119-HR3146

Bill is currently in: House
Path to Law
House Senate President

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3146

1. Short title
2. Loan forgiveness for volunteer first responders
3. Regulations

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the "Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Student Debt Act" or the "HEROES Act".

2. Loan forgiveness for volunteer first responders

Section 455(m)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)(3)) is amended—

(1) - in subparagraph (B)—

(A) - in clause (i), by striking "or" after the semicolon;

(B) - in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting "; or"; and

(C) - by adding at the end the following:

(iii) - volunteer work as a qualified volunteer firefighter or qualified volunteer emergency medical technician in accordance with subparagraph (C).

(2) Qualified volunteer firefighter; qualified emergency medical technician - by adding at the end the following:

(C) Qualified volunteer firefighter; qualified emergency medical technician

(i) - The term qualified volunteer firefighter means an individual who—

(I) - provides firefighting services, fire prevention services, emergency medical services, or other related emergency response services on behalf of a legally recognized fire department or public safety organization; and

(II) - is not otherwise directly employed on a full-time basis by the same fire department or public safety organization for which they provide such services.

(ii) - The term qualified volunteer emergency medical technician means an individual who—

(I) - is trained and certified, licensed, or otherwise authorized under applicable state or local laws to provide emergency medical care, pre-hospital care, or ambulance services in response to medical emergencies;

(II) - performs such care or services on behalf of an ambulance service, fire department, healthcare facility, or public safety organization; and

(III) - is not otherwise directly employed on a full-time basis by the same ambulance service, fire department, healthcare facility, or public safety organization for which they provide such care or services.

(iii) - The Secretary shall—

(I) - determine the minimum volunteer time required for a qualified volunteer firefighter or a qualified volunteer emergency medical technician to be treated as an individual employed in a full-time job for purposes of this subsection; and

(II) - ensure that such minimum volunteer time is not less than the amount of volunteer time that is required for the qualified volunteer firefighter or a qualified volunteer emergency medical technician to be considered an active member of the relevant ambulance service, fire department, healthcare facility, or public safety organization.

(D) Public safety organization - The term public safety organization means any State, local, or tribal governmental agency or nonprofit organization that has the principal purpose of protecting the safety of life, health, or property.

3. Regulations

The Secretary of Education shall promulgate, after consultation with public safety organizations (which shall include firefighter and emergency responder organizations), regulations to carry out the amendments made by section 2, including regulations relating to—

(1) - the minimum volunteer time required for a qualified volunteer firefighter and qualified volunteer emergency medical technician to be treated as an individual employed in a full-time job for purposes of section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)); and

(2) - the process of tracking and verifying that volunteer time.