zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Military Child College Affordability Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit a state from charging members of the armed forces who are on active duty for more than 30 days and whose domicile or permanent duty station is in such state, and such members' dependents, more than the in-state tuition for attending a public institution of higher education (IHE) in that state. Provides that, even if such members' permanent duty station is subsequently changed to a location outside the state, they or their dependents must continue to be charged no more than the in-state tuition if they remain continuously enrolled at such IHE in the state.

Date: 2007-10-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2008 the tax deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses.

Date: 2007-10-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Shortens the length of the obligated period of active duty service required of certain members of the Armed Forces to receive certain veterans' education benefits.

Date: 2007-10-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Third Higher Education Extension Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Extension Act of 2005 to extend the programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 through April 30, 2008.

Date: 2007-10-23
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Historically Black Colleges and Universities Katrina and Rita Relief Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Education to waive or modify the application of any statutory or regulatory provision related to the Strengthening Institutions program, under part B of title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, to historically Black colleges and universities that suffered certain adverse effects from Hurricane Katrina or Rita if the application of such provision would result in such institutions receiving less program funding for FY2009-FY2012 than they received in FY2006.

Date: 2007-10-23
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Extends the time limit for the use of education benefits by members of the Selected Reserve and certain members of the reserve component to before the date that is ten years after the last day on which the member is deployed in support of a contingency operation.

Date: 2007-10-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Student Loan Auction Market Act - Directs the Secretary of Education (Secretary) and the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a planning study of alternative market-based mechanisms for setting lenders' yields on Federal Family Education Loans under part B of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Requires such study to be followed by a limited two-year pilot program testing the mechanisms which the study finds most promising in ensuring loan availability, minimizing administrative complexity, and reducing federal costs. Allows the Secretary to implement on a program-wide basis the auction-based system proven to satisfy such criteria, after an independent evaluation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of the pilot program, as well as the Competitive Loan Auction Pilot program established under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.

Date: 2007-10-31
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Student Disability Fairness Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to accept certifications by the Department of Veterans Affairs that student borrowers are permanently and totally disabled as sufficient documentation for the discharge of their loans under part B (Federal Family Education Loan Program) of title IV of the Act.

Date: 2007-11-01
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Bridges from Jobs to Careers Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to improve remedial education, customize remediation to student career goals, and help remedial students progress into and through for-credit occupational programs. Gives grant priority to IHEs: (1) in which at least 50% of the first-year students are enrolled in remedial courses designed to give them collegiate reading, writing, or mathematics skills; and (2) that propose to collaborate with adult education providers and replicate practices that have proven effective with adults.

Date: 2007-11-01
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Accessing College through Comprehensive Early Outreach and State Partnerships Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to replace the current special leveraging educational assistance partnership program with a program of allotments to enable states to: (1) expand and enhance partnerships with institutions of higher education, early information and intervention, mentoring, or outreach programs, private corporations, philanthropic organizations, and other interested parties to carry out specified activities and provide coordination and cohesion among federal, state, and local governmental and private efforts providing financial assistance to help low-income students attend college; (2) provide need-based grants for college access and increased college persistence to eligible low-income students; (3) provide early notification to low-income students of their eligibility for financial aid; and (4) encourage increased participation in early information and intervention, mentoring, or outreach programs. Requires partnerships for the award of grants between a state agency and: (1) at least one public and one private degree granting institution of higher education located in the state; (2) new or existing early information and intervention, mentoring, or outreach programs also located in the state; and (3) at least one philanthropic organization located in, or providing funding in, the state, or one private corporation located in, or doing business in, the state. Requires different federal shares of program costs and different amounts of grants awarded in partnerships with institutions of higher learning: (1) serving less than a majority of students in the state; and (2) serving the majority of students in the state. Requires annual early notification of low-income students of their potential eligibility for student financial assistance. Prescribes minimum eligibility requirements for such students.

