I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4343 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of 
Education to publish requirements for financial aid offers to be provided 
by institutions of higher education to enrolled and prospective students, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 
Mrs. TRAHAN (for herself and Mr. SMUCKER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the 
Secretary of Education to publish requirements for finan-
cial aid offers to be provided by institutions of higher 
education to enrolled and prospective students, and for 
other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Financial Aid Commu-
nication and Transparency Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘FACT 
Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINANCIAL AID OFFERS. 
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1092) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(n) FINANCIAL AID OFFERS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFERS.— 
‘‘(A) SECRETARIAL REQUIREMENTS.—Not 
later than 18 months after the date of enact-
ment of the Financial Aid Communication and 
Transparency Act of 2019 the Secretary shall, 
based on the consumer testing conducted under 
subparagraph (E), publish requirements for fi-
nancial aid offers that shall— 
‘‘(i) include a requirement that finan-
cial aid offers shall serve as the primary 
source for Federal, State, and institutional 
financial aid information provided by an 
institution of higher education partici-
pating in any program under this title to 
each prospective student accepted for ad-
mission and each enrolled student at such 
institution; 
‘‘(ii) include a requirement that such 
offers include a standardized quick ref-
erence box described in subparagraph (D); 
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‘‘(iii) establish standardized terms and 
definitions, including for the elements list-
ed in subparagraph (C), that shall be in-
cluded in each such offer; 
‘‘(iv) establish formatting require-
ments with respect to the organization of 
the elements listed in subparagraph (C), 
which shall include, at a minimum, a re-
quirement that prohibits such offers from 
displaying loans in a manner that indicates 
or implies that such loans reduce the 
amount owed to the institution or reduce 
the net price; and 
‘‘(v) specify the simple, plain-lan-
guage, and consumer-friendly information 
to be included in each such offer with re-
spect to the financial aid being offered to 
a student, which shall include— 
‘‘(I) an explanation of differences 
among each such type of financial aid, 
including clear explanations that— 
‘‘(aa) grants and scholar-
ships do not have to be repaid; 
‘‘(bb) loans (including loans 
made under part D and private 
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education loans (as defined in 
section 140 of the Truth in 
Lending Act)) must be repaid 
with interest; and 
‘‘(cc) payments under Fed-
eral work-study programs under 
part C are contingent on finding 
qualified employment and are 
typically disbursed incrementally 
in paychecks; 
‘‘(II) information clarifying that 
students may— 
‘‘(aa) decline to accept a 
loan made under part D; or 
‘‘(bb) accept an amount of 
such loan that is less than the 
amount of such loan included in 
the financial aid offer; and 
‘‘(III) in a case in which the in-
stitution offers a student such a loan 
in an amount that is less than the 
maximum amount for which the stu-
dent is eligible, an explanation that 
the student is eligible for additional 
loans under part D. 
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‘‘(B) INSTITUTIONAL
REQUIREMENTS.— 
Beginning with the award year that begins not 
less than 1 year after the Secretary publishes 
requirements under subparagraph (A), each in-
stitution of higher education described in sub-
paragraph (A)(i) shall provide a financial aid 
offer to each student described in such subpara-
graph prior to each academic year that— 
‘‘(i) shall comply with the require-
ments published by the Secretary under 
subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(ii) may be supplemented by the in-
stitution with additional, non-contradictory 
information related to financial aid as long 
as such supplementary information uses 
the standardized terms and definitions de-
scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii). 
‘‘(C) ELEMENTS.—A financial aid offer 
provided by an institution of higher education 
shall include the following elements with respect 
to the academic year for which the offer is 
being provided: 
‘‘(i) The cost of attendance, which 
shall include separately calculated sub-
totals of— 
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‘‘(I) an itemized list of estimated 
direct costs owed to the institution; 
and 
‘‘(II) an itemized list of antici-
pated student expenses not covered 
under subclause (I). 
