I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4680 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to simplify the financial aid 

application process, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 15, 2019 

Mr. DOGGETT (for himself, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 

COHEN, Ms. DEAN, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DESAULNIER, 

Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. 

GARAMENDI, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, 

Mr. HIMES, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, 

Mr. KILMER, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. 

LEE of California, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, 

Mr. MOULTON, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RYAN, 

Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. SOTO, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. TITUS, Mr. TONKO, Mr. WELCH, Mr. LUJA ́N, Ms. 

ROYBAL-ALLARD, and Mr. KENNEDY) 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 simplify 

the financial aid application process, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equitable Student Aid 

3 Access Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION. 

5 Section 479 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 1087ss) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 479. ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall consider an 

9 applicant to have an expected family contribution equal 

10 to zero if— 

11 ‘‘(1) in the case of a dependent student— 

12 ‘‘(A)(i) the student’s parents are not re13 quired to file— 

14 ‘‘(I) a Federal income tax return; or 

15 ‘‘(II) with respect to Internal Revenue 

16 Service Form 1040, any of the following 

17 forms: Schedule A, Schedule B, Schedule 

18 C, Schedule C–EZ, Schedule D, Schedule 

19 E, Schedule F, Schedule H, Schedule J, 

20 and Schedule SE; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross income 

22 of the parents is less than or equal to $34,000; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(B) the student’s parents, or the student, 

25 received a benefit at some time during the preVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4680.IH H4680

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1 vious 24-month period under a means-tested 

2 Federal benefit program; or 

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

4 without regard to whether the student has depend5 ents other than a spouse— 

6 ‘‘(A)(i) the student (and the student’s 

7 spouse, if any) certifies— 

8 ‘‘(I) that the student (and the stu9 dent’s spouse, if any)— 

10 ‘‘(aa) is not required to file a 

11 Federal income tax return; or 

12 ‘‘(bb) with respect to Internal 

13 Revenue Service Form 1040, any of 

14 the following forms: Schedule A, 

15 Schedule B, Schedule C, Schedule C– 

16 EZ, Schedule D, Schedule E, Sched17 ule F, Schedule H, Schedule J, and 

18 Schedule SE; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross income 

20 of the student and spouse (if appropriate) is 

21 less than or equal to $34,000; or 

22 ‘‘(B) the student received a benefit at some 

23 time during the previous 24-month period 

24 under a means-tested Federal benefit program. 


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1 ‘‘(b) EARNED INCOME CREDIT.—An individual is not 

2 required to qualify or file for the earned income credit in 

3 order to be eligible under this section. 

4 ‘‘(c) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary shall annually 

5 adjust the income level necessary to qualify an applicant 

6 for the zero expected family contribution. The income level 

7 shall be annually increased by the estimated percentage 

8 change in the Consumer Price Index, as defined in section 

9 478(f), for the most recent calendar year ending prior to 

10 the beginning of an award year, and rounded up to the 

11 nearest $1,000. 

12 ‘‘(d) MEANS-TESTED FEDERAL BENEFIT PROGRAM

13 DEFINED.—For purposes of this paragraph, a ‘means14 tested Federal benefit program’ means a mandatory 

15 spending program of the Federal Government, other than 

16 a program under this title, in which eligibility for the pro17 gram’s benefits, or the amount of such benefits, are deter18 mined on the basis of income or resources of the individual 

19 or family seeking the benefit, and may include such pro20 grams as— 

21 ‘‘(1) the supplemental security income program 

22 under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 

24 ‘‘(2) the supplemental nutrition assistance pro25 gram under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 


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1 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), a nutrition assistance program 

2 carried out under section 19 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

3 2028), and a supplemental nutrition assistance pro4 gram carried out under section 1841(c) of title 48 

5 of the United States Code; 

6 ‘‘(3) the program of block grants for States for 

7 temporary assistance for needy families established 

8 under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

10 ‘‘(4) the special supplemental nutrition program 

11 for women, infants, and children established by sec12 tion 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

13 U.S.C. 1786); 

14 ‘‘(5) the State Medicaid program under title 

15 XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 

16 seq.); and 

17 ‘‘(6) any other program identified by the Sec18 retary.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. USING DATA FROM SECOND PRECEDING YEAR. 

20 Section 480(a)(1)(B) of the Higher Education Act of 

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(a)(1)(B)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘may’’ in both places it appears 

23 and inserting ‘‘shall’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘sharing of data between’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘sharing of data, to the extent such data 

3 is available, between’’. 