Date: 2007-11-05
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Montgomery GI Bill Enhancement of 2007 - Authorizes certain members of the Armed Forces to make an irrevocable election during the one-year period beginning on enactment of this Act to become entitled to basic educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill. Requires a reduction in basic pay of those members electing such educational assistance or, if the member is discharged or released from active duty prior to such reduction, the collection of specified amounts from the member or an equivalent reduction in retired or retainer pay. Provides for notice of the opportunity created by this Act to elect educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill.

Date: 2007-11-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Truth-in-Tuition Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) that are participating in the Act's student assistance programs to provide each prospective cohort of students applying to enter their undergraduate or graduate programs with a binding, multi-year tuition and fee schedule for the normal duration of such studies. Requires the Secretary of Education to waive the application of such requirement to IHEs that are unable to comply because of events causing them severe economic distress. Directs the Secretary to award: (1) competitive grants to IHEs that, for an academic year, have a net tuition (tuition and fees, minus grant amounts) increase that does not exceed the percentage change in the higher education price index; and (2) bonus amounts to IHEs that guarantee that their net tuition will not outpace changes in such index over specified periods of time. Requires IHEs to distribute such grants and bonuses as need-based grant aid to students who are eligible for federal Pell Grants. Requires IHEs whose annual net tuition increase outpaces such index to issue an explanatory report to the Secretary that includes actions being taken to remedy the situation.

Date: 2007-11-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Fire Fighter Higher Education Incentive Act of 2007 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to cancel the Perkins loans of full-time federal, state, and local fire fighters.

Date: 2007-11-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
College Cost Reduction and Access Act Technical Amendments of 2007 - Makes technical changes to amendments the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (the Act) made to the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). Ensures that mandatory Pell grant funding made available for any fiscal year by such Act remains available for the succeeding fiscal year (thus, for the full Pell grant award year). Specifies the untaxed income and benefits which the Act excluded from the list of untaxed income and benefits considered in federal student need analyses (thereby, specifically excluding them from such analyses). Clarifies that students who were orphans, wards of the court, or in foster care when they were 13 or older are independent for federal student aid purposes. Provides that, for married borrowers who file separate tax returns, income-based loan repayments under the HEA shall be determined solely on the basis of their individual student loan debt and adjusted gross income. Ensures that National Guard members who serve full-time are eligible for the student loan deferment the Act provides to other military personnel for 13 months after the conclusion of active duty service. Moves the Act's funding program for minority-serving institutions from title IV (Student Assistance) to title III (Institutional Aid) of the HEA.

Date: 2007-11-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the amount of the outstanding principal and interest on capital financing bonds for historically Black colleges and universities that may be federally insured.

Date: 2007-11-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a taskforce within the Department of Education to recommend improvements to the study of modeling and simulation, and identify the core capacities that students in such programs should acquire. Authorizes the Secretary to award: (1) competitive grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) for the enhancement of their existing modeling and simulation programs; and (2) grants to IHEs for the establishment of such programs. Requires grantees to raise, from nonfederal sources, an amount equal to 25% of their grants.

Date: 2007-11-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Minority Male Academic Achievement Study - Directs the Secretary of Education to: (1) commission a national study of underrepresented minority males, particularly African American and Hispanic American males, who successfully progress from high school through higher education; and (2) make specific recommendations to Congress and states on new approaches for increasing the number of minority males who make such progress and advance into careers in which they are underrepresented.

Date: 2007-11-15
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 with respect to the meaning of economic hardship under the Federal Family Education Loan or Perkins Loan and related loan insurance programs. Considers borrowers under such programs to be suffering economic hardship if they are working full-time, have a federal educational debt burden equal to at least 20% of their adjusted gross income, and the difference between their adjusted gross income minus such debt burden is less than 220% of the greater of: (1) the annual earnings of an minimum wage earner; or (2) 150% of the poverty line applicable to their family size.

