20 U.S.C. § 1098 : US Code - Section 1098: Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance

Search 20 U.S.C. § 1098 : US Code - Section 1098: Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance

(a) Establishment and purpose
(1) There is established in the Department an independent
Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance (hereafter in
this section referred to as the "Advisory Committee") which shall
provide advice and counsel to the Congress and to the Secretary on
student financial aid matters.
(2) The purpose of the Advisory Committee is -
(A) to provide extensive knowledge and understanding of the
Federal, State, and institutional programs of postsecondary
student assistance;
(B) to provide technical expertise with regard to systems of
needs analysis and application forms; and
(C) to make recommendations that will result in the maintenance
of access to postsecondary education for low- and middle-income
students.
(b) Independence of Advisory Committee
In the exercise of its functions, powers, and duties, the
Advisory Committee shall be independent of the Secretary and the
other offices and officers of the Department. Notwithstanding
Department of Education policies and regulations, the Advisory
Committee shall exert independent control of its budget
allocations, expenditures and staffing levels, personnel decisions
and processes, procurements, and other administrative and
management functions. The Advisory Committee's administration and
management shall be subject to the usual and customary Federal
audit procedures. Reports, publications, and other documents of the
Advisory Committee, including such reports, publications, and
documents in electronic form, shall not be subject to review by the
Secretary. The recommendations of the Committee shall not be
subject to review or approval by any officer in the executive
branch, but may be submitted to the Secretary for comment prior to
submission to the Congress in accordance with subsection (f) of
this section. The Secretary's authority to terminate advisory
committees of the Department pursuant to section 1233g(b) (!1) of
this title ceased to be effective on June 23, 1983.
(c) Membership
(1) The Advisory Committee shall have 11 members of which -
(A) 3 members shall be appointed by the President pro tempore
of the Senate upon the recommendation of the Majority Leader and
the Minority Leader,
(B) 3 members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives upon the recommendation of the Majority Leader
and the Minority Leader, and
(C) 5 members shall be appointed by the Secretary including,
but not limited to representatives of States, institutions of
higher education, secondary schools, credit institutions,
students, and parents.
(2) Not less than 7 members of the Advisory Committee shall be
individuals who have been appointed on the basis of technical
qualifications, professional standing and demonstrated knowledge in
the fields of higher education and student aid administration, need
analysis, financing postsecondary education, student aid delivery,
and the operations and financing of student loan guarantee
agencies.
(d) Functions of the Committee
The Advisory Committee shall -
(1) develop, review, and comment annually upon the system of
needs analysis established under part E of this subchapter;
(2) monitor, apprise, and evaluate the effectiveness of student
aid delivery and recommend improvements;
(3) recommend data collection needs and student information
requirements which would improve access and choice for eligible
students under this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of
chapter 34 of title 42 and assist the Department of Education in
improving the delivery of student aid;
(4) assess the impact of legislative and administrative policy
proposals;
(5) review and comment upon, prior to promulgation, all
regulations affecting programs under this subchapter and part C
of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42, including proposed
regulations;
(6) recommend to the Congress and to the Secretary such
studies, surveys, and analyses of student financial assistance
programs, policies, and practices, including the special needs of
low-income, disadvantaged, and nontraditional students, and the
means by which the needs may be met, but nothing in this section
shall authorize the committee to perform such studies, surveys,
or analyses;
(7) review and comment upon standards by which financial need
is measured in determining eligibility for Federal student
assistance programs;
(8) appraise the adequacies and deficiencies of current student
financial aid information resources and services and evaluate the
effectiveness of current student aid information programs; and
(9) make special efforts to advise Members of Congress and such
Members' staff of the findings and recommendations made pursuant
to this paragraph.
(e) Operations of the Committee
(1) Each member of the Advisory Committee shall be appointed for
a term of 3 years, except that, of the members first appointed -
(A) 4 shall be appointed for a term of 1 year;
(B) 4 shall be appointed for a term of 2 years; and
(C) 3 shall be appointed for a term of 3 years,
as designated at the time of appointment by the Secretary.
