IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1657 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2007 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To establish a Science and Technology Scholarship Program 

to award scholarships to recruit and prepare students 

for careers in the National Weather Service and in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marine 

research, atmospheric research, and satellite programs. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SCHOLARSHIP 

4 PROGRAM. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator is au7 thorized to establish a Science and Technology 

8 Scholarship Program to award scholarships to indi9 viduals that is designed to recruit and prepare stu10 dents for careers in the National Weather Service 

11 and in Administration marine research, atmospheric 

12 research, and satellite programs. 

13 (2) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—Individuals shall 

14 be selected to receive scholarships under this section 

15 through a competitive process primarily on the basis 

16 of academic merit, with consideration given to finan17 cial need and the goal of promoting the participation 

18 of individuals identified in section 33 or 34 of the 

19 Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 1885a or 1885b). 

21 (3) SERVICE AGREEMENTS.—To carry out the 

22 scholarship program, the Administrator shall enter 

23 into contractual agreements with individuals selected 

24 under paragraph (2) under which the individuals 

25 agree to serve as full-time employees of the AdminisVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:52 Sep 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1657.RFS H1657

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1 tration, for the period described in subsection (f)(1), 

2 in positions needed by the Administration in fields 

3 described in paragraph (1) and for which the indi4 viduals are qualified, in exchange for receiving a 

5 scholarship. 

6 (b) SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligi7 ble to participate in the scholarship program, an individual 

8 shall— 

9 (1) be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a 

10 full-time student at an institution of higher edu11 cation in an academic program or field of study de12 scribed in the list made available under subsection 

13 (d); 

14 (2) be a United States citizen or permanent 

15 resident; and 

16 (3) at the time of the initial scholarship award, 

17 not be a Federal employee as defined in section 

18 2105 of title 5 of the United States Code. 

19 (c) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—An individual seeking 

20 a scholarship under this section shall submit an applica21 tion to the Administrator at such time, in such manner, 

22 and containing such information, agreements, or assur23 ances as the Administrator may require to carry out this 

24 section. 


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1 (d) ELIGIBLE ACADEMIC PROGRAMS.—The Adminis2 trator shall make publicly available a list of academic pro3 grams and fields of study for which scholarships may be 

4 utilized in fields described in subsection (a)(1), and shall 

5 update the list as necessary. 

6 (e) SCHOLARSHIP REQUIREMENT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may pro8 vide a scholarship under the scholarship program for 

9 an academic year if the individual applying for the 

10 scholarship has submitted to the Administrator, as 

11 part of the application required under subsection (c), 

12 a proposed academic program leading to a degree in 

13 a program or field of study on the list made avail14 able under subsection (d). 

15 (2) DURATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—An individual 

16 may not receive a scholarship under this section for 

17 more than 4 academic years, unless the Adminis18 trator grants a waiver. 

19 (3) SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT.—The dollar 

20 amount of a scholarship under this section for an 

21 academic year shall be determined under regulations 

22 issued by the Administrator, but shall in no case ex23 ceed the cost of attendance. 

24 (4) AUTHORIZED USES.—A scholarship pro25 vided under this section may be expended for tuition, 


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1 fees, and other authorized expenses as established by 

2 the Administrator by regulation. 

3 (5) CONTRACTS REGARDING DIRECT PAYMENTS

4 TO INSTITUTIONS.—The Administrator may enter 

5 into a contractual agreement with an institution of 

6 higher education under which the amounts provided 

7 for a scholarship under this section for tuition, fees, 

8 and other authorized expenses are paid directly to 

9 the institution with respect to which the scholarship 

10 is provided. 

11 (f) PERIOD OF OBLIGATED SERVICE.— 

12 (1) DURATION OF SERVICE.—Except as pro13 vided in subsection (h)(2), the period of service for 

14 which an individual shall be obligated to serve as an 

15 employee of the Administration shall be 24 months 

16 for each academic year for which a scholarship 

17 under this section is provided. 

