In the Senate of the United States, 

April 30, 2008. 

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 5715) entitled ‘‘An Act to ensure continued availability of access to the Federal student loan program for students and families.’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENTS:

1 Ω1æOn page 2, line 5, strike øAND GRADUATE¿

2 Ω2æOn page 7, line 11, strike øissued¿ and insert: first 

3 disbursed

4 Ω3æOn page 9, line 12, strike øissued¿ and insert: first 

5 disbursed

6 Ω4æOn page 9, line 24 through page 10 line 11 strike and 

7 insert:

8 ‘‘(B)(i) EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.—

9 An eligible lender may determine that extenu10 ating circumstances exist under the regulations 
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1 promulgated pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) if, 

2 during the period beginning January 1, 2007, 

3 and ending December 31, 2009, an applicant for 

4 a loan under this section—

5 ‘‘(I) is or has been delinquent for 180 

6 days or fewer on mortgage loan payments 

7 or on medical bill payments during such 

8 period; and 

9 ‘‘(II) is not and has not been more 

10 than 89 days delinquent on the repayment 

11 of any other debt during such period. 

12 ‘‘(ii) DEFINITION OF MORTGAGE LOAN.—In 

13 this subparagraph, the term ‘mortgage loan’ 

14 means an extension of credit to a borrower that 

15 is secured by the primary residence of the bor16 rower. 

17 ‘‘(iii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

18 in this subparagraph shall be construed to limit 

19 an eligible lender’s authority under the regula20 tions promulgated pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) 

21 to determine that extenuating circumstances 

22 exist.’’.

23 Ω5æOn page 10, after line 24 insert:

24 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting after the sec25 ond sentence the following: ‘‘No loan under section 
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1 428, 428B, or 428H that is made pursuant to this 

2 subsection shall be made with interest rates, origina3 tion or default fees, or other terms and conditions 

4 that are more favorable to the borrower than the max5 imum interest rates, origination or default fees, or 

6 other terms and conditions applicable to that type of 

7 loan under this part.’’;

8 Ω6æOn page 12, line 14, strike ølenders willing to make 

9 loans¿ and insert: eligible lenders willing to make loans 

10 under this part

11 Ω7æOn page 13, after line 2 insert:

12 ‘‘(6) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—The Sec13 retary’s authority under paragraph (4) to designate 

14 institutions of higher education for participation in 

15 the program under this subsection shall expire on 

16 June 30, 2009. 

17 ‘‘(7) EXPIRATION OF DESIGNATION.—The eligi18 bility of an institution of higher education, or bor19 rowers from such institution, to participate in the 

20 program under this subsection pursuant to a designa21 tion of the institution by the Secretary under para22 graph (4) shall expire on June 30, 2009. After such 

23 date, borrowers from an institution designated under 

24 paragraph (4) shall be eligible to participate in the 
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1 program under this subsection as such program ex2 isted on the day before the date of enactment of the 

3 Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 

4 2008. 

5 ‘‘(8) PROHIBITION ON INDUCEMENTS AND MAR6 KETING.—Each guaranty agency or eligible lender 

7 that serves as a lender-of-last-resort under this sub8 section—

9 ‘‘(A) shall be subject to the prohibitions on 

10 inducements contained in subsection (b)(3) and 

11 the requirements of section 435(d)(5); and 

12 ‘‘(B) shall not advertise, market, or other13 wise promote loans under this subsection, except 

14 that nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a 

15 guaranty agency from fulfilling its responsibil16 ities under paragraph (2)(C). 

17 ‘‘(9) DISSEMINATION AND REPORTING.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—

19 ‘‘(i) broadly disseminate information 

20 regarding the availability of loans made 

21 under this subsection; 

22 ‘‘(ii) during the period beginning July 

23 1, 2008 and ending June 30, 2010, provide 

24 to the Committee on Health, Education, 

25 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 
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1 Committee on Education and Labor of the 

2 House of Representatives and make avail3 able to the public—

4 ‘‘(I) copies of any new or revised 

5 plans or agreements made by guaranty 

6 agencies or the Department related to 

7 the authorities under this subsection; 

8 ‘‘(II) quarterly reports on—

9 ‘‘(aa) the number and 

10 amounts of loans originated or 

11 approved pursuant to this sub12 section by each guaranty agency 

13 and eligible lender; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) any related payments 

15 by the Department, a guaranty 

16 agency, or an eligible lender; and 

17 ‘‘(III) a budget estimate of the 

18 costs to the Federal Government (in19 cluding subsidy and administrative 

20 costs) for each 100 dollars loaned, of 

21 loans made pursuant to this subsection 

22 between the date of enactment of the 

23 Ensuring Continued Access to Student 

24 Loans Act of 2008 and June 30, 2009, 

25 disaggregated by type of loan, com-
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1 pared to such costs to the Federal Gov2 ernment during such time period of 

3 comparable loans under this part and 

4 part D, disaggregated by part and by 

5 type of loan; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) beginning July 1, 2010, provide 

