US HR4674

Bill

College Affordability Act

Introduced
10/15/2019

In Committee
10/30/2019

Crossed Over

Passed

Dead
12/31/2020

Introduced Session

116th Congress

Bill Summary

To amend and strengthen the Higher Education Act of 1965 to lower the cost of college for students and families, to hold colleges accountable for students' success, and to give a new generation of students the opportunity to graduate on-time and transition to a successful career. This bill reauthorizes and revises the Higher Education Act of 1965, including to revise federal student financial aid programs, consolidate federal student loans and expand loan forgiveness, increase college access and success for certain students, and revise accountability measures. Specifically, the bill revises financial aid programs, including to (1) increase the maximum federal Pell Grant award, (2) provide incentives for states to fund public institutions of higher education (IHEs), and (3) increase and make permanent funding for minority-serving IHEs. The bill also revises federal student loan programs, including to (1) replace existing student loan repayment plans with one income-based repayment plan and one fixed repayment plan, (2) allow existing borrowers to lower their payments by switching to the new plans, and (3) expand public service loan forgiveness programs (e.g., TEACH grants) and create appeal processes for denied applications. In addition, the bill increases college access and success for certain students (e.g., students with low-income, children, or the disabled) through investments and practices, such as student support services and accelerated learning opportunities. Finally, the bill revises accountability measures for IHEs (including for-profit IHEs), job training programs, college accrediting agencies, and lenders. In particular, the bill updates the performance goals of the Office of Federal Student Aid and requires the Department of Education to be responsible for the oversight of the office.

AI Summary

Here is a one-paragraph summary of the key provisions of this bill: This bill reauthorizes and revises the Higher Education Act of 1965, including to revise federal student financial aid programs, consolidate federal student loans and expand loan forgiveness, increase college access and success for certain students, and revise accountability measures. Specifically, the bill revises financial aid programs, including to increase the maximum federal Pell Grant award, provide incentives for states to fund public institutions of higher education, and increase and make permanent funding for minority-serving institutions. The bill also revises federal student loan programs, including to replace existing student loan repayment plans with one income-based repayment plan and one fixed repayment plan, allow existing borrowers to lower their payments by switching to the new plans, and expand public service loan forgiveness programs and create appeal processes for denied applications. In addition, the bill increases college access and success for certain students, such as students with low-income, children, or those with disabilities, through investments and practices like student support services and accelerated learning opportunities. Finally, the bill revises accountability measures for institutions of higher education, job training programs, college accrediting agencies, and lenders.

Committee Categories

Education

Sponsors (159)

Bobby Scott (D)*, Alma Adams (D), Nanette Barragán (D), Karen Bass (D), Joyce Beatty (D), Sanford Bishop (D), Earl Blumenauer (D), Suzanne Bonamici (D), Brendan Boyle (D), Julia Brownley (D), Cheri Bustos (D), G. Butterfield (D), Salud Carbajal (D), Tony Cárdenas (D), André Carson (D), Matt Cartwright (D), Sean Casten (D), Kathy Castor (D), Joaquin Castro (D), Judy Chu (D), David Cicilline (D), Gil Cisneros (D), Katherine Clark (D), Yvette Clarke (D), Emanuel Cleaver (D), Steve Cohen (D), Gerry Connolly (D), Joe Courtney (D), TJ Cox (D), Angie Craig (D), Charlie Crist (D), Jason Crow (D), Henry Cuellar (D), Sharice Davids (D), Danny Davis (D), Susan Davis (D), Madeleine Dean (D), Peter DeFazio (D), Diana DeGette (D), Suzan DelBene (D), Mark DeSaulnier (D), Debbie Dingell (D), Lloyd Doggett (D), Eliot Engel (D), Anna Eshoo (D), Adriano Espaillat (D), Bill Foster (D), Lois Frankel (D), Marcia Fudge (D), Ruben Gallego (D), John Garamendi (D), Sylvia Garcia (D), Chuy García (D), Jimmy Gomez (D), Raúl Grijalva (D), Debra Haaland (D), Josh Harder (D), Jahana Hayes (D), Brian Higgins (D), Steven Horsford (D), Jared Huffman (D), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D), Pramila Jayapal (D), Hakeem Jeffries (D), Eddie Johnson (D), Hank Johnson (D), Bill Keating (D), Robin Kelly (D), Joseph Kennedy (D), Ro Khanna (D), Dan Kildee (D), Andy Kim (D), Ann Kirkpatrick (D), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D), Ann Kuster (D), James Langevin (D), Brenda Lawrence (D), Al Lawson (D), Barbara Lee (D), Susie Lee (D), Andy Levin (D), Mike Levin (D), John Lewis (D), Ted Lieu (D), Zoe Lofgren (D), Alan Lowenthal (D), Ben Ray Luján (D), Elaine Luria (D), Stephen Lynch (D), Tom Malinowski (D), Carolyn Maloney (D), Sean Maloney (D), Lucy McBath (D), Betty McCollum (D), Donald McEachin (D), Jim McGovern (D), Grace Meng (D), Gwen Moore (D), Joe Morelle (D), Seth Moulton (D), Jerry Nadler (D), Grace Napolitano (D), Richard Neal (D), Joe Neguse (D), Donald Norcross (D), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), Ilhan Omar (D), Jimmy Panetta (D), Chris Pappas (D), Bill Pascrell (D), Donald Payne (D), Ed Perlmutter (D), Mark Pocan (D), David Price (D), Mike Quigley (D), Jamie Raskin (D), Cedric Richmond (D), Harley Rouda (D), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D), Bobby Rush (D), Tim Ryan (D), Kilili Sablan (D), Michael San Nicolas (D), Linda Sánchez (D), Mary Gay Scanlon (D), Jan Schakowsky (D), Adam Schiff (D), Kurt Schrader (D), Kim Schrier (D), David Scott (D), José Serrano (D), Terri Sewell (D), Donna Shalala (D), Brad Sherman (D), Mikie Sherrill (D), Albio Sires (D), Elissa Slotkin (D), Adam Smith (D), Darren Soto (D), Haley Stevens (D), Tom Suozzi (D), Eric Swalwell (D), Mark Takano (D), Bennie Thompson (D), Mike Thompson (D), Lori Trahan (D), David Trone (D), Lauren Underwood (D), Juan Vargas (D), Marc Veasey (D), Filemón Vela (D), Nydia Velázquez (D), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), Maxine Waters (D), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D), Jennifer Wexton (D), Susan Wild (D), Frederica Wilson (D), John Yarmuth (D),