18 (2) SCHEDULE FOR SERVICE.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

20 subparagraph (B), obligated service under para21 graph (1) shall begin not later than 60 days 

22 after the individual obtains the educational de23 gree for which the scholarship was provided. 

24 (B) DEFERRAL.—The Administrator may 

25 defer the obligation of an individual to provide 


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1 a period of service under paragraph (1) if the 

2 Administrator determines that such a deferral 

3 is appropriate. The Administrator shall pre4 scribe the terms and conditions under which a 

5 service obligation may be deferred through reg6 ulation. 

7 (g) PENALTIES FOR BREACH OF SCHOLARSHIP

8 AGREEMENT.— 

9 (1) FAILURE TO COMPLETE ACADEMIC TRAIN10 ING.—Scholarship recipients who fail to maintain a 

11 high level of academic standing, as defined by the 

12 Administrator by regulation, who are dismissed from 

13 their educational institutions for disciplinary rea14 sons, or who voluntarily terminate academic training 

15 before graduation from the educational program for 

16 which the scholarship was awarded, shall be in 

17 breach of their contractual agreement and, in lieu of 

18 any service obligation arising under such agreement, 

19 shall be liable to the United States for repayment 

20 not later than 1 year after the date of default of all 

21 scholarship funds paid to them and to the institution 

22 of higher education on their behalf under the agree23 ment, except as provided in subsection (h)(2). The 

24 repayment period may be extended by the AdminisVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:52 Sep 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1657.RFS H1657

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1 trator when determined to be necessary, as estab2 lished by regulation. 

3 (2) FAILURE TO BEGIN OR COMPLETE THE

4 SERVICE OBLIGATION OR MEET THE TERMS AND

5 CONDITIONS OF DEFERMENT.—A scholarship recipi6 ent who, for any reason, fails to begin or complete 

7 a service obligation under this section after comple8 tion of academic training, or fails to comply with the 

9 terms and conditions of deferment established by the 

10 Administrator pursuant to subsection (f)(2)(B), 

11 shall be in breach of the contractual agreement. 

12 When a recipient breaches an agreement for the rea13 sons stated in the preceding sentence, the recipient 

14 shall be liable to the United States for an amount 

15 equal to— 

16 (A) the total amount of scholarships re17 ceived by such individual under this section; 

18 plus 

19 (B) the interest on the amounts of such 

20 awards which would be payable if at the time 

21 the awards were received they were loans bear22 ing interest at the maximum legal prevailing 

23 rate, as determined by the Treasurer of the 

24 United States. 

25 (h) WAIVER OR SUSPENSION OF OBLIGATION.— 


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1 (1) DEATH OF INDIVIDUAL.—Any obligation of 

2 an individual incurred under the scholarship pro3 gram (or a contractual agreement thereunder) for 

4 service or payment shall be canceled upon the death 

5 of the individual. 

6 (2) IMPOSSIBILITY OR EXTREME HARDSHIP.— 

7 The Administrator shall by regulation provide for 

8 the partial or total waiver or suspension of any obli9 gation of service or payment incurred by an indi10 vidual under the scholarship program (or a contrac11 tual agreement thereunder) whenever compliance by 

12 the individual is impossible or would involve extreme 

13 hardship to the individual, or if enforcement of such 

14 obligation with respect to the individual would be 

15 contrary to the best interests of the Government. 

16 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act the following defini17 tions apply: 

18 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra19 tion’’ means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

20 Administration. 

21 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis22 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

23 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

24 (3) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—The term ‘‘cost of 

25 attendance’’ has the meaning given that term in secVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:52 Sep 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1657.RFS H1657

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1 tion 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 1087ll). 

3 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

5 meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the 

6 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

7 (5) SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘schol8 arship program’’ means the Science and Technology 

9 Scholarship Program established under this section. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 17, 

2007. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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