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‘‘PART JJ—LOAN REPAYMENT FOR 
PROSECUTORS AND PUBLIC DEFENDERS 
‘‘SEC. 3111. GRANT AUTHORIZATION. 
‘‘(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 or juvenile delin-
quency cases (or both) at the State or local 
level, including an employee who supervises, 
educates, or trains other persons prosecuting 
such cases. 
‘‘(2) PUBLIC DEFENDER.—The term ‘public de-
fender’ means an attorney who— 
‘‘(A) is continually licensed to practice law; 
and 
‘‘(B) is— 
‘‘(i) a full-time employee of a State or 
local agency who provides legal representa-
tion to indigent persons in criminal or ju-
venile delinquency cases (or both), includ-
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ing an attorney who supervises, educates, 
or trains other persons providing such rep-
resentation; 
‘‘(ii) a full-time employee of a non-
profit organization operating under a con-
tract with a State or unit of local govern-
ment, who devotes substantially all of such 
full-time employment to providing legal 
representation to indigent persons in crimi-
nal or juvenile delinquency cases (or both), 
including an attorney who supervises, edu-
cates, or trains other persons providing 
such representation; or 
‘‘(iii) employed as a full-time Federal 
defender attorney in a defender organiza-
tion established pursuant to subsection (g) 
of section 3006A of title 18, United States 
Code, that provides legal representation to 
indigent persons in criminal or juvenile de-
linquency cases (or both). 
‘‘(3) STUDENT LOAN.—The term ‘student loan’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) a loan made, insured, or guaranteed 
under part B of title IV of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.); 
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‘‘(B) a loan made under part D or E of 
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq. and 1087aa et seq.); 
and 
‘‘(C) a loan made under section 428C or 
455(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1078–3 and 1087e(g)) to the extent 
that such loan was used to repay a Federal Di-
rect Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Unsub-
sidized Stafford Loan, or a loan made under 
section 428 or 428H of such Act. 
‘‘(c) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Attorney General 
shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, estab-
lish a program by which the Department of Justice shall 
assume the obligation to repay a student loan, by direct 
payments on behalf of a borrower to the holder of such 
loan, 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 LOAN REPAYMENT.— 
‘‘(1) BORROWER AGREEMENT.—To be eligible 
to receive repayment benefits under subsection (c), 
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a borrower shall enter into a written agreement with 
the Attorney General that specifies that— 
‘‘(A) the borrower will remain employed as 
a prosecutor or public defender for a required 
period of service of not less than 3 years, unless 
involuntarily separated from that employment; 
‘‘(B) if the borrower is involuntarily sepa-
rated from employment on account of mis-
conduct, or voluntarily separates from employ-
ment, before the end of the period specified in 
the agreement, the borrower will repay the At-
torney General the amount of any benefits re-
ceived by such employee under this section; and 
‘‘(C) if the borrower is required to repay 
an amount to the Attorney General under sub-
paragraph (B) and fails to repay such amount, 
a sum equal to that amount shall be recoverable 
by the Federal Government from the employee 
(or such employee’s estate, if applicable) by 
such methods as are provided by law for the re-
covery of amounts owed to the Federal Govern-
ment. 
‘‘(2) REPAYMENT BY BORROWER.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Any amount repaid 
by, or recovered from, an individual or the es-
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tate of an individual under this subsection shall 
be credited to the appropriation account from 
which the amount involved was originally paid. 
‘‘(B) 
MERGER.—Any 
amount 
credited 
under subparagraph (A) shall be merged with 
other sums in such account and shall be avail-
able for the same purposes and period, and sub-
ject to the same limitations, if any, as the sums 
with which the amount was merged. 
‘‘(C) WAIVER.—The Attorney General may 
waive, in whole or in part, a right of recovery 
under this subsection if it is shown that recov-
ery would be against equity and good conscience 
or against the public interest. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) 
STUDENT
LOAN
PAYMENT 
AMOUNT.—Student loan repayments made by 
the Attorney General under this section shall be 
made subject to the availability of appropria-
tions, and subject to such terms, limitations, or 
conditions as may be mutually agreed upon by 
the borrower and the Attorney General in an 
agreement under paragraph (1), except that the 
amount paid by the Attorney General under 
this section shall not exceed— 
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‘‘(i) $10,000 for any borrower in any 
calendar year; or 
‘‘(ii) an aggregate total of $60,000 in 
the case of any borrower. 
‘‘(B) BEGINNING OF PAYMENTS.—Nothing 
in this section shall authorize the Attorney Gen-
eral to pay any amount to reimburse a borrower 
for any repayments made by such borrower 
prior to the date on which the Attorney General 
entered into an agreement with the borrower 
under this subsection. 
‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On completion of the re-
quired period of service under an agreement under 
subsection (d), the borrower and the Attorney Gen-
eral may, subject to paragraph (2), enter into an ad-
ditional agreement in accordance with subsection 
(d). 
‘‘(2) TERM.—An agreement entered into under 
paragraph (1) may require the borrower to remain 
employed as a prosecutor or public defender for less 
than 3 years. 
‘‘(f) AWARD BASIS; PRIORITY.— 
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‘‘(1) AWARD
BASIS.—The Attorney General 
shall provide repayment benefits under this sec-
tion— 
‘‘(A) subject to the availability of appro-
priations; and 
‘‘(B) in accordance with paragraph (2), ex-
cept that the Attorney General shall determine 
a fair allocation of repayment benefits among 
prosecutors and defenders, and among employ-
ing entities nationwide. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In providing repayment bene-
fits under this section in any fiscal year, the Attor-
ney General shall give priority to borrowers— 
‘‘(A) who, when compared to other eligible 
borrowers, have the least ability to repay their 
student loans (considering whether the borrower 
is the beneficiary of any other student loan re-
payment program), as determined by the Attor-
ney General; or 
‘‘(B) who— 
‘‘(i) received repayment benefits under 
this section during the preceding fiscal 
year; and 
‘‘(ii) have completed less than 3 years 
of the first required period of service speci-
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fied for the borrower in an agreement en-
tered into under subsection (d). 
‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General is au-
thorized to issue such regulations as may be necessary to 
carry out the provisions of this section. 
‘‘(h) REPORT BY INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Not later 
than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice 
shall submit to Congress a report on— 
‘‘(1) the cost of the program authorized under 
this section; and 
‘‘(2) the impact of such program on the hiring 
and retention of prosecutors and public defenders. 
‘‘(i) GAO STUDY.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Comptroller 
General shall conduct a study of, and report to Congress 
on, the impact that law school accreditation requirements 
and other factors have on the costs of law school and stu-
dent access to law school, including the impact of such 
requirements on racial and ethnic minorities. 
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
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$25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 
2013.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives May 15, 2007. 
Attest: 
LORRAINE C. MILLER, 
Clerk. 
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Calendar No. 149 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 916 
AN ACT 
To provide for loan repayment for prosecutors and 
public defenders. 
MAY 16, 2007 
Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 
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