[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 11 (Thursday, February 12, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S750-S751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REED (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Murray, 
        Mr. Dodd, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Levin, Mr. 
        Kerry, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Kerrey, and Mr. 
        Hollings):
  S. 1644. A bill to amend subpart 4 of part A of title IV of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 regarding Grants to States for State 
Student Incentives; to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


         the leveraging educational assistance partnership act

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation with my 
Republican colleague on the Labor and Human Resources Committee, 
Senator Susan Collins, as well as Senators Kennedy, Murray, Dodd, 
Mikulski, Conrad, Levin, Akaka, Kerry, Johnson, Torricelli, Kerrey, and 
Hollings to reform and reauthorize an important student aid program, 
the State Student Incentive Grant program or SSIG.
  Last fall, I was pleased to join forces with Senator Collins to lead 
the fight to restore funding for SSIG on an 84 to 4 vote.
  This program provides funding on the basis of a dollar for dollar 
match to help states provide need-based financial aid in the form of 
grants and community service work study awards to 700,000 students 
nationwide, and 13,000 students from my home state of Rhode Island. 
Grants are targeted to the neediest undergraduate and graduate 
students.
  As I noted last fall during the debate on the Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education Appropriations bill, many states would not have 
established or maintained their need-based financial aid programs 
without this important federal incentive. Moreover, students, searching 
for sources of need-based grants to make their higher education dreams 
a reality, have come to rely on SSIG.
  Indeed, the importance of SSIG has increased over the years as 
skyrocketing college costs have eroded the purchasing power of the Pell 
Grant, and as the grant-loan imbalance widens. Twenty-three years ago, 
80 percent of student aid came in the form of grants and 20 percent in 
the form of loans. Today the opposite is true, and students face 
significant debt upon graduation.
  In addition, low-income students are still finding it particularly 
hard to afford higher education. Less than 50% of high school graduates 
with incomes under $22,000 go to college, while more than 80% of their 
higher income counterparts pursue education beyond high school.
  To address these trends and ensure that needy students have 
alternatives to borrowing, SSIG must be strengthened during the 
upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The legislation 
we introduce today, the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership 
(LEAP) Act, does this by reauthorizing and making significant reforms 
to the SSIG program.
  The LEAP Act provides states greater incentives and flexibility to 
help needy students attend college. Our legislation creates a two-tier 
grant program. Any funds appropriated over a trigger level of funding--
$35 million-- would require an increased state match of two new dollars 
for every federal dollar. However, states would gain new flexibility to 
use these funds for activities such as increasing grant amounts or 
carrying out academic or merit scholarship programs, community service 
programs, early intervention, mentorship, and career education 
programs, secondary to postsecondary education transition programs, or 
scholarship programs for students wishing to enter the teaching 
profession.
  These improvements restore the incentive nature of the program by 
attracting more state funds for student aid and providing greater 
flexibility for the use of these funds, while not disenfranchising 
states that can only match according to the current 1-to-1 requirement.
  The LEAP Act is supported by students, educators, and student aid 
officials, including the National Association of State Student Grant 
and Aid Programs (NASSGAP), the National Association of Independent 
Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the American Council on Education 
(ACE), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities 
(AASCU), the United States Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG), the 
United States Student Association (USSA), and the National Association 
of Graduate-Professional Students.
  Mr. President, I believe we should help all our citizens achieve the 
American Dream and ensure access to higher education, especially for 
hard working families whose wages have not kept up with inflation. I 
urge my colleagues to join us in this critical effort to strengthen 
federal-state student aid partnerships and our commitment to America's 
students.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1644

         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 ``Leveraging Educational 
     Assistance Partnership Act''.

[[Page S751]]

     SEC. 2. LEVERAGING EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PARTNERSHIP 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 415A(b) of 
     the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070c(b)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``1993'' and inserting 
     ``1999'';
       (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
       ``(2) Reservation.--For any fiscal year for which the 
     amount appropriated under paragraph (1) exceeds $35,000,000, 
     the excess shall be available to carry out section 415E.''.
       (b) Special Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership 
     Program.--Subpart 4 of part A of title IV of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070c et seq.) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating section 415E as 415F; and
       (2) by inserting after section 415D the following:

     ``SEC. 415E. SPECIAL LEVERAGING EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 
                   PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

