EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS.

SEC. 163. EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS. (a) Benefits Provided..—Each individual who has been selected under section 161(b) shall be eligible to receive educational benefits in an amount that the Director of the Peace Corps or the Director of ACTION finds reasonable and appropriate, but that shall not exceed the costs of tuition, room and board, books, and fees that the individual incurs in attending the institution of higher education of such individual during the remaining 2 years of the educational program in which the individual is enrolled. (b) Form of Benefits.—The educational benefits provided to an individual under subsection (a) shall be in the form of grants, remissions of expenses, or such other form as the Director of the Peace Corps or the Director of ACTION considers appropriate. (c) Repayment of Benefits.—An individual provided benefits under subsection (a) shall repay the amount of the benefits so provided, plus interest not to exceed that permitted under section 427A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1077a)— (1) if the individual fails to complete the educational program of such individual within the 2-year period specified in section 161(a)(1), or (2) if the individual fails to serve 3 years as a volunteer in the Peace Corps or VISTA upon completing the educational program of such individual. The Director of the Peace Corps or the Director of ACTION may waive the repayment requirement if exceptional circumstances, such as illness or death, prevent an individual from meeting such 2-year or 3-year requirement. (d) Collection by Secretary of Education.—The Secretary of Education shall have the authority to collect amounts owed by an individual under subsection (c). The Secretary may, for the purpose of collecting such amounts, exercise the authorities conferred on the Secretary by sections 467 and 468 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087gg and 1087hh) with respect to the collection of defaulted loans under part E of title IV of that Act. Amounts collected under this subsection shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.