I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4638 
To give middle-class families access to the maximum Federal Pell Grant, 
to increase college transparency, and State maintenance of efforts, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 11, 2019 
Mr. CARBAJAL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on 
Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To give middle-class families access to the maximum Federal 
Pell Grant, to increase college transparency, and State 
maintenance of efforts, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Degrees Not Debt Act 
of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. INCREASE IN THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF A FED-
ERAL PELL GRANT. 
Section 401(b)(7)(C) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(7)(C)) is amended— 
(1) in clause (i)(I), by striking ‘‘clause (iv)(II)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘clause (v)(II)’’; 
(2) in clause (ii)(I), by striking ‘‘clause (iv)(II)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘clause (v)(II)’’; 
(3) by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) as 
clauses (iv) and (v), respectively; 
(4) by inserting after clause (ii) the following: 
‘‘(iii) AWARD
YEAR
2019–2020.—For 
award year 2019–2020, the amount deter-
mined under this subparagraph for pur-
poses of subparagraph (B)(iii) shall be 
equal to— 
‘‘(I) $10,000; reduced by 
‘‘(II) the maximum Federal Pell 
Grant for which a student would be 
eligible using the criteria provided 
under section 479; and 
‘‘(III) rounded to the nearest 
$5.’’; and 
(5) by striking clause (iv), as redesignated by 
paragraph (3), and inserting the following: 
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‘‘(iv) SUBSEQUENT AWARD YEARS.— 
For award year 2020–2021 and each sub-
sequent award year, the amount deter-
mined under this subparagraph for pur-
poses of subparagraph (B)(iii) shall be 
equal to— 
‘‘(I) 
the 
amount 
determined 
under this subparagraph for the pre-
ceding award year; increased by 
‘‘(II) a percentage equal to the 
annual adjustment percentage for the 
award year for which the amount 
under this subparagraph is being de-
termined; and 
‘‘(III) rounded to the nearest 
$5.’’. 
SEC. 3. INCREASE FAMILY INCOME THRESHOLD FOR DE-
TERMINATION OF EXPECTED FAMILY CON-
TRIBUTION EQUAL TO ZERO. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 479 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ss) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 479. SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION. 
‘‘(a) SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION SECTION.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 
and use an easily identifiable simplified application 
section as part of the common financial reporting 
form prescribed under section 483(a) for families de-
scribed in subsection (b). 
‘‘(2) REDUCED
DATA
REQUIREMENTS.—The 
simplified application form shall in the case of a 
family meeting the requirements of subsection (b), 
permit such family to be treated as having an ex-
pected family contribution equal to zero for purposes 
of establishing such eligibility and to submit only the 
data elements required to make a determination 
under subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION.— 
The Secretary shall consider an applicant to have an ex-
pected family contribution equal to zero if— 
‘‘(1) in the case of a dependent student, the 
sum of the adjusted gross income of the student’s 
parents is less than or equal to 250 percent of the 
poverty line (as defined by the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, and revised annually in accord-
ance with section 673(2) of the Community Services 
Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable to 
a family of the size involved; 
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‘‘(2) in the case of an independent student with 
dependents other than a spouse, the sum of the ad-
justed gross income of the student and the student’s 
spouse (if appropriate) is less than or equal to 250 
percent of the poverty line (as defined by the Office 
of Management and Budget, and revised annually in 
accordance with section 673(2) of the Community 
Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) ap-
plicable to a family of the size involved; or 
‘‘(3) in the case of an independent student 
without dependents other than a spouse, the sum of 
the adjusted gross income of the student and the 
student’s spouse (if appropriate) is less than or 
equal to 250 percent of the poverty line (as defined 
by the Office of Management and Budget, and re-
vised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of 
the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 
9902(2))) applicable to a family of the size involved. 
‘‘(c) ADJUSTMENTS.—An individual is not required 
to qualify or file for the earned income credit in order to 
be eligible under this subsection. The Secretary shall an-
nually adjust the income level necessary to qualify an ap-
plicant for the zero expected family contribution. The in-
come level shall be adjusted according to increases in the 
Consumer Price Index, as defined in section 478(f).’’. 
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(b) ADJUSTMENTS IN INCOME PROTECTION ALLOW-
ANCES.—For each academic year, the Secretary of Edu-
cation shall continue to publish in the Federal Register 
a revised table of income protection allowances pursuant 
to section 478(b)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087rr(b)(1)(A)). 
SEC. 4. STATE RESPONSIBILITY. 
