[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7894 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7894
To make improvements to the Harry S Truman Memorial Scholarship Act,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 12, 2026
Ms. Stefanik introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To make improvements to the Harry S Truman Memorial Scholarship Act,
and for other purposes.
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 ``Truman Scholarship Clean House
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
Section 3 of the Harry S Truman Memorial Scholarship Act (20 U.S.C.
2002) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as
paragraphs (2) through (7), respectively; and
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated,
the following:
``(1) `affiliated with', when used with respect to an
individual's relationship to a certain political party, means
that the individual--
``(A) is a registered member of that political
party;
``(B) is a current or former holder of elected
public office from that political party;
``(C) is a current or former candidate for public
office from that political party;
``(D) is a current or former political appointee
associated with that political party;
``(E) is a current staffer of--
``(i) a holder of elected public office
from that political party;
``(ii) a candidate of that political party;
or
``(iii) a fundraising organization for such
members or candidates; or
``(F) is a current or former judicial appointee
nominated or otherwise selected by a holder of elected
public office from that political party.''.
SEC. 3. HARRY S TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION.
(a) Board of Trustees.--Section 5 of the Harry S Truman Memorial
Scholarship Act (20 U.S.C. 2004) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``The Board shall
be composed of'' and all that follows through the end
of subparagraph (D); and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) The Board shall be composed of 13 members, as follows:
``(A) One member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
``(B) One member appointed by the minority leader of the
House of Representatives.
``(C) One member appointed by the majority leader of the
Senate.
``(D) One member appointed by the minority leader of the
Senate.
``(E) Eight members, not more than four of whom may be
affiliated with the same political party at the time of
appointment, to be appointed by the President with the advice
and consent of the Senate.
``(F) The Secretary of Education or the Secretary's
designee, who shall serve ex officio as a member of the Board,
but shall not be eligible to serve as Chairperson.'';
(2) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
``(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the term of office of
each member of the Board (other than Secretary of Education or the
Secretary's designee serving ex officio) shall be six years.
``(2) As designated by the President at the time of appointment, of
the members first appointed under subsection (b)(2)(E) after the date
of enactment of this paragraph--
``(A) three shall be appointed for terms of two years;
``(B) three shall be appointed for terms of four years; and
``(C) two shall be appointed for terms of six years.
``(3) Any member of the Board appointed to fill a vacancy shall
serve for the remainder of the term for which the member's predecessor
was appointed, and shall be appointed in the same manner as the
original appointment for that vacancy was made.
``(4) No member of the Board (other than the Secretary of Education
or the Secretary's designee serving ex officio) may serve more than two
six-year terms, regardless of whether the terms are consecutive. A
member described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) who serves
an initial term of less than six years, may serve up to two additional
six-year terms following the expiration of such member's initial
term.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Seven members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.''.
(b) Transition and Implementation.--
(1) Dissolution of existing board of trustees.--Effective
on the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Board of Trustees of the Harry S Truman Scholarship
Foundation (as established under section 5 of the Harry S
Truman Memorial Scholarship Act (20 U.S.C. 2004)) is dissolved
and all members of the Board are terminated.
(2) Appointment of new members.--As soon as practicable
after the effective date specified in paragraph (1), new
members shall be appointed to the Board of Trustees of the
Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation in accordance with
section 5 of the Harry S Truman Memorial Scholarship Act (20
U.S.C. 2004), as amended by subsection (a).
SEC. 4. SELECTION OF TRUMAN SCHOLARS.
Section 7 of the Harry S Truman Memorial Scholarship Act (20 U.S.C.
2006) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by inserting ``the eligibility requirements
described in subsection (c) and'' before ``minimum
criteria''; and
(B) by inserting ``in accordance with subsection
(d)(4)'' before the period at the end;
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) A student is eligible to be nominated for a scholarship under
this Act if such student--
``(1) is--
``(A) a full-time undergraduate student enrolled at
an institution of higher education who will receive a
bachelor's degree in the academic year following the
academic year in which the student is applying for a
scholarship; or
``(B) a full-time senior level student from the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or from The Islands (as
defined in section 1801.2(b) of title 45, Code of
Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of the
enactment of this subsection));
``(2) is enrolled in a course of study that qualifies the
student for admission to a graduate program leading to a career
in public service;
``(3) has a demonstrated record of academic excellence; and
``(4) is a citizen or national of the United States or a
permanent resident of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands.
``(d)(1) The Foundation shall establish and maintain Regional
Review Panels for purposes of carrying out subsection (a).
``(2) Each Regional Review Panel shall be responsible for selecting
scholarship recipients from one or more States assigned to the Panel by
the Board.
``(3)(A) Each Regional Review Panel shall consist of not fewer than
five members, each of whom shall be appointed on an annual basis by an
affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the members of the
Board.
``(B) Not more than half of the members of a Regional Review Panel
may be affiliated with the same political party at the time of
appointment.
``(4) In selecting students to be scholarship recipients under this
Act, each Regional Review Panel--
``(A) shall select students based on--
``(i) the extent and quality of community service and
government involvement of the student;
``(ii) the leadership record of the student;
``(iii) the academic performance of the student, including
with respect to and writing and analytical skills; and
``(iv) the suitability and appropriateness of the student's
proposed graduate program of study for a career in public
service;
``(B) shall not select any student who--
``(i) served as a leader, officer, director, or organizer
of a student organization recognized by the institution of
higher education at which the student is enrolled at time of an
incident or conduct that led to the suspension or expulsion of
such organization from such institution;
``(ii) has been suspended or expelled by an institution of
higher education due to a violation of such institution's code
of conduct or other disciplinary action by such institution; or
``(iii) has been convicted by any Federal, State, or local
court of competent jurisdiction of a felony; and
``(C) may not disfavor or otherwise apply adverse considerations to
a student because the student intends to pursue a particular type of
graduate degree, including with respect to a Master of Business
Administration degree or Doctor of Medicine degree.''.
SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF SCHOLARSHIP.
Section 9 of the Harry S Truman Memorial Scholarship Act (20 U.S.C.
2008) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``in accordance with
subsection (c) and'' after ``provided in this Act''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(c)(1) In accordance with paragraph (2), a student awarded a
scholarship under the provisions of this Act may not continue to
receive the payments provided in this Act if, at any point after the
date on which the scholarship is received, the student--
``(A) with respect to a report or request required by the
Foundation--
``(i) fails to submit such a report or request; or
``(ii) provides false, misleading, or materially
incomplete information on any such report or request;
``(B) fails to begin use of the scholarship within four
years of the date of receipt of a bachelor's degree, unless
granted an extension in writing by the Foundation;
``(C) serves as a leader, officer, director, or organizer
of a student organization recognized by the institution of
higher education at which the student is enrolled at time of an
incident or conduct that leads to the suspension or expulsion
of such organization from such institution;
``(D) is suspended or expelled by the institution of higher
education at which the student is enrolled due to a violation
of the institution's code of conduct or other disciplinary
action by the institution; or
``(E) is convicted by any Federal, State, or local court of
competent jurisdiction of a felony.
``(2)(A) The Foundation may not stop the payments provided in this
Act without first affording the student--
``(i) reasonable notice, which shall include the reason for
stopping such payments identified under subsection (a) or
subsection (c)(1) and any additional relevant information, as
determined by the Foundation; and
``(ii) opportunity for a hearing.
``(B) If the Foundation, after reasonable notice and opportunity
for hearing, finds that a student does not meet the conditions of
receiving payment in accordance with subsection (a) or subsection
(c)(1), the Foundation shall--
``(i) stop the payments provided in this Act for such
student; and
``(ii) provide written notice to such student, which shall
include the reason for stopping such payments identified under
subsection (a) or subsection (c)(1) and any additional relevant
information, as determined by the Foundation.
``(d) A student whose payments are stopped pursuant to subsection
(a) or subsection (c)(1) or an individual who fails to be employed in
public service for three out of the first seven years of employment
following completion of the graduate degree for which the individual
used such payments shall repay to the Foundation an amount equal to the
sum of--
``(1) the total amount of payments provided in this Act to
such student; and
``(2) interest at the rate of 6 percent per annum on the
total amount described in paragraph (1).
``(e) The Foundation shall ensure all scholarship recipients are
notified of the conditions that apply to receiving payments provided in
this Act as described in this section, prior to the date of the first
such payment.''.
SEC. 6. EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF FOUNDATION.
(a) In General.--Section 12 of the Harry S Truman Memorial
Scholarship Act (20 U.S.C. 2011) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``who shall be appointed
by the Board'' and inserting ``who shall be appointed by an
affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the members of
the Board''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) The Executive Secretary shall serve a term of 4 years and may
be reappointed to up to two additional terms of four years in
accordance with subsection (a).''.
(b) Appointment.--Not later than 90 days after a quorum of the
members of the Board of Trustees of the Harry S Truman Scholarship
Foundation have been appointed in accordance with section 3(b)(2) of
this Act, the Board shall appoint an Executive Secretary of the
Foundation in accordance with section 12 of the Harry S Truman Memorial
Scholarship Act (20 U.S.C. 2011), as amended by subsection (a).
(c) Service of Incumbent.--The individual serving as Executive
Secretary of the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation as of the date
of enactment of this Act may only continue serving in such position
until the earlier of--
(1) the date on which the Board of Trustees of the
Foundation appoints a new Executive Secretary in accordance
with subsection (b); or
(2) the expiration of the 90 day period beginning on the
date that a quorum of the members of the Board have been
appointed in accordance with section 3(b)(2).
SEC. 7. TRANSPARENCY PROVISIONS.
Section 13 of the Harry S Truman Memorial Scholarship Act (20
U.S.C. 2012) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c)(1) The Foundation shall preserve in unaltered format, and
make available on a publicly accessible website of the Foundation, the
following materials of the Foundation:
``(A) Press releases.
``(B) Program announcements.
``(C) Biographies of scholarship recipients.
``(2) The materials described in paragraph (1) may not be deleted,
hidden, or password-protected.
``(3) Any edits made to the materials described in paragraph (1)
after such materials were initially published shall be clearly
identified and, in a case in which an edit has been made to such
materials, a copy of the original, unaltered materials shall remain
available to the public on a website of the Foundation.
``(4) The requirements of this subsection shall apply to any
materials published by the Foundation before, on, or after the date of
enactment of this subsection.''.
SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY.
(a) Applicability.--This Act and the amendments made by this Act
shall apply only with respect to scholarships awarded under the Harry S
Truman Memorial Scholarship Act (20 U.S.C. 2002) on or after the date
of enactment of this Act.
(b) Treatment of Previously Awarded Scholarships.--Nothing in this
Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be construed to invalidate
or revoke, or alter the terms and conditions of, a scholarship that was
awarded under the Harry S Truman Memorial Scholarship Act (20 U.S.C.
2002) before the date of enactment of this Act. The Harry S Truman
foundation shall take such steps as may be necessary to continue to
fund and administer such previously awarded scholarships.
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