Title: HOPE (Heightening Opportunities for Pathways to Education) for FAFSA Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
HOPE (Heightening Opportunities for Pathways to Education) for FAFSA Act
This bill revises the application process for a Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Specifically, the Department of Education (ED) shall not require an applicant to provide income or asset information if the applicant indicates they received a federal benefit (e.g., supplemental nutrition assistance or Social Security disability) at some time during the previous 24 months. ED shall use a data retrieval tool to obtain such information for any other applicant.
The bill raises to $34,000 the amount of household income below which a student shall be considered to have an expected family contribution (EFC) equal to zero. EFC is used to calculate individual financial aid awards, and an EFC of zero means that a student's family is deemed unable to contribute to educational expenses.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4245 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4245

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reduce the complexity and 
    length of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 9, 2019

  Mrs. McBath (for herself and Mr. Garcia of Illinois) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                                 Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reduce the complexity and 
    length of the 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 ``HOPE (Heightening Opportunities for 
Pathways to Education) for FAFSA Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION.

    (a) Data Elements.--Section 474(b) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087nn(b)) is amended in paragraph (4), by inserting 
before ``the net'' the following: ``only in the case of a pathway three 
applicant,''.
    (b) Dependent Students.--Section 475 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087oo) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(3), by inserting before ``the 
        student'' the following: ``only in the case of a pathway three 
        applicant,'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by inserting before ``the 
        parents''' the following: ``only in the case of a pathway three 
        applicant,''; and
            (3) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ``award period'' and 
        inserting ``award year''.
    (c) Independent Students Without Dependents Other Than a Spouse.--
Section 476(a)(1)(B) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087pp(a)(1)(B)) is amended 
by inserting before ``the family's contribution'' the following: ``only 
in the case of a pathway three applicant,''.
    (d) Independent Students With Dependents Other Than a Spouse.--
Section 477(a)(1)(B) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087qq(a)(1)(B)) is amended 
by inserting before ``the family's contribution'' the following: ``only 
in the case of a pathway three applicant,''.

SEC. 3. ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION.

    Section 479 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ss) 
is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 479. ZERO EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall consider an applicant to 
have an expected family contribution equal to zero if--
            ``(1) in the case of a dependent student--
                    ``(A)(i) the student's parents are not required to 
                file--
                                    ``(I) a Federal income tax return; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) with respect to Internal 
                                Revenue Service Form 1040, any of the 
                                following forms: Schedule A, Schedule 
                                B, Schedule C, Schedule C-EZ, Schedule 
                                D, Schedule E, Schedule F, Schedule H, 
                                Schedule J, and Schedule SE; and
                            ``(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross income 
                        of the parents is less than or equal to 
                        $34,000; or
                    ``(B) the student's parents, or the student, 
                received a benefit at some time during the previous 24-
                month period under a means-tested Federal benefit 
                program;
            ``(2) in the case of an independent student without regard 
        to whether the student has dependents other than a spouse--
                    ``(A)(i) the student (and the student's spouse, if 
                any) certifies--
                                    ``(I) that the student (and the 
                                student's spouse, if any)--
                                            ``(aa) is not required to 
                                        file a Federal income tax 
                                        return; or
                                            ``(bb) with respect to 
                                        Internal Revenue Service Form 
                                        1040, any of the following 
                                        forms: Schedule A, Schedule B, 
                                        Schedule C, Schedule C-EZ, 
                                        Schedule D, Schedule E, 
                                        Schedule F, Schedule H, 
                                        Schedule J, and Schedule SE; 
                                        and
                            ``(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross income 
                        of the student and spouse (if appropriate) is 
                        less than or equal to $34,000; or
                    ``(B) the student received a benefit at some time 
                during the previous 24-month period under a means-
                tested Federal benefit program; or
            ``(3) the applicant is a pathway one applicant under 
        section 483(a)(13).
    ``(b) Earned Income Credit.--An individual is not required to 
qualify or file for the earned income credit in order to be eligible 
under this section.
    ``(c) Adjustments.--The Secretary shall annually adjust the income 
level necessary to qualify an applicant for the zero expected family 
contribution. The income level shall be annually increased by the 
estimated percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, as defined in 
section 478(f), for the most recent calendar year ending prior to the 
beginning of an award year, and rounded up to the nearest $1,000.
    ``(d) Means-Tested Federal Benefit Program Defined.--For purposes 
of this paragraph, a `means-tested Federal benefit program' means a 
mandatory spending program of the Federal Government, other than a 
program under this title, in which eligibility for the program's 
benefits, or the amount of such benefits, are determined on the basis 
of income or resources of the individual or family seeking the benefit, 
and may include such programs as--
            ``(1) the supplemental security income program under title 
        XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.);
            ``(2) the supplemental nutrition assistance program under 
        the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), a 
        nutrition assistance program carried out under section 19 of 
        such Act (7 U.S.C. 2028), and a supplemental nutrition 
        assistance program carried out under section 1841(c) of title 
        48 of the United States Code;
            ``(3) the program of block grants for States for temporary 
        assistance for needy families established under part A of title 
        IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
            ``(4) the special supplemental nutrition program for women, 
        infants, and children established by section 17 of the Child 
        Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786);
            ``(5) the State Medicaid program under title XIX of the 
        Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); and
            ``(6) any other program identified by the Secretary.''.

