HR 3391 · 116th Congress 2019–2021, ended

To Offer Refugees College Help (TORCH) Act

Introduced Jun 20, 2019 Originated House Sponsor Jared Huffman D-CA

Latest action · Jun 20, 2019 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedJun 20, 2019
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

To Offer Refugees College Help (TORCH) Act

This bill requires states to charge in-state tuition rates for institutions of higher education to refugees, asylees, and special immigrant visa holders if they are lawfully in the United States. This requirement only applies to the first state where the individual lives after being admitted into the United States.

Cosponsors 39

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 20, 2019 to Nov 15, 2019; 30 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-CA	Adam B. Schiff	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-FL	Alcee L. Hastings	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-IN	André Carson	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-CA	Anna G. Eshoo	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-CA	Doris O. Matsui	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-OR	Earl Blumenauer	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-DC	Eleanor Holmes Norton	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-NJ	Frank Pallone, Jr.	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-CA	Grace F. Napolitano	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-GA	Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-MN	Ilhan Omar	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-CA	Jackie Speier	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-MA	James P. McGovern	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-RI	James R. Langevin	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-MD	Jamie Raskin	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-IL	Janice D. Schakowsky	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-CA	Juan Vargas	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-CA	Julia Brownley	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-FL	Kathy Castor	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-CA	Linda T. Sánchez	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-TX	Marc A. Veasey	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-WI	Mark Pocan	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-CA	Mike Thompson	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-VT	Peter Welch	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-AZ	Ruben Gallego	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-CA	Scott H. Peters	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-MA	Seth Moulton	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-TX	Sheila Jackson Lee	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-TN	Steve Cohen	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-HI	Tulsi Gabbard	Original	Jun 20, 2019
D-NY	Grace Meng		Jul 17, 2019
D-IL	Mike Quigley		Jul 25, 2019
D-WA	Adam Smith		Oct 17, 2019
D-MI	Debbie Dingell		Nov 12, 2019
D-CA	Jerry McNerney		Nov 12, 2019
D-CA	Norma J. Torres		Nov 12, 2019
D-WA	Pramila Jayapal		Nov 12, 2019
D-CA	Ro Khanna		Nov 12, 2019
D-CA	Mark DeSaulnier		Nov 15, 2019

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Education and Workforce Committee	Referred Jun 20, 2019

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

Jun 20, 2019Introduced in House
Jun 20, 2019Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or office thereof.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 104, June 20, 2019, page H5007.

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
HR 2944	To Offer Refugees College Help (TORCH) Act	Reintroduction of	Jun 20, 2017

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for in-State tuition rates for refugees and asylees.
Short Title(s) as Introduced: To Offer Refugees College Help (TORCH) Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Jun 20, 2019Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.