12 2 STA T .350 0 PUBLIC LA W 110 – 315 — AU G .1 4, 200 8(c)SCOPE.—TheDir ec to ro f the C e n ter for Edu c a tion of the N ationa lA cade my of Science s shall select for p articipation in the study under su b section (a) a di v erse g roup of institutions of higher education w ith respect to si z e , mission, and geographic distribution. (d) INT E RIMA N DF INA LR EPORT S .—The Director of the Center for Education of the National Academy of Sciences shall submit to the authorizing committees and the Secretary of Education— ( 1 ) an interim report regarding the study under subsection (a) not later than one year after the date the Center for Edu - cation of the National Academies enters into an agreement with the Secretary of Education under this section
and ( 2 ) a final report summarizing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of such study not later than two years after the date the Center for Education of the National Acad- emies enters into such agreement. (e) TAS K FORCE.— (1) ESTA B LIS H MENT.— U pon submission of the final report under subsection (d)(2), the Secretary of Education shall estab- lish a tas k force to make policy recommendations to the Sec- retary regarding the findings of the report. (2) M EMBERSHIP.—The membership of the task force estab- lished under paragraph (1) shall include chief State school officers, State reading consultants, master teachers, national reading e x perts, and researchers with expertise in relevant fields. ( 3 ) PU BLIC HEARIN G S.—The task force established under paragraph (1) shall hold public hearings to provide an oppor- tunity for public comment on the recommendations made under paragraph (1). SEC.1 11 7 . R E PO R T O NI NCO M E CONTIN G ENT REP AY MENT T H RO U GH THE INCOME TA XW ITHHO LD ING SYSTEM. (a) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date of enact- ment of this Act, the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of the Treasury shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility and benefits of developing a system through which a borrower who is repaying a loan through the income contingent repayment plan or the income-based repayment program may make payments on the loan using the income tax withholding system (referred to in this section as ‘ ‘direct IDEA loans ’ ’). The goal of this program would be to— (1) streamline the repayment process and provide greater flexibility for borrowers electing to use the direct IDEA loan; (2) reduce the number of loan defaults by borrowers; and (3) reduce the redundancy in reporting information per- taining to income contingent repayment and income-based repayment to the Department of Education, institutions, and applicants. (b) E V ALUATIONS.—In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of the Treasury shall evaluate— (1) the feasibility of implementing direct IDEA loans by the Department of Education and the Department of the Treasury; (2) any advantages or disadvantages of direct IDEA loans on borrowers and taxpayers; Study.Dea d lin e.
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