[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7100 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7100
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to
provide for certain minimal levels of educational assistance to the
dependents of public safety officers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2022
Ms. Herrell (for herself, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr.
McKinley, Mr. Ellzey, Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Mr. Garbarino, Ms.
Mace, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, and Mr. Owens) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in
addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, 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 amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to
provide for certain minimal levels of educational assistance to the
dependents of public safety officers, 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 ``They Had Our Back We Have Theirs Act
of 2022''.
SEC. 2. IN GENERAL.
Subpart 2 of part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10302(a)) is amended--
(1) in section 1212(a)--
(A) in paragraph (2), by inserting after
``paragraph (3)'' the following: ``and paragraph (4)'';
and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) In the case of any dependent of an eligible public
safety officer who is deceased, the financial assistance
provided under this subpart shall include an amount of not less
than $25,000 which shall be made available under section 1219
not later than 180 days after that officer's death. Such amount
shall not be included for purposes of any computation referred
to in paragraph (2).''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 1219. FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR CHILDREN AND SPOUSES
OF ELIGIBLE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS.
``(a) Forgiveness Required.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, and in addition to any other benefit available under this part,
the Secretary of Education shall carry out a program in accordance with
this Act to forgive up to a total of $25,000 of the outstanding balance
of interest and principal due on the applicable eligible Federal
student loans of borrowers who are children or spouses of eligible
public safety officers.
``(b) Method of Loan Forgiveness.--Subject to subsection (c), in
carrying out the loan forgiveness program required under subsection
(a), as soon as practicable after the Secretary of Education has
confirmed that an applicant is a child or spouse of an eligible public
safety officer who is a borrower of an eligible Federal student loan,
the Secretary of Education shall--
``(1) through the holder of a loan, assume the obligation
to repay the outstanding balance of interest and principal due
(and any other amounts due, including any other costs or fees
assessed) on the applicable eligible Federal student loans of
the borrower made, insured, or guaranteed under part B of title
IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et
seq.), or, if the holder of the loan is the Secretary, cancel
such outstanding balance;
``(2) cancel the outstanding balance of interest and
principal due (and any other amounts due, including any other
costs or fees assessed) on the applicable eligible Federal
student loans of the borrower made under part E of such title;
and
``(3) through the holder of a loan, assume the obligation
to repay the outstanding balance of interest and principal due
(and any other amounts due, including any other costs or fees
assessed) on the applicable eligible Federal student loans of
the borrower made, insured, or guaranteed under part D of such
title, or, if the holder of the loan is the Secretary, cancel
such outstanding balance.
``(c) Maximum Amount of Forgiveness.--The total amount of
forgiveness received by a borrower under this section may not exceed
$25,000 with respect to all eligible Federal student loans of the
borrower.
``(d) Repayment Refunds Prohibited.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed to authorize any refunding of any eligible Federal student
loan repayment made before the date a borrower's loans are forgiven in
accordance with this section.
``(e) Exclusion From Taxable Income.--The amount of a borrower's
eligible Federal student loans forgiven under this section shall not be
included in the gross income of the borrower for purposes of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) 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, including a
consolidation loan under such title; and
``(2) the term `eligible public safety officer' means a
public safety officer, as defined in section 1204 of title I of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42
U.S.C. 3796b), who is determined to have died or become
permanently and totally disabled as the direct and proximate
result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty,
subject to the limitations on such a determination made under
subpart 1.''.
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