I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5568 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of 

Education to award interest-free student loans to certain students, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 

Mr. CASTRO of Texas 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 direct the 

Secretary of Education to award interest-free student 

loans to certain students, 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 ‘‘B-On-Time Student 

5 Loan Relief Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. B-ON-TIME LOANS AND LOAN FORGIVENESS. 

7 Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following new part: 


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1 ‘‘PART J—B-ON-TIME LOANS 

2 ‘‘SEC. 499A. LOAN REQUIREMENTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

4 program to— 

5 ‘‘(1) award loans with an applicable rate of in6 terest of zero to eligible students for study at an in7 stitution of higher education; and 

8 ‘‘(2) forgive the outstanding principal on such 

9 loans awarded to students who meet the require10 ments of subsection (c). 

11 ‘‘(b) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY FOR LOANS.—To be eli12 gible to receive a loan under subsection (a)(1), a student 

13 shall meet any requirements that the Secretary may re14 quire, which shall include requirements that the student— 

15 ‘‘(1)(A) has graduated on or after the 2013– 

16 2014 school year from a secondary school in the 

17 United States or a secondary school operated by the 

18 Department of Defense, or its equivalent; or 

19 ‘‘(B) has earned an associate’s degree from an 

20 institution of higher education on or after May 1, 

21 2013; 

22 ‘‘(2) has not earned a bachelor’s degree; 

23 ‘‘(3) is enrolled as a full-time student in an un24 dergraduate degree or certificate program at an in25 stitution of higher education; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) has completed a FAFSA and meets the re2 quirements of section 484(a). 

3 ‘‘(c) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY FOR LOAN FORGIVE4 NESS.—To be eligible to receive loan forgiveness under 

5 subsection (a)(2), a student shall meet any requirements 

6 that the Secretary may require, which shall include re7 quirements that the student— 

8 ‘‘(1) receives a bachelor’s degree within a set 

9 timeframe, as determined by the Secretary; 

10 ‘‘(2) while enrolled at the program of study at 

11 an institution of higher education for which the stu12 dent received a loan under subsection (a)(1)— 

13 ‘‘(A) has maintained a certain grade point 

14 average; or 

15 ‘‘(B) has majored in a science, technology, 

16 engineering, or mathematics field; and 

17 ‘‘(3) meets any other requirements as deter18 mined by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall award loans 

20 under subsection (a)(1) and grant loan forgiveness under 

21 subsection (a)(2) on a first-come, first-served basis, and 

22 subject to the availability of appropriations. 

23 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec24 tion shall be construed to prohibit a student from applying 

25 for other financial assistance under this title. 


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1 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2015 and 

4 each succeeding fiscal year through fiscal year 2024.’’. 

Æ 


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