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HR 1615 111th Congress House

Medical Economic Deferment for Students (MEDS) Act

Official title: To amend section 435(o) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 regarding the definition of economic hardship.

Introduced: April 22, 2009 See on congress.gov
Education Government lending and loan guaranteesHigher educationStudent aid and college costsWages and earnings
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This bill died when the 111th Congress ended
It never became law before the 111th Congress (2009–2010) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 14, 2009
Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.
Mar 19, 2009
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Mar 19, 2009
Introduced in House
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 Latest action May 14, 2009

Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Medical Economic Deferment for Students (MEDS) Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 with respect to the meaning of economic hardship under the Federal Family Education Loan or Perkins Loan and related loan insurance programs.

Considers borrowers under such programs to be suffering economic hardship if they are working full-time, have a federal educational debt burden equal to at least 20% of their adjusted gross income, and the difference between their adjusted gross income minus such debt burden is less than 220% of the greater of: (1) the annual earnings of an minimum wage earner; or (2) 150% of the poverty line applicable to their family size.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Cosponsors 7
All 7 Democratic 2 Republican 1
Giffords, Gabrielle
· May 11, 2010
 D
Courtney, Joe
Connecticut · Jun 4, 2009
 D
Pallone, Frank
New Jersey · Apr 22, 2009
BONO MACK, MARY
· Mar 30, 2009
Lee, Christopher
· Mar 30, 2009
Murphy, Patrick
· Mar 19, 2009
 R
Wilson, Joe
South Carolina · Mar 19, 2009
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1615: Medical Economic Deferment for Students (MEDS) Act. 111th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-1615/
MLA
"H.R. 1615: Medical Economic Deferment for Students (MEDS) Act." 111th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-1615/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 1615, 111th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-1615/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 1615: Medical Economic Deferment for Students (MEDS) Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-1615/)
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