I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4638 

To give middle-class families access to the maximum Federal Pell Grant, 

to increase college transparency, and State maintenance of efforts, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 11, 2019 

Mr. CARBAJAL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on 

Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To give middle-class families access to the maximum Federal 

Pell Grant, to increase college transparency, and State 

maintenance of efforts, 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 ‘‘Degrees Not Debt Act 

5 of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INCREASE IN THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF A FED2 ERAL PELL GRANT. 

3 Section 401(b)(7)(C) of the Higher Education Act of 

4 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(7)(C)) is amended— 

5 (1) in clause (i)(I), by striking ‘‘clause (iv)(II)’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘clause (v)(II)’’; 

7 (2) in clause (ii)(I), by striking ‘‘clause (iv)(II)’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘clause (v)(II)’’; 

9 (3) by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) as 

10 clauses (iv) and (v), respectively; 

11 (4) by inserting after clause (ii) the following: 

12 ‘‘(iii) AWARD YEAR 2019–2020.—For 

13 award year 2019–2020, the amount deter14 mined under this subparagraph for pur15 poses of subparagraph (B)(iii) shall be 

16 equal to— 

17 ‘‘(I) $10,000; reduced by 

18 ‘‘(II) the maximum Federal Pell 

19 Grant for which a student would be 

20 eligible using the criteria provided 

21 under section 479; and 

22 ‘‘(III) rounded to the nearest 

23 $5.’’; and 

24 (5) by striking clause (iv), as redesignated by 

25 paragraph (3), and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(iv) SUBSEQUENT AWARD YEARS.— 

2 For award year 2020–2021 and each sub3 sequent award year, the amount deter4 mined under this subparagraph for pur5 poses of subparagraph (B)(iii) shall be 

6 equal to— 

7 ‘‘(I) the amount determined 

8 under this subparagraph for the pre9 ceding award year; increased by 

10 ‘‘(II) a percentage equal to the 

11 annual adjustment percentage for the 

12 award year for which the amount 

13 under this subparagraph is being de14 termined; and 

15 ‘‘(III) rounded to the nearest 

16 $5.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. INCREASE FAMILY INCOME THRESHOLD FOR DE18 TERMINATION OF EXPECTED FAMILY CON19 TRIBUTION EQUAL TO ZERO. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 479 of the Higher Edu21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ss) is amended to read 

22 as follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 479. SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION. 

24 ‘‘(a) SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION SECTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

2 and use an easily identifiable simplified application 

3 section as part of the common financial reporting 

4 form prescribed under section 483(a) for families de5 scribed in subsection (b). 

6 ‘‘(2) REDUCED DATA REQUIREMENTS.—The 

7 simplified application form shall in the case of a 

8 family meeting the requirements of subsection (b), 

9 permit such family to be treated as having an ex10 pected family contribution equal to zero for purposes 

11 of establishing such eligibility and to submit only the 

12 data elements required to make a determination 

13 under subsection (b). 

14 ‘‘(b) ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION.— 

15 The Secretary shall consider an applicant to have an ex16 pected family contribution equal to zero if— 

17 ‘‘(1) in the case of a dependent student, the 

18 sum of the adjusted gross income of the student’s 

19 parents is less than or equal to 250 percent of the 

20 poverty line (as defined by the Office of Manage21 ment and Budget, and revised annually in accord22 ance with section 673(2) of the Community Services 

23 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable to 

24 a family of the size involved; 


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1 ‘‘(2) in the case of an independent student with 

2 dependents other than a spouse, the sum of the ad3 justed gross income of the student and the student’s 

4 spouse (if appropriate) is less than or equal to 250 

5 percent of the poverty line (as defined by the Office 

6 of Management and Budget, and revised annually in 

7 accordance with section 673(2) of the Community 

8 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) ap9 plicable to a family of the size involved; or 

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

11 without dependents other than a spouse, the sum of 

12 the adjusted gross income of the student and the 

13 student’s spouse (if appropriate) is less than or 

14 equal to 250 percent of the poverty line (as defined 

15 by the Office of Management and Budget, and re16 vised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of 

17 the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 9902(2))) applicable to a family of the size involved. 

19 ‘‘(c) ADJUSTMENTS.—An individual is not required 

20 to qualify or file for the earned income credit in order to 

21 be eligible under this subsection. The Secretary shall an22 nually adjust the income level necessary to qualify an ap23 plicant for the zero expected family contribution. The in24 come level shall be adjusted according to increases in the 

25 Consumer Price Index, as defined in section 478(f).’’. 


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1 (b) ADJUSTMENTS IN INCOME PROTECTION ALLOW2 ANCES.—For each academic year, the Secretary of Edu3 cation shall continue to publish in the Federal Register 

4 a revised table of income protection allowances pursuant 

5 to section 478(b)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 

6 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087rr(b)(1)(A)). 

