I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7100 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
provide for certain minimal levels of educational assistance to the depend-
ents of public safety officers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 16, 2022 
Ms. HERRELL (for herself, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. MCKIN-
LEY, Mr. ELLZEY, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. GARBARINO, Ms. 
MACE, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, and Mr. OWENS) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 
in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Ways and 
Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 to provide for certain minimal levels of 
educational assistance to the dependents of public safety 
officers, 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 ‘‘They Had Our Back 
We Have Theirs Act of 2022’’. 
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SEC. 2. IN GENERAL. 
Subpart 2 of part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10302(a)) is amended— 
(1) in section 1212(a)— 
(A) in paragraph (2), by inserting after 
‘‘paragraph (3)’’ the following: ‘‘and paragraph 
(4)’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) In the case of any dependent of an eligible 
public safety officer who is deceased, the financial 
assistance provided under this subpart shall include 
an amount of not less than $25,000 which shall be 
made available under section 1219 not later than 
180 days after that officer’s death. Such amount 
shall not be included for purposes of any computa-
tion referred to in paragraph (2).’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 1219. FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR 
CHILDREN AND SPOUSES OF ELIGIBLE PUB-
LIC SAFETY OFFICERS. 
‘‘(a) FORGIVENESS
REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, and in addition to any other 
benefit available under this part, the Secretary of Edu-
cation shall carry out a program in accordance with this 
Act to forgive up to a total of $25,000 of the outstanding 
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balance of interest and principal due on the applicable eli-
gible Federal student loans of borrowers who are children 
or spouses of eligible public safety officers. 
‘‘(b) METHOD OF LOAN FORGIVENESS.—Subject to 
subsection (c), in carrying out the loan forgiveness pro-
gram required under subsection (a), as soon as practicable 
after the Secretary of Education has confirmed that an 
applicant is a child or spouse of an eligible public safety 
officer who is a borrower of an eligible Federal student 
loan, the Secretary of Education shall— 
‘‘(1) through the holder of a loan, assume the 
obligation to repay the outstanding balance of inter-
est and principal due (and any other amounts due, 
including any other costs or fees assessed) on the 
applicable eligible Federal student loans of the bor-
rower made, insured, or guaranteed under part B of 
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1071 et seq.), or, if the holder of the loan is 
the Secretary, cancel such outstanding balance; 
‘‘(2) cancel the outstanding balance of interest 
and principal due (and any other amounts due, in-
cluding any other costs or fees assessed) on the ap-
plicable eligible Federal student loans of the bor-
rower made under part E of such title; and 
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‘‘(3) through the holder of a loan, assume the 
obligation to repay the outstanding balance of inter-
est and principal due (and any other amounts due, 
including any other costs or fees assessed) on the 
applicable eligible Federal student loans of the bor-
rower made, insured, or guaranteed under part D of 
such title, or, if the holder of the loan is the Sec-
retary, cancel such outstanding balance. 
‘‘(c) MAXIMUM AMOUNT
OF FORGIVENESS.—The 
total amount of forgiveness received by a borrower under 
this section may not exceed $25,000 with respect to all 
eligible Federal student loans of the borrower. 
‘‘(d) REPAYMENT REFUNDS PROHIBITED.—Nothing 
in this section shall be construed to authorize any refund-
ing of any eligible Federal student loan repayment made 
before the date a borrower’s loans are forgiven in accord-
ance with this section. 
‘‘(e) EXCLUSION FROM TAXABLE INCOME.—The 
amount of a borrower’s eligible Federal student loans for-
given under this section shall not be included in the gross 
income of the borrower for purposes of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘eligible Federal student loan’ 
means any loan made, insured, or guaranteed under 
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part B, part D, or part E of title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, including a consolidation 
loan under such title; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible public safety officer’ 
means a public safety officer, as defined in section 
1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b), who is 
determined to have died or become permanently and 
totally disabled as the direct and proximate result of 
a personal injury sustained in the line of duty, sub-
ject to the limitations on such a determination made 
under subpart 1.’’. 
Æ 
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