Title: Perkins Access, Retention, and Completion (ARC) Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Perkins Access, Retention, and Completion (ARC) Act
This bill establishes the Federal Perkins Access, Retention, and Completion (ARC) Loan program. The program makes a new type of student loan, known as the Federal Perkins ARC Loan, available to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. The program replaces the Federal Perkins Loan program, which expired in September 2017.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8904 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8904

  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish the Federal 
           Perkins ARC loan program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 8, 2020

  Mr. Pocan (for himself, Mr. DeSaulnier, and Ms. Sewell of Alabama) 
 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 establish the Federal 
           Perkins ARC loan program, 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 ``Perkins Access, Retention, and 
Completion (ARC) Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Since the inception of the Federal Perkins Loan Program 
        in 1958, over $28,000,000,000 in loans have been made to 
        students through more than 25,000,000 aid awards. Millions of 
        students and families in need have been helped by Federal 
        Perkins Loans.
            (2) The Federal Perkins Loan Program was a revolving fund 
        that utilized a model of risk sharing, local control, and 
        school based servicing that greatly benefited students, 
        borrowers, and institutions of higher education for six 
        decades.
            (3) In the 2016-2017 academic year, the last year that 
        Federal Perkins Loans were authorized, 30 percent of families 
        with dependent students receiving Federal Perkins Loans had 
        annual incomes below $30,000 and 8 percent of families with 
        dependent students receiving Federal Perkins Loans had annual 
        incomes below $12,000.
            (4) Since the expiration of the Federal Perkins Loan 
        Program authorization in 2017, there has been no substitute or 
        replacement aid for college students with need, which has 
        resulted in many students having to borrow higher cost student 
        loans or withdraw from college altogether.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL PERKINS ARC LOANS.

    (a) In General.--Part E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) is amended by inserting before section 
461 the following new section:

``SEC. 460A. FEDERAL PERKINS ACCESS, RETENTION, AND COMPLETION ARC 
              LOAN.

    ``(a) Designation of Loans.--The Secretary shall carry out a 
program assisting in the maintenance of funds at institutions of higher 
education for the making of loans to undergraduate, graduate, and 
professional students in need to pursue their courses of study in such 
institutions or while engaged in programs of study abroad approved for 
credit by such institutions. Loans made under this section shall be 
known as `Federal Perkins ARC Loans'.
    ``(b) Terms and Conditions.--Unless otherwise specified in this 
section, all terms and conditions and other requirements applicable to 
Federal Perkins Loans established under section 461 shall apply to 
Federal Perkins ARC Loans made pursuant to this section.
    ``(c) Agreements.--The Secretary may not provide assistance to an 
institution of higher education under this section unless such 
institution enters into an agreement with the Secretary under section 
463(a).
    ``(d) Eligible Borrowers.--A loan under this section may only be 
made to a student who--
            ``(1) is eligible under section 464(b) (including graduate 
        and professional students as defined in regulations promulgated 
        by the Secretary);
            ``(2) attends an eligible institution with an agreement 
        with the Secretary under section 463(a); and
            ``(3) the institution uses its authority under such 
        agreement to award the student a loan.''.
    (b) Reauthorization of Perkins Loans.--Section 461(b) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087aa(b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(1) In general.--'';
            (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) as 
        paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively; and
            (3) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3).
    (c) Allocation of Funds for Perkins ARC Loan.--Section 462 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087bb) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b); and
            (2) by inserting before subsection (c) the following:
    ``(a) Available Direct Perkins ARC Annual Loan Authority.--There 
are hereby made available, from funds made available for loans made 
under part D, not to exceed $6,000,000,000 of annual loan authority for 
award year 2020-2021 and each succeeding award year until the program 
is determined by the Secretary to be self-sustaining, to be allocated 
under subsection (b).
    ``(b) Allocation Based on Previous Allocation.--
            ``(1) In general.--From the amount appropriated pursuant to 
        section 462(b), for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
        allocate to each eligible institution an amount equal to not 
        less than 90 percent and not more than 110 percent of the 
        amount that the eligible institution received under this 
        subsection and subsection (a) (as such subsections were in 
        effect with respect to allocations for such fiscal year) for 
        the previous fiscal year for which that institution received 
        funds under this section.
            ``(2) Ratable reduction.--If the amount appropriated for 
        any fiscal year is less than the amount required to be 
        allocated to all institutions under paragraph (1), then the 
        amount of the allocation to each such institution shall be 
        ratably reduced.
            ``(3) No previous allocation.--In the case of an 
        institution that has not received a previous allocation under 
        this section, the Secretary shall allocate funds under this 
        section solely on the basis of the self-help need determination 
        described under subsection (c).''.
    (d) Continued Loan Servicing.--Section 466 of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ff) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d) Continued Loan Servicing.--The Secretary shall continue to 
make payments for student loan servicing to institutions of higher 
education that service outstanding existing Federal Perkins Loans 
awarded under part E of title IV prior to the date of the enactment of 
the Perkins Access, Retention, and Completion (ARC) Act.''.
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