H. R. 4137—421 
degree or certificate, but also any increase in the number 
of less-than-half-time students that may result from an expan-
sion of Federal aid for less-than-half-time students seeking 
a college degree or certificate. 
(3) The potential costs to the Federal Government and 
the potential benefits that could be received by students 
resulting from expanding Federal aid for less-than-half-time 
students seeking a college degree or certificate. 
(4) The barriers to expanding Federal aid for less-than- 
half-time students, including identifying— 
(A) statutory and regulatory barriers, such as student 
eligibility, institutional eligibility, needs analysis, program 
integrity, and award amounts; and 
(B) other factors that may limit participation in an 
expanded Federal aid program for less-than-half-time stu-
dents. 
(c) RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE PROVIDED.—The Secretary’s rec-
ommendations under this section shall include recommendations 
for designing a demonstration student loan program tailored to 
less-than-half-time students. The recommendations shall include 
any required statutory or regulatory modifications, as well as pro-
posed accountability mechanisms to protect students, institutions, 
and the Federal investment in higher education. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Education; 
and 
(2) the term ‘‘less-than-half-time student’’ means a student 
who is carrying less than one-half the normal full-time work 
load for the course of study that the student is pursuing, 
as determined by the institution such student is attending. 
SEC. 1114. STUDY ON REGIONAL SENSITIVITY IN THE NEEDS ANALYSIS 
FORMULA. 
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study to review the methodology that is used to determine 
the expected family contribution under part F of title IV of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk et seq.). 
(b) STUDY COMPONENTS.—The study conducted under sub-
section (a) shall identify and evaluate the needs analysis formula 
under part F of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1087kk et seq.) and examine the need for regional 
sensitivity in need analysis. The study shall include— 
(1) the factors that are used to determine a student’s 
expected family contribution under part F of title IV of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965; 
(2) the varying allowances that are made in calculating 
the expected family contribution; 
(3) the effects of the income protection allowance on all 
aid recipients; and 
(4) options for modifying the income protection allowance 
to reflect the significant differences in the cost of living in 
various parts of the United States. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall report to the authorizing committees on the results of the 
study conducted under this section.
H. R. 4137—422 
SEC. 1115. STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF STUDENT LOAN DEBT ON PUBLIC 
SERVICE. 
(a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Education, in consultation with 
the Office of Management and Budget, is authorized to coordinate 
with an organization with expertise in the field of public service, 
such as the National Academy of Public Administrators or the 
American Society for Public Administration, to coordinate with 
interested parties to conduct a study of how student loan debt 
levels impact the decisions of graduates of postsecondary and grad-
uate education programs to enter into public service careers. Such 
study shall include— 
(1) an assessment of the challenges to recruiting and 
retaining well-qualified public servants, including the impact 
of student loan debt; 
(2) an evaluation of existing Federal programs to recruit 
and retain well-qualified public servants; 
(3) an evaluation of whether additional Federal programs 
could increase the number of graduates of postsecondary and 
graduate education programs who enter careers in public 
service; and 
(4) recommendations for programs that could encourage 
new graduates of postsecondary and graduate education pro-
grams to enter public service careers. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with 
the Office of Management and Budget, shall submit to the author-
izing committees a report related to the findings of the study 
conducted under subsection (a). 
SEC. 1116. STUDY ON TEACHING STUDENTS WITH READING DISABIL-
ITIES. 
(a) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—The Secretary of Education 
shall enter into an agreement with the Center for Education of 
the National Academies for a scientifically-based study of the 
quality of teacher education programs— 
(1) to determine if teachers are adequately prepared to 
meet the needs of students with reading and language proc-
essing disabilities, including dyslexia; and 
(2) to determine the extent to which teacher education 
programs are based on the essential components of reading 
instruction and scientifically valid research. 
(b) COMPONENTS.—The study conducted under subsection (a) 
shall be designed to provide statistically reliable information on— 
(1) the number, type of courses, and credit hours required 
to meet the requirements of reading degree programs of teacher 
education programs; and 
(2) the extent to which the content of the reading degree 
programs are based on— 
(A) the essential components of reading instruction 
and scientifically valid research, including phonemic aware-
ness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; and 
(B) early intervention strategies based on scientific 
evidence concerning challenges to the development of lan-
guage processing capacity, including dyslexia, and the 
extent to which such strategies are effective in preventing 
reading failure before it occurs.
H. R. 4137—423 
(c) SCOPE.—The Director of the Center for Education of the 
National Academy of Sciences shall select for participation in the 
study under subsection (a) a diverse group of institutions of higher 
education with respect to size, mission, and geographic distribution. 
