I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3086
To provide the Secretary of Education with specific waiver authority to
respond to conditions in the national emergency declared by the President
of the United States on September 14, 2001.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 11, 2001
Mr. MCKEON (for himself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California,
Mr. ARMEY, Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. PETRI, Mr.
KILDEE, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. OWENS, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. PAYNE, Mr.
GREENWOOD, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr.
HILLEARY, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. EHLERS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. FLETCHER,
Ms. RIVERS, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mrs.
MCCARTHY of New York, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. PLATTS, Mr.
FORD, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. KELLER, Mr. WU, Mr. OSBORNE,
Mr. HOLT, Ms. SOLIS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr.
BAKER, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. BUYER, Mr.
CALVERT, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. DREIER, Mr. EVANS,
Mr. FILNER, Mr. FORBES, Mr. HALL of Texas, Ms. HARMAN, Mr.
HERGER, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. KING, Mr.
KIRK, Mr. QUINN, Mr. SABO, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. SKELTON,
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. STUMP, Mr. TAYLOR of
Mississippi, Mr. TURNER, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. WALSH, Ms. WATERS,
and Mr. WAXMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To provide the Secretary of Education with specific waiver
authority to respond to conditions in the national emer-
gency declared by the President of the United States
on September 14, 2001.
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 ‘‘Higher Education Re-
lief Opportunities for Students Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. WAIVER AUTHORITY FOR RESPONSE TO NATIONAL
EMERGENCY.
(a) WAIVERS AND MODIFICATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, unless enacted with specific ref-
erence to this section, the Secretary of Education
may waive or modify any statutory or regulatory
provision applicable to the student financial aid pro-
grams under title IV of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 as the Secretary deems necessary in connec-
tion with the national emergency to provide the
waivers or modifications authorized by paragraph
(2).
(2) ACTIONS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is
authorized to waive or modify such provisions as
may be necessary to ensure that—
(A) borrowers of Federal student loans
who are affected individuals are not placed in a
worse position financially in relation to those
loans because of their status as affected individ-
uals;
(B) administrative requirements placed on
affected individuals who are borrowers of Fed-
eral student loans are minimized, to the extent
possible without impairing the integrity of the
student loan programs, in order to ease the
burden on such borrowers, and to avoid inad-
vertent, technical violations or defaults;
(C) the terms ‘‘annual adjusted family in-
come’’ and ‘‘available income’’, as used in the
determination of need for student financial as-
sistance under title IV of the Act for any such
affected individual (and the determination of
such need for his or her spouse and dependents,
if applicable), are modified to mean the sums
received in the first calendar year of the award
year for which such determination is made, in
order to reflect more accurately the financial
condition of such affected individual and his or
her family; and
(D) institutions of higher education, eligi-
ble lenders, guaranty agencies, and other enti-
ties participating in the student assistance pro-
grams under title IV of the Act that are located
in areas that are declared disaster areas by any
Federal, State, or local official in connection
with the national emergency may be granted
temporary relief from requirements that are
rendered infeasible or unreasonable by the na-
tional emergency, including due diligence re-
quirements and reporting deadlines.
(b) NOTICE OF WAIVERS OR MODIFICATIONS.—Not-
withstanding section 437 of the General Education Provi-
sions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232) and section 553 of title 5,
United States Code, the Secretary shall, by notice in the
Federal Register, publish the waivers or modifications of
statutory and regulatory provisions the Secretary deems
necessary to achieve the purposes of this section. Such no-
tice shall include the terms and conditions to be applied
in lieu of such statutory and regulatory provisions. The
Secretary is not required to exercise the waiver or modi-
fication authority under this section on a case-by-case
basis.
(c) IMPACT REPORT.—The Secretary shall, not later
than 15 months after first exercising any authority to
issue a waiver or modification under subsection (a), report
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate on the im-
ferral of enrollment or reapplication requirements
and should provide the greatest flexibility possible
with administrative deadlines related to those appli-
cations.
(b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, a full
refund includes a refund of required tuition and fees, or
a credit in a comparable amount against future tuition
and fees.
SEC. 4. GUIDANCE ON USE OF PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT.
At the time of publishing any waivers or modifica-
tions pursuant to section 2(b), the Secretary shall publish
guidance on which institutions may rely in the appropriate
exercise of discretion under section 479A of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087tt) to adjust finan-
cial need and aid eligibility determinations for affected in-
dividuals.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Federal student loan’’ means a
loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part B, D,
or E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965.
(2) The term ‘‘national emergency’’ means the
national emergency by reason of certain terrorist at-
tacks declared by the President on September 14,
2001, or subsequent national emergencies declared
by the President by reason of terrorist attacks.
(3) The term ‘‘affected individual’’ means an
individual who—
(A) is serving on active duty during the
national emergency;
(B) resides or is employed in an area that
is declared a disaster area by any Federal,
State, or local official in connection with the
national emergency; or
(C) suffered direct economic hardship as a
direct result of the national emergency, as de-
termined under a waiver or modification issued
under this Act.
(4) Individuals serving on active duty during
the national emergency shall include—
(A) any Reserve of an Armed Force or-
dered to active duty under section 12301(a),
12301(g), 12302, 12304, or 12306 of title 10,
United States Code, or any retired member of
an Armed Force ordered to active duty under
section 688 of such title, for service in connec-
tion with such emergency or subsequent actions
or conditions, regardless of the location at
which such active duty service is performed;
and
(B) any other member of an Armed Force
on active duty in connection with such emer-
gency or subsequent actions or conditions who
has been assigned to a duty station at a loca-
tion other than the location at which such mem-
ber is normally assigned.
(5) The term ‘‘active duty’’ has the meaning
given such term in section 101(d)(1) of title 10,
United States Code, except that such term does not
include active duty for training or attendance at a
service school.
(6) The term ‘‘the Act’’ means the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.
The provisions of this Act shall cease to be effective
on September 30, 2003.
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