[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3412 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3412
To establish the Higher Education Regulatory Reform Task Force, to
expand the experimental sites initiative under the Higher Education Act
of 1965 to reduce college costs for students, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 30, 2013
Mr. Gowdy (for himself and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and
in addition to the Committee on Rules, 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 establish the Higher Education Regulatory Reform Task Force, to
expand the experimental sites initiative under the Higher Education Act
of 1965 to reduce college costs for students, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Flexibility to Innovate for College
Affordability Act''.
SEC. 2. HIGHER EDUCATION REGULATORY REFORM TASK FORCE.
(a) Task Force Established.--Not later than 2 months after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall establish
the Higher Education Regulatory Reform Task Force.
(b) Membership.--The Higher Education Regulatory Reform Task Force
shall include--
(1) the Secretary of Education or the Secretary's designee;
(2) the head of each other Federal agency (or such head's
designee) that the Secretary of Education determines to be
relevant to the activities of the Higher Education Regulatory
Reform Task Force;
(3) a representative of the Advisory Committee on Student
Financial Assistance established under section 491 of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098);
(4) representatives from the higher education community,
including--
(A) institutions of higher education, with equal
representation of public and private nonprofit
institutions, and two-year and four-year institutions,
and with not less than 25 percent of such
representative institutions carrying out distance
education programs; and
(B) nonprofit organizations representing
institutions of higher education; and
(5) any other entity or individual the Secretary of
Education determines appropriate.
(c) Activities.--
(1) Report required.--Not later than 6 months after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall
submit to Congress and make available on a publicly available
website a report (in this Act referred to as the ``Higher
Education Regulatory Reform Report'') prepared by the Higher
Education Regulatory Reform Task Force on Federal regulatory
requirements for institutions of higher education. In
prioritizing the review and consideration of such regulatory
requirements for the purposes of the Higher Education
Regulatory Reform Report, the Higher Education Regulatory
Reform Task Force shall give highest priority to regulations
that are in effect at the time of such review and consideration
and related to--
(A) State authorization of distance education;
(B) the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data
System (IPEDS);
(C) the Office of Management and Budget's A-21
Circular;
(D) reporting under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of
Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act;
(E) calculation of default rates under section
435(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965;
(F) gainful employment;
(G) revenue requirements for institutions of higher
education under section 487(a)(24) and (d) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965; and
(H) the Single Audit Act of 1984 and the Office of
Management and Budget's A-133 Circular.
(2) Contents of report.--The Higher Education Regulatory
Reform Report shall contain the following with respect to
regulatory requirements for institutions of higher education:
(A) A list of rules that are determined to be
outmoded, duplicative, ineffective, or excessively
burdensome.
(B) For each rule listed in accordance with
subparagraph (A) and that is in effect at the time of
the review under subparagraph (A), an analysis of
whether the costs outweigh the benefits for such rule.
(C) Recommendations to consolidate, modify,
simplify, or repeal such rules to make such rules more
effective or less burdensome.
(D) A description of the justification for and
impact of the recommendations described in subparagraph
(C), as appropriate and available, including supporting
data for such justifications and the financial impact
of such recommendations on institutions of higher
education of varying sizes and types.
(E) Recommendations on the establishment of a
permanent entity to review new regulatory requirements
affecting institutions of higher education.
(3) Notice and comment.--At least 30 days before submission
of the Higher Education Regulatory Reform Report required under
paragraph (1), the Secretary of Education shall publish the
report in the Federal Register for public notice and comment.
The Higher Education Regulatory Reform Task Force may modify
the report in response to any comments received before
submission of the report to Congress.
(d) Definition of Institution of Higher Education.--For the
purposes of this section, 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), except that such term does not include
institutions described in subsection (a)(1)(C) of such section 102.
SEC. 3. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION BY CONGRESS.
(a) Presentation of Higher Education Regulatory Reform Report to
Congress and Expedited Consideration.--
(1) In general.--The President shall propose, at the time
and in the manner provided in paragraph (2), the carrying out
of all or part of the recommendations contained in the Higher
Education Regulatory Reform Report prepared by the Higher
Education Regulatory Reform Task Force in accordance with
section 2.
(2) Transmittal of special message.--Not later than 120
days after the submission of the Higher Education Regulatory
Reform Report to Congress under section 2(c), the President
shall transmit to Congress a special message to carry out all
or part of the recommendations contained in such Report. The
President shall include with that special message a bill that
would carry out the recommendations. The President may not
transmit more than one such special message each year.
(3) Expedited consideration of president's higher education
regulatory reform bill.--
(A) Higher education regulatory reform bill.--
Within 14 days after the President submits to Congress
a bill under paragraph (2), the majority leader of the
House of Representatives and the majority leader of the
Senate shall each introduce such bill, by request.
(B) Consideration in the house of
representatives.--
(i) Referral and reporting.--Any committee
of the House of Representatives to which such
bill is referred shall report it to the House
without amendment not later than the 14th
legislative day after the date of its
introduction. If a committee fails to report
the bill within that period or the House has
adopted a concurrent resolution providing for
adjournment sine die at the end of a Congress,
such committee shall be automatically
discharged from further consideration of the
bill and it shall be placed on the appropriate
calendar.
