Congressional Record, Volume 148 Issue 126 (Tuesday, October 1, 2002)

[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 126 (Tuesday, October 1, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6818-H6823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

CANCELING LOANS TO ALLOW SCHOOL SYSTEMS TO ATTRACT CLASSROOM TEACHERS
ACT

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5091) to increase the amount of student loan forgiveness
available to qualified teachers, with an emphasis on special education
teachers, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:

H.R. 5091

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 ``Canceling Loans to Allow
School Systems to Attract Classroom Teachers Act''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNTS FOR STUDENT LOAN
FORGIVENESS.

(a) FFEL Loans.--Section 428J(c) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-10(c)) is amended by adding at
the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Additional amounts; priority.--
``(A) Larger amounts from appropriated funds.--
Notwithstanding the amount specified in paragraph (1), the
aggregate amount that the Secretary may, from funds
appropriated under subparagraph (C), repay under this section
is a total amount equal to not more than $17,500.
``(B) Award basis; priority.--The Secretary shall make
payments under this paragraph to elementary or secondary
school teachers who meet the requirements of subsection (b)
on a first-come first-served basis, subject to the
availability of appropriations, but shall give priority in
providing loan repayment under this paragraph for a fiscal
year to teachers who--
``(i)(I) are employed as special education teachers whose
primary responsibility is to teach or support children with
disabilities (as defined in section 602 of the Individuals
with Disabilities Act); and
``(II) as certified by the chief administrative officer of
the public or nonprofit private elementary or secondary
school in which the borrower is employed, are teaching
children with disabilities that correspond with the
borrower's training and have demonstrated knowledge and
teaching skills in the content areas of the elementary or
secondary school curriculum that the borrower is teaching;
``(ii) are employed as teachers in local educational
agencies that are determined by a State educational agency
under section 2141 of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 to have failed to make progress toward meeting
the annual measurable objectives described in section
1119(a)(2) of such Act for 2 consecutive years; or
``(iii) are employed as teachers of mathematics or science.
``(C) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this paragraph
such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2003 and for
each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.''.
(b) Direct Loans.--Section 460(c) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087j(c)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Additional amounts; priority.--
``(A) Larger amounts from appropriated funds.--
Notwithstanding the amount specified in paragraph (1), the
aggregate amount that the Secretary may, from funds
appropriated under subparagraph (C), repay under this section
is a total amount equal to not more than $17,500.
``(B) Award basis; priority.--The Secretary shall make
payments under this paragraph to elementary or secondary
school teachers who meet the requirements of subsection (b)
on a first-come first-served basis, subject to the
availability of appropriations, but shall give priority in
providing loan repayment under this paragraph for a fiscal
year to teachers who--
``(i)(I) are employed as special education teachers whose
primary responsibility is to teach or support children with
disabilities (as defined in section 602 of the Individuals
with Disabilities Act); and
``(II) as certified by the chief administrative officer of
the public or nonprofit private elementary or secondary
school in which the borrower is employed, are teaching
children with disabilities that correspond with the
borrower's training and have demonstrated knowledge and
teaching skills in the content areas of the elementary or
secondary school curriculum that the borrower is teaching;
``(ii) are employed as teachers in local educational
agencies that are determined by a State educational agency
under section 2141 of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 to have failed to make progress toward meeting
the annual measurable objectives described in section
1119(a)(2) of such Act for 2 consecutive years; or
``(iii) are employed as teachers of mathematics or science.
``(C) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this paragraph
such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2003 and for
each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.''.

SEC. 3. CANCELLATION OF STUDENT LOAN INDEBTEDNESS FOR
SPOUSES, SURVIVING JOINT DEBTORS, AND PARENTS.