(a) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT REQUIREMENTS.— 
Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1070a) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(k) INSTITUTIONAL INELIGIBILITY BASED ON FAIL-
URE OF STATE TO MAINTAIN HIGHER EDUCATION AP-
PROPRIATIONS LEVEL.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives 
funds under this Act shall maintain expenditures 
and State financial aid for institutions of higher 
education in the State, with respect to a fiscal year, 
at an amount that is equal to or more than the aver-
age amount of State expenditures and State finan-
cial aid for institutions of higher education in the 
State for the 10 fiscal years preceding such fiscal 
year. 
‘‘(2) CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO MAINTAIN 
EFFORT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 
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law and beginning 5 years after the date of enact-
ment of the Degrees Not Debt Act of 2019, the Sec-
retary shall not make a payment under this subpart 
to an institution of higher education for a fiscal year 
for the purpose of making a Federal Pell Grant to 
eligible students in attendance at such institution 
and any such student shall not be eligible to receive 
a Federal Pell Grant for attendance at such institu-
tion for the fiscal year, if the institution— 
‘‘(A) is an institution of higher education, 
as defined in section 102; and 
‘‘(B) is located in a State that has not 
maintained expenditures and State financial aid 
for institutions of higher education in the State, 
with respect to the fiscal year, at an amount 
that is equal to or more than the average 
amount of State expenditures and State finan-
cial aid for institutions of higher education in 
the State for the 5 fiscal years preceding such 
fiscal year. 
‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 
requirement of paragraph (1) for a State, for one 
fiscal year at a time, and the provisions of para-
graph (2) shall have no effect for such fiscal year if 
the Secretary determines that granting a waiver 
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would be equitable due to exceptional or uncontrol-
lable circumstances such as a natural disaster or a 
precipitous and unforeseen decline in the financial 
resources of the State.’’. 
SEC. 5. COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY RESPONSIBILITY. 
(a) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS.—Sec-
tion 487 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(30) The institution will put a prominent link 
on the homepage of the institution’s primary website 
that goes directly to a report of a standard set of 
key performance indicators with respect to the insti-
tution, as described in subsection (k).’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(k) PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The key performance indi-
cators under this subsection are the following: 
‘‘(A)(i) Graduation rates— 
‘‘(I) at 100 percent of the normal 
time for graduation; 
‘‘(II) at 150 percent of the normal 
time for graduation; 
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‘‘(III) at 200 percent of the normal 
time for graduation; and 
‘‘(IV) each of which is disaggregated 
by age (25 years old and younger, and 
older than 25 years old), income, race and 
ethnicity, and first-generation college sta-
tus. 
‘‘(ii) Transfer out rates. Each such rate 
shall be disaggregated by age (25 years old and 
younger, and older than 25 years old), income, 
race and ethnicity, and first-generation college 
status. 
‘‘(iii) Withdrawal rates, including rates of 
students who withdraw from a certificate pro-
gram to seek employment in a related field of 
study. 
‘‘(B) Employment outcomes, including the 
following: 
‘‘(i) The average salary of a graduate 
3 years after graduation. 
‘‘(ii) The percentage of graduates 
who, 180 days after graduation— 
‘‘(I) are employed full-time; 
‘‘(II) are employed part-time; 
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‘‘(III) are employed in the grad-
uate’s field of study or certificate; and 
‘‘(IV) make more than $25,000 a 
year. 
‘‘(iii) The cohort repayment rate. 
‘‘(C) Student satisfaction rate as indicated 
by a survey of all students and recent alumni 
with the following 2 questions using a 5-point 
Likert scale: 
‘‘(i) How satisfied are you with your 
educational experience at [name of institu-
tion]? 
‘‘(ii) If you were making the decision 
today, how likely would you be to choose to 
attend [name of institution] again? 
‘‘(D) The percentage of students who con-
tinue enrollment at the institution after the 
first year of enrollment. 
‘‘(E) The average net price for the institu-
tion’s most recent cohort of graduates, disag-
gregated by income quartile. 
‘‘(F) The average annual net price for full- 
time attendance, broken out by tuition, fees, liv-
ing costs, and other (indirect) costs. 
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‘‘(G) The median time to degree comple-
tion. 
‘‘(H) The percentage of enrolled students 
with student loan debt. 
‘‘(I) The average student loan debt at time 
of graduation for the most recent cohort of 
graduates who borrowed money. 
‘‘(J) The average student loan debt at time 
of withdrawal for the most recent cohort of 
non-graduates who borrowed money. 
