110 HR 2869 IH: Central Asia Education Enhancement Act U.S. House of Representatives 2007-06-26 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2869 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 26, 2007 Mr. Pitts introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To establish a pilot program of Central Asian scholarships for undergraduate and graduate level public policy internships in the United States.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Central Asia Education Enhancement Act of 2007.

2.

Central Asia scholarship program for public policy internships

(a)

Pilot Program Established

As part of the educational and cultural exchange programs of the Department of State, the Secretary of State shall establish a pilot program for the fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010, of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students from Central Asia for public policy internships in the United States. Subject to the availability of appropriations, for each fiscal year 50 students shall participate in the program established under this section. (b)

General Provisions

(1)

In general

Except as otherwise provided in this section, the program established pursuant to subsection (a) shall be carried out under applicable provisions of the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 and the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961. (2)

Scholarship eligibility requirements

In addition to such other requirements as may be established by the Secretary of State, a scholarship recipient under this section— (A)shall be proficient in the English language; (B)shall be a student at an undergraduate or graduate school level at an accredited institution of higher education with a record of outstanding academic achievement and demonstrated intellectual abilities; (C)may not have received an academic scholarship or grant from the United States Government in the 3 years preceding the award of a scholarship under this section; and (D)may not be or have been a member of a terrorist organization or involved in any terrorist armed insurrection or organized crime. (3)

Internships

Internships under this section shall be for periods of not more than 6 months. (4)

Priority consideration

In the award of internships under this section, the Secretary shall give priority consideration to— (A)students who are underprivileged or members of ethnic, religious or cultural minorities; and (B)students from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. (5)

Definition

For the purposes of this section, the term Central Asia means the countries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. (c)

Authorization of Appropriations

In addition to such amounts as are otherwise authorized to be appropriated for the Department of State for educational and cultural exchange programs, there are authorized to be appropriated for each of the fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010, $600,000 to carry out this section.