I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4222 
To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a pilot program under 
which higher education savings accounts are established for the benefit 
of eligible secondary school students. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 10, 2015 
Mr. CARNEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Com-
mittee 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 direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a pilot 
program under which higher education savings accounts 
are established for the benefit of eligible secondary school 
students. 
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 ‘‘Higher Education Sav-
ings Accounts Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. HIGHER EDUCATION PLEDGE ACCOUNTS PILOT 
PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 
pilot program under which savings accounts (to be known 
as ‘‘higher education pledge accounts’’) are established for 
the benefit of eligible students in accordance with this sec-
tion. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY
AND
SELECTION
OF
PARTICI-
PANTS.— 
(1) ELIGIBLE
STUDENTS.—To be eligible to 
participate in the pilot program, a student must 
be— 
(A) enrolled in the 9th or 10th grade at a 
secondary school; and 
(B) eligible to receive free or reduced price 
lunches under the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 
(2) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—The 
Secretary shall select eligible students for participa-
tion in the pilot program based on such criteria as 
the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 
(c) DEPOSITS.— 
(1) INITIAL DEPOSIT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall de-
posit an initial amount into each higher edu-
cation pledge account. 
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(B) AMOUNT OF INITIAL DEPOSIT.—The 
amount of the initial deposit described in sub-
paragraph (A) shall be equal to the amount of 
the maximum Federal Pell Grant under section 
401(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 
specified in the last enacted appropriation Act 
applicable to that award year. 
(2) SUBSEQUENT DEPOSITS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
make additional deposits into a higher edu-
cation pledge account based on an evaluation of 
the academic progress of the student in accord-
ance with subsection (g). 
(B) AMOUNT
OF
SUBSEQUENT
DEPOS-
ITS.—The amount of an additional deposit 
made under subparagraph (A) for an award 
year beginning after the date of the initial de-
posit under paragraph (1) shall be not less than 
the amount of the maximum Federal Pell Grant 
under section 401(b) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965, as specified in the last enacted ap-
propriation Act applicable to that award year. 
(d) DISTRIBUTIONS.—A student may use funds from 
the student’s higher education pledge account only to pay 
the cost of attendance at a qualified institution. 
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(e) TAX TREATMENT OF ACCOUNTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A higher education pledge 
account is exempt from taxation under subtitle A of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
(2) CONTRIBUTIONS AND DISTRIBUTIONS.—For 
purposes of such subtitle— 
(A) any contribution to a higher education 
pledge account by the Secretary under this Act 
shall not be includible in gross income; and 
(B) any distribution from a higher edu-
cation pledge account which is permitted under 
this Act shall not be includible in the gross in-
come of the individual for whose benefit such 
account is maintained. 
(f) OFFSET OF FEDERAL PELL GRANT AMOUNTS.— 
The amount of any Federal Pell Grant awarded to a stu-
dent attending a qualified institution shall be reduced by 
the amount in such student’s higher education pledge ac-
count. 
(g) MONITORING
OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS.—The 
Secretary shall monitor the academic progress of each stu-
dent for whose benefit a higher education pledge account 
is maintained. 
(h) FINANCIAL COUNSELING.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that each student for whose benefit a higher edu-
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cation pledge account is maintained receives not less than 
12 hours of financial counseling with respect to— 
(1) the rules pertaining to deposits, distribu-
tions, and the tax treatment of funds in the higher 
education pledge account; and 
(2) sources of Federal financial assistance for 
higher education. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—The term ‘‘cost of 
attendance’’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1087ll). 
(2) FEDERAL
FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE.—The 
term ‘‘Federal financial assistance’’ means any 
grant, loan, or other financial assistance that may 
be provided to an individual student under the High-
er Education Act of 1965. 
(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 102(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)) 
except that such term does not include proprietary 
institutions of higher education (as defined in sec-
tion 102(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1002(b))). 
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(4) 
QUALIFIED
INSTITUTION.—The 
term 
‘‘qualified institution’’ means an institution of high-
er education that— 
(A) has in effect a program participation 
agreement under section 487 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094); and 
(B) is eligible to participate in programs 
under title IV of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 
seq.). 
(5) SECONDARY
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec-
ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 
section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
Æ 
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