I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8904 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish the Federal Perkins 
ARC loan program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 8, 2020 
Mr. POCAN (for himself, Mr. DESAULNIER, and Ms. SEWELL of Alabama) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish 
the Federal Perkins ARC loan program, 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 ‘‘Perkins Access, Reten-
tion, and Completion (ARC) Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Since the inception of the Federal Perkins 
Loan Program in 1958, over $28,000,000,000 in 
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loans have been made to students through more 
than 25,000,000 aid awards. Millions of students 
and families in need have been helped by Federal 
Perkins Loans. 
(2) The Federal Perkins Loan Program was a 
revolving fund that utilized a model of risk sharing, 
local control, and school based servicing that greatly 
benefited students, borrowers, and institutions of 
higher education for six decades. 
(3) In the 2016–2017 academic year, the last 
year that Federal Perkins Loans were authorized, 
30 percent of families with dependent students re-
ceiving Federal Perkins Loans had annual incomes 
below $30,000 and 8 percent of families with de-
pendent students receiving Federal Perkins Loans 
had annual incomes below $12,000. 
(4) Since the expiration of the Federal Perkins 
Loan Program authorization in 2017, there has been 
no substitute or replacement aid for college students 
with need, which has resulted in many students hav-
ing to borrow higher cost student loans or withdraw 
from college altogether. 
SEC. 3. FEDERAL PERKINS ARC LOANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part E of title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) is 
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amended by inserting before section 461 the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 460A. FEDERAL PERKINS ACCESS, RETENTION, AND 
COMPLETION ARC LOAN. 
‘‘(a) DESIGNATION OF LOANS.—The Secretary shall 
carry out a program assisting in the maintenance of funds 
at institutions of higher education for the making of loans 
to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in 
need to pursue their courses of study in such institutions 
or while engaged in programs of study abroad approved 
for credit by such institutions. Loans made under this sec-
tion shall be known as ‘Federal Perkins ARC Loans’. 
‘‘(b) TERMS
AND CONDITIONS.—Unless otherwise 
specified in this section, all terms and conditions and other 
requirements applicable to Federal Perkins Loans estab-
lished under section 461 shall apply to Federal Perkins 
ARC Loans made pursuant to this section. 
‘‘(c) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may not provide 
assistance to an institution of higher education under this 
section unless such institution enters into an agreement 
with the Secretary under section 463(a). 
‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE BORROWERS.—A loan under this sec-
tion may only be made to a student who— 
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‘‘(1) is eligible under section 464(b) (including 
graduate and professional students as defined in 
regulations promulgated by the Secretary); 
‘‘(2) attends an eligible institution with an 
agreement with the Secretary under section 463(a); 
and 
‘‘(3) the institution uses its authority under 
such agreement to award the student a loan.’’. 
(b) REAUTHORIZATION OF PERKINS LOANS.—Sec-
tion 461(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1087aa(b)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—’’; 
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), 
and (C) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively; 
and 
(3) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3). 
(c) ALLOCATION
OF FUNDS
FOR PERKINS ARC 
LOAN.—Section 462 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1087bb) is amended— 
(1) by striking subsections (a) and (b); and 
(2) by inserting before subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(a) AVAILABLE DIRECT PERKINS ARC ANNUAL 
LOAN AUTHORITY.—There are hereby made available, 
from funds made available for loans made under part D, 
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not to exceed $6,000,000,000 of annual loan authority for 
award year 2020–2021 and each succeeding award year 
until the program is determined by the Secretary to be 
self-sustaining, to be allocated under subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) ALLOCATION BASED
ON PREVIOUS ALLOCA-
TION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount appro-
priated pursuant to section 462(b), for each fiscal 
year, the Secretary shall allocate to each eligible in-
stitution an amount equal to not less than 90 per-
cent and not more than 110 percent of the amount 
that the eligible institution received under this sub-
section and subsection (a) (as such subsections were 
in effect with respect to allocations for such fiscal 
year) for the previous fiscal year for which that in-
stitution received funds under this section. 
‘‘(2) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the amount ap-
propriated for any fiscal year is less than the 
amount required to be allocated to all institutions 
under paragraph (1), then the amount of the alloca-
tion to each such institution shall be ratably re-
duced. 
‘‘(3) NO PREVIOUS ALLOCATION.—In the case 
of an institution that has not received a previous al-
location under this section, the Secretary shall allo-
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cate funds under this section solely on the basis of 
the self-help need determination described under 
subsection (c).’’. 
(d) CONTINUED LOAN SERVICING.—Section 466 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ff) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) CONTINUED LOAN SERVICING.—The Secretary 
shall continue to make payments for student loan servicing 
to institutions of higher education that service outstanding 
existing Federal Perkins Loans awarded under part E of 
title IV prior to the date of the enactment of the Perkins 
Access, Retention, and Completion (ARC) Act.’’. 
Æ 
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