In the Senate of the United States, 
April 30, 2008. 
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 5715) entitled ‘‘An Act to ensure continued avail-
ability of access to the Federal student loan program for stu-
dents and families.’’, do pass with the following
AMENDMENTS:
Ω1æOn page 2, line 5, strike øAND GRADUATE¿
Ω2æOn page 7, line 11, strike øissued¿ and insert: first 
disbursed
Ω3æOn page 9, line 12, strike øissued¿ and insert: first 
disbursed
Ω4æOn page 9, line 24 through page 10 line 11 strike and 
insert:
‘‘(B)(i) EXTENUATING
CIRCUMSTANCES.—
An eligible lender may determine that extenu-
ating circumstances exist under the regulations
promulgated pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) if, 
during the period beginning January 1, 2007, 
and ending December 31, 2009, an applicant for 
a loan under this section—
‘‘(I) is or has been delinquent for 180 
days or fewer on mortgage loan payments 
or on medical bill payments during such 
period; and 
‘‘(II) is not and has not been more 
than 89 days delinquent on the repayment 
of any other debt during such period. 
‘‘(ii) DEFINITION OF MORTGAGE LOAN.—In 
this subparagraph, the term ‘mortgage loan’ 
means an extension of credit to a borrower that 
is secured by the primary residence of the bor-
rower. 
‘‘(iii) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
in this subparagraph shall be construed to limit 
an eligible lender’s authority under the regula-
tions promulgated pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) 
to determine that extenuating circumstances 
exist.’’.
Ω5æOn page 10, after line 24 insert:
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting after the sec-
ond sentence the following: ‘‘No loan under section
428, 428B, or 428H that is made pursuant to this 
subsection shall be made with interest rates, origina-
tion or default fees, or other terms and conditions 
that are more favorable to the borrower than the max-
imum interest rates, origination or default fees, or 
other terms and conditions applicable to that type of 
loan under this part.’’;
Ω6æOn page 12, line 14, strike ølenders willing to make 
loans¿ and insert: eligible lenders willing to make loans 
under this part
Ω7æOn page 13, after line 2 insert:
‘‘(6) EXPIRATION
OF
AUTHORITY.—The Sec-
retary’s authority under paragraph (4) to designate 
institutions of higher education for participation in 
the program under this subsection shall expire on 
June 30, 2009. 
‘‘(7) EXPIRATION OF DESIGNATION.—The eligi-
bility of an institution of higher education, or bor-
rowers from such institution, to participate in the 
program under this subsection pursuant to a designa-
tion of the institution by the Secretary under para-
graph (4) shall expire on June 30, 2009. After such 
date, borrowers from an institution designated under 
paragraph (4) shall be eligible to participate in the
program under this subsection as such program ex-
isted on the day before the date of enactment of the 
Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 
2008. 
‘‘(8) PROHIBITION ON INDUCEMENTS AND MAR-
KETING.—Each guaranty agency or eligible lender 
that serves as a lender-of-last-resort under this sub-
section—
‘‘(A) shall be subject to the prohibitions on 
inducements contained in subsection (b)(3) and 
the requirements of section 435(d)(5); and 
‘‘(B) shall not advertise, market, or other-
wise promote loans under this subsection, except 
that nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a 
guaranty agency from fulfilling its responsibil-
ities under paragraph (2)(C). 
‘‘(9) DISSEMINATION AND REPORTING.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—
‘‘(i) broadly disseminate information 
regarding the availability of loans made 
under this subsection; 
‘‘(ii) during the period beginning July 
1, 2008 and ending June 30, 2010, provide 
to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the
Committee on Education and Labor of the 
House of Representatives and make avail-
able to the public—
‘‘(I) copies of any new or revised 
plans or agreements made by guaranty 
agencies or the Department related to 
the authorities under this subsection; 
‘‘(II) quarterly reports on—
‘‘(aa) 
the 
number 
and 
amounts of loans originated or 
approved pursuant to this sub-
section by each guaranty agency 
and eligible lender; and 
‘‘(bb) any related payments 
by the Department, a guaranty 
agency, or an eligible lender; and 
‘‘(III) a budget estimate of the 
costs to the Federal Government (in-
cluding subsidy and administrative 
costs) for each 100 dollars loaned, of 
loans made pursuant to this subsection 
between the date of enactment of the 
Ensuring Continued Access to Student 
Loans Act of 2008 and June 30, 2009, 
disaggregated by type of loan, com-
pared to such costs to the Federal Gov-
ernment during such time period of 
comparable loans under this part and 
part D, disaggregated by part and by 
type of loan; and 
‘‘(iii) beginning July 1, 2010, provide 
to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 
Committee on Education and Labor of the 
House of Representatives and make avail-
able to the public—
‘‘(I) copies of any new or revised 
plans or agreements made by guaranty 
agencies or the Department related to 
the authorities under this subsection; 
and 
‘‘(II) annual reports on—
‘‘(aa) 
the 
number 
and 
amounts of loans originated or 
approved pursuant to this sub-
section by each guaranty agency 
and eligible lender; and 
‘‘(bb) any related payments 
by the Department, a guaranty 
agency, or an eligible lender.
‘‘(B) SEPARATE REPORTING.—The informa-
tion required to be reported under subparagraph 
(A)(ii)(II) shall be reported separately for loans 
originated or approved pursuant to paragraph 
(4), or payments related to such loans, for the 
time period in which the Secretary is authorized 
to make designations under paragraph (4).’’.
Ω8æOn page 13, line 12, strike øagency’s¿ and insert: 
agencies
Ω9æOn page 14, line 3, strike øadding at the end¿ and 
insert: inserting before the matter following paragraph (5)
Ω10æOn page 15, line 19, strike øloans originated¿ and 
insert: loans first disbursed
Ω11æOn page 15, line 21, after ‘‘October 1, 2003,’’ insert: 
and before July 1, 2009,
Ω12æOn page 16, line 1, after ‘‘Federal Government’’ in-
sert: (including the cost of servicing the loans purchased)
Ω13æOn page 16, strike lines 5 through 23, and insert 
the following:
‘‘(2) FEDERAL
REGISTER
NOTICE.—The Sec-
retary, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Direc-
tor of the Office of Management and Budget, shall
jointly publish a notice in the Federal Register prior 
to any purchase of loans under this section that—
‘‘(A) establishes the terms and conditions 
governing the purchases authorized by paragraph 
(1); 
‘‘(B) includes an outline of the methodology 
and factors that the Secretary, the Secretary of 
the Treasury, and the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget, will jointly consider in 
evaluating the price at which to purchase loans 
made under section 428, 428B, or 428H; and 
‘‘(C) describes how the use of such method-
ology and consideration of such factors used to 
determine purchase price will ensure that loan 
purchases do not result in any net cost to the 
Federal Government (including the cost of serv-
icing the loans purchased).’’.
Ω14æOn page 20, after line 9 insert the following:
SEC. 10. ACADEMIC COMPETITIVENESS GRANTS. 