(ii) Proceeding to consideration.--Not
later than 21 legislative days after such bill
is reported or a committee has been discharged
from further consideration thereof, it shall be
in order to move to proceed to consider such
bill in the House. Such a motion shall be
highly privileged and not debatable, and shall
be in order only at a time designated by the
Speaker in the legislative schedule within two
legislative days after the day on which the
proponent announces an intention to the House
to offer the motion provided that such notice
may not be given until such bill is reported or
a committee has been discharged from further
consideration thereof. Such a motion shall not
be in order after the House has disposed of a
motion to proceed with respect to that special
message. The previous question shall be
considered as ordered on the motion to its
adoption without intervening motion. A motion
to reconsider the vote by which the motion is
disposed of shall not be in order.
(iii) Consideration.--If the motion to
proceed is agreed to, the House shall
immediately proceed to consider such bill in
the House without intervening motion. Such bill
shall be considered as read. All points of
order against the bill and against its
consideration are waived. The previous question
shall be considered as ordered on the bill to
its passage without intervening motion except 4
hours of debate equally divided and controlled
by the proponent and an opponent and one motion
to limit debate on the bill. A motion to
reconsider the vote on passage of the bill
shall not be in order.
(C) Consideration in the senate.--
(i) Committee action.--The appropriate
committee of the Senate shall report without
amendment the bill referred to in subparagraph
(A) not later than the seventh session day
after introduction. If a committee fails to
report the bill within that period or the
Senate has adopted a concurrent resolution
providing for adjournment sine die at the end
of a Congress, the Committee shall be
automatically discharged from further
consideration of the bill and it shall be
placed on the appropriate calendar.
(ii) Motion to proceed.--Not later than 3
session days after the bill is reported in the
Senate or the committee has been discharged
thereof, it shall be in order for any Senator
to move to proceed to consider the bill in the
Senate. The motion shall be decided without
debate and the motion to reconsider shall be
deemed to have been laid on the table. Such a
motion shall not be in order after the Senate
has disposed of a prior motion to proceed with
respect to the draft bill.
(iii) Consideration.--If a motion to
proceed to the consideration of the draft bill
is agreed to, the Senate shall immediately
proceed to consideration of the draft bill
without intervening motion, order, or other
business, and the draft bill shall remain the
unfinished business of the Senate until
disposed of. Consideration on the bill in the
Senate under this subsection, and all debatable
motions and appeals in connection therewith,
shall not exceed 10 hours equally divided in
the usual form. All points of order against the
draft bill or its consideration are waived.
Consideration in the Senate on any debatable
motion or appeal in connection with the draft
bill shall be limited to not more than 10
hours. A motion to postpone, or a motion to
proceed to the consideration of other business,
or a motion to recommit the draft bill is not
in order. A motion to reconsider the vote by
which the draft bill is agreed to or disagreed
to is not in order.
(D) Amendments prohibited.--No amendment to, or
motion to strike a provision from, the draft bill
considered under this section shall be in order in
either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
(E) Coordination with action by other house.--If,
before passing the bill, one House receives from the
other a bill--
(i) the bill of the other House shall not
be referred to a committee; and
(ii) the procedure in the receiving House
shall be the same as if no bill had been
received from the other House until the vote on
passage, when the bill received from the other
House shall supplant the bill of the receiving
House.
(F) Limitation.--This paragraph shall apply only to
the bill referred to in subparagraph (A), introduced
pursuant to such subparagraph.
(b) Definition.--For purposes of this section, continuity of a
session of either House of Congress shall be considered as broken only
by an adjournment of that House sine die, and the days on which that
House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than 3 days
to a date certain shall be excluded in the computation of any period.
SEC. 4. EXPANDING THE EXPERIMENTAL SITES INITIATIVE.
Section 487A(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1094a(b)(3)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B)--
(A) by inserting ``(other than for purposes of an
experiment described in subparagraph (C))'' after
``award amounts''; and
(B) by inserting ``, such as an experiment
described in subparagraph (D)'' after ``results of the
experiment''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
``(C) Waivers of grant and loan maximum award
amounts.--The Secretary is authorized to waive any
requirements in this title or regulations prescribed
under this title relating to grant and loan maximum
award amounts (or any other requirements or regulations
that may bias the results of the experiment described
in this subparagraph) for any institution participating
as an experimental site under subparagraph (A) to carry
out an experiment to, with respect to each student
whose workload exceeds the minimum workload that the
institution considers a full-time academic workload for
the program of study that the student is pursuing,
increase the maximum Federal Pell Grant and loan award
amounts for the student in proportion to the amount
that the student's workload exceeds such minimum full-
time academic workload, so long as the institution
demonstrates to the Secretary that the experiment
described in this subparagraph will assist in
decreasing the total the cost of attendance (defined in
section 472) for the student.
``(D) Waivers for competency-based learning.--The
Secretary is authorized to waive any requirements in
this title or any regulations prescribed under this
title (including any accreditation requirements or any
other requirements or regulations that may bias the
results of the experiment described in this
subparagraph) for any institution participating as an
experimental site under subparagraph (A) to carry out
an experiment to provide Federal grant and loan awards
to--
``(i) students enrolled in remedial courses
or competency-based learning programs, which
are not accredited, but are approved by the
institution and provide competencies for
success in certain programs of study at the
institution;
``(ii) students (or potential students) to
pay for the test fees of tests, based on the
results of which the institution may award the
students academic credit for prior learning; or
``(iii) secondary school students enrolled
in courses at the institution,
so long as the institution demonstrates to the
Secretary that the experiment described in this
subparagraph will assist in decreasing the total the
cost of attendance (defined in section 472) for such
students.''.
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