[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8393 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8393
To provide student loan forgiveness to health care workers who are on
the frontline in response to COVID-19.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 24, 2020
Mr. Van Drew introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on
Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide student loan forgiveness to health care workers who are on
the frontline in response to COVID-19.
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 ``Frontline Health Care Worker Student
Loan Assistance Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR FRONTLINE HEALTH CARE WORKERS.
(a) Program Authorized.--
(1) Loan forgiveness authorized.--Beginning on the date
that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretaries concerned shall, subject to paragraph (3), forgive,
in accordance with this section, the qualified loan amount
described in subsection (b) of the student loan obligation of a
borrower who is a frontline health care worker (or whose child
is a frontline health care worker, in the case of a borrower of
a loan described in section 9(4)(B)).
(2) Methods of loan forgiveness.--
(A) In general.--To provide loan forgiveness under
paragraph (1) to each borrower who is a frontline
health care worker, the Secretaries concerned shall
carry out a program--
(i) through the holder of the loan, to
assume the obligation to repay, by direct
payments on behalf of a borrower to the holder
of such loan, a qualified loan amount for an
eligible Federal student loan made, insured, or
guaranteed under part B of title IV of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et
seq.);
(ii) to cancel a qualified loan amount for
an eligible Federal student loan made under
part D or part E of such title (20 U.S.C. 1087a
et seq.; 1087aa et seq.); and
(iii) to assume the obligation to repay, by
direct payments on behalf of a borrower to the
private educational lender of such loan, a
qualified loan amount of an eligible private
student loan in order to discharge the borrower
of such loan from any remaining obligation to
the private educational lender with respect to
such qualified loan amount.
(B) Forgiveness through reimbursement.--
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for each borrower who
is a frontline health care worker and who has made one
or more monthly payments toward the--
(i) outstanding eligible Federal student
loan balance of the borrower during the covered
period, the Secretary of Education shall
reimburse the borrower, through direct payment
to the borrower, in an amount equal to the
total amount of such monthly payments made by
the borrower on or after January 31, 2020, and
before the first date on which any portion of a
borrower's loans are forgiven in accordance
with subparagraph (A); and
(ii) outstanding eligible private student
loan balance of the borrower during the covered
period, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
reimburse the borrower, through direct payment
to the borrower, in an amount equal to the
total amount of such monthly payments made by
the borrower on or after January 31, 2020, and
before the first date on which any portion of a
borrower's loans are forgiven in accordance
with subparagraph (A).
(3) Authority of the secretaries concerned.--The Secretary
of Education shall have the authority to carry out the loan
forgiveness program authorized under this section only with
respect to eligible Federal student loans, and the Secretary of
the Treasury shall have the authority to carry out such loan
forgiveness program only with respect to eligible private
student loans.
(b) Qualified Loan Amount.--
(1) Total amount.--The Secretaries concerned shall forgive
for each borrower who is a frontline health care worker an
amount equal to the sum of the monthly loan payments that are
due, suspended, or paid on each eligible Federal student loan
and each eligible private student loan of the borrower during
the covered period. Each monthly loan payment that is included
in the qualified loan amount of such a borrower shall be paid,
pursuant to paragraph (2), in accordance with either
subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B) of subsection (a)(2), but
not both.
(2) Methods of forgiveness of qualified loan amount.--The
Secretaries concerned shall determine the method of forgiveness
for each monthly loan payment included in a qualified loan
amount as follows:
(A) The Secretaries concerned shall provide
forgiveness in accordance with subparagraph (A) of
subsection (a)(2) for--
(i) each monthly loan payment during the
covered period that is due on or after the date
that is 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act;
(ii) each monthly loan payment during the
covered period that is due before the date that
is 90 days after the date of enactment of this
Act and has not been paid before such date; and
(iii) the total amount of the monthly loan
payments that are suspended as a result of a
qualifying emergency pursuant to section 3513
of the CARES Act (20 U.S.C. 1001 note) or at
the direction of the Secretary of Education,
determined by calculating the sum of the
amounts of each monthly loan payment that would
have been due during the covered period if
monthly loan payments were not suspended.
(B) The Secretaries concerned shall provide
forgiveness in accordance with subparagraph (B) of
subsection (a)(2) for the total amount of monthly loan
payments during the period beginning on January 31,
2020, and ending on the date that is 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, that have been paid by
the borrower on or before the termination of such
period.
