ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

SEC. 496. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. (a) Independent Control.— Section 491(b) of the Act (20 U.S.C. 1098) is amended by inserting after the first sentence the following: “Notwithstanding Department of Education policies and regulations, the Advisory Committee shall exert independent control of its budget allocations and expenditures, 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.”. (b) Functions; Membership.— Section 491(d) of the Act is amended— 106 STAT. 632 (1) by striking “and in assessing the impact of legislative and administrative policy proposals” in paragraph (3); (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7) as paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and (8), respectively; and (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new paragraph. “(4) assess the impact of legislative and administrative policy proposals;”; (4) by striking “and” at the end of paragraph (7) (as redesignated); (5) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (8) (as redesignated) and inserting a semicolon and “and”; and (6) by adding at the end the following new paragraph— “(9) make special efforts to advise Members of Congress and such Members’ staff of the findings and recommendations made pursuant to this paragraph.”. (c) Exemption.— Section 491(h)(4) of the Act is amended— (1) by striking “in accordance with” and inserting “without regard to”; and (2) by inserting “and to set pay in accordance with such section” before the period. (d) Availability of Funds.— Section 491(i) of the Act is amended by striking “$500,000” and inserting “$750,000”. (e) Additional Provisions.— Section 491 of the Act is amended by striking subsection (j) and inserting in lieu thereof: “(j) Special Analyses and Activities.— The committee shall— “(1) monitor and evaluate the program modifications resulting from the enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1992, especially as such amendments relate to the need analysis; “(2) monitor and evaluate the implementation, pursuant to section 483, of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the process for determining eligibility and awards for programs under this title, including a simplified reapplication process; “(3) assess the adequacy of current methods for disseminating information about programs under this title and recommend improvements, as appropriate, regarding early needs assessment and information for first-year high school students; and “(4) assess the adequacy of methods of monitoring student debt burden. “(k) Term of the Committee.— Notwithstanding the sunset and charter provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. I) or any other statute or regulation, the Advisory Committee shall be authorized until October 1, 1998. “(l) Student Loan Program Simplification Study.— (1) The Advisory Committee shall conduct a thorough study of means of simplifying all aspects of the loan programs under part B of this title. In carrying out the study, the Advisory Committee shall examine, at a minimum— “(A) reduction of paperwork burdens experienced by financial aid administrators resulting from the current structure of such loan programs; “(B) promotion of simplification and standardization of forms, procedures, and all other aspects of guaranty agency operations for the purpose of facilitating data exchanges with such agencies 106 STAT. 633(including the National Student Loan Database) and facilitating Department of Education oversight; “(C) simplification of the repayment process to minimize borrower confusion, including encouragement of single holder ownership of all of an individual’s loans; “(D) encouragement of efficient utilization of loan programs to minimize multiple program borrowing in postsecondary education; and “(E) other proposals which are designed to reduce the administrative burdens on, and paperwork required of, students, educational institutions, guaranty agencies, lenders, secondary markets, and the Secretary submitted in response to a general solicitation by the Advisory Committee. “(2) The Advisory Committee shall consult with the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate in carrying out the study required by this subsection. “(3) The Advisory Committee shall, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, prepare and submit to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate a report on the study required by this subsection.”.