4 SEC. 4. FINANCIAL AID OFFERS. 

5 Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 1092) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(n) FINANCIAL AID OFFERS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFERS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS.—Not 

11 later than 18 months after the date of enact12 ment of the Equitable Student Aid Access Act, 

13 the Secretary shall, based on the consumer test14 ing conducted under subparagraph (E), publish 

15 requirements for financial aid offers that 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) include a requirement that finan18 cial aid offers shall serve as the primary 

19 source for Federal, State, and institutional 

20 financial aid information provided by an 

21 institution of higher education partici22 pating in any program under this title to 

23 each prospective student accepted for ad24 mission and each enrolled student at such 

25 institution; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) include a requirement that such 

2 offers include a standardized quick ref3 erence box described in subparagraph (D); 

4 ‘‘(iii) establish standardized terms and 

5 definitions, including for the elements list6 ed in subparagraph (C), that shall be in7 cluded in each such offer; 

8 ‘‘(iv) establish formatting require9 ments with respect to the organization of 

10 the elements listed in subparagraph (C), 

11 which shall include a requirement that pro12 hibits such offers from displaying loans in 

13 a manner that indicates or implies that 

14 such loans reduce the amount owed to the 

15 institution or reduce the net price; and 

16 ‘‘(v) specify the simple, plain-lan17 guage, and consumer-friendly information 

18 to be included in each such offer with re19 spect to the financial aid being offered to 

20 a student, which shall include— 

21 ‘‘(I) an explanation of differences 

22 among each such type of financial aid, 

23 including clear explanations that— 

24 ‘‘(aa) grants and scholar25 ships do not have to be repaid; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) loans (including loans 

2 made under part D and private 

3 education loans (as defined in 

4 section 140 of the Truth in 

5 Lending Act)) must be repaid 

6 with interest; and 

7 ‘‘(cc) payments under Fed8 eral-work study programs under 

9 part C are contingent on finding 

10 qualified employment and are 

11 typically disbursed incrementally 

12 in paychecks; 

13 ‘‘(II) information encouraging 

14 students to consider loans made under 

15 part D before such private education 

16 loans; 

17 ‘‘(III) information clarifying that 

18 students may— 

19 ‘‘(aa) decline to accept a 

20 loan made under part D; or 

21 ‘‘(bb) accept an amount of 

22 such loan that is less than the 

23 amount of such loan included in 

24 the financial aid offer; and 


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1 ‘‘(IV) in a case in which the in2 stitution offers a student such a loan 

3 in an amount that is less than the 

4 maximum amount for which the stu5 dent is eligible, an explanation that 

6 the student is eligible for additional 

7 loans under part D. 

8 ‘‘(B) INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 Beginning with the award year that begins not 

10 less than 1 year after the Secretary publishes 

11 requirements under subparagraph (A), each in12 stitution of higher education described in sub13 paragraph (A)(i) shall provide a financial aid 

14 offer to each student described in such subpara15 graph prior to each academic year that— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall comply with the require17 ments published by the Secretary under 

18 subparagraph (A); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) may be supplemented by the in20 stitution with additional, non-contradictory 

21 information related to financial aid as long 

22 as such supplementary information uses 

23 the standardized terms and definitions de24 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii). 


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1 ‘‘(C) ELEMENTS.—A financial aid offer 

2 provided by an institution of higher education 

3 shall include the following elements with respect 

4 to the academic year for which the offer is 

5 being provided: 

6 ‘‘(i) The cost of attendance, which 

7 shall include separately calculated sub8 totals of— 

9 ‘‘(I) an itemized list of estimated 

10 direct costs owed to the institution; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(II) an itemized list of antici13 pated student expenses not covered 

14 under subclause (I). 

15 ‘‘(ii) Federal, State, and institutional 

16 financial aid available to the student, 

17 which shall include separately calculated 

18 subtotals of— 

19 ‘‘(I) grants and scholarships; 

20 ‘‘(II) loans made under part D 

21 (excluding Federal Direct Parent 

22 PLUS Loans); and 

23 ‘‘(III) Federal-work study pro24 grams under part C and other on25 campus employment. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Other options that may be avail2 able to students to cover the cost of at3 tendance (including Federal Direct Parent 

4 PLUS Loans, tuition payment plans, sav5 ings, and earnings from other employ6 ment). 

7 ‘‘(iv) The net price, which shall be de8 termined by calculating the difference be9 tween— 

10 ‘‘(I) the cost of attendance de11 scribed in clause (i); and 

12 ‘‘(II) the grants and scholarships 

13 described in clause (ii)(I). 

