President Bush on August 18 signed into law H.R. 1412, the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act of 2003. The bill passed the House of Representatives on April 1 and the Senate on July 31.
H.R. 1412 gives the Secretary of Education broad authority to waive or modify requirements or regulations pertaining to the Title IV student aid programs of the Higher Education Act. Individuals affected by this bill include active duty military personnel; those performing National Guard duty during a war, operation, or national emergency; people residing in a declared disaster area; and people who have suffered economic hardship as a direct result of a war, military operation, or emergency.
Specifically, H.R. 1412 authorizes the Secretary to grant waivers to ensure that:
- affected aid recipients are not penalized financially because they have been called to duty;
- administrative requirements placed on affected recipients are minimized to avoid violations or defaults;
- income calculations may be modified in light of the special circumstances; and
- institutions of higher education, lenders, guaranty agencies, and others located in declared disaster areas may be granted temporary relief from reporting and due diligence, among other requirements.
The bill was introduced on March 25 by Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), and provides authority similar to that given during Operation Desert Storm and after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
"Today is an important day for our men and women in uniform. As President Bush signed the HEROES bill into law, he took the final step toward bringing relief to the members of our National Guard and Reserves who are also students," said Kline in a release. "By bringing a little more peace of mind to student soldiers, we are doing our part to protect them as they protect us."
"The cost of a college education creates a troubling financial burden for many students, but students who are also members of the armed services face a particular struggle when they are called to active duty to defend our nation overseas," said Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif.), chairman of the House 21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittee.
Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said "By signing HEROES into law, the President has fulfilled our collective vision that our troops deserve our full support, particularly as they strive to achieve their educational goals while protecting our freedom."
The American Council on Education and 14 other organizations, including NASFAA, endorsed H.R. 1412 in a March 31 letter to House Members. NASFAA had previously endorsed the bill in a March 26 letter to House 21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittee Chairman McKeon.
By Elizabeth B. Guerard
NASFAA Assistant Director of Communications
Posted August 20, 2003 on
www.NASFAA.org, the Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
Copyright 2003. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited
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