(d) INTERIM AND FINAL REPORTS.—The Director of the Center 
for Education of the National Academy of Sciences shall submit 
to the authorizing committees and the Secretary of Education— 
(1) an interim report regarding the study under subsection 
(a) not later than one year after the date the Center for Edu-
cation of the National Academies enters into an agreement 
with the Secretary of Education under this section; and 
(2) a final report summarizing the findings, conclusions, 
and recommendations of such study not later than two years 
after the date the Center for Education of the National Acad-
emies enters into such agreement. 
(e) TASK FORCE.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Upon submission of the final report 
under subsection (d)(2), the Secretary of Education shall estab-
lish a task force to make policy recommendations to the Sec-
retary regarding the findings of the report. 
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the task force estab-
lished under paragraph (1) shall include chief State school 
officers, State reading consultants, master teachers, national 
reading experts, and researchers with expertise in relevant 
fields. 
(3) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—The task force established under 
paragraph (1) shall hold public hearings to provide an oppor-
tunity for public comment on the recommendations made under 
paragraph (1). 
SEC. 1117. REPORT ON INCOME CONTINGENT REPAYMENT THROUGH 
THE INCOME TAX WITHHOLDING SYSTEM. 
(a) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Education and the Secretary 
of the Treasury shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility 
and benefits of developing a system through which a borrower 
who is repaying a loan through the income contingent repayment 
plan or the income-based repayment program may make payments 
on the loan using the income tax withholding system (referred 
to in this section as ‘‘direct IDEA loans’’). The goal of this program 
would be to— 
(1) streamline the repayment process and provide greater 
flexibility for borrowers electing to use the direct IDEA loan; 
(2) reduce the number of loan defaults by borrowers; and 
(3) reduce the redundancy in reporting information per-
taining to income contingent repayment and income-based 
repayment to the Department of Education, institutions, and 
applicants. 
(b) EVALUATIONS.—In conducting the study under subsection 
(a), the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of the Treasury 
shall evaluate— 
(1) the feasibility of implementing direct IDEA loans by 
the Department of Education and the Department of the 
Treasury; 
(2) any advantages or disadvantages of direct IDEA loans 
on borrowers and taxpayers;
H. R. 4137—424 
(3) the program structure necessary to administer direct 
IDEA loans; and 
(4) whether the repayment programs that implement 
income contingent and income-based repayment collected 
through revenue services, such as programs in England, Aus-
tralia, and New Zealand, could be effective in collecting loan 
payments under the income contingent and income-based repay-
ment options in the United States. 
(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than one year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education and the Sec-
retary of the Treasury shall provide a report on the study conducted 
under subsection (a) to Congress. The report shall include rec-
ommendations based on the factors examined in subsection (b) 
for implementing direct IDEA loans, including the necessary statu-
tory changes needed to implement such repayment option. 
SEC. 1118. DEVELOPING ADDITIONAL MEASURES OF DEGREE COMPLE-
TION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, in coordination 
with the Commissioner for Education Statistics and after consulta-
tion with representatives from diverse institutions of higher edu-
cation, students, experts in the field of higher education policy, 
State higher education officials, and other stakeholders in the 
higher education community, shall issue a report with recommenda-
tions to Congress about alternatives ways to measure and report 
degree or program completion rates for institutions of higher edu-
cation receiving funds under title IV of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.). 
(b) MEASURES TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.—The alternative 
measures described in subsection (a) shall consider— 
(1) the number of degrees awarded and the increase in 
number of degrees awarded disaggregated by race, ethnicity, 
gender, and income for all students who have earned a degree; 
and 
(2) the increase in degrees awarded in high-need fields 
such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics, edu-
cation, and nursing. 
SEC. 1119. STUDY ON THE FINANCIAL AND COMPLIANCE AUDITS OF 
THE FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall complete a study to examine all the financial and compliance 
audits and reviews required or conducted as part of the proper 
management of the Federal student loan programs under parts 
B and D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1071 et seq. and 1087a et seq.), whether each such audit 
or review is required under a law or is otherwise performed in 
order to evaluate a program. 
(b) CONTENT OF STUDY.— 
(1) COMPARISON OF AUDITS AND REVIEWS UNDER PARTS B 
AND D OF TITLE IV.—As part of the study under subsection 
(a), the Comptroller General of the United States shall compare 
the audits and reviews of programs under parts B and D 
of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1071 et seq. and 1087a et seq.) for purposes of— 
(A) determining whether such audits and reviews are 
comparable among programs;