I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5349 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a student loan 

forgiveness program for nurses. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 10, 2006 

Mr. TANCREDO (for himself and Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California) 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 establish 

a student loan forgiveness program for nurses. 

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 ‘‘Nurse Loan Forgive5 ness Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) According to 2005 statistics from the Amer9 ican Hospital Association, 118,000 nurses are need10 ed to fill vacancies at our nation’s hospitals, and 


ccoleman on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
2 

•HR 5349 IH

1 more than 75 percent of all hospital personnel va2 cancies are for nurses. 

3 (2) According to a study by the Department of 

4 Health and Human Services in 2002, the United 

5 States will experience a 29 percent shortage in the 

6 number of nurses needed in the United States health 

7 care system by the year 2020, which translates into 

8 a shortage of more than 400,000 registered nurses 

9 nationwide. 

10 (3) Research indicates that there is a great 

11 need for health care services, especially hospitals and 

12 prescription drugs, but there continues to be a 28 

13 percent decrease in national licensure examination 

14 for all entry-level registered nurses. 

15 (4) The Department of Labor projects a 29 

16 percent increase in the need for nurses nationwide 

17 from 2004 to 2014, compared with a 13 percent in18 crease for all other occupations. 

19 (5) The General Accounting Office estimates 

20 that 40 percent of all registered nurses will be older 

21 than age 50 by the year 2010. 

22 (6) Of those registered nurses in 2004, an esti23 mated 16 percent have chosen to not practice in the 

24 field. 


ccoleman on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
3 

•HR 5349 IH

1 SEC. 3. LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM ESTABLISHED. 

2 Part B of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

3 1965 is amended by inserting after section 428K (20 

4 U.S.C. 1078–11) the following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 428L. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR NURSES. 

6 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

7 ‘‘(1) to encourage individuals to enter and con8 tinue in the nursing profession; and 

9 ‘‘(2) to reward such individuals for their service 

10 in the nursing profession by reducing the burden of 

11 student debt. 

12 ‘‘(b) LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) LOAN FORGIVENESS AUTHORIZED.—The 

14 Secretary is authorized to forgive, in accordance 

15 with this section, the student loan debt of an eligible 

16 borrower in the amount specified in subsection (d) 

17 for each of the first 5 complete years of service de18 scribed in subsection (c)(1) by such eligible borrower 

19 that occur after the date of enactment of this sec20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(2) METHOD OF LOAN FORGIVENESS.—To 

22 provide the loan forgiveness authorized in paragraph 

23 (1), the Secretary is authorized to carry out a pro24 gram— 


ccoleman on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
4 

•HR 5349 IH

1 ‘‘(A) through the holder of the loan, to as2 sume the obligation to repay a qualified loan 

3 amount for a loan made under this part; and 

4 ‘‘(B) to cancel a qualified loan amount for 

5 a loan made under part D of this title. 

6 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON CONSOLIDATION LOANS.— 

7 A loan amount for a loan made under section 428C 

8 may be a qualified loan amount for the purposes of 

9 this section only to the extent that such loan amount 

10 was used to repay a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, 

11 a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or a 

12 loan made under section 428 or 428H for an eligible 

13 borrower, as determined in accordance with regula14 tions prescribed by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE BORROWER.—The Secretary is au16 thorized to provide loan forgiveness under this section to 

17 any individual who— 

18 ‘‘(1) has been employed for at least one cal19 endar year as a full-time registered nurse in a health 

20 care facility or a health care setting approved by the 

21 Secretary of Health and Human Services for the 

22 purposes of this section; and 

23 ‘‘(2) is not in default on a loan for which the 

24 borrower seeks forgiveness. 


ccoleman on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
5 

•HR 5349 IH

1 ‘‘(d) LOAN FORGIVENESS AMOUNTS.—The Secretary 

2 may, from funds appropriated under subsection (j), forgive 

3 the loan obligation of an eligible borrower in accordance 

4 with subsection (b)(2) and in the following increments: 

5 ‘‘(1) After the first calendar year of employ6 ment described in subsection (c)(1), not more than 

7 $2,000. 

8 ‘‘(2) After the second such year of employment, 

9 not more than $2,500. 

10 ‘‘(3) After the third such year of employment, 

11 not more than $3,000. 

12 ‘‘(4) After the fourth such year of employment, 

13 not more than $4,500. 

14 ‘‘(5) After the fifth such year of employment, 

15 not more than $5,000. 

16 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION FOR LOAN FORGIVENESS.—An el17 igible borrower desiring loan forgiveness under this section 

18 shall submit a complete and accurate application to the 

19 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

20 such information as the Secretary may require. 

21 ‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall grant loan for22 giveness under this section on a first-come, first-served 

23 basis, and subject to the availability of appropriations. 


ccoleman on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
6 

•HR 5349 IH

1 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

2 prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

3 out the provisions of this section. 

4 ‘‘(h) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

5 be construed to authorize the refunding of any repayment 

6 of any loan. 

7 ‘‘(i) PREVENTION OF DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No bor8 rower may, for the same service, receive a benefit under 

9 both this section and subtitle D of title I of the National 

10 and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 

11 et seq.). 

12 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

14 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007 and 

15 each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

Æ 


ccoleman on PROD1PC71 with BILLS