(a) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) Eligible public servant.--The term ``eligible public
servant'' means an individual who--
(A) served as a police officer, firefighter, other safety
or rescue personnel, or as a member of the Armed Forces; and
(B) died (or dies) or became (or becomes) permanently and
totally disabled due to injuries suffered in the terrorist
attack on September 11, 2001;
as determined in accordance with regulations of the
Secretary.
(2) Eligible victim.--The term ``eligible victim'' means an
individual who died (or dies) or became (or becomes)
permanently and totally disabled due to injuries suffered in
the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, as determined in
accordance with regulations of the Secretary.
(3) Eligible spouse.--The term ``eligible spouse'' means
the spouse of an eligible public servant, as determined in
accordance with regulations of the Secretary.
(4) Eligible surviving debtor.--The term ``eligible
surviving debtor'' means an individual who owes a Federal
student loan that is a consolidation loan that was used,
jointly by that individual and an eligible victim, to repay
the Federal student loans of that individual and of such
eligible victim.
(5) Eligible parent.--The term ``eligible parent'' means
the parent of an eligible victim if--
``(A) the parent owes a Federal student loan that is a
consolidation loan that was used to repay a PLUS loan
incurred on behalf of such eligible victim; or
``(B) the parent owes a Federal student loan that is a PLUS
loan incurred on behalf of an eligible victim who became (or
becomes) permanently and totally disabled due to injuries
suffered in the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
(7) Federal student loan.--The term ``Federal student
loan'' means any loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part
B, D, or E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
(b) Relief From Indebtedness.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide for the
discharge or cancellation of--
(A) the Federal student loan indebtedness of an eligible
spouse;
(B) the consolidation loan indebtedness of an eligible
surviving debtor;
(C) the portion of the consolidation loan indebtedness of
an eligible parent that was incurred on behalf of an eligible
victim, if the amount of such indebtedness with respect to
such eligible victim may be reliably determined on the basis
of records available to the lender; and
(D) the PLUS loan indebtedness of an eligible parent that
was incurred on behalf of an eligible victim described in
subsection (a)(5)(B).
(2) Method of discharge or cancellation.--A loan required
to be discharged or canceled under paragraph (1) shall be
discharged or canceled by the method used under section
437(a), 455(a)(1), or 464(c)(1)(F) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087(a), 1087e(a)(1),
1087dd(c)(1)(F)), whichever is applicable to such loan.
(c) Facilitation of Claims.--The Secretary shall--
(1) establish procedures for the filing of applications for
discharge or cancellation under this section by regulations
that shall be prescribed and published within 90 days

[[Page H6819]]

after the date of enactment of this Act and without regard to
the requirements of section 553 of title 5, United States
Code; and
(2) take such actions as may be necessary to publicize the
availability of discharge or cancellation of Federal student
loan indebtedness for eligible spouses, eligible surviving
debtors, and eligible parents under this section.
(d) Availability of Funds for Payments.--Funds available
for the purposes of making payments to lenders in accordance
with section 437(a) for the discharge of indebtedness of
deceased or disabled individuals shall be available for
making payments under section 437(a) to lenders of loans to
the eligible spouses, eligible surviving debtors, and
eligible parents as required by this section.
(e) Applicable to Outstanding Debt.--The provisions of this
section shall be applied to discharge or cancel only Federal
student loans (including consolidation loans) on which
amounts were owed on September 11, 2001.

SEC. 4. INFORMATION ON BENEFITS TO RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

The Secretary shall--
(1) notify local educational agencies eligible to
participate in the Small Rural Achievement Program authorized
under subpart 1 of part B of Title VI of the Elementary and
Secondary Education of 1965 of the benefits available under
the amendments made by section 2 of this Act to the teachers
in the rural schools of such agencies; and
(2) encourage such agencies to notify their teachers of
such benefits.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. McKeon) and the gentleman from California (Mr. George
Miller) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon).

