Congress 116 - HR 3101 - AID Act

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Academic performance and assessments Adoption and foster care Computers and information technology Congressional oversight Consumer affairs Criminal procedure and sentencing Department of Education Drug trafficking and controlled substances Education Educational facilities and institutions Educational guidance Employee hiring Employment and training programs Executive agency funding and structure Financial literacy Food assistance and relief Government information and archives Government lending and loan guarantees Government studies and investigations Government trust funds Higher education Homelessness and emergency shelter Inflation and prices Interest, dividends, interest rates Internet and video services Internet, web applications, social media Licensing and registrations National Aeronautics and Space Administration Performance measurement Poverty and welfare assistance School administration Student aid and college costs Teaching, teachers, curricula Temporary and part-time employment Vocational and technical education Youth employment and child labor

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Summary

Achieving Independence through Degrees Act or the AID Act

This bill revises certain federal student-aid programs. Among other things, it expands access to Pell Grants, expands loan counseling requirements, revises the Federal Work-Study Program, updates the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process, and extends Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) benefits to certain students.

First, it expands access to Pell Grants by (1) increasing the maximum award and indexing it for inflation, (2) increasing the semester eligibility limit to 15 semesters, and (3) extending eligibility to certain short-term workforce training programs.

It modifies student loan counseling requirements applicable to institutions of higher education (IHEs) by requiring annual financial counseling and expanding exit counseling. The Department of Education (ED) must maintain an online counseling tool that provides annual and exit counseling.

Additionally, it permanently reauthorizes the Federal Work-Study Program and otherwise revises the program, including by allocating program funds to IHEs based on the amount of Pell Grant funds received by each IHE. It establishes a pilot program that provides work-based learning opportunities for students who demonstrate exceptional financial need.

It requires ED to allow students to complete FAFSA as independent students under special circumstances. It repeals a provision that makes students convicted of drug-related offenses ineligible for federal student aid and prohibits ED from asking about drug-related convictions on FAFSA.

The bill also allows certain students, including those who have an expected family contribution of zero, to qualify for SNAP benefits.

Actions

Jun 24, 2019

Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations.
Jun 5, 2019

Introduced in House
Jun 5, 2019

Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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.

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