II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 796 

To incentivize State support for postsecondary education and to promote 

increased access and affordability for higher education for students, 

including Dreamer students. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 19, 2015 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To incentivize State support for postsecondary education and 

to promote increased access and affordability for higher 

education for students, including Dreamer students. 

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 ‘‘Investing in States 

5 to Achieve Tuition Equality for Dreamers Act of 2015’’ 

6 or the ‘‘IN-STATE for Dreamers Act of 2015’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find9 ings: 


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1 (1) The non-partisan Congressional Budget Of2 fice found that comprehensive immigration reform 

3 would reduce the national deficit by billions, 

4 strengthen Social Security solvency, increase the 

5 number of jobs, and raise Gross Domestic Product. 

6 (2) According to a report by the Partnership 

7 for a New American Economy, more than 40 per8 cent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by im9 migrants or their children, generating a combined 

10 revenue of $4,200,000,000,000. 

11 (3) Thousands of deferred action childhood ar12 rival students graduate from high schools in the 

13 United States every year but only a small fraction 

14 of those students enroll in higher education. 

15 (4) Many jobs in the 21st century economy re16 quire some form of postsecondary education. 

17 (5) Education provides an important pathway 

18 to the middle class; college graduates have higher 

19 earnings and lower unemployment rates than their 

20 less educated peers. 

21 (6) Since 2008, States are spending 28 percent 

22 less per student in higher education, and tuition and 

23 fees continue to rise. The increased costs are being 

24 shifted to students and student loan debt continues 

25 to grow. 


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1 (7) Investments in higher education provide 

2 youth a ladder to achieving the American dream. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 

4 (1) allow States to provide immigrant students 

5 timely and affordable access to higher education; 

6 (2) incentivize States to maintain support for 

7 higher education; and 

8 (3) promote increased access and affordability 

9 to postsecondary education for students through 

10 State need-based financial aid. 

11 SEC. 3. AMERICAN DREAM GRANTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 4 of part A of title IV 

13 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070c 

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

15 ‘‘SEC. 415G. AMERICAN DREAM GRANTS. 

16 ‘‘(a) DREAMER STUDENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

18 ‘Dreamer student’ means an individual who— 

19 ‘‘(A) was younger than 16 years of age on 

20 the date on which the individual initially en21 tered the United States; 

22 ‘‘(B) has provided a list of each secondary 

23 school (as that term is defined in section 9101 

24 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 


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1 Act of 1965) that the student attended in the 

2 United States; and 

3 ‘‘(C)(i) has earned a high school diploma, 

4 the recognized equivalent of such diploma from 

5 a secondary school, a high school equivalency 

6 diploma in the United States, or is scheduled to 

7 complete the requirements for such a diploma 

8 or equivalent before the next academic year be9 gins; 

10 ‘‘(ii) has acquired a degree from an institu11 tion of higher education or has completed not 

12 less than 2 years in a program for a bacca13 laureate degree or higher degree at an institu14 tion of higher education in the United States 

15 and has made satisfactory academic progress, 

16 as defined in section 484(c), during such time 

17 period; 

18 ‘‘(iii) is a beneficiary of the Deferred Ac19 tion for Childhood Arrivals program pursuant 

20 to the Department of Homeland Security Sec21 retary’s memorandum on June 15, 2012, or 

22 November 20, 2014; or 

23 ‘‘(iv) has served in the uniformed services, 

24 as defined in section 101 of title 10, United 


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1 States Code, for not less than 4 years and, if 

2 discharged, received an honorable discharge. 

3 ‘‘(2) HARDSHIP EXCEPTION.—The Secretary 

4 shall issue regulations that direct when a State shall 

5 waive the requirement of subparagraph (A) or (B), 

6 or both, of paragraph (1) to qualify as a Dreamer 

7 student under such paragraph, if the individual— 

8 ‘‘(A) demonstrates compelling cir9 cumstances for the inability to satisfy the re10 quirement of such subparagraph (A) or (B), or 

11 both; and 

12 ‘‘(B) satisfies the requirement under para13 graph (1)(C). 