(2) Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the
expiration of the term of a predecessor shall be appointed only for
the remainder of such term. A member of the Advisory Committee
shall, upon request, continue to serve after the expiration of a
term until a successor has been appointed. A member of the Advisory
Committee may be reappointed to successive terms on the Advisory
Committee.
(3) No officers or full-time employees of the Federal Government
shall serve as members of the Advisory Committee.
(4) The Advisory Committee shall elect a Chairman and a Vice
Chairman from among its members.
(5) Six members of the Advisory Committee shall constitute a
quorum.
(6) The Advisory Committee shall meet at the call of the Chairman
or a majority of its members.
(f) Submission to Department for comment
The Advisory Committee may submit its proposed recommendations to
the Department of Education for comment for a period not to exceed
30 days in each instance.
(g) Compensation and expenses
Members of the Advisory Committee may each receive reimbursement
for travel expenses incident to attending Advisory Committee
meetings, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized
by section 5703 of title 5, for persons in the Government service
employed intermittently.
(h) Personnel and resources
(1) The Advisory Committee may appoint such personnel as may be
determined necessary by the Chairman without regard to the
provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive
service, and may be paid without regard to the provisions of
chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating
to classification and General Schedule pay rates, but no individual
so appointed shall be paid in excess of the rate authorized for GS-
18 of the General Schedule. The Advisory Committee may appoint not
more than 1 full-time equivalent, nonpermanent, consultant without
regard to the provisions of title 5. The Advisory Committee shall
not be required by the Secretary to reduce personnel to meet agency
personnel reduction goals.
(2) In carrying out its duties under this chapter, the Advisory
Committee shall consult with other Federal agencies,
representatives of State and local governments, and private
organizations to the extent feasible.
(3)(A) The Advisory Committee is authorized to secure directly
from any executive department, bureau, agency, board, commission,
office, independent establishment, or instrumentality information,
suggestions, estimates, and statistics for the purpose of this
section and each such department, bureau, agency, board,
commission, office, independent establishment, or instrumentality
is authorized and directed, to the extent permitted by law, to
furnish such information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics
directly to the Advisory Committee, upon request made by the
Chairman.
(B) The Advisory Committee may enter into contracts for the
acquisition of information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics
for the purpose of this section.
(4) The Advisory Committee is authorized to obtain the services
of experts and consultants without regard to section 3109 of title
5 and to set pay in accordance with such section.
(5) The head of each Federal agency shall, to the extent not
prohibited by law, cooperate with the Advisory Committee in
carrying out this section.
(6) The Advisory Committee is authorized to utilize, with their
consent, the services, personnel, information, and facilities of
other Federal, State, local, and private agencies with or without
reimbursement.
(i) Availability of funds
In each fiscal year not less than $800,000, shall be available
from the amount appropriated for each such fiscal year from
salaries and expenses of the Department for the costs of carrying
out the provisions of this section.
(j) Special analyses and activities
The Advisory Committee shall -
(1) monitor and evaluate the modernization of student financial
aid systems and delivery processes, including the implementation
of a performance-based organization within the Department, and
report to Congress regarding such modernization on not less than
an annual basis, including recommendations for improvement;
(2) assess the adequacy of current methods for disseminating
information about programs under this subchapter and part C of
subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42 and recommend
improvements, as appropriate, regarding early needs assessment
and information for first-year secondary school students;
(3) assess and make recommendations concerning the feasibility
and degree of use of appropriate technology in the application
for, and delivery and management of, financial assistance under
this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title
42, as well as policies that promote use of such technology to
reduce cost and enhance service and program integrity, including
electronic application and reapplication, just-in-time delivery
of funds, reporting of disbursements and reconciliation;
(4) assess the implications of distance education on student
eligibility and other requirements for financial assistance under
this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title
42, and make recommendations that will enhance access to
postsecondary education through distance education while
maintaining access, through on-campus instruction at eligible
institutions, and program integrity; and
(5) make recommendations to the Secretary regarding redundant
or outdated provisions of and regulations under this chapter,
consistent with the Secretary's requirements under section 1099c-
2 of this title.
(k) Term of Committee
Notwithstanding the sunset and charter provisions of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act or any other statute or regulation, the
Advisory Committee shall be authorized until October 1, 2004.