H.R. 7689

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7689 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7689

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide basic and 
emergency supplemental living assistance grants under the student 
support services program.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 25, 2026

Mr. Davis of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide basic and 
emergency supplemental living assistance grants under the student 
support services program.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Earl N. Williams, Sr., First Chance 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL LIVING ASSISTANCE IN THE STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES 
PROGRAM.

Section 402D of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a-
14) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the 
end;
(B) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) basic and emergency supplemental living assistance 
grants in accordance with subsection (f).''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Basic and Emergency Supplemental Living Assistance Grants.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out the activities required 
under subsection (b)(7) with a grant received under this 
section, the recipient of such grant shall provide basic and 
emergency supplemental living assistance grants to assist 
students who are current participants in the student support 
services program offered by the institution (in this subsection 
referred to as `eligible students')--
``(A) in the case of a basic supplemental living 
assistance grant, in covering reasonable, anticipated 
expenses necessary for the completion of an academic 
year of the students' first undergraduate baccalaureate 
course of study; and
``(B) in the case of an emergency supplemental 
living assistance grant, in covering reasonable, 
unanticipated expenses necessary for the students to 
persist in college during such academic year.
``(2) Amount of grants.--The recipient may determine--
``(A) the appropriate division of the funds between 
basic and emergency supplemental assistance grants, 
except that funds shall be provided for both basic and 
emergency grants;
``(B) the amount of each such grant and the total 
grant funds that an eligible student may receive, 
except that the maximum amount that a student may 
receive in emergency supplemental assistance grants may 
not exceed--
``(i) for academic year 2027-2028, $500; 
and
``(ii) for academic year 2028-2029 and each 
succeeding academic year, the maximum amount in 
emergency supplemental assistance grants that a 
student may receive for the preceding academic 
year, as determined under this subparagraph, 
increased by a percentage equal to the 
estimated percentage change increase in the 
Consumer Price Index (as determined by the 
Secretary, using the definition in section 
478(f)); and
``(C) the anticipated and unanticipated expenses 
referred to in paragraph (1) that such grants will 
cover based on the needs of eligible students, which--
``(i) may vary by factors including 
academic year, housing, parental status, 
location in urban or rural area, or other 
circumstances; and
``(ii) for an individual student, may 
cover--
``(I) any component of the cost of 
attendance for the student;
``(II) an allowance for actual or 
expected expenses incurred for 
dependent care that exceeds such 
expenses determined for the student 
under section 472(a)(9);
``(III) an allowance for actual or 
expected expenses for transportation 
that exceeds such expenses determined 
for the student under section 472; and
``(IV) personal items or expenses 
not otherwise covered by the cost of 
attendance for the student.
``(3) Percentage of total funds.--The recipient may use not 
more than 2 percent of the funds awarded under this section for 
grants under this subsection.
``(4) Determination of need.--A grant provided to a student 
under this subsection shall not be considered in determining 
that student's need for grant or work assistance under this 
title, except that in no case shall the total amount of student 
financial assistance awarded to a student under this title for 
an academic year exceed that student's cost of attendance by 
more than the maximum amount that such student may receive in 
emergency supplemental assistance under paragraph (2)(B) for 
such academic year.
``(5) Consultation.--In making grants to students under 
this subsection, an institution shall ensure that adequate 
consultation takes place between the student support service 
program office and the institution's financial aid office.
``(6) Supplement, not supplant.--Funds received by a grant 
recipient that are used under this subsection shall be used to 
supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds expended for 
student support services programs.
``(7) Funds.--For a fiscal year for which the funds 
allocated for projects authorized under this section from the 
amounts appropriated pursuant to the authority of section 
402A(g) exceeds the funds allocated for such purpose for fiscal 
year 2027, not more than 2 percent of such excess funds may be 
made available for grants under this subsection.
``(8) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `cost of 
attendance' has the meaning given the term in section 472.''.
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