Title: Pell Grant Restoration Act of 2017
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Pell Grant Restoration Act of 2017
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to restore a student's Pell Grant eligibility for any period of time during which the student qualified for, or would have qualified for, federal student loan forgiveness due to school closure, assertion of a defense against repayment, or institutional fraud or misconduct.
Specifically, this bill provides that Pell Grants received by a student during that period of time do not count toward the student's lifetime Pell Grant eligibility period (currently 12 full-time semesters).

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1135 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1135

 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify the Federal Pell 
Grant duration limits of borrowers who attend an institution of higher 
  education that closes or commits fraud or other misconduct, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 16, 2017

    Ms. Warren (for herself, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Murphy) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify the Federal Pell 
Grant duration limits of borrowers who attend an institution of higher 
  education that closes or commits fraud or other misconduct, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pell Grant Restoration Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL PELL GRANT DURATION LIMITS.

    Section 401(c)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070a(c)(5)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(5) The period'' and inserting the 
        following: ``(5) Maximum period.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the period''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Exception.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Any Federal Pell Grant 
                        that a student received during a period 
                        described in subclause (I) or (II) of clause 
                        (ii) shall not count towards the student's 
                        duration limits under this paragraph.
                            ``(ii) Applicable periods.--Clause (i) 
                        shall apply with respect to any Federal Pell 
                        Grant awarded to a student to attend an 
                        institution--
                                    ``(I) during a period--
                                            ``(aa) for which the 
                                        student received a loan under 
                                        this title; and
                                            ``(bb) for which the loan 
                                        described in item (aa) is 
                                        forgiven under--

                                                    ``(AA) section 
                                                437(c)(1) or 464(g)(1) 
                                                due to the closing of 
                                                the institution;

                                                    ``(BB) section 
                                                455(h) due to the 
                                                student's successful 
                                                assertion of a defense 
                                                to repayment of the 
                                                loan; or

                                                    ``(CC) section 
                                                432(a)(6), section 
                                                685.215 of title 34, 
                                                Code of Federal 
                                                Regulations (or a 
                                                successor regulation), 
                                                or any other loan 
                                                forgiveness provision 
                                                or regulation under 
                                                this Act, as a result 
                                                of a determination by 
                                                the Secretary or a 
                                                court that the 
                                                institution committed 
                                                fraud or other 
                                                misconduct; or

                                    ``(II) during a period for which 
                                the student did not receive a loan 
                                under this title but for which, if the 
                                student had received such a loan, the 
                                student would have qualified for loan 
                                forgiveness under subclause (I)(bb).''.
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