General Leave

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
on H.R. 5091.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5091, the Canceling
Loans to Allow School Systems to Attract Classroom Teachers Act, or the
CLASS Act, which will help low-income school districts recruit and
retain high-quality teachers. The bill would provide up to $17,500 in
student loan forgiveness for teachers who agree to serve in low-income
schools, with a priority on special education, math and science
teachers.
We all know that in order to ensure the academic success of our
Nation's students, there must be a highly qualified teacher in the
classroom. In fact, outside of the influence of parents, no other
factor has a greater correlation to student success.
Already the Nation faces a serious teacher shortage, and over the
next decade we must prepare for recruitment of an even larger pool of
teachers.
Over the last few years this Congress has looked for ways to provide
a major boost to schools in their effort to establish and support a
high-quality teaching force. With passage of the No Child Left Behind
Act, we have gone a long way toward improving our children's education
by allowing greater flexibility for local school districts which would
make it easier for them to recruit and retain excellent teachers.
One of the hallmarks of the law asks States to have a highly
qualified teacher in every public classroom by the year 2005,
emphasizing State and local methods. Since passage of the law, there
have been numerous reports about the difficulty that some States will
have in meeting this deadline. This is especially true in those States
where experienced teachers are in short supply, particularly in schools
serving low-income and minority children.
In my home State of California, it will be a tremendous undertaking
due to the fact that we have more than 50,000 teachers who do not have
full credentials now. The ranks of these newcomers are expected to grow
as retirements and attrition take place over the next few years.
While States should continue to work with the Department of Education
to meet these challenges, Congress must continue to work to increase
the number and quality of teachers in the classrooms. The CLASS Act
helps accomplish this goal by providing local and State school systems
with a powerful teacher recruitment tool. It will provide a positive
incentive for college students to enter the field of teaching and to
make a long-term commitment to the classrooms and students that need
them most.
No job is more important to this Nation's future than the education
of its children. For this reason, I would like to thank the gentleman
from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), my good friend and colleague, for his
long-standing commitment to improving the quality of education in our
Nation's schools, as well as his commitment to the teachers in this
country.
This bill recognizes and supports the service and commitment of both
teachers who serve our children every day in the classroom. I urge my
colleagues to vote yes on H.R. 5091 and continue our commitment to the
men and women of this country who do so much for us each day.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5091, the CLASS Act.
This bill would forgive student loans for teachers and of certain
September 11 victims. I support this legislation to provide loan
forgiveness for teachers in high-poverty schools and for special ed
teachers. This legislation will be a very, very important tool in terms
of recruiting and our desire to recruit and our ability to recruit and
retain those teachers in high-poverty schools.
All Members of Congress are pretty familiar with the challenges that
are faced by teachers who are teaching in high-poverty schools and the
set of circumstances that they confront. We believe by directing loan
forgiveness to these individuals that we will have an opportunity not
to have them just come in on a revolving-door basis, where they come in
for 1 year and then bid out of those systems, but they will stay in
those systems for 4 or 5 years, they will provide some continuity to
those children, and we will get the results that we desire to have