7 SEC. 4. STATE RESPONSIBILITY. 

8 (a) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

10 U.S.C. 1070a) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(k) INSTITUTIONAL INELIGIBILITY BASED ON FAIL13 URE OF STATE TO MAINTAIN HIGHER EDUCATION AP14 PROPRIATIONS LEVEL.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives 

16 funds under this Act shall maintain expenditures 

17 and State financial aid for institutions of higher 

18 education in the State, with respect to a fiscal year, 

19 at an amount that is equal to or more than the aver20 age amount of State expenditures and State finan21 cial aid for institutions of higher education in the 

22 State for the 10 fiscal years preceding such fiscal 

23 year. 

24 ‘‘(2) CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO MAINTAIN

25 EFFORT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 


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1 law and beginning 5 years after the date of enact2 ment of the Degrees Not Debt Act of 2019, the Sec3 retary shall not make a payment under this subpart 

4 to an institution of higher education for a fiscal year 

5 for the purpose of making a Federal Pell Grant to 

6 eligible students in attendance at such institution 

7 and any such student shall not be eligible to receive 

8 a Federal Pell Grant for attendance at such institu9 tion for the fiscal year, if the institution— 

10 ‘‘(A) is an institution of higher education, 

11 as defined in section 102; and 

12 ‘‘(B) is located in a State that has not 

13 maintained expenditures and State financial aid 

14 for institutions of higher education in the State, 

15 with respect to the fiscal year, at an amount 

16 that is equal to or more than the average 

17 amount of State expenditures and State finan18 cial aid for institutions of higher education in 

19 the State for the 5 fiscal years preceding such 

20 fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

22 requirement of paragraph (1) for a State, for one 

23 fiscal year at a time, and the provisions of para24 graph (2) shall have no effect for such fiscal year if 

25 the Secretary determines that granting a waiver 


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1 would be equitable due to exceptional or uncontrol2 lable circumstances such as a natural disaster or a 

3 precipitous and unforeseen decline in the financial 

4 resources of the State.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY RESPONSIBILITY. 

6 (a) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS.—Sec7 tion 487 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

8 1094) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(30) The institution will put a prominent link 

12 on the homepage of the institution’s primary website 

13 that goes directly to a report of a standard set of 

14 key performance indicators with respect to the insti15 tution, as described in subsection (k).’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(k) PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The key performance indi19 cators under this subsection are the following: 

20 ‘‘(A)(i) Graduation rates— 

21 ‘‘(I) at 100 percent of the normal 

22 time for graduation; 

23 ‘‘(II) at 150 percent of the normal 

24 time for graduation; 


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1 ‘‘(III) at 200 percent of the normal 

2 time for graduation; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) each of which is disaggregated 

4 by age (25 years old and younger, and 

5 older than 25 years old), income, race and 

6 ethnicity, and first-generation college sta7 tus. 

8 ‘‘(ii) Transfer out rates. Each such rate 

9 shall be disaggregated by age (25 years old and 

10 younger, and older than 25 years old), income, 

11 race and ethnicity, and first-generation college 

12 status. 

13 ‘‘(iii) Withdrawal rates, including rates of 

14 students who withdraw from a certificate pro15 gram to seek employment in a related field of 

16 study. 

17 ‘‘(B) Employment outcomes, including the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(i) The average salary of a graduate 

20 3 years after graduation. 

21 ‘‘(ii) The percentage of graduates 

22 who, 180 days after graduation— 

23 ‘‘(I) are employed full-time; 

24 ‘‘(II) are employed part-time; 


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1 ‘‘(III) are employed in the grad2 uate’s field of study or certificate; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) make more than $25,000 a 

4 year. 

5 ‘‘(iii) The cohort repayment rate. 

6 ‘‘(C) Student satisfaction rate as indicated 

7 by a survey of all students and recent alumni 

8 with the following 2 questions using a 5-point 

9 Likert scale: 

10 ‘‘(i) How satisfied are you with your 

11 educational experience at [name of institu12 tion]? 

13 ‘‘(ii) If you were making the decision 

14 today, how likely would you be to choose to 

15 attend [name of institution] again? 

16 ‘‘(D) The percentage of students who con17 tinue enrollment at the institution after the 

18 first year of enrollment. 

19 ‘‘(E) The average net price for the institu20 tion’s most recent cohort of graduates, disag21 gregated by income quartile. 

22 ‘‘(F) The average annual net price for full23 time attendance, broken out by tuition, fees, liv24 ing costs, and other (indirect) costs. 


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1 ‘‘(G) The median time to degree comple2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(H) The percentage of enrolled students 

4 with student loan debt. 

5 ‘‘(I) The average student loan debt at time 

6 of graduation for the most recent cohort of 

7 graduates who borrowed money. 

8 ‘‘(J) The average student loan debt at time 

9 of withdrawal for the most recent cohort of 

10 non-graduates who borrowed money. 

