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S. 1396: America’s College Promise Act of 2021

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S. 1396: America’s College Promise Act of 2021

117th Congress · introduced 2021-04-27 · Education · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2021-04-27 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. 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

America’s College Promise Act of 2021

Plain summary

America's College Promise Act of 2021 This bill provides funding and establishes grant programs to expand access to higher education, including by providing free community college to students. Specifically, the bill establishes a program to waive resident tuition and fees for community college students. The Department of Education (ED) must award grants to states and Indian tribes to pay the federal share (75% of the average resident community college tuition and fees per student) of the program. As a condition of receiving such a grant, a state must (1) submit a plan to align the requirements for receiving a regular high school diploma with the requirements for entering credit-bearing coursework at community colleges; and (2) submit a plan to improve transfer pathways between institutions of higher education (IHEs), including by ensuring that associate degrees awarded by community colleges are fully transferable to four-year IHEs. Next, the bill directs ED to award grants to states and Indian tribes for implementing evidence-based institutional reforms and innovative practices to improve student outcomes. In addition, ED must award grants to participating historically Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions to waive or significantly reduce the first 60 credits of tuition and fees for low-income students.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), 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

America’s College Promise Act of 2021

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] · 11 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Patty Murray (D-WA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Alex Padilla (D-CA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] reported raising $3.5 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 (1)
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).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong117-s1396 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117