under the Leave No Child Behind Act.
I appreciate the opportunity to work with the gentleman from South
Carolina (Mr. Graham) and others on this legislation. I will have to
say, however, that I wish that we would have been able to support the
gentleman from South Carolina's (Mr. Graham) original legislation,
which was to provide that this forgiveness would be guaranteed and not
subject to a year-to-year appropriations. That effort we will have to
continue to work on.
My concern is there teachers will not know that this incentive is
really going to be in place on a year-to-year basis, and it will make
our job more difficult in getting highly qualified individuals into
high-poverty schools. If it was not subject to appropriations, then we
could assure individuals who qualify for it that it would be available
over the time that they spent in those schools.
We have a similar program and equally important program dealing with
child care providers. It is subject to annual appropriations, and so
far I think we have only helped 76 people nationwide. That is not the
kind of program that we envision for this piece of legislation, but it
is also the kind of guarantee that we should be able to provide to
teachers that that would not happen in this program. Depending on what
happens in year-to-year budgets within the House of Representatives or
in years like this where we do not get budgets, we do not get
appropriations bills, what happens to the teachers who have already
started teaching for this year? Would they know or not know whether
they would be eligible for loan forgiveness?
Next year in March in the State of California that my colleague has
spoken to, and we are terribly concerned about the teacher shortage and
recruitment in these schools, next year in March they will be getting
pink slips because of the Federal funding. If we kick over the
continuing resolution until March of next year, those teachers will not
have the certainty of whether or not this appropriation would be
available. That happens, unfortunately, all too often in the Congress,
and that is why I would hope that this would be a guaranteed
entitlement program for the length of the program.
Finally, that part of the problem could be solved if we would, in
fact,

[[Page H6820]]

pass an education budget, if we would pass the education appropriations
bill, but we will hear more about that on the topic of the continuing
resolution tomorrow when it comes before this House where, once again,
we will have to pass a continuing resolution because we have not been
able to pass the appropriations bill because of the fight within the
Republican Caucus dealing with the Education, Health and Human Services
bill that has not been brought to the floor, although we were told in
July it would be the first bill brought to the floor when we returned
from our August break.
Finally, let me just mention a portion of this bill. It is a rather
small portion, but I think a terribly important portion in terms of a
statement by this Congress, and a very humane statement by this
Congress, and a compassionate statement of this Congress, and that is a
provision that was added to this bill in committee by our colleague,
the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy). She represents a
district in New York that suffered a great many losses from individuals
who were killed in the vicious attacks of September 11 on the World
Trade Center in New York City. Many people in the district suffered
losses of friends in the attack of the Pentagon and the downing of the
plane in Pennsylvania.
This legislation that was added to the bill is to provide for loan
forgiveness to the families of firefighters, police officers and
military personnel killed on September 11. The gentlewoman from New
York (Mrs. McCarthy) fought for this legislation almost immediately
after September 11, and it took a whole year. We tried to offer it
numerous times on the floor of the House. It was not allowed to come
up. We tried to offer it as amendments. It was not allowed to come up.
We were given assurances early on that it would be considered on the
floor of the House last year. That turned out to be a hollow promise.
It did not happen.