11 ‘‘(2) COHORT REPAYMENT RATE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this subsection, the 

13 term ‘cohort repayment rate’ means, for any 

14 fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2023— 

15 ‘‘(i) in the case in which 30 or more 

16 borrowers at the institution enter repay17 ment on Federal Direct Stafford Loans, 

18 Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 

19 Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, or 

20 Federal Direct Consolidation Loans, re21 ceived for attendance at the institution, the 

22 percentage of those borrowers who are not 

23 in default and who make at least a one 

24 dollar reduction on their initial student 

25 loan principal balance before the end of the 


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1 second fiscal year following the fiscal year 

2 in which the borrowers entered repayment, 

3 except as provided in subparagraph (B); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) in the case in which less than 30 

6 borrowers at the institution enter repay7 ment on Federal Direct Stafford Loans, 

8 Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 

9 Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, or 

10 Federal Direct Consolidation Loans, re11 ceived for attendance at the institution, the 

12 percentage of those borrowers plus all of 

13 the borrowers at the institution who en14 tered repayment on such loans (or on the 

15 portion of a loan made under section 428C 

16 that is used to repay any such loans) in 

17 the 3 fiscal years preceding the fiscal year 

18 for which the determination is made, who 

19 are not in default and who make at least 

20 a one dollar reduction on their initial stu21 dent loan principal balance before the end 

22 of the second fiscal year following the year 

23 in which the borrowers entered repayment, 

24 except as provided in subparagraph (B). 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The ‘cohort repayment 

2 rate’ calculation under subparagraph (A) shall 

3 not include in the calculation a borrower who 

4 is— 

5 ‘‘(i) in deferment on repayment of a 

6 loan described in subparagraph (A) due to 

7 study in an approved graduate fellowship 

8 program or in an approved rehabilitation 

9 training program for the disabled; 

10 ‘‘(ii) in deferment on repayment of a 

11 loan described in subparagraph (A) during 

12 a period of at least half-time enrollment in 

13 college or a career school; 

14 ‘‘(iii) in deferment on repayment of a 

15 loan described in subparagraph (A) during 

16 a period of service qualifying for loan dis17 charge or cancellation under part E; 

18 ‘‘(iv) in deferment on repayment of a 

19 loan described in subparagraph (A) due to 

20 active duty military service of the borrower 

21 during a war, military operation, or na22 tional emergency; 

23 ‘‘(v) in deferment on repayment of a 

24 loan described in subparagraph (A) during 

25 the 13 months following the conclusion of 


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1 qualifying active duty military service by 

2 the borrower, or until the borrower returns 

3 to enrollment on at least a half-time basis, 

4 whichever is earlier, if the borrower is a 

5 member of the National Guard or other re6 serve component of the Armed Forces and 

7 was called or ordered to active duty while 

8 enrolled at least half-time at an eligible 

9 school or within 6 months of having been 

10 enrolled at least half-time; 

11 ‘‘(vi) in mandatory forbearance on re12 payment of a loan described in subpara13 graph (A) for the full fiscal year; or 

14 ‘‘(vii) serving as a volunteer under the 

15 Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) 

16 or the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 

17 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4950 et seq.). 

18 ‘‘(3) NEW DATA POINTS.—The Secretary shall 

19 work with the National Center for Education Statis20 tics to identify new data points that need to be col21 lected to assist colleges and universities with the col22 lection, organization, and distribution of key per23 formance indicators and cohort repayment rates. 

24 ‘‘(4) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall issue 

25 guidance, with input from stakeholders, to facilitate 


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1 the data collection and display of key performance 

2 indicators.’’. 

3 (b) ENHANCED DATA COLLECTION FOR INSTITU4 TIONS WITH ENROLLMENT RATES OF LESS THAN 5,000 

5 STUDENTS.—Section 489(a) of the Higher Education Act 

6 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1096(a)) is amended— 

7 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘(or, in 

8 the case of an institution with an enrollment of less 

9 than 5,000 students, $6)’’ after ‘‘$5’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In ad11 dition, the Secretary shall provide funds to assist 

12 small institutions of higher education, with enroll13 ment rates of less than 5,000 students, with data 

14 collection, organization, and distribution of perform15 ance indicators and cohort repayment rates.’’. 

16 SEC. 6. REPEAL OF INCREASED ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM 

17 TAX EXEMPTION AMOUNT FOR INDIVIDUALS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 55(d) of the Internal Rev19 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking paragraph (4). 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

21 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

22 December 31, 2018. 


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1 SEC. 7. REPEAL OF INCREASED ESTATE AND GIFT TAX EX2 EMPTION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2010(c)(3) of the Internal 

4 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘January 

5 1, 2026’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of the enactment of the 

6 Degrees Not Debt Act of 2019’’. 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

8 this section shall apply to estates of decedents dying and 

9 gifts made after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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