Date: 2007-12-11
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include within the exclusion from gross income for qualified scholarship amounts allowances for room, board, and special needs services at institutions of higher education.

Date: 2007-12-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Veterans Self-Employment Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a five-year pilot project to test the feasibility and advisability of the use of educational assistance under certain programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay for training costs associated with the purchase of a franchise enterprise. Prohibits the use of such assistance unless: (1) training is required and provided in connection with the purchase and operation of a franchise; and (2) such training, and the training entity, are approved by the Secretary. Provides training and entity approval requirements.

Date: 2007-12-19
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Securing Success for Veterans on Campus Act of 2008 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award three-year grants to institutions of higher education to develop model programs that require each grantee to establish a campus Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success that provides a single point of contact for the coordination of comprehensive support services for students who are veterans. Requires the Secretary to develop an evaluation and accountability plan for measuring the effect such programs have on veterans' success in postsecondary education.

Date: 2008-01-28
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Removing Impediments to Students Education Act or the RISE Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal a provision which makes persons convicted of drug offenses ineligible to receive federal student financial assistance for specified periods.

Date: 2008-01-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Makes emergency appropriations for FY2008 for state and local law enforcement assistance under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program.

Date: 2008-01-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Montgomery GI Bill Educational Assistance Transferability Act of 2008 - Amends the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program to authorize the Secretary of the military department concerned to permit any member of the Armed Forces (currently, only members with critical military skills) entitled to basic educational assistance to elect to transfer a portion of such assistance to one or more dependents. Removes the 18-month limitation on the number of months of entitlement authorized to be transferred. Provides similar eligibility for the transfer of educational assistance for members of the Selected Reserve who have completed at least six years of service and enter into an agreement to remain a member of such Reserve for at least four more years.

Date: 2008-02-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the Hope Scholarship tax credit to make certain additional expenses eligible for such credit, including room and board, employment-related expenses, and books, supplies, and equipment.

Date: 2008-02-07
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Student Veteran Financial Aid Fairness Act of 2008 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit educational assistance provided under specified benefit programs for veterans and members of the Selected Reserve from being considered in analyses of their need for assistance under title IV (Student Assistance) of the Act.

Date: 2008-02-19
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Help Kids Save for College Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee amounts, up to $500, paid by an employer to a qualified college savings assistance plan for a designated beneficiary.

Date: 2008-03-11
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2008 - (Sec. 4) Amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to substitute "extension services" for "advisory services" in the definition of "project." (Sec. 5) Adds regional and national projects as elements of the national sea grant college program. Removes a reference to the sea grant review panel from provisions relating to the administration of the program. Refers to regional or national strategic investments being developed in consultation with the board and with the approval of sea grant colleges and the sea grant institutes. (Current law refers to the approval of the sea grant review panel as well as the colleges and institutes.) Revises the program director's duties. (Sec. 6) Excludes amounts appropriated under provisions relating to graduate ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources fellowships (the Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program) from provisions restricting contributions by the Secretary of Commerce to two-thirds of the total cost of sea grant programs and projects. (Sec. 7) Requires that sea grant colleges provide extension services (currently, advisory services). (Sec. 8) Requires that amounts available for fellowships (under provisions relating to graduate and post-graduate fellowships related to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources), including funds from other federal departments and agencies and appropriated funds, be used only for those fellowships and related administrative costs. (Sec. 9) Redesignates the sea grant review panel as the National Sea Grant Advisory Board and modifies it's duties. (Sec. 10) Authorizes appropriations through FY2014. Modifies requirements regulating the distribution of appropriated amounts exceeding certain amounts appropriated for FY2003.

Date: 2008-03-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Emergency Student Loan Market Liquidity Act - Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to allow federal home loan banks to: (1) invest surplus funds in student loan securities; (2) accept student loans and student loan-related securities as collateral; and (3) provide secured long-term advances to member banks so that they can finance the origination of student loans or purchase or finance student loan-related securities. Limits the application of this Act to Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) made under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Makes the banks' authority effective for investments and advances made between February 1, 2008, and two years after this Act's enactment.

