I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5349 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a student loan 
forgiveness program for nurses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 10, 2006 
Mr. TANCREDO (for himself and Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish 
a student loan forgiveness program for nurses. 
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 ‘‘Nurse Loan Forgive-
ness Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to 2005 statistics from the Amer-
ican Hospital Association, 118,000 nurses are need-
ed to fill vacancies at our nation’s hospitals, and 
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more than 75 percent of all hospital personnel va-
cancies are for nurses. 
(2) According to a study by the Department of 
Health and Human Services in 2002, the United 
States will experience a 29 percent shortage in the 
number of nurses needed in the United States health 
care system by the year 2020, which translates into 
a shortage of more than 400,000 registered nurses 
nationwide. 
(3) Research indicates that there is a great 
need for health care services, especially hospitals and 
prescription drugs, but there continues to be a 28 
percent decrease in national licensure examination 
for all entry-level registered nurses. 
(4) The Department of Labor projects a 29 
percent increase in the need for nurses nationwide 
from 2004 to 2014, compared with a 13 percent in-
crease for all other occupations. 
(5) The General Accounting Office estimates 
that 40 percent of all registered nurses will be older 
than age 50 by the year 2010. 
(6) Of those registered nurses in 2004, an esti-
mated 16 percent have chosen to not practice in the 
field. 
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SEC. 3. LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM ESTABLISHED. 
Part B of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 is amended by inserting after section 428K (20 
U.S.C. 1078–11) the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 428L. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR NURSES. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 
‘‘(1) to encourage individuals to enter and con-
tinue in the nursing profession; and 
‘‘(2) to reward such individuals for their service 
in the nursing profession by reducing the burden of 
student debt. 
‘‘(b) LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 
‘‘(1) LOAN
FORGIVENESS
AUTHORIZED.—The 
Secretary is authorized to forgive, in accordance 
with this section, the student loan debt of an eligible 
borrower in the amount specified in subsection (d) 
for each of the first 5 complete years of service de-
scribed in subsection (c)(1) by such eligible borrower 
that occur after the date of enactment of this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(2) METHOD
OF
LOAN
FORGIVENESS.—To 
provide the loan forgiveness authorized in paragraph 
(1), the Secretary is authorized to carry out a pro-
gram— 
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‘‘(A) through the holder of the loan, to as-
sume the obligation to repay a qualified loan 
amount for a loan made under this part; and 
‘‘(B) to cancel a qualified loan amount for 
a loan made under part D of this title. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON CONSOLIDATION LOANS.— 
A loan amount for a loan made under section 428C 
may be a qualified loan amount for the purposes of 
this section only to the extent that such loan amount 
was used to repay a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, 
a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or a 
loan made under section 428 or 428H for an eligible 
borrower, as determined in accordance with regula-
tions prescribed by the Secretary. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE BORROWER.—The Secretary is au-
thorized to provide loan forgiveness under this section to 
any individual who— 
‘‘(1) has been employed for at least one cal-
endar year as a full-time registered nurse in a health 
care facility or a health care setting approved by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services for the 
purposes of this section; and 
‘‘(2) is not in default on a loan for which the 
borrower seeks forgiveness. 
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‘‘(d) LOAN FORGIVENESS AMOUNTS.—The Secretary 
may, from funds appropriated under subsection (j), forgive 
the loan obligation of an eligible borrower in accordance 
with subsection (b)(2) and in the following increments: 
‘‘(1) After the first calendar year of employ-
ment described in subsection (c)(1), not more than 
$2,000. 
‘‘(2) After the second such year of employment, 
not more than $2,500. 
‘‘(3) After the third such year of employment, 
not more than $3,000. 
‘‘(4) After the fourth such year of employment, 
not more than $4,500. 
‘‘(5) After the fifth such year of employment, 
not more than $5,000. 
‘‘(e) APPLICATION FOR LOAN FORGIVENESS.—An el-
igible borrower desiring loan forgiveness under this section 
shall submit a complete and accurate application to the 
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall grant loan for-
giveness under this section on a first-come, first-served 
basis, and subject to the availability of appropriations. 
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‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to 
prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 
out the provisions of this section. 
‘‘(h) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 
be construed to authorize the refunding of any repayment 
of any loan. 
‘‘(i) PREVENTION OF DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No bor-
rower may, for the same service, receive a benefit under 
both this section and subtitle D of title I of the National 
and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 
et seq.). 
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007 and 
each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 
Æ 
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