I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4968 
To provide for the basic needs of students at institutions of higher education. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 31, 2019 
Mrs. TORRES of California (for herself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. CARBAJAL, 
Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. HASTINGS, 
Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. 
CA´RDENAS, and Mr. TAKANO) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To provide for the basic needs of students at institutions 
of higher education. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Basic Assistance for 
Students In College Act’’ or the ‘‘BASIC Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DATA SHARING. 
Not more than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in coordination 
with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Hous-
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ing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, shall develop and implement an 
agreement to— 
(1) securely share data among the respective 
Federal agencies of such Secretaries in order to 
identify students who are enrolled at institutions of 
higher education (as defined in section 102 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) 
(including full-time and part-time students) who 
may be eligible for benefits through— 
(A) the supplemental nutrition assistance 
program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 
(B) the supplemental security income pro-
gram under title XVI of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 
(C) the program of block grants to States 
for temporary assistance for needy families 
under part A of title IV of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 
(D) the special supplemental nutrition pro-
gram for women, infants, and children estab-
lished by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act 
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 
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(E) the Medicaid program under title XIX 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 
seq.); 
(F) Federal housing assistance programs, 
including tenant-based assistance under section 
8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
(42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), and public housing, as 
defined in section 3(b)(1) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 1437a(b)(1)); or 
(G) any other means-tested Federal benefit 
program as identified by the Secretary of Edu-
cation in accordance with section 479(d)(2)(F) 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1087ss(d)(2)(F)); and 
(2) coordinate efforts to provide assistance to 
institutions of higher education to facilitate the en-
rollment of eligible students in the programs listed 
in paragraph (1). 
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT THE BASIC NEEDS OF STU-
DENTS. 
Title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1161a) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘PART BB—GRANTS TO SUPPORT THE BASIC 
NEEDS OF STUDENTS 
‘‘SEC. 899. GRANTS TO SUPPORT THE BASIC NEEDS OF STU-
DENTS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) BASIC
NEEDS.—The term ‘basic needs’ 
means the needs of students that support their suc-
cess while enrolled at an eligible institution, includ-
ing needs such as— 
‘‘(A) food; 
‘‘(B) housing; 
‘‘(C) transportation; 
‘‘(D) child care; 
‘‘(E) health care; and 
‘‘(F) technology. 
‘‘(2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com-
munity college’ means a public institution of higher 
education at which the highest degree that is pre-
dominantly awarded to students is an associate de-
gree, including 2-year Tribal Colleges or Univer-
sities, as defined in section 316, and public 2-year 
State institutions of higher education. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi-
ble institution’ means an institution of higher edu-
cation (as defined in section 102) that participates 
in programs under title IV. 
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‘‘(b) PLANNING GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 
planning grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 
institutions to enable the eligible institutions to con-
duct research and planning to reduce incidences of 
student food and housing insecurity and to meet 
other basic needs of students, by carrying out the 
activities described in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—An eligible institution receiv-
ing a grant under this subsection shall use grant 
funds to carry out the following: 
‘‘(A) Establish a basic needs steering com-
mittee that will be responsible for creating and 
approving the basic needs strategy described in 
subparagraph (C), and that will be comprised of 
relevant campus stakeholders, such as— 
‘‘(i) students who have experienced 
challenges in meeting basic needs; 
‘‘(ii) student government representa-
tives; 
‘‘(iii) institutional staff representing 
the areas of student financial aid, housing, 
dining, student affairs, accessibility serv-
ices, and health services (including coun-
seling or psychological services); 
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‘‘(iv) faculty; 
‘‘(v) relevant administrators, including 
local human services administrators; and 
‘‘(vi) community-based organizations. 
‘‘(B) Conduct research regarding— 
‘‘(i) the level of unmet basic needs at 
the institution, disaggregated by race and 
ethnicity, income quintile, status as a first- 
generation college student (as defined in 
section 402A(h)), Federal Pell Grant eligi-
bility status, disability status, status as a 
student parent, sex (including sexual ori-
entation and gender identity), or other 
subgroup as determined by the institution; 
‘‘(ii) the presence of institutional bar-
riers (such as award displacement) and 
current institutional interventions to ad-
dress such barriers; 
‘‘(iii) the resources available to ad-
dress basic needs of students, both on cam-
pus and off campus; and 
‘‘(iv) opportunities for coordination 
and collaboration between the institution 
and government or community-based orga-
nizations, such as— 
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‘‘(I) the local office that admin-
isters benefits through the supple-
mental nutrition assistance program 
(SNAP) and SNAP employment and 
training programs under the Food 
and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2011 et seq.) or the temporary assist-
ance for needy families program 
(TANF) and subsidized programs 
that meet the work requirements 
under part A of title IV of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 
‘‘(II) organizations that partici-
pate in the Federal work-study pro-
gram under part C of title IV of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1087–51 et seq.); or 
‘‘(III) low-income housing assist-
ance organizations, including those as-
sisting with tenant-based assistance 
under section 8(o) of the United 
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
U.S.C. 1437f(o)), and public housing, 
as defined in section 3(b)(1) of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(1)). 
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‘‘(C) Create a basic needs strategy that de-
scribes how the institution will— 
‘‘(i) seek to address or meet the basic 
needs of students through on-campus and 
off-campus providers; and 
‘‘(ii) incorporate the research con-
ducted under subparagraph (B), including 
with respect to the subgroups identified 
under clause (i) of subparagraph (B), into 
the basic needs strategy. 
‘‘(3) GRANT AMOUNTS; DURATION.— 
‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—A grant under this sub-
section shall be in an amount not to exceed 
$50,000. 
‘‘(B) DURATION.—A grant under this sub-
section shall be for a period of 1 year. 
‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after 
the end of the planning grant period under this sub-
section, each eligible institution that receives such a 
grant shall submit a report to the Secretary describ-
ing the outcomes of the planning grant, regardless 
of whether the eligible institution intends to apply 
for an implementation grant. 
‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 
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