II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3794 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish an emergency 

grant aid program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 10 (legislative day, MARCH 7), 2022 

Ms. SMITH (for herself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish 

an emergency grant aid program, 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 ‘‘Emergency Grant Aid 

5 for College Students Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANT PROGRAM. 

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

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

9 the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART F—EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS 

2 ‘‘SEC. 791. EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANT PROGRAMS

4 AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall carry out a grant pro5 gram to make grants, in accordance with subsection (b), 

6 to eligible entities to provide emergency financial aid 

7 grants to eligible students in accordance with subsection 

8 (c). 

9 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity desir11 ing to carry out an emergency grant aid program 

12 under this section shall submit an application to the 

13 Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and con14 taining such information as the Secretary may re15 quire. 

16 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall, at least 

17 60 days before each deadline to submit applications 

18 under paragraph (1), conduct outreach to institu19 tions of higher education (including such institutions 

20 that are eligible for priority under this section) and 

21 systems of higher education to provide such institu22 tions and systems with information on the oppor23 tunity to apply under paragraph (1) to carry out an 

24 emergency grant aid program under this section. 

25 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—Each application under para26 graph (1) shall include a description of the emerVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Mar 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3794.IS S3794

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1 gency grant aid program to be carried out by the eli2 gible entity, including— 

3 ‘‘(A) an estimate of the number of emer4 gency financial aid grants that such entity will 

5 make in an award year and how such eligible 

6 entity assessed such estimate; 

7 ‘‘(B) the criteria the eligible entity will use 

8 to determine a student’s eligibility for an emer9 gency financial aid grant; 

10 ‘‘(C) an assurance that an emergency for 

11 which an eligible student will be eligible to re12 ceive an emergency financial aid grant will in13 clude financial challenges related to any compo14 nent of the student’s cost of attendance or fi15 nancial challenges that would impact the ability 

16 of an eligible student to continue the course of 

17 study of such student; 

18 ‘‘(D) an assurance that the eligible entity, 

19 when applicable, will make information available 

20 to eligible students about the eligibility of such 

21 students, and their dependents, as applicable, 

22 for assistance under means-tested Federal ben23 efit programs, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the supplemental security income 

2 program under title XVI of the Social Se3 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 

4 ‘‘(ii) the supplemental nutrition assist5 ance program under the Food and Nutri6 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), 

7 a nutrition assistance program carried out 

8 under section 19 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

9 2028), or a supplemental nutrition assist10 ance program carried out under section 

11 3(c) of the Act entitled ‘An Act to author12 ize appropriations for certain insular areas 

13 of the United States, and for other pur14 poses’ (Public Law 95–348); 

15 ‘‘(iii) the free and reduced price 

16 school lunch program established under the 

17 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); 

19 ‘‘(iv) the program of block grants for 

20 States for temporary assistance for needy 

21 families established under part A of title 

22 IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 601 et seq.); 

24 ‘‘(v) the special supplemental nutri25 tion program for women, infants, and chilVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Mar 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3794.IS S3794

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1 dren established by section 17 of the Child 

2 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 

3 ‘‘(vi) the Medicaid program under 

4 title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); 

6 ‘‘(vii) Federal housing assistance pro7 grams, including tenant-based assistance 

8 under section 8(o) of the United States 

9 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

10 1437f(o)), and public housing, as defined 

11 in section 3(b)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 1437a(b)(1)); 

13 ‘‘(viii) the refundable credit for cov14 erage under a qualified health plan under 

15 section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code 

16 of 1986; 

17 ‘‘(ix) the Earned Income Tax Credit 

18 under section 32 of the Internal Revenue 

19 Code of 1986; or 

20 ‘‘(x) any other means-tested program 

21 determined by the Secretary to be appro22 priate; 

23 ‘‘(E) how the eligible entity will administer 

24 the emergency grant aid program, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the process by which an eligible 