Last Action

Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 583. (on 12/28/2020)

Official Document

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/4674/all-info

(77 Companion Bills)

Version:

Document Type	Source Location
State Bill Page	https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/4674/all-info
BillText	https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr4674/BILLS-116hr4674rh.pdf
Bill	https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr4674/BILLS-116hr4674rh.pdf.pdf
BillText	https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr4674/BILLS-116hr4674ih.pdf
Bill	https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr4674/BILLS-116hr4674ih.pdf.pdf

Bill	Bill Name	Last Action	Type
HR1724	Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR1766	College Transparency Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR2465	Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa College Access Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR2486	FUTURE Act Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education Act	Message on House action received in Senate and at desk: House amendments to Senate amendment.	Related
HR2562	Advancing International and Foreign Language Education Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR2632	CCAMPIS Reauthorization Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR2768	Reverse Transfer Efficiency Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR2966	Fostering Success in Higher Education Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR3101	AID Act Achieving Independence through Degrees Act	Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations.	Related
HR3108	Teachers are Leaders Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR3334	Expanding Access to Graduate Education Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR3497	JOBS Act of 2019 Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR3519	Better Service to Borrowers Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR3578	Community College Student Success Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Same As
HR3743	STOP Campus Hunger Act Supporting Transparency to Overcome Poverty and Campus Hunger Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR3901	Student Data Counts Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR3933	America’s College Promise Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR3950	Remedial Education Improvement Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4073	Expanding Educational Opportunities for Justice-Impacted Communities Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4108	Jumpstart on College Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4188	Native American Language Vitalization Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4206	Student and Taxpayer Protection Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4212	America’s College Promise Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4245	HOPE (Heightening Opportunities for Pathways to Education) for FAFSA Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4288	Teacher Diversity and Retention Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4298	Pell Grant Restoration Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4342	RETAIN Teachers Act Reducing Extra Teaching Authentication Impacting New Teachers Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4343	FACT Act of 2019 Financial Aid Communication and Transparency Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4371	Strengthen CTE in Higher Education Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4380	Transparency for Transfer Students Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4422	Fellowships to Prepare the Next Generation of Teachers Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4423	Teacher and School Leader Quality Partnership Grants Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4424	Elevation of the Education Profession Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4430	Clean Data in Higher Education Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4478	Simple FAFSA Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4497	PSA Act of 2019 Protecting Student Aid Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4578	BETTER TEACH Grants Act of 2019 Build Effective Teachers Through Essential Reforms to Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grants Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4596	Student Loan Advocacy Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4607	To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include certain employment as a health care practitioner as eligible for public service loan forgiveness, and for other purposes.	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4615	Stop College Closures Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4627	Student Borrower Advocate Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4643	Improving Access to Higher Education Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4648	Transparency in Off-Campus Housing Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4662	Accountability in Student Loan Data Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4670	Simplifying Student Loans Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4680	Equitable Student Aid Access Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4869	Student Loan Default Reduction Program Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4876	Earning Experience Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR4977	Higher Education Funds Integrity Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR5148	Higher Education Standards Improvement Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR5222	Helping Student Parents Succeed Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR5312	AIM HIGH Act Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR5388	To provide that the Secretary of Education may not issue or enforce certain rules that weaken the enforcement of the prohibition of sex discrimination applicable under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR6033	Pell to Grad Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR6397	Coronavirus Emergency Student Loan Refinancing Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR7319	Educator Preparation Reform Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR792	Opportunities for Success Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR8748	HONOR Our Veterans’ Sacrifice Act Honor Our Nation’s Oath to Remember Our Veterans’ Sacrifice Act	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HR954	GEAR UP for Success Act of 2019	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.	Related
HRes891	Providing for consideration of the joint resolution (S.J. Res. 68) to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress; providing for consideration of the Senate amendment to the bill (H.B. 2486) to reauthorize mandatory funding programs for historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions; providing for consideration of the bill (H.B. 6172) to amend the Foreign Int	Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.	Similar To
S1279	FUTURE Act Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education Act	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S1403	Expanding On-Campus Child Care to Help Student Parents Succeed Act	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S1489	Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S1490	Reverse Transfer Efficiency Act of 2019	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S1496	Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S1650	Fostering Success in Higher Education Act of 2019	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S1845	If It's Good Enough For the Banks, It's Good Enough For Students Act	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Similar To
S2250	America's College Promise Act of 2019	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S235	Teachers Are Leaders Act	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S2395	Jumpstart on College Act	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S2498	Pell Grant Restoration Act of 2019	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S2928	Higher Education Sustainability Act of 2019	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S303	GEAR UP for Success Act of 2019	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S3746	Stopping Doctor Shortages Act	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2455)	Related
S789	Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S800	College Transparency Act	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.	Related
S969	Educator Preparation Reform Act	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2121)	Related

Bill

Bill Name

Last Action

Type

HR1724

Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act