II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 481 

To recruit and retain more qualified individuals to teach in Tribal Colleges 

or Universities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2007 

Mr. CONRAD (for himself, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. 

BINGAMAN, Mr. KOHL, and Mr. THUNE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

To recruit and retain more qualified individuals to teach 

in Tribal Colleges or Universities. 

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 ‘‘Tribal Colleges and 

5 Universities Faculty Loan Forgiveness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LOAN REPAYMENT OR CANCELLATION FOR INDI7 VIDUALS WHO TEACH IN TRIBAL COLLEGES 

8 OR UNIVERSITIES. 

9 (a) PERKINS LOANS.— 


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•S 481 IS

1 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 465(a) of the High2 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ee(a)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

6 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (I), by striking 

8 the period and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

9 (iii) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(J) as a full-time faculty member at a Tribal 

12 College or University as defined in section 316(b).’’; 

13 and 

14 (B) in paragraph (3)(A)(i), by striking ‘‘or 

15 (I)’’ and inserting ‘‘(I), or (J)’’. 

16 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

17 by paragraph (1) shall be effective for service per18 formed during academic year 2005–2006 and suc19 ceeding academic years, notwithstanding any con20 trary provision of the promissory note under which 

21 a loan under part E of title IV of the Higher Edu22 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.) was 

23 made. 


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•S 481 IS

1 (b) FFEL AND DIRECT LOANS.—Part G of title IV 

2 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 

3 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 493C. LOAN REPAYMENT OR CANCELLATION FOR IN5 DIVIDUALS WHO TEACH IN TRIBAL COL6 LEGES OR UNIVERSITIES. 

7 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall 

8 carry out a program, through the holder of a loan, of as9 suming or canceling the obligation to repay a qualified 

10 loan amount, in accordance with subsection (b), for any 

11 new borrower on or after the date of enactment of the 

12 Tribal Colleges and Universities Faculty Loan Forgive13 ness Act, who— 

14 ‘‘(1) has been employed as a full-time faculty 

15 member at a Tribal College or University as defined 

16 in section 316(b); and 

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

18 borrower seeks repayment or cancellation. 

19 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PERCENTAGES.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

21 the Secretary shall assume or cancel the obligation 

22 to repay under this section— 

23 ‘‘(A) 15 percent of the amount of all loans 

24 made, insured, or guaranteed after the date of 

25 enactment of the Tribal Colleges and UniverVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:11 Feb 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S481.IS S481

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•S 481 IS

1 sities Faculty Loan Forgiveness Act to a stu2 dent under part B or D, for the first or second 

3 year of employment described in subsection 

4 (a)(1); 

5 ‘‘(B) 20 percent of such total amount, for 

6 the third or fourth year of such employment; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C) 30 percent of such total amount, for 

9 the fifth year of such employment. 

10 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM.—The Secretary shall not repay 

11 or cancel under this section more than $15,000 in 

12 the aggregate of loans made, insured, or guaranteed 

13 under parts B and D for any student. 

14 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF CONSOLIDATION LOANS.— 

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

16 may be a qualified loan amount for the purposes of 

17 this subsection only to the extent that such loan 

18 amount was used to repay a loan made, insured, or 

19 guaranteed under part B or D for a borrower who 

20 meets the requirements of subsection (a), as deter21 mined in accordance with regulations prescribed by 

22 the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

24 issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 

25 the provisions of this section. 


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•S 481 IS

1 ‘‘(d) EFFECT ON SECTION.—Nothing in this section 

2 shall be construed to authorize any refunding of any re3 payment of a loan. 

4 ‘‘(e) PREVENTION OF DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No bor5 rower may, for the same service, receive a benefit under 

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

7 and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12601 

8 et seq.). 

9 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

10 term ‘year’, when applied to employment as a faculty 

11 member, means an academic year as defined by the Sec12 retary.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. LOAN REPAYMENT FOR NURSING INSTRUCTORS AT 

14 TRIBAL COLLEGES OR UNIVERSITIES. 

15 Section 846(a)(3) of the Public Health Service Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 297n(a)(3)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘(3)(A)’’; 

18 (2) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(B) who is a nursing instructor at a tribally 

21 controlled college or university (as such term is de22 fined in section 2 of the Tribally Controlled College 

23 or University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

24 1801), or any institution listed in section 532 of the 


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•S 481 IS

1 Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 

2 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note));’’. 

3 SEC. 4. AMOUNTS FORGIVEN NOT TREATED AS GROSS IN4 COME. 

5 The amount of any loan that is assumed or canceled 

6 under an amendment made by this Act shall not, con7 sistent with section 108(f) of the Internal Revenue Code 

8 of 1986, be treated as gross income for Federal income 

9 tax purposes. 

Æ 


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