Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
The bill amends Title IV of the Higher Education Act to exclude the net value of a family farm where the family resides and of a family-owned small business (≤100 full-time equivalent employees) from assets counted in federal student aid need analysis. The change applies to award years beginning on or after the date of enactment.
Left worries about means-testing fairness and program cost increases
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a narrowly focused substantive amendment to Title IV of the Higher Education Act that is precise in its core directive (excluding family farms and qualifying small businesses from asset calculations) and integrates directly with existing statutory structure.
The bill amends Title IV of the Higher Education Act to exclude the net value of a family farm where the family resides and of a family-owned small business (≤100 full-time equivalent employees) from assets counted in federal student aid need analysis.
The change applies to award years beginning on or after the date of enactment.
No other programmatic or budgetary provisions are included in the text.
Targeted, low-controversy tweak improving eligibility for farms/small businesses; modest cost may slow but not block enactment.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a narrowly focused substantive amendment to Title IV of the Higher Education Act that is precise in its core directive (excluding family farms and qualifying small businesses from asset calculations) and integrates directly with existing statutory structure. It provides an effective-date rule but omits fiscal analysis, detailed definitions, and implementation or oversight provisions.
Left worries about means-testing fairness and program cost increases
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Left worries about means-testing fairness and program cost increases
Generally sympathetic to protecting small family farms and family-run businesses from forced liquidation, but cautious about weakening means-testing for federal student aid.
Concerned this could be used to shield substantial wealth and increase costs for need-based aid without anti-abuse safeguards.
Supports protecting genuinely family-run farms and small businesses to avoid counterproductive asset tests, while wanting clarity on scope, fiscal impact, and anti-fraud measures.
Would favor technical fixes, oversight, or sunset provisions if costs appear substantial.
Favorable: reduces federal intrusion into family property, protects private enterprise, and prevents penalizing families for owning farms or small businesses when applying for student aid.
Likely views the change as small-government, pro-family, and pro-rural policy.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Targeted, low-controversy tweak improving eligibility for farms/small businesses; modest cost may slow but not block enactment.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Left worries about means-testing fairness and program cost increases
Targeted, low-controversy tweak improving eligibility for farms/small businesses; modest cost may slow but not block enactment.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a narrowly focused substantive amendment to Title IV of the Higher Education Act that is precise in its core directive (excluding family farms and qualifying small…
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