students 

20 with need, which has resulted in many students hav21 ing to borrow higher cost student loans or withdraw 

22 from college altogether. 

23 SEC. 3. FEDERAL PERKINS ARC LOANS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part E of title IV of the Higher 

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) is 


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1 amended by inserting before section 461 the following new 

2 section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 460A. FEDERAL PERKINS ACCESS, RETENTION, AND 

4 COMPLETION ARC LOAN. 

5 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION OF LOANS.—The Secretary shall 

6 carry out a program assisting in the maintenance of funds 

7 at institutions of higher education for the making of loans 

8 to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in 

9 need to pursue their courses of study in such institutions 

10 or while engaged in programs of study abroad approved 

11 for credit by such institutions. Loans made under this sec12 tion shall be known as ‘Federal Perkins ARC Loans’. 

13 ‘‘(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Unless otherwise 

14 specified in this section, all terms and conditions and other 

15 requirements applicable to Federal Perkins Loans estab16 lished under section 461 shall apply to Federal Perkins 

17 ARC Loans made pursuant to this section. 

18 ‘‘(c) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may not provide 

19 assistance to an institution of higher education under this 

20 section unless such institution enters into an agreement 

21 with the Secretary under section 463(a). 

22 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE BORROWERS.—A loan under this sec23 tion may only be made to a student who— 


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1 ‘‘(1) is eligible under section 464(b) (including 

2 graduate and professional students as defined in 

3 regulations promulgated by the Secretary); 

4 ‘‘(2) attends an eligible institution with an 

5 agreement with the Secretary under section 463(a); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(3) the institution uses its authority under 

8 such agreement to award the student a loan.’’. 

9 (b) REAUTHORIZATION OF PERKINS LOANS.—Sec10 tion 461(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 1087aa(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—’’; 

13 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), 

14 and (C) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively; 

15 and 

16 (3) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3). 

17 (c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR PERKINS ARC 

18 LOAN.—Section 462 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

19 (20 U.S.C. 1087bb) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b); and 

21 (2) by inserting before subsection (c) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(a) AVAILABLE DIRECT PERKINS ARC ANNUAL

24 LOAN AUTHORITY.—There are hereby made available, 

25 from funds made available for loans made under part D, 


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1 not to exceed $6,000,000,000 of annual loan authority for 

2 award year 2020–2021 and each succeeding award year 

3 until the program is determined by the Secretary to be 

4 self-sustaining, to be allocated under subsection (b). 

5 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION BASED ON PREVIOUS ALLOCA6 TION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount appro8 priated pursuant to section 462(b), for each fiscal 

9 year, the Secretary shall allocate to each eligible in10 stitution an amount equal to not less than 90 per11 cent and not more than 110 percent of the amount 

12 that the eligible institution received under this sub13 section and subsection (a) (as such subsections were 

14 in effect with respect to allocations for such fiscal 

15 year) for the previous fiscal year for which that in16 stitution received funds under this section. 

17 ‘‘(2) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the amount ap18 propriated for any fiscal year is less than the 

19 amount required to be allocated to all institutions 

20 under paragraph (1), then the amount of the alloca21 tion to each such institution shall be ratably re22 duced. 

23 ‘‘(3) NO PREVIOUS ALLOCATION.—In the case 

24 of an institution that has not received a previous al25 location under this section, the Secretary shall alloVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Dec 22, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8904.IH H8904

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1 cate funds under this section solely on the basis of 

2 the self-help need determination described under 

3 subsection (c).’’. 

4 (d) CONTINUED LOAN SERVICING.—Section 466 of 

5 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ff) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(d) CONTINUED LOAN SERVICING.—The Secretary 

8 shall continue to make payments for student loan servicing 

9 to institutions of higher education that service outstanding 

10 existing Federal Perkins Loans awarded under part E of 

11 title IV prior to the date of the enactment of the Perkins 

12 Access, Retention, and Completion (ARC) Act.’’. 

Æ 


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