Date: 2008-04-08
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Virginia Tech Victims Campus Emergency Response Policy and Notification Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require schools participating in title IV student assistance programs to include current campus policies regarding immediate emergency response and evacuation procedures in their required annual security reports to current and prospective students and staff. Requires such procedures to include: (1) notifying students and staff within 30 minutes after confirmation that an emergency exists on campus or public property; and (2) testing such procedures annually.

Date: 2008-04-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Teaching and Research Assistant Collective Bargaining Rights Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide collective bargaining rights for students enrolled at a private institution of higher education who perform work for remuneration at the institution's direction, regardless of whether the work relates to their courses of study (teaching and research assistants).

Date: 2008-04-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Labor and employment
Student Loan Access Act of 2008 - Authorizes the Federal Financing Bank, until July 1, 2009, to: (1) purchase guaranteed loans originated under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program of the Higher Education Act of 1965, or participation interests in such loans; (2) advance funds to eligible lenders for the purpose of originating or purchasing FFELs; and (3) invest in securities collateralized with FFELs. Prohibits such FFEL purchases from resulting in any net cost to the federal government. Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to extend the Bank's authority to take such actions beyond July 1, 2009, if economic conditions threaten timely, uninterrupted access to student loans.

Date: 2008-04-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Montgomery GI Bill Degree Extension Act of 2008 - Extends the time limitation (generally ten years from the original eligibility date) for the use of educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill all-volunteer force educational assistance program, in the case of an individual who has completed at least 50% of the credit or time requirements leading to a degree or certificate before the last day of the ten-year period, to the earlier of: (1) the date on which the individual completes such requirements; or (2) two years after the last day of the ten-year period.

Date: 2008-05-01
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends provisions authorizing educational loan repayment in exchange for service as a health professional in the Selected Reserved of an armed force and determined to be needed critically in order to meet identified wartime combat medical skill shortages to limit payment amounts to $60,000 (currently, $20,000) per year of service. Eliminates provisions limiting the total amount that may be repaid on behalf of any person to $50,000.

Date: 2008-05-08
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Lifelong Learning Accounts Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish tax-exempt lifelong learning accounts to pay certain educational expenses, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, and information technology devices; (2) allow individuals between age 18 and 71 a tax credit for cash contributions to their lifelong learning accounts; and (3) allow employers a tax credit for contributions made to the lifelong learning accounts of their employees and for administrative costs associated with small employer lifelong learning accounts.

Date: 2008-05-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include among those aliens not subject to worldwide numerical immigrant limitations persons who have earned a master's or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics and who have an employment offer from a U.S. employer in a field related to such degree.

Date: 2008-05-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Immigration
Directs the Secretary of Energy to award at least 65 four-year grants per year to undergraduate institutions to fund scholarships for students majoring in nuclear science or nuclear engineering. Requires the Secretary to provide Congress with recommendations for developing a robust nuclear workforce in this country.

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Teacher Education Assistance Creating Hope for Our Future Act of 2008 or the TEACH for Our Future Act of 2008 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand the loan forgiveness available to public elementary and secondary school teachers under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Direct Loan (DL) programs. Makes inapplicable to public school teachers the requirements limiting loan forgiveness to: (1) new borrowers on or after October 1, 1998; and (2) highly qualified teachers in certain schools that serve a high proportion of disadvantaged students. Maintains the requirement that such teachers teach full-time for five consecutive complete school years before becoming eligible for loan forgiveness. Raises to $25,000 the amount of the FFEL or DL outstanding that may be forgiven after a public school teacher's fifth complete school year of teaching. Maintains current loan forgiveness eligibility requirements for private elementary and secondary school teachers.