(c) Consideration of Payments.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), the
Secretary of Education shall deem each month for which a loan payment
was forgiven under this section as if the borrower of the loan had made
a payment for the purpose of any loan forgiveness program or loan
rehabilitation program authorized under part B or D of title IV of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.; 1087a et seq.)
for which the borrower would have otherwise qualified.
(d) Exclusion From Taxable Income.--The qualified loan amount of a
borrower that is forgiven under this section, including through
reimbursement pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(B), shall not be included
in the gross income of the borrower for purposes of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986.
SEC. 3. COORDINATED PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.
The Secretaries concerned shall jointly develop the program
required under section 2, and shall coordinate and consult with one
another in carrying out such program to ensure that--
(1) borrowers with outstanding eligible Federal student
loans and borrowers with outstanding eligible private student
loans are notified of the availability of student loan
forgiveness under this Act;
(2) frontline health care workers who are borrowers of both
eligible Federal student loans and eligible private student
loans may apply for loan forgiveness of both Federal and
private student loans under section 2 with submission of only
one application;
(3) determinations of eligibility are uniform and
consistent, regardless of whether the frontline health care
worker is a borrower of eligible Federal student loans,
eligible private student loans, or both; and
(4) such program is made available to any frontline health
care worker (including a worker who does not meet the
definition of frontline health care worker solely because such
worker did not complete at least 3 months of full-time service
(or the equivalent) prior to death) who was a borrower of
eligible Federal student loans, eligible private student loans,
or both, and who died as a result of the coronavirus, to
relieve the family and estate of such deceased worker of the
burden of the student loan obligation of the such deceased
worker.
SEC. 4. NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF LOAN FORGIVENESS.
(a) Notice to the Public.--Not later than 15 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretaries concerned, in consultation with
institutions of higher education and lenders and holders of Federal
student loans and private education loans, shall take such actions as
may be necessary to ensure that borrowers who have outstanding eligible
Federal student loans, outstanding eligible private student loans, or
both, are aware of the student loan forgiveness program authorized by
this Act. Such information shall--
(1) be presented in a form that is widely available to the
public, especially to borrowers with eligible Federal student
loans, eligible private student loans, or both, and to
frontline health care workers;
(2) be easily understandable; and
(3) clearly notify borrowers that to be considered for loan
forgiveness under this Act, borrowers must submit an
application to the Secretaries concerned, and must do so during
the application period described in section 5.
(b) Notice in Federal Loans Statements.--With each billing
statement sent to a borrower during the two-year period beginning on
the 15th day after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Education shall include, and shall require each holder of eligible
Federal student loans to include, a notice informing the borrower of
the availability of the student loan forgiveness program for frontline
health care workers under this Act, including where to find information
about how to qualify as a frontline health care worker, how to apply to
such program, the types of Federal and private loans that are eligible
for forgiveness, and the application deadline for such program.
(c) Notice in Private Loans Statements.--Section 128(e) of the
Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1638(e)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
``(12) Notice required along with billing statements.--With
each billing statement sent to the borrower during the two-year
period beginning on the 15th day after the date of enactment of
the Frontline Health Care Worker Student Loan Assistance Act of
2020, the private educational lender shall include a notice
informing the borrower of the availability of the student loan
forgiveness program for frontline health care workers under the
Frontline Health Care Worker Student Loan Assistance Act of
2020, including where to find information about how to qualify
as a frontline health care worker, how to apply to such
program, the types of Federal and private loans that are
eligible for forgiveness, and the application deadline for such
program.''.
SEC. 5. APPLICATION AND DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.
(a) Application Period.--An individual may apply for loan
forgiveness under section 2 by submitting an application to the
Secretaries concerned during the period that begins on the date that is
60 days after the date of enactment of this Act and that ends on the
date that is 2 years after the end of the covered period.
(b) Determination of Eligibility.--
(1) Development of application.--Not later than 45 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries
concerned shall jointly, in consultation with the Secretary of
Health and Human Services and the Intergovernmental Working
Group (in accordance with section 6), develop one application
for borrowers of both eligible Federal student loans and
eligible private student loans to apply for loan forgiveness
under this Act.