SEC. 4. FAFSA PATHWAYS.

    Section 483(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(13) FAFSA pathways.--
                    ``(A) Memorandum of understanding.--Not later than 
                the first day of the first award year beginning after 
                the first October after the date of enactment of this 
                Act, the Secretary shall seek to enter into a 
                Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretary of 
                Health and Human Services, the Secretary of 
                Agriculture, and the Secretary of the Treasury, under 
                which any information exchanged under an income and 
                eligibility verification system established pursuant to 
                section 1137 of the Social Security Act by State 
                agencies administering a program listed in paragraph 
                (1), (4), or (5) of subsection (b) of such section 
                which may be of use in establishing or verifying 
                eligibility or benefit amounts under such program shall 
                be made available to the Secretary of Education to 
                assist in determining whether the applicant (or, in the 
                case of a dependent applicant, whether the applicant or 
                the applicant's parents) received a benefit at some 
                time during the previous 24-month period under a means-
                tested Federal benefit program, but subject to the 
                requirements of Federal law.
                    ``(B) Requirement for all applicants and the 
                secretary.--For any award year for which an applicant 
                applies for financial assistance under this title--
                            ``(i) the applicant shall provide on the 
                        form described in this subsection whether the 
                        applicant received (or, in the case of a 
                        dependent applicant, whether the applicant or 
                        the parents of the applicant received) a 
                        benefit at some time during the previous 24-
                        month period under a means-tested Federal 
                        benefit program; and
                            ``(ii) the Secretary, to the extent 
                        practicable and pursuant to the Memorandum of 
                        Understanding entered into under subparagraph 
                        (A), and without any further action by the 
                        applicant, shall verify the applicant's (or, in 
                        the case of a dependent applicant, the 
                        applicant's or the applicant's parents) receipt 
                        of such benefit.
                    ``(C) Pathway one applicants.--
                            ``(i) In general.--With respect to an 
                        applicant who received (or, in the case of a 
                        dependent applicant, an applicant who received 
                        or whose parents received) a benefit at some 
                        time during the previous 24-month period under 
                        a means-tested Federal benefit program, the 
                        applicant shall not be required to provide any 
                        further income or asset information on the form 
                        under this subsection.
                            ``(ii) Designation.--For purposes of this 
                        section and part F, an applicant described in 
                        clause (i) shall be referred to as a `pathway 
                        one applicant'.
                    ``(D) Pathway two applicants.--
                            ``(i) In general.--With respect to an 
                        applicant who is not a pathway one applicant 
                        and is described in clause (ii), the Secretary, 
                        to the extent practicable, shall use the data 
                        retrieval tool under section 484(q) to obtain 
                        any information for the applicant beyond the 
                        information described in subparagraph (A) for 
                        purposes of the form under this subsection.
                            ``(ii) Requirements.--An applicant 
                        described in this clause is an applicant who 
                        certifies that--
                                    ``(I) the applicant is not required 
                                to file or, in the case of a dependent 
                                applicant, no parent of the applicant 
                                is required to file--
                                            ``(aa) a Federal income tax 
                                        return; or
                                            ``(bb) with respect to 
                                        Internal Revenue Service Form 
                                        1040, any of the following 
                                        forms: Schedule A, Schedule B, 
                                        Schedule C, Schedule C-EZ, 
                                        Schedule D, Schedule E, 
                                        Schedule F, Schedule H, 
                                        Schedule J, and Schedule SE; 
                                        and
                                    ``(II) the sum of the adjusted 
                                gross income of the applicant or, in 
                                the case of a dependent applicant, the 
                                parents of the applicant, is less than 
                                or equal to $60,000.
                            ``(iii) Designation.--For purposes of this 
                        section and part F, an applicant described in 
                        clause (i) shall be referred to as a `pathway 
                        two applicant'.
                    ``(E) Pathway three applicants.--
                            ``(i) In general.--With respect to an 
                        applicant who is not a pathway one applicant or 
                        a pathway two applicant, the Secretary, to the 
                        extent practicable, shall use the data 
                        retrieval tool under section 484(q) to obtain 
                        any information for the applicant beyond the 
                        information described in subparagraph (A) for 
                        purposes of the form under this subsection.
                            ``(ii) Designation.--For purposes of this 
                        section and part F, an applicant described in 
                        clause (i) shall be referred to as a `pathway 
                        three applicant'.
                    ``(F) Means-tested federal benefit program 
                defined.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term 
                `means-tested Federal benefit program' has the meaning 
                given the term in section 479(d).''.
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