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Roosevelt Scholars Act of 2008 - Establishes the Theodore Roosevelt Scholarship Foundation as an independent establishment in the executive branch. Directs the Foundation to award scholarships in an annual nationwide competition to individuals (to be known as "Roosevelt Scholars") who are: (1) enrolled in or seeking admission to accredited full-time graduate studies that prepare such individuals for occupations that are critical to the missions of federal agencies; and (2) nominated by persons that have direct knowledge of their academic or work experience. Sets the maximum scholarship amount at $60,000 for each of up to five academic years, covering tuition, room and board, books, and fees. Requires Roosevelt Scholars to: (1) agree to serve in the federal government for a period of years equal to the number of academic years during which they received their scholarship; (2) complete a federal internship related to their studies while earning their degree; (3) participate in certain extracurricular activities designed to assist their pursuit of federal careers and development of leadership qualities; and (4) serve as sources of information regarding federal employment opportunities. Establishes the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Scholarship Trust Fund consisting of appropriations and gifts for such scholarships. Sets forth additional duties of the Foundation, including the creation of an online directory of all federal scholarship opportunities available to individuals pursuing federal employment and an online directory of current occupations critical to the missions of federal agencies.

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Pilot College Work Study Programs for Veterans Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a five-year pilot project to test the feasibility and advisability of expanding the scope of qualifying veterans' work-study activities, including positions available on site at educational institutions.

Date: 2008-06-10
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Communities Committed to College Tax Credit Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 50% of any contribution to a tax-exempt scholarship funding trust established to provide scholarships for individuals with demonstrated financial need to attend institutions of higher education.

Date: 2008-06-24
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Vietnam Education Foundation Amendments Act of 2008 - Establishes the Vietnam Education Foundation within the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State. (Under current law the Foundation is an independent establishment of the executive branch.) Establishes the Vietnam Education Foundation Advisory Committee in lieu of the current Board of Directors. Gives fellowship priority to basic science studies. Authorizes the Secretary of State, through the Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, to award grants to institutions of higher education for a partnership with the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to establish an undergraduate American Research College in Vietnam.

Date: 2008-07-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: International affairs
Preventing Student Loan Discrimination Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit lenders under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program from receiving special allowance payments (made to such lenders to compensate them for the difference between FFEL interest rates and market rates) if they deny FFELs to eligible borrowers because of their education program length or attendance at a particular school participating in the FFEL program.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Student Voter Opportunity To Encourage Registration Act of 2008 or the Student VOTER Act of 2008 - Amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require states to designate federally-funded institutions of higher education as agencies for the registration of voters in federal elections. Requires such schools to provide mail voter registration application forms to students registering to enroll in their courses.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Center to Advance, Monitor, and Preserve University Security Safety Act of 2008, or the CAMPUS Safety Act of 2008 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to establish and operate a National Center for Campus Public Safety. Tasks the Center with strengthening the safety and security of institutions of higher education (IHEs) by: (1) training IHE public safety agencies and their collaborative partners; (2) fostering safety-related research; (3) collecting, coordinating, and disseminating information and best practices regarding campus safety; (4) developing protocols to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from, natural and man-made emergencies that threaten the campus community; and (5) increasing cooperation between IHEs and the law enforcement, mental health, and other agencies and jurisdictions that serve them. Authorizes the Director to award grants to IHEs and other nonprofit organizations for activities that will assist the Center in performing its functions. Requires the Director to coordinate the establishment and operation of the Center with campus public safety resources available within the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Education. Authorizes appropriations for the Center from FY2009-FY2013.

Date: 2008-09-08
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend by one year, from July 2009 to July 2010, the Secretary of Education's authority to purchase, or enter into forward commitments to purchase, Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) from lenders upon the determination that there is an inadequate availability of loan capital to meet the demand for such loans. Extends by one year, from June 30, 2009 to June 30, 2010, the authority of institutions of higher education (IHEs), with the Secretary's approval, to participate in the FFEL lender-of-last-resort program for borrowers otherwise unable to obtain such loans; thereby requiring guaranty agencies serving as lenders-of-last-resort to make FFELs to student and parent borrowers of such IHEs, until such date, regardless of their ability to otherwise obtain such loans.