(2) Application requirements.--The application required
under paragraph (1) may only include such information as is
necessary for the Secretaries concerned to--
(A) make a determination of whether the applicant--
(i) is a frontline health care worker; and
(ii) is a borrower of an eligible Federal
student loan, an eligible private student loan,
or both; and
(B) determine the qualified loan amount of the
applicant, if the application is approved, including
the amount described in section 2(b)(2)(B).
(3) Determination.--Not later than 30 days after the date
on which the Secretaries concerned receive an application from
an individual in accordance with this Act, the Secretaries
concerned shall--
(A) confirm that such individual is a frontline
health care worker who is a borrower of an eligible
Federal student loan, an eligible private student loan,
or both, then notify the individual of such
confirmation, and grant the individual loan forgiveness
in accordance with section 2; or
(B) determine that such individual is not a
frontline health care worker who is a borrower of an
eligible Federal student loan, an eligible private
student loan, or both, then deny such application, and
provide a notification to the individual that
includes--
(i) that the application was denied;
(ii) the reason for such denial; and
(iii) if the application was denied because
the Secretaries concerned determined that the
applicant was not a frontline health care
worker, an explanation that the individual may
appeal the denial to the Intergovernmental
Working Group within 30 days of the date of
such denial, and information on how the
applicant may submit such an appeal.
(4) Treatment after successful appeal.--In the case that an
individual appeals the denial of an application to the
Intergovernmental Working Group in accordance with section 6,
and the individual is determined by the Intergovernmental
Working Group to be a frontline health care worker, the
Secretaries concerned shall grant the individual loan
forgiveness in accordance with section 2 not later than 30 days
after the Secretaries concerned are notified of the outcome of
the appeal by the Intergovernmental Working Group.
SEC. 6. INTERGOVERNMENTAL WORKING GROUP.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretaries concerned and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services shall jointly establish an Intergovernmental
Working Group to assist, in accordance with this section, with the
administration of the program required under this Act.
(b) Membership.--The Intergovernmental Working Group shall have 9
members, of whom--
(1) five members shall be selected by the Secretary of
Health and Human Services from employees of the Department of
Health and Human Services who are knowledgeable concerning the
education, training, employment, and medical practices of
health care professionals and the health care workforce;
(2) two members shall be selected by the Secretary of
Education from employees of the Department of Education who are
knowledgeable concerning eligible Federal student loans and the
administration of such loans; and
(3) two members shall be selected by the Secretary of the
Treasury from employees of the Department of the Treasury who
are knowledgeable concerning eligible private student loans,
the administration of such loans, and private educational
lenders.
(c) Duties.--The Intergovernmental Working Group established under
this section shall--
(1) develop a procedure or list of requirements, including
a list of the information an individual needs to provide for
the Secretaries concerned, to determine whether an individual
has made significant contributions to the medical response to
the qualifying emergency for purposes of determining whether
the individual is a frontline health care worker as defined in
section 9(6)(B);
(2) not later than 10 days after the date on which the
Council is established, report the information described in
paragraph (1) to the Secretaries concerned for inclusion in the
application developed in accordance with section 5(b)(1);
(3) not later than 60 days after the date on which the
Council is established, develop a process by which--
(A) an applicant who is denied loan forgiveness
under this Act by the Secretaries concerned because of
a determination that the applicant is not a frontline
health care worker may, within 30 days of the date of
such denial, submit an appeal of such denial to the
Intergovernmental Working Group; and
(B) the Intergovernmental Working Group will review
the appeal and make a determination with respect to
whether the applicant is a frontline health care
worker; and
(4) upon the request for an appeal by an applicant
described in paragraph (3), using the appeals process developed
under such paragraph, determine within 30 days after submission
of the appeal by the applicant, whether the applicant is a
frontline health care worker, and notify the Secretaries
concerned and the applicant of the outcome of such appeal
within 15 days of such determination.
SEC. 7. REGULATIONS; WAIVERS.
(a) Regulations.--The Secretaries concerned are authorized to issue
such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
(b) Waivers.--In carrying out this Act, the Secretaries concerned
may waive the application of--
(1) subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States
Code (commonly known as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act'');
(2) the master calendar requirements under section 482 of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1089);
(3) negotiated rulemaking under section 492 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098a); and
(4) the requirement to publish the notices related to the
system of records of the agency before implementation required
under paragraphs (4) and (11) of section 552a(e) of title 5,
United States Code (commonly known as the ``Privacy Act of
1974''), except that the notices shall be published not later
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.
