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Code · BILL · 116th Congress · H.R. 4478 (Introduced in House) — To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to remove barriers for students seeking Federal financial aid by reducing t... · Sec. 103

Sec. 103. Zero expected family contribution

566 words·~3 min read·/bill/116/hr/4478/ih/section-103

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Section 479 ( 20 U.S.C. 1087ss ) is amended to read as follows: The Secretary shall consider an applicant to have an expected family contribution equal to zero if— in the case of a dependent student— the student’s parents are not required to file— a Federal income tax return; or with respect to Internal Revenue Service Form 1040, any of the following forms: Schedule A, Schedule B, Schedule C, Schedule C–EZ, Schedule D, Schedule E, Schedule F, Schedule H, Schedule J, and Schedule SE; and the sum of the adjusted gross income of the parents is less than or equal to $34,000; or the student’s parents, or the student, received a benefit at some time during the previous 24-month period under a means-tested Federal benefit program; in the case of an independent student without regard to whether the student has dependents other than a spouse— the student (and the student’s spouse, if any) certifies— that the student (and the student’s spouse, if any)— is not required to file a Federal income tax return; or with respect to Internal Revenue Service Form 1040, any of the following forms:
Schedule A, Schedule B, Schedule C, Schedule C–EZ, Schedule D, Schedule E, Schedule F, Schedule H, Schedule J, and Schedule SE; and the sum of the adjusted gross income of the student and spouse (if appropriate) is less than or equal to $34,000; or the student received a benefit at some time during the previous 24-month period under a means-tested Federal benefit program; or the applicant is a pathway one applicant under section 483(a)(13). An individual is not required to qualify or file for the earned income credit in order to be eligible under this section.
The Secretary shall annually adjust the income level necessary to qualify an applicant for the zero expected family contribution. The income level shall be annually increased by the estimated percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, as defined in section 478(f), for the most recent calendar year ending prior to the beginning of an award year, and rounded up to the nearest $1,000. For purposes of this paragraph, a means-tested Federal benefit program means a mandatory spending program of the Federal Government, other than a program under this title, in which eligibility for the program’s benefits, or the amount of such benefits, are determined on the basis of income or resources of the individual or family seeking the benefit, and may include such programs as— the supplemental security income program under title XVI of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); the supplemental nutrition assistance program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), a nutrition assistance program carried out under section 19 of such Act ( 7 U.S.C. 2028 ), and a supplemental nutrition assistance program carried out under section 1841(c) of title 48 of the United States Code; the program of block grants for States for temporary assistance for needy families established under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children established by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 ( 42 U.S.C. 1786 ); the State Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); and any other program identified by the Secretary. .
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