Date: 2008-09-15
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Fast Track to College Act of 2008 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award matching six-year grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) that partner with institutions of higher education (IHEs) to establish or support dual enrollment programs, such as early college high schools, that allow high school students to simultaneously earn credit toward a high school diploma and a postsecondary degree or certificate. Gives grant priority to applicants: (1) that propose to establish or support a dual enrollment program for a student body at least 40% of which is impoverished; and (2) from states that provide assistance to dual enrollment programs, such as assistance defraying the costs of higher education. Requires applicants to make assurances that students will not be required to pay tuition or fees for postsecondary courses, and that those courses will be taught by faculty that meet their partner IHE's normal standards. Authorizes the Secretary to award six-year grants to states to: (1) plan and implement statewide strategies to make dual enrollment programs more accessible to students who are underrepresented in postsecondary education; and (2) provide technical assistance to local dual enrollment programs. Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract for an independent evaluation of this Act's programs; and (2) provide technical assistance to LEAs and their partners, and disseminate information concerning best practices in dual enrollment programs.

Date: 2008-09-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Fair Funding for Upward Bound Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify the procedures for awarding grants and contracts under the TRIO program (which prepares disadvantaged students for postsecondary education and provides them with support services) by: (1) prohibiting an applicant from receiving a lower score for omitting application information or assurances not required in the guidance issued by the Secretary of Education; and (2) requiring the method for weighing an applicant's prior experience to be consistent for each program year. Directs the Secretary to: (1) notify applicants of any changes in the procedures for awarding TRIO grants and contracts at least 30 days before implementing them, provided such notice was not included in the guidance issued by the Secretary; and (2) annually notify each applicant of its peer review score for prior experience.

Date: 2008-09-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Middle Class College Tuition Tax Credit Expansion Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits with a tax credit for 50% of qualified tuition and related expenses (including required books), up to $10,000, for attendance at an institution of higher education.

Date: 2008-09-23
Topic: Education (Higher)
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make technical corrections to the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008. Clarifies the Secretary of Education's authority to purchase, or enter into and fund forward commitments to purchase, until July 2010, Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) from lenders when there is an inadequate availability of loan capital to meet the demand for such loans. Includes, within such purchase authority, FFELs that qualify for loan rehabilitation under the Default Reduction program. Conditions the Secretary's purchase or forward commitment to purchase FFELs on lender agreement to originate or purchase new FFELs. (Currently, they are required to use the funds from such purchases to engage in such activities.) Requires the Secretary to contract with the current servicers of FFELs the Secretary is purchasing for the continued servicing of such loans, provided certain conditions are met. (Currently, the Secretary is authorized to enter into servicing agreements with willing lenders whose loans are being purchased.)

Date: 2008-09-25
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income discharges of student loan indebtedness based on repayments which are income contingent or income based.

Date: 2008-09-25
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require public institutions of higher education participating in student aid programs to charge dependent children of members of the Armed Forces a tuition rate equal to the rate for in-state residents. Applies such tuition rate throughout the program of study for which a student is enrolled, even if the student's parent becomes a former member of the Armed Forces before the completion of studies.

Date: 2008-09-25
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Supporting Mentors, Supporting Our Youth Act of 2008 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide student loan forgiveness or cancellation under the Federal Family Education Loan or Direct Loan programs to student borrowers at institutions of higher education who volunteer to mentor an at-risk child for a period of at least one year. Provides $10 of loan forgiveness or cancellation for each hour of mentoring, but limits such forgiveness or cancellation to no more than $10,000 and no more than five years of mentoring for each borrower.

