savings account or comparable interest-bearing account, certificate of deposit, money market fund, mutual fund, or obligations of the United States.

(B) The institution, in investing the endowment fund established under this section, shall exercise the judgment and care, under the circumstances then prevailing, which a person of prudence, discretion, and intelligence would exercise in the management of such person's own affairs.

(3)(A) An institution may withdraw and expend the endowment fund income to defray any expenses necessary to the operation of such college, including expenses of operations and maintenance, administration, academic and support personnel, construction and renovation, community and student services programs, and technical assistance.

(B)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), an institution may not spend more than 50 percent of the total aggregate endowment fund income earned prior to the time of expenditure.

(ii) The Secretary may permit an institution to spend more than 50 percent of the endowment fund income notwithstanding clause (i) if the institution demonstrates such an expenditure is necessary because of (I) a financial emergency, such as a pending insolvency or temporary liquidity problem; (II) a life-threatening situation occasioned by a natural disaster or arson; or (III) any other unusual occurrence or exigent circumstance.

(d) REPAYMENT PROVISIONS.—(1) If at any time an institution withdraws part of the endowment fund corpus, the institution shall repay to the Secretary an amount equal to 50 percent of the withdrawn amount, which represents the Federal share, plus income earned thereon. The Secretary may use such repaid funds to make additional challenge grants, or to increase existing endowment grants, to other eligible institutions.

(2) If an institution expends more of the endowment fund income than is permitted under subsection (c), the institution shall repay the Secretary an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount improperly expended (representing the Federal share thereof). The Secretary may use such repaid fund to make additional challenge grants, or to increase existing challenge grants, to other eligible institutions.

(e) AUDIT INFORMATION.-An institution receiving a grant under this section shall provide to the Secretary (or a designee thereof) such information (or access thereto) as may be necessary to audit or examine expenditures made from the endowment fund corpus or income in order to determine compliance with this section.

(f) SELECTION CRITERIA.-In selecting eligible institutions for grants under this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall

(1) give priority to an applicant that is receiving assistance under part A or part B or has received a grant under part A or part B of this title within the 5 fiscal years preceding the fiscal year in which the applicant is applying for a grant under this section;

(2) give priority to an applicant with a greater need for such a grant, based on the current market value of the appli

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cant's existing endowment in relation to the number of fulltime equivalent students enrolled at such institution; and

(3) consider

(A) the effort made by the applicant to build or maintain its existing endowment fund; and

(B) the degree to which an applicant proposes to match the grant with nongovernmental funds.

(g) APPLICATION.-Any institution which is eligible for assistance under this section may submit to the Secretary a grant application at such time, in such form, and containing such information as the Secretary may prescribe, including a description of the longand short-term plans for raising and using the funds under this part. Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry out this section and consistent with the requirement of subsection (f), the Secretary may approve an application for a grant if an institution, in its application, provides adequate assurances that it will comply with the requirements of this section.

(h) TERMINATION AND RECOVERY PROVISIONS. (1) After notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary may terminate and recover a grant awarded under this section if the grantee institution

(A) expends portions of the endowment fund corpus or expends more than the permissible amount of the endowment funds income as prescribed in subsection (c)(3);

(B) fails to invest the endowment fund in accordance with the investment standards set forth in subsection (c)(2); or

(C) fails to properly account to the Secretary concerning the investment and expenditures of the endowment funds. (2) If the Secretary terminates a grant under paragraph (1), the grantee shall return to the Secretary an amount equal to the sum of each original grant under this section plus income earned thereon. The Secretary may use such repaid funds to make additional endowment grants, or to increase existing challenge grants, to other eligible institutions under this part.

PART D-GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 351. [20 U.S.C. 1066] APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE.

(a) APPLICATION REQUIRED; APPROVAL.-Any institution which is eligible for assistance under this title shall submit to the Secretary an application for assistance at such time, in such form, and containing such information, as may be necessary to enable the Secretary to evaluate its need for assistance. Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry out this title, the Secretary may approve an application for a grant under this title if the application meets the requirements of subsection (b) and shows that the applicant is eligible for assistance in accordance with the part of this title under which the assistance is sought.

(b) CONTENTS.-An institution, in its application for a grant, shall

(1) set forth, or describe how the institution (other than an institution applying under part C) will develop, a comprehensive development plan to strengthen the institution's academic quality and institutional management, and otherwise provide

for institutional self-sufficiency and growth (including measurable objectives for the institution and the Secretary to use in monitoring the effectiveness of activities under this title);

(2) set forth policies and procedures to ensure that Federal funds made available under this title for any fiscal year will be used to supplement and, to the extent practical, increase the funds that would otherwise be made available for the purposes of section 311(b) or 323, and in no case supplant those funds; (3) set forth policies and procedures for evaluating the effectiveness in accomplishing the purpose of the activities for which a grant is sought under this title;

(4) provide for such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures as may be necessary to ensure proper disbursement of and accounting for funds made available to the applicant under this title;

(5) provide (A) for making such reports, in such form and containing such information, as the Secretary may require to carry out the functions under this title, including not less than one report annually setting forth the institution's progress toward achieving the objectives for which the funds were awarded, and (B) for keeping such records and affording such access thereto, as the Secretary may find necessary to assure the correctness and verification of such reports;

(6) provide that the institution will comply with the limitations set forth in section 357;

