[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2727 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  2d Session
                                 S. 2727

    To amend part A of title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
         regarding international and foreign language studies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 22, 2004

 Mr. Dodd (for himself, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Feingold) 
        introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
        referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
        PensionsYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend part A of title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
         regarding international and foreign language studies.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``International and Foreign Language 
Studies Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In recent years, foreign language needs have 
        significantly increased throughout the Federal Government due 
        to the presence of a wider range of security threats, the 
        emergence of new nation states, and the globalization of the 
        United States economy.
            (2) Likewise, American businesses increasingly need 
        internationally and multiculturally experienced employees to 
        compete in the global economy and to manage a culturally 
        diverse workforce.
            (3) Currently, the Federal Government requires 34,000 
        employees with foreign language skills across more than 70 
        Federal agencies.
            (4) Federal agency officials have stated that, over the 
        years, translator and interpreter shortfalls have adversely 
        affected agency operations and hindered United States military, 
        law enforcement, intelligence, counterterrorism, and diplomatic 
        efforts.
            (5) In a 2002 General Accounting Office report, the United 
        States Army reported that it was experiencing serious 
        shortfalls of translators and interpreters in 5 of its 6 
        critical languages: Arabic, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Persian-
        Farsi, and Russian.
            (6) The number of Foreign Language and Area Studies 
        Fellowships awarded in 2003 was 30 percent less than the number 
        awarded at its high point in 1967.
            (7) In the 2000-2001 school year, the number of foreign 
        language degrees conferred was 1 percent of the total 
        undergraduate degrees conferred, less than .05 percent of the 
        total masters degrees conferred, and 1 percent of the total 
        doctoral degrees conferred.
            (8) In the 2003 National Survey of Student Engagement, only 
        \2/5\ of undergraduates reported taking foreign language 
        coursework, while only 1 in 5 reported having studied abroad.
            (9) Only 1 percent of all United States undergraduates 
        studied abroad in the 2001-2002 school year.
            (10) In 2002, 79 percent of Americans agreed that students 
        should have a study-abroad experience sometime during college.
            (11) More than 40 percent of Americans said they were more 
        likely to favor an increase in State funding for foreign 
        language education at their local college or university after 
        September 11, 2001.

SEC. 3. REFERENCES.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in this Act an 
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to 
be made to a section or other provision of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).

SEC. 4. GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE LANGUAGE AND AREA CENTERS AND 
              PROGRAMS.

    Section 602 (20 U.S.C. 1122) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (G), by striking ``and'' after 
                the semicolon;
                    (B) in subparagraph (H), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(I) support for instructors of the less commonly 
                taught languages.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting ``and 
                Undergraduate'' after ``Graduate''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) Eligible student.--A student receiving a stipend 
        described in paragraph (1) shall be engaged--
                    ``(A) in an instructional program with stated 
                performance goals for functional foreign language use 
                or in a program developing such performance goals, in 
                combination with area studies, international studies, 
                or the international aspects of a professional studies 
                program; and
                    ``(B)(i) in the case of an undergraduate student, 
                in the intermediate or advanced study of a less 
                commonly taught language; or
                    ``(ii) in the case of a graduate student, in 
                graduate study work in connection with a program 
                described in subparagraph (A), including 
                predissertation level study, preparation for 
                dissertation research, dissertation research abroad, or 
                dissertation writing.''; and
             (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(d) Allowances.--
            ``(1) Graduate level recipients.--A stipend awarded to a 
        graduate level recipient may include allowances for dependents 
        and for travel for research and study in the United States and 
        abroad.
            ``(2) Undergraduate level recipients.--A stipend awarded to 
        an undergraduate level recipient may include an allowance for 
        educational programs in the United States or abroad that--
                    ``(A) are closely linked to the overall goals of 
                the recipient's course of study; and
                    ``(B) have the purpose of promoting foreign 
                language fluency and cultural knowledge.''.

SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS IN UNDERGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND FOREIGN 
              LANGUAGE PROGRAMS.

    Section 604 (20 U.S.C. 1124) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (I) 
                        through (M) as subparagraphs (J) through (N), 
                        respectively; and
                            (ii) by inserting after subparagraph (H) 
                        the following:
                    ``(I) providing subgrants to undergraduate students 
                for educational programs abroad that--
                            (i) are closely linked to the overall goals 
                        of the program for which the grant is awarded; 
                        and
                            (ii) have the purpose of promoting foreign 
                        language fluency and cultural knowledge;''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) Limitation on undergraduate grants.--An institution 
        of higher education, a combination of such institutions, or a 
        partnership awarded a grant under this section shall use not 
        more than 10 percent of the grant funds for the use described 
        in paragraph (2)(I).''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (c).

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.

    Section 605(a) (20 U.S.C. 1125(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) the systematic collection, analysis, and 
        dissemination of data that contribute to achieving the purposes 
        of this part.''.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 610 (20 U.S.C. 1128b) is amended by striking ``$80,000,000 
for fiscal year 1999'' and inserting ``$120,000,000 for fiscal year 
2005''.
                                 <all>