(a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 401A of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–1) is amended—
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(a) ACADEMIC COMPETITIVENESS GRANT PROGRAM 
AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall award grants, in the
amounts specified in subsection (d)(1), to eligible students 
to assist the eligible students in paying their college edu-
cation expenses.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) by striking ‘‘academic year’’ each place 
it appears and inserting ‘‘year’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘third or 
fourth’’ and inserting ‘‘third, fourth, or fifth’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)—
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph 
(1)—
(i) by striking ‘‘full–time’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘academic’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘award’’; and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘is made’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘is made for a grant under this sec-
tion’’; 
(B) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) is eligible for a Federal Pell Grant; 
‘‘(2) is enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an 
institution of higher education on not less than a 
half-time basis; and’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (3)—
(i) by striking ‘‘academic’’ each place 
the term appears; 
(ii) in subparagraph (A)—
(I) by striking the matter pre-
ceding clause (i) and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) the first year of a program of under-
graduate education at a two- or four-year degree-
granting institution of higher education (includ-
ing a program of not less than one year for 
which the institution awards a certificate)—’’; 
(II) by striking clause (i) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(i) has successfully completed, after 
January 1, 2006, a rigorous secondary 
school program of study that prepares stu-
dents for college and is recognized as such 
by the State official designated for such rec-
ognition, or with respect to any private or 
home school, the school official designated 
for such recognition for such school, con-
sistent with State law, which recognized 
program shall be reported to the Secretary; 
and’’; and
(III) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘, 
except as part of a secondary school 
program of study’’ before the semicolon; 
(iii) in subparagraph (B)—
(I) in the matter preceding clause 
(i), by striking ‘‘year of’’ and all that 
follows through ‘‘higher education’’ and 
inserting ‘‘year of a program of under-
graduate education at a two- or four-
year degree-granting institution of 
higher education (including a program 
of not less than two years for which the 
institution awards a certificate)’’; and 
(II) in clause (ii), by striking 
‘‘or’’ after the semicolon at the end; 
(iv) in subparagraph (C)—
(I) in the matter preceding sub-
clause (I) of clause (i), by inserting 
‘‘certified by the institution to be’’ 
after ‘‘is’’; 
(II) by striking clause (i)(II) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(II) a critical foreign language; 
and’’; and
(III) in clause (ii), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting a semi-
colon; and 
(v) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) the third or fourth year of a program 
of undergraduate education at an institution of 
higher education (as defined in section 101(a)), 
is attending an institution that demonstrates, to 
the satisfaction of the Secretary, that the institu-
tion—
‘‘(i) offers a single liberal arts cur-
riculum leading to a baccalaureate degree, 
under which students are not permitted by 
the institution to declare a major in a par-
ticular subject area, and the student—
‘‘(I)(aa) studies, in such years, a 
subject 
described 
in 
subparagraph 
(C)(i) that is at least equal to the re-
quirements for an academic major at 
an institution of higher education that 
offers a baccalaureate degree in such 
subject, as certified by an appropriate 
official from the institution; and 
‘‘(bb) has obtained a cumulative 
grade point average of at least 3.0 (or
the equivalent as determined under 
regulations prescribed by the Sec-
retary) in the relevant coursework; or 
‘‘(II) is required, as part of the 
student’s degree program, to undertake 
a rigorous course of study in mathe-
matics, biology, chemistry, and phys-
ics, which consists of at least—
‘‘(aa) 4 years of study in 
mathematics; and 
‘‘(bb) 3 years of study in the 
sciences, with a laboratory compo-
nent in each of those years; and 
‘‘(ii) offered such curriculum prior to 
February 8, 2006; or 
‘‘(E) the fifth year of a program of under-
graduate education that requires 5 full years of 
coursework, as certified by the appropriate offi-
cial of the degree-granting institution of higher 
education, for which a baccalaureate degree is 
awarded by a degree-granting institution of 
higher education—
‘‘(i) is certified by the institution of 
higher education to be pursuing a major 
in—
‘‘(I) the physical, life, or computer 
sciences, mathematics, technology, or 
engineering (as determined by the Sec-
retary pursuant to regulations); or 
‘‘(II) a critical foreign language; 
and 
‘‘(ii) has obtained a cumulative grade 
point average of at least 3.0 (or the equiva-
lent, as determined under regulations pre-
scribed by the Secretary) in the coursework 
required for the major described in clause 
(i).’’; 
(4) in subsection (d)—
(A) in paragraph (1)—
(i) in subparagraph (A)—
(I) by striking ‘‘The’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘IN GENERAL.—The’’; 
(II) in clause (ii), by striking 
‘‘or’’ after the semicolon at the end; 
(III) in clause (iii), by striking 
‘‘subsection (c)(3)(C).’’ and inserting 
‘‘subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection 
(c)(3), for each of the two years de-
scribed in such subparagraphs; or’’; 
and