14 ‘‘(b) GRANTS TO STATES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION FOR ADMINISTRATION.— 

16 From the amounts appropriated to carry out this 

17 section for each fiscal year, the Secretary may re18 serve not more than 1 percent of such amounts to 

19 administer this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) GRANTS AUTHORIZED TO ELIGIBLE

21 STATES.—From the amounts appropriated to carry 

22 out this section for each fiscal year and not reserved 

23 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall award 

24 grants to eligible States to enable the States to carry 

25 out the activities described in this section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE STATE.—An eligible State 

2 means a State that— 

3 ‘‘(A) increases access and affordability to 

4 higher education for students by— 

5 ‘‘(i) offering in-State tuition for 

6 Dreamer students; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) expanding in-State financial aid 

8 to Dreamer students; and 

9 ‘‘(B) submits an application to the Sec10 retary that contains an assurance that— 

11 ‘‘(i) notwithstanding any other provi12 sion of law, the State will not discriminate, 

13 in awarding student financial assistance or 

14 determining who is eligible for in-State tui15 tion, against a Dreamer student if the stu16 dent would otherwise be eligible for in17 State financial aid; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) for each of fiscal years 2015 

19 through 2025, the State will maintain 

20 State support for public institutions of 

21 higher education located in the State (not 

22 including support for capital projects, re23 search and development, or tuition and 

24 fees paid by students) at not less than the 

25 level of such support for fiscal year 2013 


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1 adjusted annually for inflation as deter2 mined by the Consumer Price Index (as 

3 such term in defined in section 478(f)) for 

4 the previous calendar year. 

5 ‘‘(4) ALLOTMENTS.—The Secretary shall allot 

6 the amount appropriated to carry out this section 

7 for each fiscal year and not reserved under para8 graph (1) among the eligible States in proportion to 

9 the number of Dreamer students enrolled at least 

10 half-time in postsecondary education who reside in 

11 the State for the most recent fiscal year for which 

12 satisfactory data are available, compared to the 

13 number of such students who reside in all eligible 

14 States for that fiscal year. 

15 ‘‘(c) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

16 awarded under this section shall be used to supplement, 

17 and not supplant, non-Federal funds that would otherwise 

18 be used for activities authorized under this section. 

19 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION AND APPROPRIATION OF

20 FUNDS.—There are authorized to be appropriated, and 

21 there are appropriated, to carry out this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

23 ‘‘(2) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

24 ‘‘(3) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

25 ‘‘(4) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 


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1 ‘‘(5) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

2 ‘‘(6) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

3 ‘‘(7) $85,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

4 ‘‘(8) $85,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

5 ‘‘(9) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 

6 ‘‘(10) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2025.’’. 

7 (b) OFFSET.—Section 281 of the Immigration and 

8 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1351) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘The fees’’ and inserting the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The fees’’; 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘: Provided, That nonimmigrant 

13 visas’’ and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(b) UNITED NATIONS VISITORS.—Nonimmigrant 

15 visas’’; 

16 (3) by striking ‘‘Subject to’’ and inserting the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(c) FEE WAIVERS OR REDUCTIONS.—Subject to’’; 

19 and 

20 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) F–1 VISA FEE.—In addition to the fees author22 ized under subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Se23 curity shall collect a $150 fee from each nonimmigrant 

24 admitted under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i), which fee shall 

25 be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.’’. 


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1 (c) RESTORATION OF STATE OPTION TO DETERMINE

2 RESIDENCY FOR PURPOSES OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

3 (1) REPEAL.—Section 505 of the Illegal Immi4 gration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

5 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623) is repealed. 

6 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The repeal under para7 graph (1) shall take effect as if included in the origi8 nal enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

9 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division 

10 C of Public Law 104–208). 

11 (d) NATURALIZATION.—Section 328(a) (8 U.S.C. 

12 1439(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, without having been 

13 lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent resi14 dence, and’’ after ‘‘naturalized’’. 

Æ 


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