Title: Reduce Barriers to College Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Reduce Barriers to College Act
This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to ensure that the implemented authentication processes used for all current and future online applications provide the level of assurance required by National Institute of Standards and Technology standards for the determined level of authentication risk.
Within 90 days of the enactment of this bill, the IRS must establish an online portal for individuals to request that a verification of nonfiling for any taxable year be submitted to the Department of Education as part of the process of completing the individual's Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The portal must authenticate an individual's identity using a valid Social Security number and any one of several documents specified in the bill.
The bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to permit certain independent students applying for federal student aid using the simplified needs test to obtain a verification of nonfiling from the IRS in lieu of certifying that the student (and the student's spouse, if any) is not required to file a federal income tax return.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3516 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3516

  To require the Internal Revenue Service to meet higher standards in 
  security screening and to improve the process for obtaining return 
information and verification of nonfiling in connection with completing 
          a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2017

  Mr. Veasey (for himself, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Payne, Ms. Barragan, Mr. 
   Evans, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Rush, and Ms. Moore) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the 
 Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Internal Revenue Service to meet higher standards in 
  security screening and to improve the process for obtaining return 
information and verification of nonfiling in connection with completing 
          a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

    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 ``Reduce Barriers to College Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVED IRS IDENTITY AUTHENTICATION PROCESS.

    The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall ensure that the 
implemented authentication processes used for all current and future 
online applications provide the level of assurance required by National 
Institute for Standards and Technology standards for the determined 
level of authentication risk, as recommended by the Treasury Inspector 
General for Tax Administration.

SEC. 3. VERIFICATION OF NONFILING IN CONNECTION WITH FAFSA APPLICATION.

    (a) Online Portal.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 
        (in consultation with the Secretary of Education) shall 
        establish an online portal for individuals to request and have 
        submitted a verification of nonfiling for any taxable year to 
        the Secretary of Education as part of the process of completing 
        the individual's Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
            (2) Authentication.--Any such verification shall not be 
        approved for submission through such portal process unless the 
        individual's identity is authenticated by a valid social 
        security number and any one of the following:
                    (A) Personal account number from a credit card, 
                mortgage, home equity loan, home equity line of credit, 
                or car loan.
                    (B) Mobile phone with the individual's name on the 
                account.
                    (C) Household utility bill associated with the 
                individual's mailing address.
                    (D) Student transcripts.
                    (E) Bank account statement.
                    (F) Passport or State issued driver's license.
    (b) Response Time for Verification of Nonfiling in Connection With 
FAFSA.--The Internal Revenue Service shall, not later than 10 business 
days after receipt from the individual, process any request for, or 
respond to any inquiries relating to, a verification of nonfiling in 
connection with an individual's Free Application for Federal Student 
Aid.

SEC. 4. SIMPLIFIED NEEDS TEST.

    Section 479 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ss) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B)(i)(II), by inserting before the 
        semicolon at the end the following: ``or has obtained a 
        verification of nonfiling from the Commissioner of Internal 
        Revenue''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)(2)(A)(ii), by inserting before the 
        semicolon at the end the following: ``or has obtained a 
        verification of nonfiling from the Commissioner of Internal 
        Revenue''.
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