United States 116th Congress Status: In Committee 1 D cosponsors

HR 4502 — GRADUATE Act

Last action — Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 116th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Giving Relief And Dollars to Undergraduates for Adequate Time for Education Act or the GRADUATE Act This bill eliminates the time limit on taking out federally subsidized student loans, allowing borrowers who have not reached the limit of what they may borrow to continue to obtain funding.

Bill Text

Sections of law this bill changes

1 section in 1 law

From the bill's own amending language, matched to the official United States Code (current through Public Law 119-121).

Higher education resources and student assistance · 20 U.S.C. ch. 28 1 section 1 repealed
  • § 1087e Terms and conditions of loans Repeals

    20 U.S.C. § 1087e — at 1087e(q)

    The law today

    (a) In general (1) Parallel terms, conditions, benefits, and amounts Unless otherwise specified in this part, loans made to borrowers under this part shall have the same terms, conditions, and benefits, and be available in the same amounts, as loans made to borrowers, and first disbursed on June 30, 2010, under sections 1078, 1078–2, 1078–3, and 1078–8 of this title. (2) Designation of loans Loans made to borrowers under this part that, except as otherwise specified in this part, have the same terms, conditions, and benefits as loans made to borrowers under— (A) section 1078 of this title shall be known as “Federal Direct Stafford Loans”; (B) section 1078–2 of this title shall be known as “Federal Direct PLUS Loans”; (C) section 1078–3 of this title shall be known as “Federal Direct Consolidation Loans”; and (D) section 1078–8 of this title shall be known as “Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans”. (3) Termination of authority to make interest subsidized loans and Federal Direct PLUS loans to graduate and professional students (A) Termination of authority to make interest subsidized loans to graduate and professional students Subject to subparagraph (B), and notwithstanding any provision of this part or part B— (i) for any period of instruction beginning on or after July 1, 2012, a graduate or professional student shall not be eligible to receive a Federal Direct Stafford loan under this part; and (ii) for any period of instruction beginning on July 1, 2012, and ending on June 30, 2026, the maximum annual amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans such a student may borrow in any academic year (as defined in section 1088(a)(2) of this title) or its equivalent shall be the maximum annual amount for such student determined under section 1078–8 of this title, plus an amount equal to the amount of Federal Direct Stafford loans the student would have received in the absence of this subparagraph. (B) Exception Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to an individual enrolled in course work specified in paragraph (3)(B) or (4)(B) of section 1091(b) of this title. (C) Termination of authority to make Federal Direct PLUS loans to graduate and professional students Subject to paragraph (8) and notwithstanding any provision of this part or part B, for any period of instruction beginning on or after July 1, 2026, a graduate or professional student shall not be eligible to receive a Federal Direct PLUS Loan under this part. (4) Graduate and professional annual and aggregate limits for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans beginning July 1, 2026 (A) Annual limits beginning July 1, 2026 Subject to paragraphs (7)(A) and (8), beginning on July 1, 2026, the maximum annual amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans— (i) a graduate student, who is not a professional student, may borrow in any academic year or its equivalent shall be $20,500; and (ii) a professional student may borrow in any academic year or its equivalent shall be $50,000. (B) Aggregate limits Subject to paragraphs (6), (7)(A), and (8), beginning on July 1, 2026, the maximum aggregate amount of Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans, in addition to the amount borrowed for undergraduate education, that— (i) a graduate student— (I) who is not (and has not been) a professional student, may borrow for programs of study described in subparagraph (C)(i) shall be $100,000; or (II) who is (or has been) a professional student, may borrow for programs of study described in subparagraph (C)(i) shall be an amount equal to— (aa) $200,000; minus (bb) the amount such student borrowed for programs of study described in subparagraph (C)(ii); and (ii) a professional student— (I) who is not (and has not been) a graduate student, may borrow for programs of study described in subparagraph (C)(ii) shall be $200,000; or (II) who is (or has been) a graduate student, may borrow for programs of study described in subparagraph (C)(ii) shall be an amount equal to— (aa) $200,000...

    314 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

How this bill changes current law

1 change Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill repeals the time limitations on federally subsidized student loans.

  • 20 U.S.C. 1087e(q)

    The eligibility requirements and the time limits for receiving federally subsidized loans.

    This change removes restrictions on how long students can receive subsidized loans.

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 546 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (546)

546 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 4502 do?
Giving Relief And Dollars to Undergraduates for Adequate Time for Education Act or the GRADUATE Act This bill eliminates the time limit on taking out federally subsidized student loans, allowing borrowers who have not reached the limit of what they may borrow to continue to obtain funding.
Who sponsors HR 4502?
HR 4502 is sponsored by Casten, Sean (Democratic).
What is the current status of HR 4502?
This bill died with 116th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HR 4502?
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