{time} 1400

Finally, this year the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), our
chairman, gave his word that the committee would address this
legislation. His word was good. The deal stuck, and because of that
guarantee by him and the tenacity and the doggedness of the gentlewoman
from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) to make sure that this provision was
brought to the Congress so the Congress would have a chance to vote on
it so these families would get relief because of the economic setbacks
that they suffered along with the tragedy they suffered of the loss of
a member of their family in that tragedy, I simply want to recognize
her for her effort.
She was told so many times a lesser person might have gone away and
figured out it could not be done. She continued to scheme and to
persuade and to work on and to lobby Members of the House and the
leadership and the rest to get this done, and I believe now today with
the passage of this legislation she is going to realize the success
that should have been hers many, many months ago and the benefits that
will go to these families now; and I want to thank her, and I know
Members of the committee want to thank her, for all of her effort on
behalf of these families who suffer the tragedy of September 11.
Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from
New York (Mrs. McCarthy) to manage the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Boozman). Without objection, the
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) will manage the remainder of
the time.
There was no objection.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the author of this very important bill.
Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this
time.
About this committee, there is so much going on in America that is
uncertain, with a potential military confrontation around the corner, a
downturn in the economy, how to fix it. There is much to be debated on
the floor of the House before we leave. The committee is operating in a
fashion, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, that I am very
proud of; and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), chairman, and the
gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), ranking member, deserve
much credit. Not enough is being said about how this committee has
produced quality legislation to address real problems. There is no
uncertainty about teacher recruitment. We are going to have to replace
half of the teachers that exist today in the next decade. And how do we
get quality teachers to fill in those slots?
Most college students graduating from college, the biggest debt they
face is a student loan. It is a good investment to get a college
degree. I think it is a good investment for the taxpayers to help
forgive those loans if those college graduates go into teaching into
hard-to-recruit areas. And we are not just talking about putting bodies
into classrooms; we are talking about quality. And what I like most
about this bill is it does provide an incentive for people who graduate
college to go into teaching in the hardest-to-recruit areas. Title I
schools are usually urban and rural poor schools, a hard place to
recruit. So if one will teach in one of those school systems for 5
years, we will forgive their student loans in a mandatory fashion at
$5,000 with this bill, up to $17,500 in discretionary money to be
appropriated over time.
I wish it had been mandatory too, but we are living in a world where
there is a downturn in the economy and there is a war. I am confident
that the money will be there for teachers in the years to come that
will get a benefit of this program, but we want quality. They have to
maintain their certification. Secondary teachers have to teach in the
area that they are trained, math teachers teaching math, history
teachers teaching history. Elementary education teachers have to be
certified to be competent. So we marry up the need for quality and the
problem of recruiting in the poor urban and rural schools by putting
some money on the table, $17,500, to be earned for 5 years of service
in those schools.
What does it mean to America? CBO says it will result at a minimum of
35,000 new teachers coming into the profession. I think that is
something to be proud of. The cost of the bill is very manageable. It
is over a 5-year period, 300-and-something million dollars, which is a
lot of money; but if we can get 35,000 new teachers with quality into
hard-to-recruit areas, I think we all can tell the taxpayers that is a
good deal because to get the money, they have got to earn it, they have
got to work for 5 years; and I think that is a good deal for everybody
involved.
I appreciate what the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller)
has done to make sure this passed in a bipartisan fashion. And the part
of the bill that he mentioned about the gentlewoman from New York's
(Mrs. McCarthy) provision about survivors, family members of those
people who lost their lives in 9-11, it is small. It is an asterisk in
terms of funding. It is not going to cost that much, but the impact it
will have is huge; and I want to congratulate her for what she has done
to help those families in a very significant way.
Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Before I begin my statement, I would like to take a moment to
remember a great colleague and friend in the Committee on Education and
the Workforce, the gentlewoman from Hawaii. She will be greatly missed
and always remembered for her compassion and dedication to the people
of Hawaii.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5091, the CLASS
Act. Under this bill, special education teachers and math and science
teachers who have served in a high-poverty school for 5 years are
eligible for having up to $17,500 in student loans forgiven.
Giving relief to the men and women who teach children in America
really is homeland security, and I hope this is the first step to
forgiving the loans for all teachers who work in underserved schools.
Madam Speaker, I would like also to take this opportunity to
personally thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the gentleman
from California (Mr. George Miller), the gentleman from California (Mr.
McKeon), and my colleagues for working with us on this, including my
language to forgive student loans for the spouses of

