H. R. 1412
One Hundred Eighth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the seventh day of January, two thousand and three
An Act
To provide the Secretary of Education with specific waiver authority to respond
to a war or other military operation or national emergency.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; REFERENCE.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Higher Edu-
cation Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003’’.
(b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) There is no more important cause than that of our
nation’s defense.
(2) The United States will protect the freedom and secure
the safety of its citizens.
(3) The United States military is the finest in the world
and its personnel are determined to lead the world in pursuit
of peace.
(4) Hundreds of thousands of Army, Air Force, Marine
Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard reservists and members of the
National Guard have been called to active duty or active service.
(5) The men and women of the United States military
put their lives on hold, leave their families, jobs, and postsec-
ondary education in order to serve their country and do so
with distinction.
(6) There is no more important cause for this Congress
than to support the members of the United States military
and provide assistance with their transition into and out of
active duty and active service.
(c) REFERENCE.—References in this Act to ‘‘the Act’’ are ref-
erences to the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et
seq.).
SEC. 2. WAIVER AUTHORITY FOR RESPONSE TO MILITARY CONTIN-
GENCIES AND NATIONAL EMERGENCIES.
(a) WAIVERS AND MODIFICATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, unless enacted with specific reference to this section, the
Secretary of Education (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) may waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provi-
sion applicable to the student financial assistance programs
under title IV of the Act as the Secretary deems necessary
in connection with a war or other military operation or national
emergency to provide the waivers or modifications authorized
by paragraph (2).
H. R. 1412—2
(2) ACTIONS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is authorized to
waive or modify any provision described in paragraph (1) as
may be necessary to ensure that—
(A) recipients of student financial assistance under
title IV of the Act who are affected individuals are not
placed in a worse position financially in relation to that
financial assistance because of their status as affected
individuals;
(B) administrative requirements placed on affected
individuals who are recipients of student financial assist-
ance are minimized, to the extent possible without
impairing the integrity of the student financial assistance
programs, to ease the burden on such students and avoid
inadvertent, technical violations or defaults;
(C) the calculation of ‘‘annual adjusted family income’’
and ‘‘available income’’, as used in the determination of
need for student financial assistance under title IV of the
Act for any such affected individual (and the determination
of such need for his or her spouse and dependents, if
applicable), may be modified to mean the sums received
in the first calendar year of the award year for which
such determination is made, in order to reflect more
accurately the financial condition of such affected indi-
vidual and his or her family;
(D) the calculation under section 484B(b)(2) of the Act
(20 U.S.C. 1091b(b)(2)) of the amount a student is required
to return in the case of an affected individual may be
modified so that no overpayment will be required to be
returned or repaid if the institution has documented (i)
the student’s status as an affected individual in the stu-
dent’s file, and (ii) the amount of any overpayment dis-
charged; and
(E) institutions of higher education, eligible lenders,
guaranty agencies, and other entities participating in the
student assistance programs under title IV of the Act that
are located in areas that are declared disaster areas by
any Federal, State or local official in connection with a
national emergency, or whose operations are significantly
affected by such a disaster, may be granted temporary
relief from requirements that are rendered infeasible or
unreasonable by a national emergency, including due dili-
gence requirements and reporting deadlines.
(b) NOTICE OF WAIVERS OR MODIFICATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 437 of the Gen-
eral Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232) and section
553 of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary shall, by
notice in the Federal Register, publish the waivers or modifica-
tions of statutory and regulatory provisions the Secretary deems
necessary to achieve the purposes of this section.
(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The notice under paragraph
(1) shall include the terms and conditions to be applied in
lieu of such statutory and regulatory provisions.
(3) CASE-BY-CASE
BASIS.—The Secretary is not required
to exercise the waiver or modification authority under this
section on a case-by-case basis.
(c) IMPACT REPORT.—The Secretary shall, not later than 15
months after first exercising any authority to issue a waiver or