H.R. 4502 — Introduced in House

I 116th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4502 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 26, 2019Mr. Casten of Illinois (for himself, Ms. Haaland, Ms. Garcia of Texas, and Mr. Krishnamoorthi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To eliminate the time limitations on federally subsidized student loans, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Giving Relief And Dollars to Undergraduates for Adequate Time for Education Act or the GRADUATE Act. 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) From 2015–2016, 3,900,000 students dropped out of college while holding Federal student debt. (2) Approximately half of students who dropped out with debt did so because they were unable to secure funding to affordably continue their studies. (3) Students who drop out are 4.2 times more likely to default on their loans than students who graduated and comprise 63 percent of defaults, in large part because they don’t receive the increase in earnings that comes along with a degree. (4) Eliminating the time limit on taking out federally subsidized loans would allow students who have not hit the borrowing limit to continue to get the funding they need to graduate, and would give students more flexibility throughout their education. (5) Eliminating the time limit on taking out federally subsidized loans would ease the administrative burden on colleges’ financial aid offices so they can spend their time focused on helping students succeed. 3. Repeal of certain eligibility requirements Section 455(q) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(q)) is repealed.