I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3259 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a demonstration 
program to support college and university communities that wish to 
expand their book store services and savings for students through the 
creation of course material rental programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 12, 2005 
Mr. RYAN of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish 
a demonstration program to support college and univer-
sity communities that wish to expand their book store 
services and savings for students through the creation 
of course material rental programs. 
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 ‘‘Affordable Books for 
College Act’’.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF BOOKSTORE COURSE MATE-
RIAL RENTAL PROGRAM. 
Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1133 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘PART E—COLLEGE BOOKSTORE RENTAL 
EXPANSION PROGRAM 
‘‘SEC. 771. LOANS AUTHORIZED. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—From the amounts ap-
propriated pursuant to subsection (h), the Secretary 
shall make loans on a competitive basis to not more 
than 50 eligible entities to support programs that 
expand the services of bookstores to provide the op-
tion for students to rent course materials in order 
to achieve savings for students. 
‘‘(2) GRANT
PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall 
award grants to eligible entities to enable such enti-
ties to conduct, prior to submitting an application 
under subsection (c), a feasibility study to determine 
whether a program described in paragraph (1) would 
be effective at the school served by the entity. The 
maximum amount of a grant made pursuant to this 
subsection shall be $25,000. 
‘‘(3) MODELS FOR BEST PRACTICES.—Not less 
often than once every 2 years, the Secretary shall
compile and make publicly available a document that 
contains potential models and best practices for the 
use of entities carrying out college textbook rental 
programs. 
‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) PUBLIC
COMMENT
PERIOD.—In promul-
gating regulations to carry out the provision relating 
to the application procedures under subsection (c), 
the Secretary shall provide for a public comment pe-
riod for outside groups to review and comment on 
such procedures before they are finalized by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(2) 
MAXIMUM
AMOUNT.—The 
maximum 
amount of a loan made pursuant to this section shall 
be $2,500,000. The maximum amount for all loans 
made pursuant to this section shall be $50,000,000. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires to 
obtain a loan under this part shall submit an application 
to the Secretary at such time, in such form, and con-
taining or accompanied by such information, agreements, 
and assurances as the Secretary may reasonably require. 
‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds made available by 
a loan under this part may be used for— 
‘‘(1) purchase of course materials that the enti-
ty will make available by rent to students;
‘‘(2) any equipment or software necessary for 
the conduct of a rental program; 
‘‘(3) hiring staff needed for the conduct of a 
rental program, with priority given to hiring enrolled 
undergraduate students; and 
‘‘(4) building or acquiring extra storage space 
dedicated to course materials for rent. 
‘‘(e) AMOUNT AND TERMS OF LOANS.—The Sec-
retary shall prescribe the terms and conditions of the loans 
under this part, except that the interest rate shall be equal 
to the rate applicable to funds borrowed by the Secretary 
from the Treasury to carry out the demonstration pro-
gram under this part. 
‘‘(f) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—To be eligible to receive a 
loan under this section, an entity shall be— 
‘‘(1)(A) an institution of higher education; or 
‘‘(B) a campus or local nonprofit or for-profit 
bookstore, a bookstore cooperative, or an auxiliary 
service unit; and 
‘‘(2) if the entity is an entity described in para-
graph (1)(B), recognized by an institution of higher 
education as effectively delivering course materials 
to undergraduate college students. 
‘‘(g) STUDY.—Not later than September 30, 2010, 
the Secretary shall conduct a study on the savings
achieved by students who participate in college textbook 
rental programs. 
‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part 
such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006 and 
each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 
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