‘‘(ii) Federal, State, and institutional 
financial aid available to the student, 
which shall include separately calculated 
subtotals of— 
‘‘(I) grants and scholarships; 
‘‘(II) loans made under part D 
(excluding 
Federal 
Direct 
Parent 
PLUS Loans); and 
‘‘(III) Federal work-study pro-
grams under part C and other on- 
campus employment. 
‘‘(iii) Other options that may be avail-
able to students to cover the cost of at-
tendance (including Federal Direct Parent 
PLUS Loans, tuition payment plans, sav-
ings, and earnings from other employ-
ment). 
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‘‘(iv) The net price, which shall be de-
termined by calculating the difference be-
tween— 
‘‘(I) the cost of attendance de-
scribed in clause (i); and 
‘‘(II) the grants and scholarships 
described in clause (ii)(I). 
‘‘(v) Next step instructions, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(I) the process and deadlines for 
accepting the financial aid; and 
‘‘(II) information about where to 
find additional information on the fi-
nancial aid offered. 
‘‘(vi) Any other information deter-
mined necessary by the Secretary based on 
the consumer testing conducted under sub-
paragraph (E), which may include the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(I) An estimate of the net direct 
cost, which shall be determined by cal-
culating the difference between— 
‘‘(aa) the direct costs owed 
to the institution described in 
clause (i)(I); and 
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‘‘(bb) the grants and schol-
arships described in clause (ii)(I). 
‘‘(II) Information on average stu-
dent debt, loan repayment and default 
rates, loan repayment options, and 
graduation rates. 
‘‘(III) In the case of a prospec-
tive student, the process and deadlines 
for enrolling at the institution. 
‘‘(IV) Information regarding the 
enrollment period covered by the aid 
offer, and whether the cost and aid 
estimates are based on full-time or 
part-time enrollment. 
‘‘(D) STANDARDIZED
QUICK
REFERENCE 
BOX.—A financial aid offer provided by an in-
stitution of higher education shall include a 
standardized quick reference box to enable stu-
dents to quickly and easily compare key infor-
mation on college costs and financial aid— 
‘‘(i) that shall be included in an iden-
tical fashion for each student receiving a 
financial aid offer from the institution on 
the first page of such offer; 
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‘‘(ii) the contents and structure of 
which shall be developed through consumer 
testing conducted under paragraph (E); 
and 
‘‘(iii) shall include three data ele-
ments: 
‘‘(I) Cost of attendance. 
‘‘(II) Total grants and scholar-
ships offered. 
‘‘(III) Net price. 
‘‘(E) CONSUMER TESTING.—The Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(i) conduct consumer testing that 
shall serve as the basis in determining the 
requirements for financial aid offers pub-
lished under subparagraph (A), which shall 
include students (including low-income stu-
dents, English learners, first generation 
college students, veteran students, grad-
uate students, and undergraduate students 
(including prospective students and return-
ing students)), students’ families (includ-
ing low-income families, families of English 
learners, and families with first generation 
college students), institutions of higher 
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education (including representatives from 
two- and four-year institutions, public and 
private institutions, and minority-serving 
institutions), secondary school and postsec-
ondary counselors, financial aid adminis-
trators, nonprofit college access organiza-
tions, and nonprofit consumer groups; and 
‘‘(ii) not later than 60 days after the 
publication of the requirements under sub-
paragraph (A)— 
‘‘(I) issue a report on the find-
ings of the consumer testing under 
this subparagraph; and 
‘‘(II) specify ways in which the 
findings are reflected in such require-
ments. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘cost of attendance’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 472; 
‘‘(B) the term ‘English learner’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 8101(20) of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(20)), except that such 
term does not include individuals described in 
subparagraph (B) of such section; 
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‘‘(C) the term ‘first generation college stu-
dent’ has the meaning given the term in section 
402A(h); 
‘‘(D) the term ‘low-income student’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 419N(b)(7); 
and 
‘‘(E) the term ‘minority-serving institution’ 
means an institution of higher education de-
scribed in section 371(a).’’. 
Æ 
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