[[Page H6821]]

emergency personnel affected by the September 11 attacks.
Unfortunately, due to the tragic events of September 11, many spouses
who lost loved ones in the attacks are enduring financial hardships.
Charitable organizations have offered some assistance, but the Federal
Government must also play a role. That is why I fought so hard to get
these loans forgiven. Currently, individuals who die have their loans
forgiven, but that is not the case for the spouses who have relied upon
the income of their lost loved ones to pay the loans.
This legislation authorizes the Secretary of Education to discharge
or cancel Federal student loans for the spouses. This relief is only
for the spouses of policemen, firemen, emergency personnel, and members
of the Armed Forces who died or became permanently disabled in the line
of duty on 9-11. Relieving a student loan expense helps financially
strained spouses provide for their children as well as themselves
during this difficult time. This is a very low-cost, tailored provision
that will help the families of our bravest men and women who perished a
year ago last month.
I thank again the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner) and the gentleman
from California (Mr. George Miller) for their teamwork on this
legislation. I know it has been a tough time getting here, but we all
did pull together and we all did work together to get this done because
our committee did know this was the right thing to do; and I appreciate
all the help that everyone on the other side of the aisle gave me for
this.
I urge all of my colleagues to join me in my support of this very
important legislation, and I ask all my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on
this bill.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McKEON. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
full committee chairman, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner).
Mr. BOEHNER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California
(Mr. McKeon) for yielding me this time.
Before I talk about the bill that we have on the floor today, let me
pay tribute to a colleague and friend, Patsy Mink. It is my
understanding the House will consider and adopt a formal resolution
this week honoring her service to our country, and I am pleased that we
will have that opportunity to pay tribute to her in that fashion.
Patsy was a vibrant, passionate, and effective voice for the
principles that she believed in. She was a true leader on our
committee, and I am deeply saddened by the news of her passing. As
chairman of the committee over the last 2 years, we worked together on
the historic No Child Left Behind Act, as well as bipartisan
legislation to improve access to higher education for our Nation's
youth. Patsy fought tirelessly for the causes she supported, and I
think we are all grateful for her long record of public service. Her
passing is a significant loss for our committee, the people of Hawaii,
and the people of the United States. And I offer my sincerest
condolences to her family and her constituents. She will be greatly
missed.
Madam Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 5091, the Canceling
Loans to Allow School Systems to Attract Classroom Teachers Act, or as
we call it the CLASS Act, and I want to applaud the gentleman from
South Carolina (Mr. Graham), my friend and colleague, for his
commitment to the education of our Nation's children and for sponsoring
the legislation that we have before us today. This bill provides an
important opportunity for high-need schools and school districts to
recruit and retain highly qualified and committed teachers, and we are
asking a lot of our Nation's teachers and they deserve our full
support.
The No Child Left Behind Act calls for States to have a qualified
teacher in every public classroom by the end of the 2005-2006 school
year. With large numbers of teachers retiring over the next 10 years,
estimates are that more than 2 million teachers will be needed to fill
these vacancies, and that will be no easy task. Demand for high-quality
teachers has never been higher, but in some cases unqualified teachers
are being hired to fill these open vacancies.
This bill, I think, will help solve that problem. It provides an
increase in the total amount of loan forgiveness for teachers now
provided in the Higher Education Act from a maximum of $5,000 to a new
level of $17,500. This bill also places a priority for providing loan
forgiveness to those teachers teaching special education, mathematics,
science, or those teaching in schools that are failing to adequately
recruit highly qualified teachers as required by No Child Left Behind.
This loan forgiveness is provided to teachers who teach for 5
consecutive years at a title I school, and as my colleagues know, these
schools serve a high concentration of students from low-income
families.
As a result of President Bush's involvement in No Child Left Behind,
Federal funding for teacher programs is being increased by 38.1
percent, or $787 million, this year to help States train, recruit and
retain quality teachers. This historical level of support for teachers
is maintained in the President's fiscal year 2003 budget and the budget
resolution passed this spring by the House. This bill continues the
commitment that we have shown in supporting quality teachers for all of
our Nation's children.
We have all had that one special teacher who had an impact on our
lives, that one teacher who has helped us find the success and
direction that we now enjoy. And this bill will help make it possible
for all children to have that qualified and caring teacher who will
have a positive impact on their lives.
The new realities of a wartime budget and economic recovery now
require us to exercise fiscal discipline and responsibility; and to
meet this important responsibility, we have crafted this program as a
discretionary, rather than mandatory, program. At this time, budgetary
offsets necessary to make this a mandatory spending program have not
been found. However, we think it is vitally important to get the
program authorized, and then we will work with our appropriators and
our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fund this program in a
responsible, bipartisan way.
In addition, H.R. 5091 contains a provision authored by my good
friend and colleague, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy),
that would forgive the student loans of the spouses of fire, police,
military, and rescue personnel who were victims of the September 11,
2001, tragedy. We can never fully repay the debt we owe these families,
but I believe this provision can help bring a small element of healing
to the families of those heroes.
Finally, I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. George
Miller), the ranking member of our committee, for his help in pushing
this bill through and dealing with the gentlewoman from New York's
(Mrs. McCarthy) provision as well.
This bill exemplifies the commitment that this Congress has shown to
education, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important
bill for our Nation's teachers.
Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), my colleague who
sits on our committee.
Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs.
McCarthy) for yielding me this time.
Madam speaker, I want to preface my remarks by stating that today is
truly a sad day in the House of Representatives for the people of the
second district of Hawaii, for the people of the Nation who may not
have seen or appreciated the fine work that Patsy Mink did in
representing her constituents in Hawaii. In all my years of public
service, Madam Speaker, I never met anyone with a deeper commitment and
passion for serving her constituents than Patsy Mink. I believe she was
the first woman of color to be elected to the United States Congress,
and I have had the pleasure of serving with her for three terms now on
the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
The depth of knowledge that she brought to the committee on issues of
education, her fight to ensure that quality of education was a reality
for native Hawaiian children was unrivaled; and we will miss her
guidance and her leadership and her expertise in these areas. Most of
all, we will miss her for what she was, and that

