107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3086
AN ACT
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
(referred to in this Act as the ‘Secretary’) may waive
or modify any statutory or regulatory provision ap-
plicable to the student financial aid programs under
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) as the Secretary deems nec-
essary in connection 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 any provision de-
scribed in paragraph (1) as may be necessary to en-
sure 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, to ease the burden on
such borrowers and avoid inadvertent, technical
violations or defaults;
(C) the calculation of ‘‘annual adjusted
family income’’ and ‘‘available income’’, as used
in the determination of need for student finan-
cial assistance under title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et
seq.) for any such affected individual (and the
determination of such need for his or her
spouse and dependents, if applicable), may be
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 af-
fected 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 Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) that are
located in, or whose operations are directly af-
fected by, areas that are declared disaster areas
by any Federal, State, or local official in con-
nection with the national emergency may be
granted temporary relief from requirements
that are rendered infeasible or unreasonable by
the national emergency, including due diligence
requirements and reporting deadlines.
(b) NOTICE OF WAIVERS OR MODIFICATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 437
of the General Education Provisions 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 sec-
tion.
(2) TERMS
AND
CONDITIONS.—The notice
under paragraph (1) shall include the terms and
conditions to be applied in lieu of such statutory and
regulatory provisions.
(3) CASE-BY-CASE BASIS.—The Secretary is not
required to exercise the waiver or modification au-
thority 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-
pact of any waivers or modifications issued pursuant to
subsection (a) on affected individuals and the programs
under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), and the basis for such determina-
tion, and include in such report the Secretary’s rec-
ommendations for changes to the statutory or regulatory
provisions that were the subject of such waiver or modi-
fication.
(d) NO DELAY IN WAIVERS AND MODIFICATIONS.—
Sections 482(c) and 492 of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1089(c), 1098a) shall not apply to the
waivers and modifications authorized or required by this
Act.
SEC. 3. TUITION REFUNDS OR CREDITS FOR MEMBERS OF
ARMED FORCES.
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that—
(1) all institutions offering postsecondary edu-
cation should provide a full refund to students who
are members of the Armed Forces serving on active
duty during the national emergency, for that portion
of a period of instruction such student was unable
to complete, or for which such individual did not re-
ceive academic credit, because he or she was called
up for such service; and
(2) if affected individuals withdraw from a
course of study as a result of such service, such in-
stitutions should make every effort to minimize de-
ferral of enrollment or reapplication requirements
and should provide the greatest flexibility possible
with administrative deadlines related to those appli-
cations.
(b) DEFINITION OF FULL REFUND.—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. USE OF PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT.
At the time of publishing any waivers or modifica-
tions pursuant to section 2(b), the Secretary shall publish
examples of measures which institutions may take in the
appropriate exercise of discretion under section 479A of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087tt) to
adjust financial need and aid eligibility determinations for
affected individuals.