Helping Individuals Get a Higher Education while Reducing Education Debt Act or the HIGHER ED Act This bill makes various changes to student loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs. First, the bill authorizes graduate and professional students to receive subsidized Stafford Loans. These students have been ineligible to receive subsidized Stafford Loans since July 1, 2012. Next, the bill allows student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy proceedings. The bill also establishes refinancing programs for student loans. It allows certain borrowers to refinance their federal student loans down to lower interest rates, and it creates the Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loan to allow certain borrowers to refinance their private student loans. Additionally, the bill revises the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, such as by (1) allowing certain part-time faculty to participate in the PSLF program, (2) directing the Department of Education (ED) to annually cancel 10% of the amount a borrower owes after satisfying 12 qualifying monthly payments, (3) revising the process for certification of employment, and (4) requiring ED to establish a dispute resolution process. Further, the bill revises federal student loan repayment programs, including by (1) replacing existing student loan repayment plans with one income-based repayment plan and one standard 10-year repayment plan, and (2) allowing existing borrowers to lower their payments by switching to these new plans. It also establishes a process for ED to enroll a delinquent borrower in a new repayment plan. The bill also requires ED to provide certain notifications to borrowers.
Rep. Peter A. DeFazio
Sponsored bills
Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination in the Workplace Act or the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act This bill expands protections against discrimination and harassment in the workplace and raises the minimum wage for tipped employees. Specifically, the bill (1) makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against an individual in the workplace based on sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, or a sex stereotype; and (2) provides a statutory definition for what constitutes workplace harassment. Further, these protections apply to all workplaces, regardless of size, and to all workers, including independent contractors, interns, volunteers, and trainees. The bill prohibits employers from entering into contracts or agreements with workers that contain certain nondisparagement or nondisclosure clauses and prohibits certain predispute arbitration agreements and postdispute agreements. It also establishes grant programs to (1) prevent and respond to workplace discrimination and harassment, (2) provide legal assistance for low-income workers, and (3) establish a system of legal advocacy in states to protect the rights of workers. The bill further provides employees the right to retain their tips and it increases, in specified annual increments, the minimum wage for tipped employees to match the federal minimum wage for nontipped employees. Additionally, the bill requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to provide specified training and resource materials, establish and convene a harassment prevention task force, and establish an Office of Education and Outreach with regard to prohibited discrimination and harassment in employment. The bill also requires specified studies, reports, and research on prohibited workplace harassment.
Frank Harrison, Elizabeth Peratrovich, and Miguel Trujillo Native American Voting Rights Act of 2021 This bill addresses the voting rights of Native American and Alaska Native voters and voting access on tribal lands. The bill includes provisions expanding the types of facilities that can be used as voter registration agencies; increasing polling site accessibility, including by expanding early in-person voting and providing ballot drop boxes; providing enforcement power to citizens and attorneys general; requiring approval for actions like moving a polling place; validating certain tribal identification for voting or registering to vote; permitting voters to designate another individual to return a ballot on their behalf; and expanding requirements for bilingual voting accessibility. In addition, the bill establishes a Native American voting task force grant program for the purpose of increasing voter outreach, education, registration, turnout, and accessibility for Native American communities. The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report on (1) the prevalence of nontraditional or nonexistent mailing addresses among Indians, members of tribes, and individuals residing on Indian lands; and (2) the alternatives for removing barriers to voter registration, receipt of voter information and materials, and receipt of ballots.
Supreme Court Ethics Act This bill establishes a new statutory requirement for the Judicial Conference of the United States to issue a judicial code of conduct for judges and justices of U.S. courts, including Justices of the Supreme Court. Currently, the Judicial Conference issues a code of conduct for judges of U.S. courts (but not for Justices of the Supreme Court).
Fair and Equal Housing Act of 2021 This bill prohibits discrimination, in the context of various housing practices, against individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
This bill declares that Congress apologizes on behalf of the nation for violations of the civil liberties and constitutional rights of Italian Americans during World War II.
Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act This bill modifies the Conrad 30 Waiver program, which incentivizes qualified foreign physicians to serve in underserved communities. It also extends statutory authority for the program for three years from this bill's enactment. Aliens coming to the United States under a J-1 nonimmigrant visa to receive medical training typically must leave the country and reside for two years abroad before being eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence. The Conrad program waives this requirement for individuals who meet certain qualifications, including serving for a number of years at a health care facility in an underserved area. The bill increases the number of waivers that a state may obtain each fiscal year from 30 to 35 if a certain number of waivers were used the previous year, and provides for further adjustments depending on demand. An alien physician may be employed at an academic medical center to meet the Conrad program's employment requirements if the alien's work is in the public interest, even if the medical center is not in an underserved area. Employment contracts for alien physicians under the Conrad program shall contain certain information, such as the maximum number of on-call hours per week the physician shall have to work. Certain alien physicians (along with the physician's spouse and children) shall be exempt from the direct annual numerical limits on immigration, including those physicians that have met certain requirements related to visas for physicians to serve in underserved areas.
Original National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Resolution of 2022 This resolution supports the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Further, it expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should continue to raise awareness of and support programs to end domestic violence.
Major Richard Star Act This bill provides that combat-disabled uniformed services retirees with fewer than 20 years of creditable service may concurrently receive, without reduction, veterans' disability compensation and retired pay or combat-related special compensation.
This concurrent resolution commemorates the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, commonly known as the Clean Water Act.