Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017
Public Law 115-64 · S. 1866 · 115th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Donald Trump (R) on Sep 29, 2017 · Education
Sponsor: Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017
(Sec. 2) This bill provides educational relief in areas for which the President has declared a major disaster or an emergency as a result of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, or Maria or Tropical Storms Harvey, Irma, or Maria (affected areas).
In the case of an institution of higher education (IHE) that is located in an affected area, the Department of Education (ED) must waive matching fund requirements under the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program (FSEOG) or the Federal Work-Study Program (FWS). In the case of an IHE that is not located in an affected area but has enrolled or accepted for enrollment students affected by the hurricanes or tropical storms, ED may waive the matching fund requirements under FSEOG or FWS. The waivers apply to funds made available for award years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018.
Affected students are individuals who have applied for or received student financial assistance under title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, and: (1) who were enrolled or accepted for enrollment on August 25, 2017, at IHEs that are located in affected areas; (2) who are dependent students who are enrolled or accepted for enrollment on that date at IHEs that are not located in affected areas, but whose parents resided or were employed on that date in affected areas; or (3) who suffered direct economic hardship as a direct result of the hurricanes or tropical storms.
If IHEs return FSEOG and FWS funds that were allocated for award year 2016-2017, then ED must reallocate the remaining funds to affected IHEs.
The bill extends until September 30, 2018, the deadline for ED to obligate funds for FSEOG or FWS.
The bill terminates ED's waiver authority on September 30, 2018.
(Sec. 3) In addition, the bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require Project School Emergency Response to Violence grants to be distributed to private schools on an equitable basis.
Committees
The record shows no committee referral for this bill.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
The record lists no related bills.
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 12 actions.
- Sep 29, 2017Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Sep 28, 2017FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 1866.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Allen moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Sep 27, 2017FloorFloor · Held at the desk.
- FloorFloor · Received in the House.
- FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Sep 26, 2017FloorFloor · Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.