The authority of the Secretaries concerned to carry out the loan
forgiveness program under section 2, and the authority of the
Intergovernmental Working Group to carry out the activities authorized
under section 6, shall cease on the date that is 180 days after the end
date of the application period described in section 5(a).
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Coronavirus.--The term ``coronavirus'' has the meaning
given the term in section 506 of the Coronavirus Preparedness
and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law
116-123).
(2) Covered period.--The term ``covered period'' means the
period that begins on January 31, 2020, and ends on the date
that is 60 days after the date of the expiration of the public
health emergency with respect to COVID-19 declared by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020.
(3) COVID-related health care services.--The term ``COVID-
related health care services'' means any health care services
that relate to--
(A) the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of the
coronavirus, including through telehealth services;
(B) the assessment or care of the health of a human
being related to an actual or suspected case of the
coronavirus, including through telehealth services; or
(C) patient care in a setting where there is a
reasonable expectation of risk of exposure to the
coronavirus.
(4) Eligible federal student loan.--The term ``eligible
Federal student loan'' means any loan made, insured, or
guaranteed under part B, part D, or part E of title IV of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 before the date of enactment of
this Act, including--
(A) a consolidation loan under such title; and
(B) a loan made to the parent of a dependent
student under section 428B of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1078-
2), and a Federal Direct PLUS Loan made to the parents
of a dependent student, only if the dependent student
on whose behalf such loan was made is a frontline
health care worker.
(5) Eligible private student loan.--The term ``eligible
private student loan'' means a private education loan, as
defined in section 140(a) of the Truth in Lending Act (15
U.S.C. 1650(a)), that 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 that was made before the date of enactment of
this Act.
(6) Frontline health care worker.--The term ``frontline
health care worker'' means an individual who, during the
qualifying emergency, for a period of not less than 3 months of
full-time service (or the part-time equivalent), in exchange
for payment or as a volunteer--
(A) is--
(i) a doctor, medical resident, medical
intern, medical fellow, nurse, home health care
worker, mental health professional, or other
health care professional who is licensed,
registered, or certified under Federal or State
law to provide health care services and who
provides COVID-related health care services;
(ii) a student enrolled at an institution
of higher education in a medical, nursing, or
other relevant health care program of study who
provides COVID-related health care services;
(iii) a laboratory worker who conducts,
evaluates, or analyzes coronavirus testing;
(iv) a medical researcher who conducts
research related to the prevention, treatment,
or cure of the coronavirus; or
(v) an emergency medical services worker
who responds to health emergencies or
transports patients to hospitals or other
medical facilities; or
(B) does not meet the requirements of any of the
clauses under subparagraph (A), but is a health care
professional who is licensed, registered, or certified
under Federal or State law to provide health care and
has made significant contributions to the medical
response to the qualifying emergency.
(7) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such
term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1002).
(8) Private educational lender.--The term ``private
educational lender'' has the meaning given the term in section
140(a) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650(a)).
(9) Qualifying emergency.--The term ``qualifying
emergency'' means--
(A) the public health emergency with respect to
COVID-19 declared by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020;
(B) an event related to the coronavirus for which--
(i) the President declared a major disaster
or an emergency under section 401 or 501,
respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5170 and 5191); or
(ii) the governor of a State or territory
of the United States declared an emergency; or
(C) a national emergency related to the coronavirus
declared by the President under section 201 of the
National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
(10) Secretaries concerned.--The term ``Secretaries
concerned'' means--
(A) the Secretary of Education, with respect to
eligible Federal student loans and borrowers of such
loans; and
(B) the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to
eligible private student loans and borrowers of such
loans.
<all>
Frontline Health Care Worker Student Loan Assistance Act of 2020
#8393 | HR Congress #116
Policy Area: Education
Subjects: Administrative remediesCardiovascular and respiratory healthEducation programs fundingEmergency medical services and trauma careExecutive agency funding and structureGovernment information and archivesGovernment lending and loan guaranteesHealth personnelHigher educationInfectious and parasitic diseasesMedical educationMedical researchMedical tests and diagnostic methodsNursingStudent aid and college costs
Last Action: Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. (9/24/2020)
Bill Text Source: Congress.gov
Summary and Impacts
Original Text