II 109th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3532 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 16, 2006 Mr. Lugar introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To support the goals of the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Higher Education Study Abroad Act of 2006.

2.

Findings

Congress makes the following findings: (1)According to the report Global Competence & National Needs: One Million Americans Studying Abroad by the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program— (A)business leaders recognize that they need to draw on people with global skills if their corporations are to succeed in a world in which 1 American job in 6 is tied to international trade; (B)study abroad programs for undergraduate students provide a unique opportunity to expand the number of foreign language speakers and enhance foreign language learning; (C)more than 65 Federal agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency and the Peace Corps, need to fill annually 34,000 positions requiring foreign language skills, and this requirement is often unmet or filled only through outside contractors; (D)higher education in the United States is increasingly providing opportunities for study abroad programs, and some of the finest colleges and universities of the United States are making major commitments to this essential element of today's educational experience; and (E)it is in the national interest of the United States to send at least 1,000,000 postsecondary students abroad each year to study the languages and cultures of other countries. (2)The Lincoln Commission report described in paragraph (1) represents the opinions of some of the most thoughtful experts on higher education in the United States.

3.

Recommendations of the Lincoln Commission

(a)

Sense of the Senate

It is the sense of the Senate that the Federal Government should endorse the goals outlined by the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program, established under section 104 of the Miscellaneous Appropriations and Offsets Act, 2004 (division H of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 (Public Law 108–199, 118 Stat. 435) regarding expanding the opportunity for students at institutions of higher education in the United States to study abroad. (b)

Review of recommendations

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall— (1)review the recommendations of the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program regarding expanding the opportunity for students at institutions of higher education in the United States to study abroad; and (2)prepare and submit a report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives that considers the feasibility of— (A)implementing the recommendations of the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program; and (B)establishing a national scholarship program, as recommended by the Commission, that provides opportunities for students at institutions of higher education to study abroad. (c)

Definition of institution of higher education

In this section, the term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).