I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5523 
To help Americans pay down student loan debt or pay for education or 
training to develop or improve workforce skills. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 8, 2021 
Mr. LAMB introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To help Americans pay down student loan debt or pay for 
education or training to develop or improve workforce skills. 
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 ‘‘Pay Down, Upskill 
Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. PAY DOWN OR UPSKILL EDUCATION BENEFIT PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education 
shall carry out a program, known as the ‘‘Pay Down 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:21 Oct 13, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5523.IH
H5523
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
or Upskill Education Benefit Program’’, to provide 
to each eligible individual, upon application and ap-
proval, an education benefit to— 
(A) repay all or part of the qualifying stu-
dent loans of the eligible individual, in accord-
ance with subsection (b); or 
(B) pay all or part of the qualified edu-
cational expenses of the eligible individual, in 
accordance with subsection (c). 
(2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—An individual shall 
be an ‘‘eligible individual’’ for purposes of this Act 
if the individual— 
(A) is not younger than 18 years of age 
and not older than 65 years of age on the date 
that the individual applies for an education ben-
efit under this Act; and 
(B) received any credit or refund allowed 
or made to the individual by reason of section 
6428B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(as added by section 9601 of the American Res-
cue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117–2)). 
(3) 
EDUCATION
BENEFIT
AMOUNT.—The 
amount of an education benefit provided to an eligi-
ble individual in accordance with this Act shall be— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:21 Oct 13, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5523.IH
H5523
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(A) the amount of the qualified student 
loans of the individual; or 
(B) the amount of the qualified edu-
cational expenses of the individual, 
except that the maximum amount of the total edu-
cation benefit provided to an eligible individual shall 
not exceed $10,000. 
(4) NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC.—Not later than 6 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall publicly announce the program estab-
lished under this Act, including by posting informa-
tion about such program on the website of the De-
partment of Education. The Secretary shall update 
and maintain such information as may be necessary. 
(5) DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS.—To be con-
sidered for an education benefit under this section, 
an eligible individual shall submit an application in 
accordance with this section before the date that is 
5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) USE OF EDUCATION BENEFIT TO PAY DOWN 
STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT.— 
(1) APPLICATION BY ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.— 
An eligible individual who desires to apply the edu-
cation benefit of the individual under this section to 
the repayment of qualified student loans shall sub-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:27 Oct 13, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5523.IH
H5523
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS