Pay Down, Upskill Act of 2021
This bill establishes the Pay Down or Upskill Education Benefit Program through which the Department of Education (ED) must provide an education benefit of up to $10,000 to each eligible individual. Eligible individual refers to an individual who (1) is at least 18 years old but less than 65 years old, and (2) received a certain recovery rebate in 2021.
Specifically, the bill requires ED to provide an education benefit to an eligible individual to (1) repay all or part of the individual's qualifying student loans, or (2) pay all or part of the individual's qualified educational expenses (i.e., tuition and fees for an education or training program that results in a recognized postsecondary credential).
ED must prescribe regulations for returning an education benefit when the individual withdraws or fails to complete enrollment for the individual's education or training program.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5523 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5523
To help Americans pay down student loan debt or pay for education or
training to develop or improve workforce skills.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 8, 2021
Mr. Lamb introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To help Americans pay down student loan debt or pay for education or
training to develop or improve workforce skills.
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 ``Pay Down, Upskill Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. PAY DOWN OR UPSKILL EDUCATION BENEFIT PROGRAM.
(a) Program Established.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Education shall carry out
a program, known as the ``Pay Down or Upskill Education Benefit
Program'', to provide to each eligible individual, upon
application and approval, an education benefit to--
(A) repay all or part of the qualifying student
loans of the eligible individual, in accordance with
subsection (b); or
(B) pay all or part of the qualified educational
expenses of the eligible individual, in accordance with
subsection (c).
(2) Eligible individual.--An individual shall be an
``eligible individual'' for purposes of this Act if the
individual--
(A) is not younger than 18 years of age and not
older than 65 years of age on the date that the
individual applies for an education benefit under this
Act; and
(B) received any credit or refund allowed or made
to the individual by reason of section 6428B of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by section 9601
of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law
117-2)).
(3) Education benefit amount.--The amount of an education
benefit provided to an eligible individual in accordance with
this Act shall be--
(A) the amount of the qualified student loans of
the individual; or
(B) the amount of the qualified educational
expenses of the individual,
except that the maximum amount of the total education benefit
provided to an eligible individual shall not exceed $10,000.
(4) Notice to the public.--Not later than 6 months after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publicly
announce the program established under this Act, including by
posting information about such program on the website of the
Department of Education. The Secretary shall update and
maintain such information as may be necessary.
(5) Deadline for applications.--To be considered for an
education benefit under this section, an eligible individual
shall submit an application in accordance with this section
before the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(b) Use of Education Benefit To Pay Down Student Loan Repayment.--
(1) Application by eligible individuals.--An eligible
individual who desires to apply the education benefit of the
individual under this section to the repayment of qualified
student loans shall submit, in a manner prescribed by the
Secretary, an application to the Secretary that--
(A) identifies, or permits the Secretary to
identify, the holder or holders of such loans;
(B) indicates, or permits the Secretary to
determine, the amounts of principal and interest
outstanding on the loans;
(C) specifies, if the outstanding balance is
greater than the amount of the maximum education
benefit under subsection (a)(3), which of the loans the
individual prefers to be paid by the Secretary; and
(D) contains or is accompanied by such other
information as the Secretary may require.
(2) Disbursement of loan repayments.--Upon receipt of an
application that complies with paragraph (1) from an eligible
individual, the Secretary shall, as promptly as practicable,
repay the amount of the education benefit of the individual
determined under subsection (a)(3) by--
(A) disbursing such amount by check or other means
that is payable to the holder of the loan and requires
the endorsement or other certification by the eligible
individual; or
(B) in the case of a loan held by the Secretary,
cancelling such amount.
(3) Application of repaid amounts.--If the amount repaid
under paragraph (2) is less than the principal and accrued
interest on any qualified student loan, such amount shall be
applied according to the specified priorities of the eligible
individual.
(4) Reports by holders.--Any holder receiving a loan
payment pursuant to this subsection shall submit to the
Secretary such information as the Secretary may require to
verify that such payment was applied in accordance with this
subsection and any regulations prescribed to carry out this
subsection.
(5) Notification of individual.--The Secretary, upon
repaying the education benefit of an eligible individual, shall
notify the individual of the amount paid for each outstanding
loan and the date of payment.
(6) Authority to aggregate payments.--The Secretary may, by
regulation, provide for the aggregation of payments to holders
under this subsection.
(7) Definition of holder.--As used in this subsection, the
term ``holder'' with respect to any qualified student loan
means the original lender or, if the loan is subsequently sold,
transferred, or assigned to some other person, and such other
person acquires a legally enforceable right to receive payments
from the borrower, such other person.
(c) Use of Education Benefit for Educational Expenses To Upskill.--
(1) Application by eligible individual.--An eligible
individual who desires to apply the education benefit of the
individual under this section to the payment of qualified
educational expenses shall, on a form prescribed by the
Secretary, submit an application to the eligible institution in
which the student will be enrolled that contains such
information as the Secretary may require to verify the
individual's eligibility for such benefit.
(2) Submission of requests for payment by institutions.--An
eligible institution that receives one or more applications
that comply with paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary a
statement, in a manner prescribed by the Secretary, that--
(A) identifies each eligible individual filing an
application under paragraph (1) for a disbursement of
the individual's education benefit under this
subsection;
(B) specifies the amounts for which such eligible
individuals are, consistent with paragraph (6),
qualified for disbursement under this subsection;
(C) certifies that--
(i) in the case of an eligible institution
that is an institution of higher education--
(I) the institution has in effect a
program participation agreement under
section 487 of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094); and
(II) the institution's eligibility
to participate in any of the programs
under title IV of such Act (20 U.S.C.
1070 et seq.) has not been limited,
suspended, or terminated; and
(ii) in the case of an eligible institution
that is not an institution of higher education,
meets the requirements of subsection (d)(1)(B);
and
(D) contains such provisions concerning financial
compliance as the Secretary may require.
(3) Disbursement of payments.--Upon receipt of a statement
from an eligible institution that complies with paragraph (2),
the Secretary shall disburse the total amount of the education
benefit for which eligible individuals who have submitted
applications to that institution under paragraph (1) are
scheduled to receive. Such disbursement shall be made by check
or other means that is payable to the institution and requires
the endorsement or other certification by the eligible
individual.
(4) Refund rules.--The Secretary shall, by regulation,
provide for the refund to the Secretary (and the crediting to
the education benefit of an eligible individual) of amounts
disbursed to institutions for the benefit of eligible
individuals who withdraw or otherwise fail to complete the
period of enrollment for which the assistance was provided.
Such regulations shall be consistent with the fair and
equitable refund policies required of institutions pursuant to
section 484B of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1091b). Amounts refunded to the Secretary pursuant to this
paragraph may be used by the Secretary to fund additional
education benefits for eligible individuals under this Act.
(5) Maximum benefit for a period of enrollment.--The
portion of an eligible individual's total available education
benefit that may be disbursed under this subsection for any
period of enrollment shall not exceed the difference between--
(A) the tuition and fees charged to the eligible
individual for such period of enrollment; and
(B) the student's estimated financial assistance
for such period under part A of title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible institution.--The term ``eligible
institution'' means--
(A) an institution of higher education--
(i) that has the meaning given such term in
section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1001); or
(ii) that is a provider on a list of
eligible providers of training services under
section 122(d) of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3152(d)); or
(B) an entity that offers a program--
(i) that is provided by a provider on a
list of eligible providers of training services
under section 122(d) of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C.
3152(d)); or
(ii) that is provided by a provider that is
not on a list described in clause (i) but that,
upon petition to the Secretary of Labor by an
eligible individual, the Secretary determines
based on indicators of performance under
section 116 of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141) has, for at
least the five previous years, a record of good
outcomes as defined by the State plan submitted
under section 102 or 103 of such Act (29 U.S.C.
3112; 3113) with respect to such provider.
(2) Qualified educational expenses.--The term ``qualified
educational expenses'' means the cost of tuition and fees
charged to an eligible individual for full-time or part-time
enrollment at an eligible institution in an education or
training program that results in a recognized postsecondary
credential.
(3) Qualified student loans.--The term ``qualified student
loans'' means--
(A) any loan made, insured, or guaranteed under
part B, part D, or part E of title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) before
the date of enactment of this Act, including--
(i) loans made to a parent borrower on
behalf of a dependent student under part B or
part D of such Act, if such parent borrower is
an eligible individual under this Act;
(ii) consolidation loans made under such
Act; and
(iii) any grant treated as a loan under
such part D in accordance with section 258(e),
section 420M(c), or section 807(d) of such Act;
(B) a private education loan, as defined in section
140(a) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650(a)),
that--
(i) was expressly for the cost of
attendance (as defined in section 472) at an
institution of higher education participating
in a loan program under part B, part D, or part
E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), as of the date
that the loan was disbursed; and
(ii) was made before the date of enactment
of this Act; and
(C) any loan made pursuant to title VII or VIII of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 292a et seq.)
before the date of the enactment of this Act.
(4) Recognized postsecondary credential.--The term
``recognized postsecondary credential'' has the meaning given
such term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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