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Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act
To restore the exemption of family farms and small businesses from the definition of assets under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Summary
This bill restores exemptions under federal financial aid law for family farms and small businesses when calculating a family's assets for student loan eligibility purposes. Specifically, it excludes family-owned and operated farms where the family resides and small businesses with no more than 100 full-time employees from being counted as assets in determining financial aid need. The exemption applies to federal student aid calculations beginning with the academic year after enactment. The change affects how families' financial situations are assessed when they apply for federal student loans and grants.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA)
13 cosponsors
- Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO)
- Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] (R-AR)
- Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ)
- Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA)
- Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND] (R-ND)
- Sen. Justice, James C. [R-WV] (R-WV)
- Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS] (R-KS)
- Sen. McCormick, David [R-PA] (R-PA)
- Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS] (R-KS)
- Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE] (R-NE)
- Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] (R-SD)
- Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC)
- Sen. Tuberville, Tommy [R-AL] (R-AL)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Joni Ernst’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $57,653
- CAPITAL GROUP $40,000
- SOROBAN CAPITAL $13,200
- CAPITAL GROUP COMPANIES $7,500
- GOOGLE $6,800
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Joni Ernst → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Feb 6, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. · senate
- Feb 6, 2025 Introduced in Senate
More bills on these subjects (8)
Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 6 (legislative day, February 5), 2025
Ms. Ernst (for herself, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Justice, Mr. Moran, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Boozman, and Mr. Tillis) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To restore the exemption of family farms and small businesses from the definition of assets under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act”.
SEC. 2. EXEMPTING FAMILY FARMS AND SMALL BUSINESSES FROM ASSETS UNDER THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.
(a) In General.—Section 480(f)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(f)(2)) is amended—
(1) by striking “net value of the” and inserting the following: “net value of—
“(A) the”;
(2) by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
“(B) a family farm on which the family resides; or
“(C) a small business with not more than 100 full- time or full-time equivalent employees (or any part of such a small business) that is owned and controlled by the family.”.
(b) Applicability.—The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply to need analysis conducted under part F of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk et seq.) for award years beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. <all>
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