2 student may apply for and receive an 

3 emergency grant, which shall include an 

4 opportunity to apply online, and at least 1 

5 opportunity to appeal a grant denial; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the processes the eligible entity 

7 will use to respond to applications, approve 

8 applications, and disburse emergency fi9 nancial aid grants, including outside of 

10 normal business hours; 

11 ‘‘(iii) how the eligible entity will ad12 vertise emergency grants to eligible stu13 dents; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) how quickly the eligible entity 

15 will disburse emergency aid grants to stu16 dents after applications have been sub17 mitted; 

18 ‘‘(F) an assurance that the eligible entity 

19 will acknowledge receipt of a student’s applica20 tion and fund approved applications not later 

21 than 10 business days after the date of the ap22 proval; 

23 ‘‘(G) an assurance that the eligible entity 

24 will conduct outreach to students to inform 


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1 them of the availability of, and process for ap2 plying for, emergency aid grants; 

3 ‘‘(H) a description of how the eligible enti4 ty will prioritize eligible students with financial 

5 need in awarding emergency financial aid 

6 grants; and 

7 ‘‘(I) any other information the Secretary 

8 may require. 

9 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to 

10 carry out an emergency grant aid program under 

11 this section, the Secretary may give priority to— 

12 ‘‘(A) an eligible entity that is a community 

13 college; 

14 ‘‘(B) an eligible entity that is an institu15 tion of higher education described in section 

16 371(a); 

17 ‘‘(C) an eligible entity that is considered 

18 rural according to the National Center for Edu19 cation Statistics for purposes of the Integrated 

20 Postsecondary Data System; 

21 ‘‘(D) an eligible entity in which not less 

22 than 33 percent of the students enrolled at such 

23 eligible entity are eligible to receive a Federal 

24 Pell Grant; or 

25 ‘‘(E) an eligible entity that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) has an admissions rate that is 50 

2 percent or higher and is under-resourced; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(ii) is an eligible institution as de5 fined in section 312(b). 

6 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may only 

8 use funds provided under this section to make emer9 gency financial aid grants to eligible students. 

10 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF AWARDS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible student 

12 may receive an amount under this section that 

13 would cause the amount of total financial aid 

14 received by such student to exceed the cost of 

15 attendance of the institution of higher edu16 cation in which the student is enrolled. 

17 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS RECEIVED.—An 

18 eligible student may not receive a cumulative 

19 amount under this section for an academic year 

20 that is more than the maximum Federal Pell 

21 Grant available for such academic year. 

22 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATIONS.—In determining eligi23 bility for and awarding emergency financial aid 

24 grants under this section, an eligible entity may— 


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1 ‘‘(A) waive the amount of need calculation 

2 under section 471; and 

3 ‘‘(B) utilize a contract with a scholarship4 granting organization designated for the sole 

5 purpose of accepting applications from, or dis6 bursing funds to, students enrolled in the insti7 tution of higher education, if such scholarship8 granting organization disburses the full allo9 cated amount provided to the institution of 

10 higher education to the student recipients. 

11 ‘‘(d) REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

13 once annually, each eligible entity that receives a 

14 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec15 retary a report on the progress of the eligible entity 

16 in carrying out the programs supported by such 

17 grant. 

18 ‘‘(2) FORM OF REPORT.—The report under 

19 paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Secretary at 

20 such time, in such manner, and containing such in21 formation as the Secretary may require. The Sec22 retary shall issue uniform guidelines describing the 

23 information that shall be reported by grantees under 

24 such paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CONTENT OF REPORT.—The report under 

2 paragraph (1) shall include, at minimum, the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘(A) The average, minimum, and max5 imum amount of grants made available to eligi6 ble students, including any average, minimum, 

7 or maximum grant levels made to any specific 

8 subgroups of eligible students, including the 

9 subgroups listed in subparagraph (B). 

