I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2848 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow qualified entrepreneurs 
to temporarily defer Federal student loan payments after starting a 
new business. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 8, 2017 
Mr. GALLEGO (for himself and Mr. SWALWELL of California) 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 allow quali-
fied entrepreneurs to temporarily defer Federal student 
loan payments after starting a new business. 
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 ‘‘Relief and Investment 
for Student Entrepreneurs Act’’ or the ‘‘RISE Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFERMENT OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN PAY-
MENTS FOR QUALIFIED ENTREPRENEURS. 
Section 455(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)) is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’ 
at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(E) subject to paragraph (5), not in ex-
cess of 3 years during which the borrower is a 
qualified entrepreneur.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) DEFERMENT
FOR
QUALIFIED
ENTRE-
PRENEURS.— 
‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED ENTRE-
PRENEUR.—For the purpose of this subsection, 
the term ‘qualified entrepreneur’ means a bor-
rower who— 
‘‘(i) received a degree from an institu-
tion of higher education during the 10-year 
period ending on the date on which 
deferment is granted under paragraph 
(2)(E); 
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‘‘(ii) registered at least 1 business en-
tity in a State during the 18-month period 
ending on such date; 
‘‘(iii) raised capital investment of not 
less than $30,000 for such business entity; 
and 
‘‘(iv) has an outstanding balance of 
principal and interest on loans made under 
this part of not less than $5,000. 
‘‘(B) 
MINIMUM
EMPLOYEE
REQUIRE-
MENT.—A borrower granted deferment under 
paragraph (2)(E) shall not be eligible to con-
tinue such deferment unless, on the date that is 
1 year after date on which such deferment is 
granted, the borrower— 
‘‘(i) employs at the business entity de-
scribed in subparagraph (A)(ii) not fewer 
than 2 full-time employees who are not the 
borrower or relatives of the borrower; and 
‘‘(ii) pays such employees at a rate 
not less than the minimum wage pre-
scribed by the State in which the business 
entity is located.’’. 
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SEC. 3. LOAN CANCELLATION FOR ENTREPRENEURS. 
Part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) is further amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 460A. LOAN CANCELLATION FOR ENTREPRENEURS. 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is au-
thorized to carry out a program of canceling the obligation 
to repay a qualified loan amount in accordance with sub-
section (b) for Federal Direct Stafford Loans and Federal 
Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans made under this part 
for any borrower who— 
‘‘(1) for not less than a 3-year period ending on 
the date of application under this section, has car-
ried out a qualified HUBZone small business con-
cern listed under section 3(p)(5)(B) of the Small 
Business Act, which has been registered as business 
in a State; and 
‘‘(2) is not in default on a loan for which the 
borrower seeks forgiveness. 
‘‘(b) QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall cancel 
not more than $17,500 in the aggregate of the loan 
obligation on a Federal Direct Stafford Loan or a 
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan that is 
outstanding. 
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