       ``(a) In General.--From amounts reserved under section 
     415A(b)(2) for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall--
       ``(1) make allotments among States in the same manner as 
     the Secretary makes allotments among States under section 
     415B; and
       ``(2) award grants to States, from allotments under 
     paragraph (1), to enable the States to pay the Federal share 
     of the cost of the authorized activities described in 
     subsection (c).
       ``(b) Applicability Rule.--Except as otherwise provided in 
     this section, the provisions of this subpart which are not 
     inconsistent with this section shall apply to the program 
     authorized by this section.
       ``(c) Authorized Activities.--Each State receiving a grant 
     under this section may use the grant funds for--
       ``(1) increasing the dollar amount of grants awarded under 
     section 415B to eligible students who demonstrate financial 
     need;
       ``(2) carrying out transition programs from secondary 
     school to postsecondary education for eligible students who 
     demonstrate financial need;
       ``(3) carrying out community service programs for eligible 
     students who demonstrate financial need;
       ``(4) creating a scholarship program for eligible students 
     who demonstrate financial need and wish to enter teaching;
       ``(5) carrying out early intervention programs, mentoring 
     programs, and career education programs for eligible students 
     who demonstrate financial need; and
       ``(6) awarding merit or academic scholarships to eligible 
     students who demonstrate financial need.
       ``(d) Maintenance of Effort Requirement.--Each State 
     receiving a grant under this section for a fiscal year shall 
     provide the Secretary an assurance that the aggregate amount 
     expended per student or the aggregate expenditures by the 
     State, from funds derived from non-Federal sources, for the 
     authorized activities described in subsection (c) for the 
     preceding fiscal year were not less than the amount expended 
     per student or the aggregate expenditures by the State for 
     the activities for the second preceding fiscal year. The 
     Secretary may waive this subsection for good cause, as 
     determined by the Secretary.
       ``(e) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of the 
     authorized activities described in subsection (c) for any 
     fiscal year shall be 33\1/3\ percent.''.
       (c) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Purpose.--Subsection (a) of section 415A of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070c(a)) is amended to read 
     as follows:
       ``(a) Purpose of Subpart.--It is the purpose of this 
     subpart to make incentive grants available to States to 
     assist States in--
       ``(1) providing grants to--
       ``(A) eligible students attending institutions of higher 
     education or participating in programs of study abroad that 
     are approved for credit by institutions of higher education 
     at which such students are enrolled;
       ``(B) eligible students for campus-based community service 
     work-study; and
       ``(2) carrying out the activities described in section 
     415F.''.
       (2) Allotment.--Section 415B(a)(1) of the Higher Education 
     Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070c-1(a)(1)) is amended by inserting 
     ``and not reserved under section 415A(b)(2)'' after 
     ``415A(b)(1)''.

  Mr. KERREY. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that I cosponsor 
this important piece of legislation to help the very neediest of 
individuals obtain a college degree.
  One of the most important goals that we can accomplish as legislators 
is to ensure that every American who is willing to work hard can go to 
college and have a shot at the American Dream. Yet we know that the 
cost of a college education is rising rapidly, and that can be an 
inhibitor for potential students.
  By reauthorizing and reforming State Student Incentive Grants, the 
LEAP Act ensures that this important program continues to assist those 
students who otherwise may not be able to pursue higher education. 
Together with Pell grants they make it possible for low-income students 
to reach their potential and in turn become productive contributors in 
our increasingly knowledge-based economy.
  This legislation restores to the SSIG program its incentive nature by 
giving states a reason to increase their investment in it. Any funds 
appropriated over $35 million would require an increased state match of 
two new dollars for every federal dollar. In return greater flexibility 
will be provided for the use of these extra funds. They can be used to 
increase grant awards or for other worthy activities such as carrying 
out academic or merit scholarship programs or career education 
programs.
  Nebraska has been supportive of the SSIG program and has shown that 
support in its willingness to overmatch the federal contribution. 
However, with the decrease in appropriations from $50 million for 
fiscal year 1997 to $25 million for fiscal year 1998, the state will be 
able to assist approximately 500 fewer students. Seventy-one percent of 
Nebraska students who received an SSIG had a family income of $20,000 
or less.
  By lending further support to the SSIG program we can ensure that 
these 500 students and thousands of students across the nation do not 
fall between the cracks.
  Mr. President, I am cosponsoring this bill today because it 
represents a good bipartisan effort to increase educational 
opportunities for those in greatest need of financial assistance. I 
look forward to moving it through Congress.
                                 ______