I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 961 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the period of 
eligibility for Federal Pell Grants, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 9, 2023 
Ms. STEVENS (for herself and Mr. GOMEZ) 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 increase 
the period of eligibility for Federal Pell Grants, 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 ‘‘Pell to Grad Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS. 
Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1070a) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘or as a 
postbaccalaureate student in accordance with sub-
section (c)(1),’’ after ‘‘as an undergraduate,’’; and 
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(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(1) The period during which a student may re-
ceive Federal Pell Grants shall be the period re-
quired for the completion of the first undergraduate 
baccalaureate course of study being pursued by that 
student at the institution at which the student is in 
attendance except that— 
‘‘(A) any period during which the student 
is enrolled in a noncredit or remedial course of 
study as defined in paragraph (2) shall not be 
counted for the purpose of this paragraph; and 
‘‘(B) the period during which a student 
may receive Federal Pell Grants shall also in-
clude the period required for the completion of 
the first postbaccalaureate course of study at 
an eligible institution that meets the definition 
of institution of higher education in section 
101, in a case in which— 
‘‘(i) the student received a Federal 
Pell Grant during the period required for 
the completion of the student’s first under-
graduate baccalaureate course of study for 
at least 1 but fewer than 16 semesters, or 
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the equivalent of at least 1 but fewer than 
16 semesters, as determined under para-
graph (5); 
‘‘(ii) the student would otherwise be 
eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, but for 
the completion of such baccalaureate 
course of study; and 
‘‘(iii) the period during which the stu-
dent receives Federal Pell Grants does not 
exceed the student’s duration limits under 
paragraph (5).’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘12’’ 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘16’’. 
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO LAW AS MODIFIED 
BY THE CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS 
ACT, 2021. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 401 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a), as amended by sec-
tion 703 of division FF the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260), is further amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(8)(A), by inserting ‘‘or as 
a postbaccalaureate student in accordance with sub-
section (d)(1),’’ after ‘‘as an undergraduate,’’; 
(2) in subsection (d)— 
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