[[Page H6822]]

was a dynamic personality with unlimited energy and compassion for the
issues she felt so deeply about. I hope that the people will in the
next week take a little time to read a little bit about Patsy Mink, the
stories being written, to better understand her contribution for our
great democracy and for the people of the second district in Hawaii.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5091, the CLASS Act. I think
this is an important piece of legislation to be able to attract young,
qualified teachers into at-risk school districts where recruitment has
proven difficult, where retention of quality teachers in the classroom
has proven to be a great challenge.

{time} 1415

We know that the second most important determinative of how well a
child is going to succeed in school is the quality of the teacher in
front of them in the classroom. That is why this legislation is long
overdue. We had some differences of opinion in the committee in regards
to whether this should be a mandatory program as opposed to a
discretionary program. I would hope that even though we went the
discretionary route, effort would still be given to try to find offsets
to make this a mandatory program. I think it is important to be able to
offer this type of incentive for young, qualified teachers to enter
very difficult school districts and to serve children in need.
Madam Speaker, I also want to commend the gentlewoman from New York
(Mrs. McCarthy) for her passion in being able to bring loan forgiveness
to the victims of September 11. She was there from the very beginning,
advocating the importance of doing this. It is a token gesture, but I
think an important gesture for those families that carry student loan
debts that those be forgiven in recognition of the events of September
11.
I also thank the leadership on the committee for accepting my
amendment, which is a notification requirement to rural school
districts so they too will recognize the existence of this program and
will better understand how they can qualify and apply for loan
forgiveness. Oftentimes rural school districts are understaffed,
underfinanced, and do not have professional grant writers to really
take advantage of the various educational programs that exist at the
Federal level.
This notification requirement is a small way to help get word out to
school districts throughout the country that this is available and
another tool of recruitment for rural school districts that are facing
very difficult challenges in attracting young, qualified bright minds
into the school system.
Many of my school districts in western Wisconsin have a difficult
time finding any AP teachers to teach high school classes. If it were
not for certain online opportunities, many of the students would have
to go without because of the shortage and great demand for teachers.
Hopefully with this notification requirement, more rural school
districts will realize the availability of the program and the
additional tool that they can now use to attract young teachers into
the classroom.
Mr. McKEON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I associate myself with the remarks of the gentleman
from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), and
the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) regarding Mrs. Mink. The
gentlewoman will be missed by all of us, but I will especially miss her
because for the last 2 years she has been the ranking member on this
subcommittee, and we have had the opportunity of getting to go know
each other and working well together. I will miss her greatly.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr.
Isakson).
Mr. ISAKSON. Madam Speaker, I want to add my expression of sympathy
to the family of Patsy Mink and to the citizens of Hawaii and recommend
Members read an editorial that I read on the plane today about the
contributions of her life, in particular in the field of politics and
the law where she broke the glass ceiling for women in an era and a
period where that ceiling was very low. She was an outstanding
colleague and an outstanding individual, and she shall be missed.
Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Graham)
for his contribution to improving the education of America's most needy
and in-need students. With the addition of the CLASS Act and the
incentive to attract teachers to our title I schools in rural and urban
poor centers, what the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Graham) has
done is he has the second one-two punch to what this Congress and this
President has done to really focus on where educational needs are the
greatest.
If we combine the ability to attract teachers through loan
forgiveness, to make the commitment to our children who are the most in
need, with the investment this Congress made last year in No Child Left
Behind in our title I schools, we will find the two greatest
contributions, in my opinion, ever by the Congress of the United States
in terms of truly meeting the needs we will have in the 21st century to
be sure that opportunity is available to every child and that no child
is left behind.
On a side note, I want to commend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Boehner) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy), who is one
of the sweetest people in the whole world. Her amendment and the Kind
amendment being in this bill recognize and represent what the gentleman
from Ohio (Mr. Boehner) has done, and that is pull together bipartisan
ideas to improve the education of America's children, to join them
together and bring them to the floor of this Congress, and take them to
the President for his signature and enact them into law for our
children.
I commend the chairman for his leadership, the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy)
for their amendments, and I acknowledge the gentleman from South
Carolina (Mr. Graham), who in this Congress is making a most
significant investment in the improvement of the lives of our most
needy children.
Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Madam Speaker, number one, I would like to say that working on the
Committee on Education and the Workforce has been truly a wonderful
experience. To me it is a committee that actually has worked very well
bipartisanly to get things done. I appreciate that. Sometimes I wish
other committees could look at how our committee works to get things
done so we can sign legislation into law. I also would like to thank
the staff for all of the hard work they put in. A lot of people do not
realize how much work the staff does to make this legislation come
through.
The gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), he and I will be
working very hard to make sure that this legislation now moves in the
Senate to get signed by the President. Madam Speaker, today we are
talking about the next step about providing needy relief to the victims
of September 11. It is my hope that the other body will move quickly to
pass this important legislation so we can send this bill to the
President for his signature.
Madam Speaker, I commend my colleagues, especially the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Boehner) and the gentleman from California (Mr. George
Miller), who have spoken in favor of this bill; and I urge Members to
vote in favor of this legislation, H.R. 5091.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). Members are reminded that
they should avoid urging action by the Senate.
Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, we have a responsibility to them to ensure
that every public school and every teacher is able to help all of our
school children reach their full potential.
Over 35 years ago, Congress passed the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act to help improve our public schools. With its main focus
on improving the educational opportunities for disadvantaged children,
ESEA established bold new goals for schools to prepare children, no
matter what their background, to succeed in this world by mastering the
basics and reaching high standards of achievement.
Our schools are facing new and different challenges. We have an
increasingly diverse and growing student population. We are facing