‘‘(2) COHORT REPAYMENT RATE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this subsection, the 
term ‘cohort repayment rate’ means, for any 
fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2023— 
‘‘(i) in the case in which 30 or more 
borrowers at the institution enter repay-
ment on Federal Direct Stafford Loans, 
Federal 
Direct 
Unsubsidized 
Stafford 
Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, or 
Federal Direct Consolidation Loans, re-
ceived for attendance at the institution, the 
percentage of those borrowers who are not 
in default and who make at least a one 
dollar reduction on their initial student 
loan principal balance before the end of the 
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second fiscal year following the fiscal year 
in which the borrowers entered repayment, 
except as provided in subparagraph (B); 
and 
‘‘(ii) in the case in which less than 30 
borrowers at the institution enter repay-
ment on Federal Direct Stafford Loans, 
Federal 
Direct 
Unsubsidized 
Stafford 
Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, or 
Federal Direct Consolidation Loans, re-
ceived for attendance at the institution, the 
percentage of those borrowers plus all of 
the borrowers at the institution who en-
tered repayment on such loans (or on the 
portion of a loan made under section 428C 
that is used to repay any such loans) in 
the 3 fiscal years preceding the fiscal year 
for which the determination is made, who 
are not in default and who make at least 
a one dollar reduction on their initial stu-
dent loan principal balance before the end 
of the second fiscal year following the year 
in which the borrowers entered repayment, 
except as provided in subparagraph (B). 
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‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The ‘cohort repayment 
rate’ calculation under subparagraph (A) shall 
not include in the calculation a borrower who 
is— 
‘‘(i) in deferment on repayment of a 
loan described in subparagraph (A) due to 
study in an approved graduate fellowship 
program or in an approved rehabilitation 
training program for the disabled; 
‘‘(ii) in deferment on repayment of a 
loan described in subparagraph (A) during 
a period of at least half-time enrollment in 
college or a career school; 
‘‘(iii) in deferment on repayment of a 
loan described in subparagraph (A) during 
a period of service qualifying for loan dis-
charge or cancellation under part E; 
‘‘(iv) in deferment on repayment of a 
loan described in subparagraph (A) due to 
active duty military service of the borrower 
during a war, military operation, or na-
tional emergency; 
‘‘(v) in deferment on repayment of a 
loan described in subparagraph (A) during 
the 13 months following the conclusion of 
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qualifying active duty military service by 
the borrower, or until the borrower returns 
to enrollment on at least a half-time basis, 
whichever is earlier, if the borrower is a 
member of the National Guard or other re-
serve component of the Armed Forces and 
was called or ordered to active duty while 
enrolled at least half-time at an eligible 
school or within 6 months of having been 
enrolled at least half-time; 
‘‘(vi) in mandatory forbearance on re-
payment of a loan described in subpara-
graph (A) for the full fiscal year; or 
‘‘(vii) serving as a volunteer under the 
Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) 
or the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 
1973 (42 U.S.C. 4950 et seq.). 
‘‘(3) NEW DATA POINTS.—The Secretary shall 
work with the National Center for Education Statis-
tics to identify new data points that need to be col-
lected to assist colleges and universities with the col-
lection, organization, and distribution of key per-
formance indicators and cohort repayment rates. 
‘‘(4) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall issue 
guidance, with input from stakeholders, to facilitate 
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the data collection and display of key performance 
indicators.’’. 
(b) ENHANCED DATA COLLECTION FOR INSTITU-
TIONS WITH ENROLLMENT RATES OF LESS THAN 5,000 
STUDENTS.—Section 489(a) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1096(a)) is amended— 
(1) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘(or, in 
the case of an institution with an enrollment of less 
than 5,000 students, $6)’’ after ‘‘$5’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In ad-
dition, the Secretary shall provide funds to assist 
small institutions of higher education, with enroll-
ment rates of less than 5,000 students, with data 
collection, organization, and distribution of perform-
ance indicators and cohort repayment rates.’’. 
SEC. 6. REPEAL OF INCREASED ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM 
TAX EXEMPTION AMOUNT FOR INDIVIDUALS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 55(d) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking paragraph (4). 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2018. 
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SEC. 7. REPEAL OF INCREASED ESTATE AND GIFT TAX EX-
EMPTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2010(c)(3) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘January 
1, 2026’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of the enactment of the 
Degrees Not Debt Act of 2019’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall apply to estates of decedents dying and 
gifts made after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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