H.R. 4245: HOPE (Heightening Opportunities for Pathways to Education) for FAFSA Act

116th Congress · introduced 2019-09-09 · Education · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2019-09-09 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. McBath, Lucy [D-GA-6] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

HOPE (Heightening Opportunities for Pathways to Education) for FAFSA Act

Plain summary

HOPE (Heightening Opportunities for Pathways to Education) for FAFSA Act This bill revises the application process for a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Specifically, the Department of Education (ED) shall not require an applicant to provide income or asset information if the applicant indicates they received a federal benefit (e.g., supplemental nutrition assistance or Social Security disability) at some time during the previous 24 months. ED shall use a data retrieval tool to obtain such information for any other applicant. The bill raises to $34,000 the amount of household income below which a student shall be considered to have an expected family contribution (EFC) equal to zero. EFC is used to calculate individual financial aid awards, and an EFC of zero means that a student's family is deemed unable to contribute to educational expenses.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

HOPE (Heightening Opportunities for Pathways to Education) for FAFSA Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. McBath, Lucy [D-GA-6] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. McBath, Lucy [D-GA-6] reported raising $1.2 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr4245.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr4245 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116