10 ‘‘(B) A description of any specific sub11 groups of eligible students who were prioritized 

12 for the emergency financial aid grants, includ13 ing students of color, low-income students, first14 generation college students, students with dis15 abilities, English learners, students experiencing 

16 homelessness, former foster youth, or student 

17 parents. 

18 ‘‘(C) The number of eligible students who 

19 received an emergency financial aid grant, in20 cluding the number of eligible students who re21 ceived more than one such grant, and the num22 ber of eligible students in each of the subgroups 

23 described in subparagraph (B) who received an 

24 emergency financial aid grant, including the 


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1 number of eligible students in each of such sub2 groups who received more than one such grant. 

3 ‘‘(D) The types of emergencies declared 

4 and frequencies of emergencies declared by eli5 gible students. 

6 ‘‘(E) The number of students who applied 

7 for an emergency financial aid grant, including 

8 the number of eligible students in each of the 

9 subgroups described in subparagraph (B) who 

10 applied for an emergency financial aid grant. 

11 ‘‘(F) The number of students who were de12 nied such a grant. 

13 ‘‘(G) The number of students who ap14 pealed a denial of such grant. 

15 ‘‘(H) The average amount of time it took 

16 an eligible entity to respond to requests for 

17 such a grant and the average amount of time 

18 it took the eligible entity to award or deny such 

19 a grant. 

20 ‘‘(I) A description and amount of any in21 stitutional funds used to supplement emergency 

22 financial aid grants provided in accordance with 

23 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(J) Outcomes of the eligible students who 

2 received such a grant, including rates of persist3 ence, retention, and completion. 

4 ‘‘(K) A description of the method used to 

5 disburse emergency grants to students. 

6 ‘‘(e) DETERMINATION OF AWARDS.—Notwith7 standing any other provision of law, an eligible entity that 

8 receives a grant under this section shall solely determine 

9 which students receive emergency financial aid grants 

10 under this section. 

11 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES.—An emergency financial aid 

12 grant awarded to a student under this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) shall not be treated as estimated financial 

14 assistance or other financial assistance for the pur15 poses of section 471 or section 480; 

16 ‘‘(2) shall not be considered— 

17 ‘‘(A) income or assets (including untaxed 

18 income and benefits under section 480(b)) in 

19 the computation of a student’s expected family 

20 contribution or student aid index in determining 

21 the amount of aid for which the student is eligi22 ble under title IV for any academic year; and 

23 ‘‘(B) in determining eligibility for other 

24 public benefits; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) shall not be included in the gross income 

2 of such student for purposes of the Internal Revenue 

3 Code of 1986. 

4 ‘‘(g) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.—No individual 

5 shall be determined to be ineligible to receive benefits pro6 vided under this section on the basis of citizenship, 

7 alienage, or immigration status. 

8 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com10 munity college’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) a degree-granting public institution of 

12 higher education (as defined in section 101) at 

13 which— 

14 ‘‘(i) the highest degree awarded is an 

15 associate degree; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) an associate degree is the most 

17 frequently awarded degree; 

18 ‘‘(B) a 2-year Tribal College or University 

19 (as defined in section 316(b)(3)); 

20 ‘‘(C) a degree-granting Tribal College or 

21 University (as defined in section 316(b)(3)) at 

22 which— 

23 ‘‘(i) the highest degree awarded is an 

24 associate degree; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an associate degree is the most 

2 frequently awarded degree; or 

3 ‘‘(D) a branch campus of a 4-year public 

4 institution of higher education (as defined in 

5 section 101), if, at such branch campus— 

6 ‘‘(i) the highest degree awarded is an 

7 associate degree; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) an associate degree is the most 

9 frequently awarded degree. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en11 tity’ means an institution of higher education. 

12 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘eligible 

13 student’ means any student who is enrolled in an eli14 gible entity. 

15 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

16 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the 

17 term ‘institution of higher education’ has the mean18 ing given the term in section 101 or 102(c). 

19 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

20 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

21 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

22 2022 through 2027.’’. 

Æ 


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