Date: 2008-09-26
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Stopping Trained in America Ph.D.s From Leaving the Economy Act of 2008 or the STAPLE Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt from: (1) direct numerical limitations aliens who have earned a Ph.D. degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics from a U.S. institution of higher education and who have an offer of employment from a U.S. employer in a field related to such degree; and (2) H-1B visa (specialty occupation) numerical limitations aliens who have earned a Ph.D. degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics from a U.S. institution of higher education and with respect to whom the petitioning employer requires such education as an employment condition.

Date: 2008-09-27
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Immigration
Citizens' Commission on Educational Equity Act of 2008 - Establishes the Citizens' Commission on Educational Equity, composed of the Secretary of Education and 14 educational stakeholders appointed by the Comptroller General. Tasks the Commission with conducting a study and reporting to Congress on ways to enable all students to achieve their academic potential, with particular emphasis on: (1) ensuring that schools receive adequate resources; (2) developing methods for assessing students' educational needs; and (3) creating innovative strategies for state and local educational agencies to follow to enable students to achieve their academic potential, and to enable such agencies to participate in school funding reform efforts that result in educational equity. Directs the Commission to conduct outreach programs with communities throughout the nation to engage them in a public dialogue on how to ensure that their schools enable all students to achieve their academic potential.

Date: 2008-09-28
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
College Opportunity Act of 2007 - Declares the sense of Congress that the Congress should enact, and the President sign, measures that make college more affordable by increasing Pell Grants and providing more favorable student loans and other benefits.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Export Products Not Jobs Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) revise rules and definitions relating to the taxation of controlled foreign corporations to limit deferral of tax for certain types of income earned overseas; (2) treat certain foreign corporations managed and controlled in the United States as domestic corporations for income tax purposes; (3) define "economic substance" for purposes of evaluating tax shelter transactions; (4) impose a penalty for underpayments of tax resulting from transactions lacking in economic substance; (5) deny a tax deduction for interest on such underpayments; and (6) eliminate the 35% income tax rate on corporations and personal service corporations.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
College Opportunity Tax Credit Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits with an increased, partially refundable college opportunity tax credit to cover up to four years (currently, limited to two years) of the tuition and related expenses of full or part-time postsecondary and graduate students.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Summer Term Education Programs for Upward Performance Act of 2007, or the STEP UP Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive demonstration grants to state educational agencies to pay the federal share of summer learning grants for eligible students to be summer scholars in summer learning opportunity programs primarily designed to increase the literacy and numeracy of such students.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
College Savings Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the maximum annual contribution limit for Coverdell education savings accounts from $2,000 to $5,000 and make such increase permanent; and (2) allow a tax deduction up to $5,000 for contributions to an education savings account.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Education Savings for Students Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the maximum annual contribution limit for Coverdell education savings accounts from $2,000 to $5,000 and make such increase permanent.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to the University of Hawaii Academy for Creative Media for the establishment, maintenance, and periodic modernization of the Henry Kuualoha Giugni Kupuna Memorial Archives at the University of Hawaii. Requires the Archives to use grant funds for: (1) facilities and equipment to house and provide computer and web access to a repository of Native Hawaiian historical data; (2) scholarships to assist disadvantaged students in attending college; (3) the creation of educational materials from the archives that are applicable to a broad range of indigenous students; (4) outreach to elementary and secondary school students; (5) teacher training, so that the teaching of kindergarten through grade 12 students is culturally congruent with the learning modalities of such students, particularly indigenous students; and (6) the enhancement of the economic and financial literacy of college students.

Date: 2007-01-11
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
College Student Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to phase-in cuts in the interest rate charged undergraduate student borrowers of subsidized loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, thereby reducing such rate from 6.8% in July 2006 to 3.4% in July 2011.

