I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7100 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 

provide for certain minimal levels of educational assistance to the dependents of public safety officers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 16, 2022 

Ms. HERRELL (for herself, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. ELLZEY, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. GARBARINO, Ms. 

MACE, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, and Mr. OWENS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 

in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Ways and 

Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

Act of 1968 to provide for certain minimal levels of 

educational assistance to the dependents of public safety 

officers, 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 ‘‘They Had Our Back 

5 We Have Theirs Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IN GENERAL. 

2 Subpart 2 of part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime 

3 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 

4 10302(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) in section 1212(a)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting after 

7 ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ the following: ‘‘and paragraph 

8 (4)’’; and 

9 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(4) In the case of any dependent of an eligible 

11 public safety officer who is deceased, the financial 

12 assistance provided under this subpart shall include 

13 an amount of not less than $25,000 which shall be 

14 made available under section 1219 not later than 

15 180 days after that officer’s death. Such amount 

16 shall not be included for purposes of any computa17 tion referred to in paragraph (2).’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 1219. FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR 

20 CHILDREN AND SPOUSES OF ELIGIBLE PUB21 LIC SAFETY OFFICERS. 

22 ‘‘(a) FORGIVENESS REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding 

23 any other provision of law, and in addition to any other 

24 benefit available under this part, the Secretary of Edu25 cation shall carry out a program in accordance with this 

26 Act to forgive up to a total of $25,000 of the outstanding 


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1 balance of interest and principal due on the applicable eli2 gible Federal student loans of borrowers who are children 

3 or spouses of eligible public safety officers. 

4 ‘‘(b) METHOD OF LOAN FORGIVENESS.—Subject to 

5 subsection (c), in carrying out the loan forgiveness pro6 gram required under subsection (a), as soon as practicable 

7 after the Secretary of Education has confirmed that an 

8 applicant is a child or spouse of an eligible public safety 

9 officer who is a borrower of an eligible Federal student 

10 loan, the Secretary of Education shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) through the holder of a loan, assume the 

12 obligation to repay the outstanding balance of inter13 est and principal due (and any other amounts due, 

14 including any other costs or fees assessed) on the 

15 applicable eligible Federal student loans of the bor16 rower made, insured, or guaranteed under part B of 

17 title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.), or, if the holder of the loan is 

19 the Secretary, cancel such outstanding balance; 

20 ‘‘(2) cancel the outstanding balance of interest 

21 and principal due (and any other amounts due, in22 cluding any other costs or fees assessed) on the ap23 plicable eligible Federal student loans of the bor24 rower made under part E of such title; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) through the holder of a loan, assume the 

2 obligation to repay the outstanding balance of inter3 est and principal due (and any other amounts due, 

4 including any other costs or fees assessed) on the 

5 applicable eligible Federal student loans of the bor6 rower made, insured, or guaranteed under part D of 

7 such title, or, if the holder of the loan is the Sec8 retary, cancel such outstanding balance. 

9 ‘‘(c) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF FORGIVENESS.—The 

10 total amount of forgiveness received by a borrower under 

11 this section may not exceed $25,000 with respect to all 

12 eligible Federal student loans of the borrower. 

13 ‘‘(d) REPAYMENT REFUNDS PROHIBITED.—Nothing 

14 in this section shall be construed to authorize any refund15 ing of any eligible Federal student loan repayment made 

16 before the date a borrower’s loans are forgiven in accord17 ance with this section. 

18 ‘‘(e) EXCLUSION FROM TAXABLE INCOME.—The 

19 amount of a borrower’s eligible Federal student loans for20 given under this section shall not be included in the gross 

21 income of the borrower for purposes of the Internal Rev22 enue Code of 1986. 

23 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

24 ‘‘(1) the term ‘eligible Federal student loan’ 

25 means any loan made, insured, or guaranteed under 


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1 part B, part D, or part E of title IV of the Higher 

2 Education Act of 1965, including a consolidation 

3 loan under such title; and 

4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible public safety officer’ 

5 means a public safety officer, as defined in section 

6 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

7 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b), who is 

8 determined to have died or become permanently and 

9 totally disabled as the direct and proximate result of 

10 a personal injury sustained in the line of duty, sub11 ject to the limitations on such a determination made 

12 under subpart 1.’’. 

Æ 


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