Title: Pell to Grad Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Pell to Grad Act
This bill raises from 12 to 16 the total number of semesters during which a student may receive a Pell Grant. It also allows income-eligible graduate students who received Pell Grants during their undergraduate education to utilize their remaining Pell Grant eligibility toward their first graduate degree, subject to this 16-semester duration limit. Currently, Pell Grants are available only to undergraduate students, subject to the 12-semester duration limit.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2627 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2627

  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the period of 
      eligibility for Federal Pell Grants, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 16, 2021

  Mrs. Lawrence (for herself, Mr. Gomez, and Ms. Dean) 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 increase the period of 
      eligibility for Federal Pell Grants, 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 to Grad Act''.

SEC. 2. PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.

     Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``or as a 
        postbaccalaureate student in accordance with subsection 
        (c)(1),'' after ``as an undergraduate,''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
            ``(1) The period during which a student may receive Federal 
        Pell Grants shall be the period required for the completion of 
        the first undergraduate baccalaureate course of study being 
        pursued by that student at the institution at which the student 
        is in attendance except that--
                    ``(A) any period during which the student is 
                enrolled in a noncredit or remedial course of study as 
                defined in paragraph (2) shall not be counted for the 
                purpose of this paragraph; and
                    ``(B) the period during which a student may receive 
                Federal Pell Grants shall also include the period 
                required for the completion of the first 
                postbaccalaureate course of study at an eligible 
                institution that meets the definition of institution of 
                higher education in section 101, in a case in which--
                            ``(i) the student received a Federal Pell 
                        Grant during the period required for the 
                        completion of the student's first undergraduate 
                        baccalaureate course of study for at least 1 
                        but fewer than 16 semesters, or the equivalent 
                        of at least 1 but fewer than 16 semesters, as 
                        determined under paragraph (5);
                            ``(ii) the student would otherwise be 
                        eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, but for the 
                        completion of such baccalaureate course of 
                        study; and
                            ``(iii) the period during which the student 
                        receives Federal Pell Grants does not exceed 
                        the student's duration limits under paragraph 
                        (5).''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ``12'' each place 
                it appears and inserting ``16''.

SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO LAW AS MODIFIED BY THE CONSOLIDATED 
              APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021.

    (a) In General.--Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1070a), as amended by section 703 of division FF the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260), is further 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(8)(A), by inserting ``or as a 
        postbaccalaureate student in accordance with subsection 
        (d)(1),'' after ``as an undergraduate,'';
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
            ``(1) The period during which a student may receive Federal 
        Pell Grants shall be the period required for the completion of 
        the first undergraduate baccalaureate course of study being 
        pursued by that student at the institution at which the student 
        is in attendance except that--
                    ``(A) any period during which the student is 
                enrolled in a noncredit or remedial course of study, as 
                described in paragraph (2), shall not be counted for 
                the purpose of this paragraph; and
                    ``(B) the period during which a student may receive 
                Federal Pell Grants shall also include the period 
                required for the completion of the first 
                postbaccalaureate course of study at an eligible 
                institution that is an institution of higher education 
                as defined in section 101, in a case in which--
                            ``(i) the student received a Federal Pell 
                        Grant during the period required for the 
                        completion of the student's first undergraduate 
                        baccalaureate course of study for at least 1 
                        but fewer than 16 semesters, or the equivalent 
                        of at least 1 but fewer than 16 semesters, as 
                        determined under paragraph (5);
                            ``(ii) the student would otherwise be 
                        eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, but for the 
                        completion of such baccalaureate course of 
                        study; and
                            ``(iii) the period during which the student 
                        receives Federal Pell Grants does not exceed 
                        the student's duration limits under paragraph 
                        (5).''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (5)(A), by striking ``12'' each 
                place it appears and inserting ``16''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect as if included in the enactment of division FF of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260).
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