H.R. 7894
Truman Scholarship Clean House Act
Sponsor: Elise M. Stefanik
1 cosponsor
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Truman Scholarship Clean House Act
This bill makes changes to the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, which awards scholarships to students who plan to attend graduate school in pursuit of a career in public service.
Specifically, the bill dissolves the current Board of Trustees (which oversees the foundation) and terminates all members of the board effective 90 days after the bill's enactment. New board members must be appointed as outlined by the bill.
Additionally, the bill (1) prohibits any board member (other than the Secretary of Education or the Secretary's designee) from serving more than two six-year terms, and (2) establishes a quorum as seven board members.
The board must appoint a new executive secretary of the foundation, who must (1) be appointed by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the board, and (2) serve a four-year term (but may be reappointed).
The bill establishes certain requirements for regional review panels, including that each panel must consist of at least five members appointed annually by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the board and no more than half of the panel may be affiliated with the same political party.
The bill establishes additional scholarship conditions, including by (1) stopping payments to scholarship recipients who commit certain actions (e.g., served as a leader in a student organization suspended for misconduct), and (2) requiring recipients who have their scholarship payments stopped or who are not employed in public service for a certain time period to repay their scholarship with 6% interest.
Text of the bill
Where this section came from
Not in the first version (Introduced in House, Mar 12).
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Jul 2, 2026 · Reported in House Marked up by House Committee on Education and Workforce, Mar 17 Reported by House Committee on Education and Workforce, Jul 2 Committee members' individual votes aren't in our records.
What is a markup?
A markup is a committee meeting where members go through a bill and vote on changes before sending it to the full chamber.
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.