I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 198 
To authorize funding for student loan repayment for public attorneys. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 4, 2005 
Mr. SCOTT of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To authorize funding for student loan repayment for public 
attorneys. 
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 ‘‘Prosecutors and De-
fenders Incentive Act’’. 
SEC. 2. STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT FOR PUBLIC ATTOR-
NEYS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Higher Education Act of 
1965 is amended by inserting after section 428K (20 
U.S.C. 1078–11) the following:
‘‘SEC. 428L. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR PUBLIC ATTORNEYS. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en-
courage qualified individuals to enter and continue em-
ployment as prosecutors and public defenders. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) PROSECUTOR.—The term ‘prosecutor’ 
means a full-time employee of a State or local agen-
cy who— 
‘‘(A) is continually licensed to practice law; 
and 
‘‘(B) prosecutes criminal cases at the State 
or local level. 
‘‘(2) PUBLIC DEFENDER.—The term ‘public de-
fender’ means an attorney who— 
‘‘(A) is continually licensed to practice law; 
and 
‘‘(B) is a full-time employee of a State or 
local agency, or of a nonprofit organization op-
erating under a contract with a State or unit of 
local government or as a full time Federal de-
fender attorney employed in a defender organi-
zation established pursuant to subsection (g) of 
section 3006A of title 18, United States Code, 
which provides legal representation services to 
indigent persons in criminal cases.
‘‘(3) STUDENT LOAN.—The term ‘student loan’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) a loan made, insured, or guaranteed 
under this part; and 
‘‘(B) a loan made under part D or E. 
‘‘(c) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—For the purpose of 
encouraging qualified individuals to enter and continue 
employment as prosecutors and public defenders, the Sec-
retary shall carry out a program, through the holder of 
a loan, of assuming the obligation to repay (by direct pay-
ments on behalf of a borrower) a qualified loan amount 
for a loan made under section 428 or 428H, in accordance 
with subsection (d), for any borrower who— 
‘‘(1) is employed as a prosecutor or public de-
fender; and 
‘‘(2) is not in default on a loan for which the 
borrower seeks forgiveness. 
‘‘(d) TERMS OF AGREEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive re-
payment benefits under this section, a borrower shall 
enter into a written agreement that specifies that— 
‘‘(A) the borrower will remain employed as 
a prosecutor or public defender for a required 
period of service specified in the agreement (but
not less than 3 years), unless involuntarily sep-
arated from that employment; 
‘‘(B) if the borrower is involuntarily sepa-
rated from that employment on account of mis-
conduct, or voluntarily separates from that em-
ployment, before the end of the period specified 
in the agreement, the borrower will repay the 
Secretary the amount of any benefits received 
by such employee under this section; 
‘‘(C) if the borrower is required to repay 
an amount to the Secretary under subpara-
graph (B) and fails to repay the amount de-
scribed in subparagraph (B), a sum equal to 
the amount is recoverable by the Government 
from the employee (or such employee’s estate, if 
applicable) by such method as is provided by 
law for the recovery of amounts owing to the 
Government; 
‘‘(D) the Secretary may waive, in whole or 
in part, a right of recovery under this sub-
section if it is shown that recovery would be 
against equity and good conscience or against 
the public interest; and 
‘‘(E) the Secretary shall make student loan 
payments under this section for the period of
the agreement, subject to the availability of ap-
propriations. 
‘‘(2) REPAYMENTS.—Any amount repaid by, or 
recovered from, an individual (or an estate) under 
this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation 
account from which the amount involved was origi-
nally paid. Any amount so credited shall be merged 
with other sums in such account and shall be avail-
able for the same purposes and period, and subject 
to the same limitations (if any), as the sums with 
which the amount was merged. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) 
STUDENT
LOAN
PAYMENT 
AMOUNT.—Student loan payments made by the 
Secretary under this section shall be made sub-
ject to such terms, limitations, or conditions as 
may be mutually agreed to by the borrower con-
cerned and the Secretary in the agreement de-
scribed in this subsection, except that the 
amount paid by the Secretary under this section 
may not exceed— 
‘‘(i) $6,000 for any borrower in any 
calendar year; or 
‘‘(ii) a total of $40,000 in the case of 
any borrower.
‘‘(B) BEGINNING OF PAYMENTS.—Nothing 
in this section shall be construed to authorize 
the Secretary to pay any amount to reimburse 
a borrower for any repayments made by such 
borrower prior to the date on which the Sec-
retary entered into an agreement with the em-
ployee under this subsection. 
‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL AGREEMENTS.—On completion of 
the required period of service under such an agreement, 
the borrower concerned and the Secretary may enter into 
an additional agreement described in subsection (d) for 
a successive period of service specified in the agreement 
(which may be less than 3 years). 
‘‘(f) AWARD BASIS; PRIORITY.— 
‘‘(1) AWARD BASIS.—The Secretary shall pro-
vide repayment benefits under this section on a first- 
come, first-served basis (subject to paragraph (2)) 
and subject to the availability of appropriations. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri-
ority in providing repayment benefits under this sec-
tion for a fiscal year to a borrower who— 
‘‘(A) received repayment benefits under 
this section for the preceding fiscal year; and 
‘‘(B) has completed less than 3 years of 
the first required period of service specified for
the borrower in an agreement entered into 
under subsection (d). 
‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to 
issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 
the provisions of this section. 
‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and such sums as may 
be necessary for each succeeding fiscal year.’’. 
(b) CANCELLATION OF LOANS.— 
(1) AMENDMENT.—Section 465(a)(2)(F) of the 
Higher 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
1087ee(a)(2)(F)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, as a 
public defender (as defined in section 428L), or as 
a full time Federal defender attorney employed in a 
defender organization established pursuant to sub-
section (g) of section 3006A of title 18, United 
States Code’’ after ‘‘agencies’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by this subsection shall apply to— 
(A) eligible loans made before, on, or after 
the date of enactment of this Act; and 
(B) service as a prosecutor or public de-
fender that is provided on or after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
(3) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub-
section or the amendment made by this subsection 
shall be construed to authorize the Secretary to pay 
any amount to reimburse a borrower for any repay-
ments made by such borrower prior to the date on 
which the borrower became eligible for cancellation 
under section 465(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
1087ee(a)). 
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