S. 2266 · 118th Congress
Strengthening American Communities Act of 2023
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 118th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
CardinSponsorNo cosponsors.
This bill provides funding and establishes grant programs to expand access to higher education, including by providing free community college to students. The bill also establishes the National Public Service Education Grant program and revises the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Jul 12, 2023
Strengthening American Communities Act of 2023
This bill provides funding and establishes grant programs to expand access to higher education, including by providing free community college to students. The bill also establishes the National Public Service Education Grant program and revises the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
Specifically, the bill establishes a program to waive resident tuition and fees for community college students. The Department of Education (ED) must award grants to states and Indian tribes to pay the federal share (75% of the average resident community college tuition and fees per student) of the program.
Next, the bill directs ED to award grants to states and Indian tribes for implementing evidence-based institutional reforms and innovative practices to improve student outcomes.
Additionally, ED must award grants to participating historically Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions to waive or significantly reduce the first 60 credits of tuition and fees for low-income students.
The bill directs ED to establish grant programs to pay the costs of an undergraduate education for students who commit to working for at least three years in public service jobs upon graduation.
Finally, the bill revises the PSLF program to provide for partial loan cancellation based on the length of public service employment. Specifically, ED must cancel 15%, 15%, 20%, 20%, and 30% of the amount a borrower owes after 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 years of public service employment, respectively, on Federal Direct Loans made after the bill's enactment.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Strengthening American Communities Act of 2023
Latest action (Jul 12, 2023): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Policy area: Education · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Jul 12, 2023
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.