14 ‘‘(v) Next step instructions, includ15 ing— 

16 ‘‘(I) the process and deadlines for 

17 accepting the financial aid; and 

18 ‘‘(II) information about where to 

19 find additional information on the fi20 nancial aid offered. 

21 ‘‘(vi) Any other information deter22 mined necessary by the Secretary based on 

23 the consumer testing conducted under sub24 paragraph (E), which may include the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(I) An estimate of the net direct 

2 cost, which shall be determined by cal3 culating the difference between— 

4 ‘‘(aa) the direct costs owed 

5 to the institution described in 

6 clause (i)(I); and 

7 ‘‘(bb) the grants and schol8 arships described in clause (ii)(I). 

9 ‘‘(II) Information on average stu10 dent debt, loan repayment and default 

11 rates, loan repayment options, and 

12 graduation rates. 

13 ‘‘(III) In the case of a prospec14 tive student, the process and deadlines 

15 for enrolling at the institution. 

16 ‘‘(IV) Information regarding the 

17 enrollment period covered by the aid 

18 offer, and whether the cost and aid 

19 estimates are based on full-time or 

20 part-time enrollment. 

21 ‘‘(V) Information developed in 

22 consultation with the Internal Rev23 enue Service regarding any education24 related tax benefits for which a stu25 dent may qualify, including American 


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1 Opportunity and Lifetime Learning 

2 tax credits, deductions, exclusions, 

3 and any other such benefits. 

4 ‘‘(D) STANDARDIZED QUICK REFERENCE

5 BOX.—A financial aid offer provided by an in6 stitution of higher education shall include a 

7 standardized quick reference box to enable stu8 dents to quickly and easily compare key infor9 mation on college costs and financial aid— 

10 ‘‘(i) that shall be included in an iden11 tical fashion for each student receiving a 

12 financial aid offer from the institution on 

13 the first page of such offer; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the contents and structure of 

15 which shall be developed through consumer 

16 testing conducted under paragraph (E); 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(iii) that shall include not more than 

19 8 elements, which, at a minimum, shall in20 clude— 

21 ‘‘(I) the cost of attendance; 

22 ‘‘(II) grants and scholarships; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(III) net price (as calculated 

25 under subparagraph (C)(iv)). 


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1 ‘‘(E) CONSUMER TESTING.—The Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) conduct consumer testing that 

4 shall serve as the basis in determining the 

5 requirements for financial aid offers pub6 lished under subparagraph (A), which shall 

7 include students (including low-income stu8 dents, English learners, first generation 

9 college students, veteran students, grad10 uate students, and undergraduate students 

11 (including prospective students and return12 ing students)), students’ families (includ13 ing low-income families, families of English 

14 learners, and families with first generation 

15 college students), institutions of higher 

16 education (including representatives from 

17 two- and four-year institutions, public and 

18 private institutions, and minority-serving 

19 institutions), secondary school and postsec20 ondary counselors, financial aid adminis21 trators, nonprofit college access organiza22 tions, and nonprofit consumer groups; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) not later than 60 days after the 

24 publication of the requirements under sub25 paragraph (A)— 


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1 ‘‘(I) issue a report on the find2 ings of the consumer testing under 

3 this subparagraph; and 

4 ‘‘(II) specify ways in which the 

5 findings are reflected in such require6 ments. 

7 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

8 ‘‘(A) the term ‘cost of attendance’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 472; 

10 ‘‘(B) the term ‘English learner’ has the 

11 meaning given the term in section 8101(20) of 

12 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

13 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(20)), except that such 

14 term does not include individuals described in 

15 subparagraph (B) of such section; 

16 ‘‘(C) the term ‘first generation college stu17 dent’ has the meaning given the term in section 

18 402A(h); 

19 ‘‘(D) the term ‘low-income student’ has the 

20 meaning given the term in section 419N(b)(7); 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(E) the term ‘minority-serving institution’ 

23 means an institution of higher education de24 scribed in section 371(a).’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 The amendments made by this Act shall apply with 

3 respect to award years (as that term is defined in section 

4 481(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

5 1088(a)(1))) beginning after the date of the enactment of 

6 this Act. 

Æ 


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