[[Page H6823]]

a massive teacher shortage. In fact, over the next ten years, we will
need to recruit and hire 2.2 million teachers just to keep up with the
attrition of our teaching force.
We made great stride toward meeting these challenges with the passage
of H.R. 1. Today we have opportunity to go further buy encouraging
student to go into the important field of teaching through loan
forgiveness. The loan forgiveness program--which began in 1998 and
provides up to $5,000 in student loan relief--helps ensure that
disadvantaged students are taught by high quality professionals. This
program must be extended to reflect the true cost of college.
This bill will increase loan forgiveness to $17,500 for Special
Education, Math and Science teachers. I am pleased the majority
accepted my amendment to add Math and Science teachers as a priority to
the bill.
Forty-three percent of math teachers in high poverty schools have
neither majored nor minored in math related fields, compared to 27 in
low poverty school. Over the next 10 years, large numbers of teachers
will retire, leaving American classrooms with a serious teacher
shortage, especially rural and inner city schools that already face
one. By encouraging students to become math, science and special
education teachers we can address this inequity.
As recent reports by the National Assessment Education Progress
(NAEP) on November 21, 2001 and the Organization for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) on December 4, 2001 have indicated,
American students are severely under-performing in math and science.
According to the NAEP study, 82 per cent of high school seniors were
less than proficient in science last year, while OECD reports that only
four out of the 28 countries OECD tested performed worse than American
students in science and five in math.
Given new challenges to our homeland defense, I think it should be
obvious that having weak math and science education is not in our
national interest. If we given short shrift to math and science
education, how will future generations of Americans develop the
vaccines to fight biological terror or the defense technology to track
down and eliminate terrorists and other threats?
While this bill does not provide mandatory funding for teacher loan
forgiveness, as I would have preferred it is a step in the right
direction and I ask my colleagues to support it.
Mr. MOORE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support
for H.R. 5091, the Canceling Loans to Allow School Systems to Attract
Classroom Teachers Act, and I encourage my colleagues to support this
important legislation.
I have long recognized the great need for teacher loan forgiveness to
help our local school districts address the nationwide teacher
shortage. Urban, rural and suburban districts are all struggling with
this problem caused by a combination of demographic trends and a low
teacher retention rate.
Under current law, teachers can receive up to $5,000 in loan
forgiveness after five years of service. H.R. 5091 would expand the
program to forgive up to $17,500 in loans and give priority to special
education teachers.
Although I am a strong supporter of this legislation, I believe that
it could be greatly improved. I introduced a bill on February 14, 2001,
that I believe would go much farther in addressing our national teacher
shortage. H.R. 687, the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act, would
forgive up to $10,000, over five years, for any newly qualified
educator who: teaches in a low-income school, teaches special
education, or teaches in a designated teacher shortage area.
I believe that offering loan forgiveness in the first year of
teaching, as I have provided for in H.R. 687, would do more to
encourage young teachers to stay in the profession. Also, loan
forgiveness needs to be extended far beyond special education teachers.
local school districts also struggle when hiring math, science and
foreign language teachers.
I am glad that my colleagues have recognized our national teacher
shortage as a national priority worthy of Federal investment. I believe
that it is time for the Federal government to assist States and local
school districts in attracting and keeping qualified teachers, and I am
happy to offer my support for this legislation, which represents an
important first step.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 5091,
the Cancelling Loans to Allow School Systems to Attract Classroom
Teachers Act. This act would increase the amount of student loan
forgiveness available to qualified teachers. Loan cancellations would
be made on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to the
availability of appropriations, and with emphasis on special education,
mathematics and science teachers.
I believe this legislation is solid and it is necessary legislation.
As we are aware, across this Nation, States and Territories struggle to
retain and attract teachers. Our school systems are overcrowded. Our
test scores are down, and our resources are limited. Many of our
students are also disadvantaged by poverty and live in communities that
are unable to raise revenue to meet the growing challenge of elevating
learning.
As lawmakers, we are painfully aware that we must provide adequate
funding for education if we are to maintain cohesion in our society. As
lawmakers, we also agree that no child should be left behind. This is
why we are disappointed that President Bush signed legislation
promising a $5.65 billion increase in the No Child Left Behind
legislation, but 4 weeks later provided an increase of only $1 billion.
We are also disappointed that the President's budget holds aid to local
schools virtually flat.
Lie every other State and Territory, American Samoa depends on
Federal assistance to improve classroom learning. We struggle to
recruit, certify, and retain teachers. Yet we also want to ensure that
our children are not left behind.
Passage of H.R. 5091 is a small step in the right direction. It will
help alleviate some of the National and local problems we all face. For
American Samoa, it will help us bring back and retain some of our own
teachers. I support this legislation and I ask my colleagues to also
support passage of H.R. 5091.
Mr. McKEON. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5091, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to increase
the amount of student loan forgiveness available to qualified teachers,
and for other purposes.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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