7 to the Committee on Health, Education, 

8 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 

9 Committee on Education and Labor of the 

10 House of Representatives and make avail11 able to the public—

12 ‘‘(I) copies of any new or revised 

13 plans or agreements made by guaranty 

14 agencies or the Department related to 

15 the authorities under this subsection; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(II) annual reports on—

18 ‘‘(aa) the number and 

19 amounts of loans originated or 

20 approved pursuant to this sub21 section by each guaranty agency 

22 and eligible lender; and 

23 ‘‘(bb) any related payments 

24 by the Department, a guaranty 

25 agency, or an eligible lender. 
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1 ‘‘(B) SEPARATE REPORTING.—The informa2 tion required to be reported under subparagraph 

3 (A)(ii)(II) shall be reported separately for loans 

4 originated or approved pursuant to paragraph 

5 (4), or payments related to such loans, for the 

6 time period in which the Secretary is authorized 

7 to make designations under paragraph (4).’’.

8 Ω8æOn page 13, line 12, strike øagency’s¿ and insert: 

9 agencies

10 Ω9æOn page 14, line 3, strike øadding at the end¿ and 

11 insert: inserting before the matter following paragraph (5)

12 Ω10æOn page 15, line 19, strike øloans originated¿ and 

13 insert: loans first disbursed

14 Ω11æOn page 15, line 21, after ‘‘October 1, 2003,’’ insert: 

15 and before July 1, 2009,

16 Ω12æOn page 16, line 1, after ‘‘Federal Government’’ in17 sert: (including the cost of servicing the loans purchased)

18 Ω13æOn page 16, strike lines 5 through 23, and insert 

19 the following:

20 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE.—The Sec21 retary, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Direc22 tor of the Office of Management and Budget, shall 
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1 jointly publish a notice in the Federal Register prior 

2 to any purchase of loans under this section that—

3 ‘‘(A) establishes the terms and conditions 

4 governing the purchases authorized by paragraph 

5 (1); 

6 ‘‘(B) includes an outline of the methodology 

7 and factors that the Secretary, the Secretary of 

8 the Treasury, and the Director of the Office of 

9 Management and Budget, will jointly consider in 

10 evaluating the price at which to purchase loans 

11 made under section 428, 428B, or 428H; and 

12 ‘‘(C) describes how the use of such method13 ology and consideration of such factors used to 

14 determine purchase price will ensure that loan 

15 purchases do not result in any net cost to the 

16 Federal Government (including the cost of serv17 icing the loans purchased).’’.

18 Ω14æOn page 20, after line 9 insert the following:

19 SEC. 10. ACADEMIC COMPETITIVENESS GRANTS. 

20 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 401A of the Higher Edu21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–1) is amended—

22 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(a) ACADEMIC COMPETITIVENESS GRANT PROGRAM

25 AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall award grants, in the 
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1 amounts specified in subsection (d)(1), to eligible students 

2 to assist the eligible students in paying their college edu3 cation expenses.’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (b)—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘academic year’’ each place 

6 it appears and inserting ‘‘year’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘third or 

8 fourth’’ and inserting ‘‘third, fourth, or fifth’’; 

9 (3) in subsection (c)—

10 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

11 (1)—

12 (i) by striking ‘‘full–time’’; 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘academic’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘award’’; and 

15 (iii) by striking ‘‘is made’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘is made for a grant under this sec17 tion’’; 

18 (B) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and 

19 inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) is eligible for a Federal Pell Grant; 

21 ‘‘(2) is enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an 

22 institution of higher education on not less than a 

23 half-time basis; and’’; and 

24 (C) in paragraph (3)—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘academic’’ each place 

2 the term appears; 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (A)—

4 (I) by striking the matter pre5 ceding clause (i) and inserting the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(A) the first year of a program of under8 graduate education at a two- or four-year degree9 granting institution of higher education (includ10 ing a program of not less than one year for 

11 which the institution awards a certificate)—’’; 

12 (II) by striking clause (i) and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) has successfully completed, after 

15 January 1, 2006, a rigorous secondary 

16 school program of study that prepares stu17 dents for college and is recognized as such 

18 by the State official designated for such rec19 ognition, or with respect to any private or 

20 home school, the school official designated 

21 for such recognition for such school, con22 sistent with State law, which recognized 

23 program shall be reported to the Secretary; 

24 and’’; and 
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1 (III) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘, 

2 except as part of a secondary school 

3 program of study’’ before the semicolon; 

4 (iii) in subparagraph (B)—

5 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

6 (i), by striking ‘‘year of’’ and all that 

7 follows through ‘‘higher education’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘year of a program of under9 graduate education at a two- or four10 year degree-granting institution of 

11 higher education (including a program 

12 of not less than two years for which the 

13 institution awards a certificate)’’; and 

14 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

15 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon at the end; 

16 (iv) in subparagraph (C)—

17 (I) in the matter preceding sub18 clause (I) of clause (i), by inserting 

19 ‘‘certified by the institution to be’’ 

20 after ‘‘is’’; 

21 (II) by striking clause (i)(II) and 

22 inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(II) a critical foreign language; 

