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S. 1237 118th Congress Senate

Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act

Official title: 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.

Introduced: April 20, 2023 Introduced by: Joni Ernst Republican · Iowa See on congress.gov
Education Government lending and loan guaranteesRural conditions and developmentSmall businessStudent aid and college costs
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This bill died when the 118th Congress ended
It never became law before the 118th Congress (2023–2024) 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 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 20, 2023
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Apr 20, 2023
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action April 20, 2023

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act

This bill restores an exemption for certain family farms and small businesses under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The bill applies to the net worth of (1) a family farm on which the family resides, or (2) a small business with not more than 100 full-time or full-time equivalent employees that is owned and controlled by the family.

Prior to recent changes made to FAFSA, the net worth of these family farms and small businesses were excluded as assets when calculating a student's financial need to determine federal student aid eligibility. Beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, the net worth of these farms and businesses will be treated as an asset and therefore included in the calculation. This bill restores the exemption to exclude such net worth from the calculation.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • HR 1250 Identical bill Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Lobbying activity 1

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

 Cosponsors 10
All 10 Republican 10
R
Tillis, Thomas
North Carolina · Nov 12, 2024
 R
Boozman, John
Arkansas · Feb 29, 2024
 R
Rounds, Mike
South Dakota · Jan 30, 2024
 R
Hyde-Smith, Cindy
Mississippi · Jan 24, 2024
 R
Hoeven, John
North Dakota · Apr 26, 2023
 R
Marshall, Roger
Kansas · Apr 25, 2023
 R
Grassley, Chuck
Iowa · Apr 20, 2023
 R
Lummis, Cynthia M.
Wyoming · Apr 20, 2023
 R
Moran, Jerry
Kansas · Apr 20, 2023
 R
Ricketts, Pete
Nebraska · Apr 20, 2023
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1237: Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act. 118th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-1237/
MLA
"S. 1237: Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act." 118th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-1237/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1237, 118th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-1237/.
Markdown link
[S. 1237: Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-1237/)
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