Date: 2007-01-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Nontraditional Student Success Act - Authorizes and appropriates specified funds for Federal Pell grants under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). Increases yearly maximum grant amounts and revises requirements for the allowance of two Pell grants during a single award year. Requires the Secretary to publish annually in the Federal Register a revised table of income protection allowances. Excludes the earned income tax credit (EITC) from financial aid determinations. Authorizes the Secretary to select institutions of higher education for a Nontraditional Students Demonstration Program to test the effectiveness of providing expanded financial assistance to less than half-time students and students in compressed, modular, or other alternative schedules. Directs the Secretary to award competitive grants to eligible institutions to improve remedial education. Increases minimum grant amounts for the Federal TRIO programs. Permits student support services and educational opportunity centers to include career and academic (as well as personal) counseling. Makes awards under the Early Intervention and College Awareness Program for six years. Revises requirements for and reauthorizes the Program. Reauthorizes the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program of campus-based child care services for low-income parents in postsecondary education. Directs the Secretary to establish a website and brochures for providing outreach about financial aid and education tax credits that targets employers, one-stop centers, Head Start centers, and other appropriate locations. Increases the activities for which grants to Hispanic-serving institutions, as well as grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, may be used. Revises requirements for Special Programs for Students Whose Families Are Engaged in Migrant and Seasonal Farmwork. Reauthorizes the high school equivalency and the college assistance migrant programs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the percentage Lifetime Learning income tax credit for qualified higher education expenses, but reduce the maximum annual dollar amount. Makes a portion of the credit refundable. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program for making advance payments of such credits to eligible institutions on behalf of certified individuals.

Date: 2007-01-16
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Disabled Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow members of the uniformed services whose retired pay in any taxable year is reduced due to an award of disability compensation by the Department of Veterans Affairs an extension of the three-year limitation period for filing tax refund claims until one year after the date of a disability determination. Limits the period for which such refund claims may be filed to taxable years beginning less than five years before the date of a disability determination.

Date: 2007-01-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Student Debt Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the Pell Grant program through FY2012 and increase yearly maximum Pell grant amounts. Authorizes and appropriates specified additional annual funding for such grants. Requires the Secretary of Education to provide institutions of higher education Student Aid Reward Payments for participating in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) or Direct Loan (DL) program most cost-effective for taxpayers. Phases-in cuts to the interest rates charged undergraduate student borrowers under the FFEL and DL programs, thereby reducing such rate from 6.8% in July 2006 to 3.4% in July 2011. Directs the Secretary to forgive the balance due on DLs and direct consolidation loans by individuals who have been public sector employees for 10 years and have made 120 income contingent payments on such loans. Caps FFEL and DL repayments by student borrowers at no more than 15% of the amount a borrower's adjusted gross income exceeds 150% of the poverty line. Requires the Secretary to cancel or repay such loans after 25 years. Eliminates the three-year limit on the deferral of FFELs, DLs, and Perkins loans when borrowers are suffering economic hardship, redefined to include borrowers whose full-time earnings do not exceed 150% of the poverty line. Includes such deferral periods, as well as the months a borrower's FFEL or DL payments are capped, in calculating the maximum period an income contingent repayment plan may be in effect for a non-defaulting borrower. Allows students to consolidate loans under the FFEL program while still in school. Reduces DL origination fees. Sets limits on funds available for administrative expenses under the FFEL and DL programs for FY2007-FY2012. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the deduction for higher education expenses and make it permanent. Establishes a tax credit for student loan interest payments.

Date: 2007-01-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Improving Access to Higher Education Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,100 for the 2007-2008 academic year. Raises the minimum Pell Grant award from $400 to $500. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to raise: (1) the maximum student loan interest deduction to $3,750; and (2) the modified adjusted gross income level where such deduction begins to be phased-out. Exempts from the sunset provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA): (1) the elimination of the 60-month limit on the period of such deduction; and (2) the increase in the income limitation on such deduction. Increases the maximum annual contribution limit for Coverdell education savings accounts from $2,000 to $3,000, and makes such increase permanent. Repeals the EGTRRA sunset on the tax exclusion of employer-provided educational assistance.

Date: 2007-01-31
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education