(7) describe in a comprehensive manner any proposed project for which funds are sought under the application and include

(A) a description of the various components of the proposed project, including the estimated time required to complete each such component;

(B) in the case of any development project which consists of several components (as described by the applicant pursuant to subparagraph (A)), a statement identifying those components which, if separately funded, would be sound investments of Federal funds and those components which would be sound investments of Federal funds only if funded under this title in conjunction with other parts of the development project (as specified by the applicant);

(C) an evaluation by the applicant of the priority given any proposed project for which funds are sought in relation to any other projects for which funds are sought by the applicant under this title, and a similar evaluation regarding priorities among the components of any single proposed project (as described by the applicant pursuant to subparagraph (A));

(D) a detailed budget showing the manner in which funds for any proposed project would be spent by the applicant; and

(E) a detailed description of any activity which involves the expenditure of more than $25,000, as identified in the budget referred to in subparagraph (E); and (8) include such other information as the Secretary may prescribe.

(c) PRIORITY CRITERIA PUBLICATION REQUIRED.-The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register, pursuant to chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, all policies and procedures required to exercise the authority set forth in subsection (a). No other criteria, policies, or procedures shall apply.

(d) ELIGIBILITY DATA. The Secretary shall use the most recent and relevant data concerning the number and percentage of students receiving need-based assistance under title IV of this Act in making eligibility determinations under section 312 and shall advance the base-year forward following each annual grant cycle. SEC. 352. [20 U.S.C. 1067] WAIVER AUTHORITY AND REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

(a) WAIVER REQUIREMENTS; NEED-BASED ASSISTANCE STUDENTS.-The Secretary may waive the requirements set forth in section 312(b)(1)(A) in the case of an institution—

(1) which is extensively subsidized by the State in which it is located and charges low or no tuition;

(2) which serves a substantial number of low-income students as a percentage of its total student population;

(3) which is contributing substantially to increasing higher education opportunities for educationally disadvantaged, underrepresented, or minority students, who are low-income individuals;

(4) which is substantially increasing higher educational opportunities for individuals in rural or other isolated areas which are unserved by postsecondary institutions;

(5) located on or near an Indian reservation or a substantial population of Indians, if the Secretary determines that the waiver will substantially increase higher education opportunities appropriate to the needs of American Indians; or

(6) wherever located, if the Secretary determines that the waiver will substantially increase higher education opportunities appropriate to the needs of Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, or Pacific Islanders, including Native Hawaiians.

(b) WAIVER DETERMINATIONS; EXPENDITURES. (1) The Secretary may waive the requirements set forth in section 312(b)(1)(B) if the Secretary determines, based on persuasive evidence submitted by the institution, that the institution's failure to meet that criterion is due to factors which, when used in the determination of compliance with such criterion, distort such determination, and that the institution's designation as an eligible institution under part A is otherwise consistent with the purposes of such parts.

(2) The Secretary shall submit to the Congress every other year a report concerning the institutions which, although not satisfying the criterion contained in section 312(b)(1)(B), have been determined to be eligible institutions under part A institutions which enroll significant numbers of Black American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian students under part A, as the case may be. Such report shall

(A) identify the factors referred to in paragraph (1) which were considered by the Secretary as factors that distorted the determination of compliance with subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 312(b)(1); and

(B) contain a list of each institution determined to be an eligible institution under part A including a statement of the reasons for each such determination.

(3) The Secretary may waive the requirement set forth in section 312(b)(1)(E) in the case of an institution located on or near an Indian reservation or a substantial population of Indians, if the Secretary determines that the waiver will substantially increase higher education opportunities appropriate to the needs of American Indians.

SEC. 353. [20 U.S.C. 1068] APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS.

(a) REVIEW PANEL.-(1) All applications submitted under this title by institutions of higher education shall be read by a panel of readers composed of individuals selected by the Secretary. The Secretary shall assure that no individual assigned under this section to review any application has any conflict of interest with regard to the application which might impair the impartiality with which the individual conducts the review under this section.

(2) The Secretary shall take care to assure that representatives of historically and predominantly Black colleges, Hispanic institutions, Native American colleges and universities, and institutions with substantial numbers of Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Native American Pacific Islanders (including Native Hawaiians) are included as readers.

(3) All readers selected by the Secretary shall receive thorough instruction from the Secretary regarding the evaluation process for applications submitted under this title and consistent with the provisions of this title, including

(A) explanations and examples of the types of activities referred to in section 311(b) that should receive special consideration for grants awarded under part A and of the types of activities referred to in section 323 that should receive special consideration for grants awarded under part B;

(B) an enumeration of the factors to be used to determine the quality of applications submitted under this title; and

(C) an enumeration of the factors to be used to determine whether a grant should be awarded for a project under this title, the amount of any such grant, and the duration of any such grant.

(b) RECOMMENDATIONS OF PANEL.-In awarding grants under this title, the Secretary shall take into consideration the recommendations of the panel made under subsection (a).

(c) NOTIFICATION.-Not later than June 30 of each year, the Secretary shall notify each institution of higher education making an application under this title of

(1) the scores given the applicant by the panel pursuant to this section;

(2) the recommendations of the panel with respect to such application; and

(3) the reasons for the decision of the Secretary in awarding or refusing to award a grant under this title, and any modifications, if any, in the recommendations of the panel made by the Secretary.