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SEC. 496. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PREVENTION OF 
FRAUD AND ABUSE IN STUDENT FINANCIAL 
AID PROGRAMS. 
Title IV is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 499. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PREVENTION OF 
FRAUD AND ABUSE IN STUDENT FINANCIAL 
AID PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 
require the Secretary to commission a nonpartisan, com-
prehensive study on the prevention of fraud and abuse in 
title IV student financial aid programs, and to report the 
results of such study to Congress. 
‘‘(b) SCOPE OF REPORT.—The study under this sec-
tion shall thoroughly identify and address the following: 
‘‘(1) The impact of fraud and abuse in title IV 
student financial aid programs upon students and 
taxpayers, and the nature of such fraud and abuse. 
‘‘(2) The effectiveness of existing policies and 
requirements under this Act that were put in place 
to prevent fraud and abuse in title IV student finan-
cial aid programs, and how such policies and re-
quirements should be improved. 
‘‘(3) The extent to which existing protections 
against fraud and abuse under this Act are ade-
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quately enforced, and how enforcement should be 
strengthened. 
‘‘(4) Areas in which additional information is 
needed to assess the effectiveness of current protec-
tions and enforcement against fraud and abuse. 
‘‘(5) Existing policies and requirements under 
this Act aimed at fraud and abuse that are ineffec-
tive, hinder innovation, or could be eliminated with-
out reducing effectiveness. 
‘‘(6) New policies and enforcement, particularly 
those suited for the current higher education mar-
ketplace, needed to protect against fraud and abuse 
in title IV student financial aid programs. 
‘‘(7) The extent to which States are imple-
menting regulations to protect students from fraud 
and abuse, and whether changes to Federal law will 
preempt such regulations. 
‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 2007, 
the Secretary, after an opportunity for both the Secretary 
and the Inspector General of the Department of Edu-
cation to review the results of the study, shall transmit 
to Congress a report on the study conducted under this 
section. Such report shall—
‘‘(1) include clear and specific recommendations 
for legislative and regulatory actions that are likely
297
to significantly reduce the fraud and abuse in title 
IV student financial aid programs that were identi-
fied pursuant to subsection (b); and 
‘‘(2) include both the Secretary’s and the In-
spector General’s comments on the report.’’. 
SEC. 497. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON COMPLIANCE WITH 
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995. 
Title IV is further amended by adding after section 
499, as added by section 496 of this Act, the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 499A. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON THE COMPLIANCE 
OF THE STUDENT AID APPLICATION PROC-
ESS WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PA-
PERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995. 
‘‘(a) STUDY AND REPORT.—The Secretary shall com-
mission a nonpartisan, comprehensive study on the degree 
to which the student aid application process under title 
IV complies with the requirements of the Paperwork Re-
duction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 101 note). Not later one 
year after the date of the enactment of the College Access 
and Opportunity Act of 2006, the Secretary shall report 
the results of such study to the Congress. 
‘‘(b) SCOPE.—The study and report to the Congress 
under subsection (a) shall thoroughly identify and address 
the following: