II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 731 

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

or Universities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6, 2005 

Mr. CONRAD (for himself, Mr. BURNS, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. 

KOHL, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. BINGAMAN, 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 Teacher 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.— 
2 

•S 731 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 teacher at a Tribal College 

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

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

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

15 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

16 by paragraph (1) shall be effective for service per17 formed during academic year 2003–2004 and suc18 ceeding academic years, notwithstanding any con19 trary provision of the promissory note under which 

20 a loan under part E of title IV of the Higher Edu21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.) was 

22 made. 

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

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

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

•S 731 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 493C. LOAN REPAYMENT OR CANCELLATION FOR IN2 DIVIDUALS WHO TEACH IN TRIBAL COL3 LEGES OR UNIVERSITIES. 

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

5 carry out a program, through the holder of a loan, of as6 suming or canceling the obligation to repay a qualified 

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

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

9 Tribal Colleges and Universities Teacher Loan Forgive10 ness Act, who— 

11 ‘‘(1) has been employed as a full-time teacher 

12 at a Tribal College or University as defined in sec13 tion 316(b); and 

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

15 borrower seeks repayment or cancellation. 

16 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNTS.— 

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

18 the Secretary shall assume or cancel the obligation 

19 to repay under this section— 

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

21 made, insured, or guaranteed after the date of 

22 enactment of the Tribal Colleges and Univer23 sities Teacher Loan Forgiveness Act to a stu24 dent under part B or D, for the first or second 

25 year of employment described in subsection 

26 (a)(1); 
4 

•S 731 IS

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

2 the third or fourth year of such employment; 

3 and 

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

5 the fifth year of such employment. 

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

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

8 the aggregate of loans made, insured, or guaranteed 

9 under parts B and D for any student. 

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

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

12 may be a qualified loan amount for the purposes of 

13 this subsection only to the extent that such loan 

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

15 guaranteed under part B or D for a borrower who 

16 meets the requirements of subsection (a), as deter17 mined in accordance with regulations prescribed by 

18 the Secretary. 

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

20 issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 

21 the provisions of this section. 

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

23 shall be construed to authorize any refunding of any re24 payment of a loan. 
5 

•S 731 IS

1 ‘‘(e) PREVENTION OF DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No bor2 rower may, for the same service, receive a benefit under 

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

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

5 et seq.). 

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

7 term ‘year’, when applied to employment as a teacher, 

8 means an academic year as defined by the Secretary.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. LOAN REPAYMENT FOR NURSING INSTRUCTORS AT 

10 TRIBAL COLLEGES OR UNIVERSITIES. 

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

12 (42 U.S.C. 297n(a)(3)) is amended— 

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

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

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

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

17 controlled college or university (as such term is de18 fined in section 2 of the Tribally Controlled College 

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

20 1801), or any institution listed in section 532 of the 

21 Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 

22 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note));’’. 
6 

•S 731 IS

1 SEC. 4. AMOUNTS FORGIVEN NOT TREATED AS GROSS IN2 COME. 

3 The amount of any loan that is assumed or canceled 

4 under an amendment made by this Act shall not, con5 sistent with section 108(f) of the Internal Revenue Code 

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

7 tax purposes. 

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