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119-hr-7894119th CongressWALLET

Truman Scholarship Clean House Act

Sponsored By: Representative Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21]

In Committee

Summary

Rewrites governance of the Truman Scholarship Foundation by creating a new 13-member Board. The bill would also tighten who can win and keep a Truman Scholarship and require public preservation of recipient materials.

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  • Students and applicants: Would expand eligibility to include full-time seniors from Puerto Rico and The Islands and citizens, nationals, or Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) permanent residents. Regional Review Panels of at least five members would score applicants and would bar those with felony convictions or certain suspensions or expulsions.
  • Board and governance: Would replace the current trustees with a 13-member Board that mixes presidential and congressional appointments plus the Secretary of Education ex officio. Members would serve six-year terms with a two-term limit and rules to limit partisan concentration among presidential appointees.
  • Recipients and transparency: Would create stricter termination rules and repayment obligations for scholars who lose eligibility or fail public service commitments. The Foundation would have to publish and preserve unaltered press releases, program announcements, and recipient biographies on a public website, and repayment could include 6 percent annual interest on amounts owed.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 2 mixed.

New payment rules for scholarship recipients

If enacted, the bill would let the Foundation stop Truman Scholarship payments for awards made on or after enactment if recipients miss required reports, give false or incomplete information, do not begin use within four years of a bachelor's degree (unless given a written extension), serve as a student leader during an incident that led to suspension/expulsion, are suspended/expelled for code-of-conduct violations, or are convicted of a felony. The Foundation must give reasonable notice and offer a hearing before stopping payments and provide written reasons if payments stop. The bill would require recipients to be told about these rules and any repayment duties before the first payment. It would apply only to scholarships awarded on or after enactment; prior awards would not be changed.

Nomination and selection rules for students

If enacted, the bill would expand who may be nominated for a Truman Scholarship to include full‑time undergraduates receiving a bachelor's degree the next academic year and full‑time seniors from Puerto Rico or the Islands (as defined in existing federal rules). The bill would require Regional Review Panels, with at least five members appointed annually by a two‑thirds Board vote and no more than half from one political party, to pick winners based on public service, leadership, academics, and fit with public service graduate study. Panels may not favor or disfavor applicants for pursuing particular graduate degrees, but they would be barred from selecting applicants who led organizations at the time those organizations were suspended/expelled, who were suspended/expelled for conduct violations, or who have felony convictions.

Board and transparency reforms for Foundation

If enacted, the bill would dissolve the current Truman Foundation Board 90 days after enactment and reconstitute it as 13 members: four Congressional leader appointees, eight Presidential appointees (no more than four of those affiliated with the same party at appointment), and the Secretary of Education or designee ex officio (not eligible to be Chair). Non‑ex officio members would generally serve six‑year terms with limits on service and a seven‑member quorum. The Board would also need to appoint an Executive Secretary by a two‑thirds vote within 90 days after a quorum of the reconstituted Board is appointed, with the Executive Secretary serving four‑year terms (reappointment up to two times). The bill would require the Foundation to preserve and publish press releases, program announcements, and recipient biographies in unaltered form on its public website, and clearly mark any edits while keeping originals available.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21]

NY • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Foxx, Virginia [R-NC-5]

    NC • R

    Sponsored 3/24/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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