24 and’’; and 
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1 (III) in clause (ii), by striking the 

2 period at the end and inserting a semi3 colon; and 

4 (v) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(D) the third or fourth year of a program 

6 of undergraduate education at an institution of 

7 higher education (as defined in section 101(a)), 

8 is attending an institution that demonstrates, to 

9 the satisfaction of the Secretary, that the institu10 tion—

11 ‘‘(i) offers a single liberal arts cur12 riculum leading to a baccalaureate degree, 

13 under which students are not permitted by 

14 the institution to declare a major in a par15 ticular subject area, and the student—

16 ‘‘(I)(aa) studies, in such years, a 

17 subject described in subparagraph 

18 (C)(i) that is at least equal to the re19 quirements for an academic major at 

20 an institution of higher education that 

21 offers a baccalaureate degree in such 

22 subject, as certified by an appropriate 

23 official from the institution; and 

24 ‘‘(bb) has obtained a cumulative 

25 grade point average of at least 3.0 (or 
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1 the equivalent as determined under 

2 regulations prescribed by the Sec3 retary) in the relevant coursework; or 

4 ‘‘(II) is required, as part of the 

5 student’s degree program, to undertake 

6 a rigorous course of study in mathe7 matics, biology, chemistry, and phys8 ics, which consists of at least—

9 ‘‘(aa) 4 years of study in 

10 mathematics; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) 3 years of study in the 

12 sciences, with a laboratory compo13 nent in each of those years; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) offered such curriculum prior to 

15 February 8, 2006; or 

16 ‘‘(E) the fifth year of a program of under17 graduate education that requires 5 full years of 

18 coursework, as certified by the appropriate offi19 cial of the degree-granting institution of higher 

20 education, for which a baccalaureate degree is 

21 awarded by a degree-granting institution of 

22 higher education—

23 ‘‘(i) is certified by the institution of 

24 higher education to be pursuing a major 

25 in—
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1 ‘‘(I) the physical, life, or computer 

2 sciences, mathematics, technology, or 

3 engineering (as determined by the Sec4 retary pursuant to regulations); or 

5 ‘‘(II) a critical foreign language; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) has obtained a cumulative grade 

8 point average of at least 3.0 (or the equiva9 lent, as determined under regulations pre10 scribed by the Secretary) in the coursework 

11 required for the major described in clause 

12 (i).’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (d)—

14 (A) in paragraph (1)—

15 (i) in subparagraph (A)—

16 (I) by striking ‘‘The’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘IN GENERAL.—The’’; 

18 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

19 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon at the end; 

20 (III) in clause (iii), by striking 

21 ‘‘subsection (c)(3)(C).’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection 

23 (c)(3), for each of the two years de24 scribed in such subparagraphs; or’’; 

25 and 
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1 (IV) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(iv) $4,000 for an eligible student 

4 under subsection (c)(3)(E).’’; and 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (B)—

6 (I) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘LIMITATION; RATABLE

8 REDUCTION.—Notwithstanding’’; 

9 (II) by redesignating clauses (i), 

10 (ii), and (iii), as clauses (ii), (iii), and 

11 (iv), respectively; and 

12 (III) by inserting before clause 

13 (ii), as redesignated under subclause 

14 (II), the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) in any case in which a student at16 tends an institution of higher education on 

17 less than a full-time basis, the amount of 

18 the grant that such student may receive 

19 shall be reduced in the same manner as a 

20 Federal Pell Grant is reduced under section 

21 401(b)(2)(B);’’; 

22 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) NO GRANTS FOR PREVIOUS CREDIT.—

2 The Secretary may not award a grant under this 

3 section to any student for any year of a program 

4 of undergraduate education for which the student 

5 received credit before the date of enactment of the 

6 Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005. 

7 ‘‘(B) NUMBER OF GRANTS.—The Secretary 

8 may not award more than one grant to a stu9 dent described in subsection (c)(3) for each year 

10 of study described in such subsection.’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: and 

12 ‘‘(3) CALCULATION OF GRANT PAYMENTS.—An 

13 institution of higher education shall make payments 

14 of a grant awarded under this section in the same 

15 manner, using the same payment periods, as such in16 stitution makes payments for Federal Pell Grants 

17 under section 401.’’; 

18 (5) by striking subsection (e)(2) and inserting 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds made 

21 available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year shall 

22 remain available for the succeeding fiscal year.’’; 

23 (6) in subsection (f)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘at least one’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘not less than one’’; and 
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (c)(3)(A) and 

2 (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

3 of subsection (c)(3)’’; and 

4 (7) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘academic’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘award’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub7 section (a) shall take effect on January 1, 2009. 

8 SEC. 11. INAPPLICABILITY OF MASTER CALENDAR AND NE9 GOTIATED RULEMAKING REQUIREMENTS. 

10 Sections 482 and 492 of the Higher Education Act of 

11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1089, 1098a) shall not apply to amend12 ments made by sections 2 through 9 of this Act, or to any 

13 regulations promulgated under such amendments.

Attest:

Secretary. 
110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H.R. 5715

AMENDMENTS