[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 97 (Wednesday, July 14, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H5781-H5783]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 FIVE YEAR REAUTHORIZATION OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TUITION ASSISTANCE 
                                PROGRAMS

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill--H.R. 4012--to amend the District of Columbia College 
Access Act of 1999 to permanently authorize the public school and 
private school tuition assistance programs established under the Act, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4012

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

     SECTION 1. 5-YEAR REAUTHORIZATION OF TUITION ASSISTANCE 
                   PROGRAMS.

       (a) Public School Program.--Section 3(i) of the District of 
     Columbia College Access Act of 1999 (sec. 38--2702(i), D.C. 
     Official Code) is amended by striking ``each of the five 
     succeeding fiscal years'' and inserting ``each of the 10 
     succeeding fiscal years''.
       (b) Private School Program.--Section 5(f) of such Act (sec. 
     38--2704(f), D.C. Official Code) is amended by striking 
     ``each of the five succeeding fiscal years'' and inserting 
     ``each of the 10 succeeding fiscal years''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) and the gentlewoman from the District of 
Columbia (Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis).


                             General Leave

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?

[[Page H5782]]

  There was no objection.
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4012, legislation to 
reauthorize the District of Columbia College Access Act for 5 
additional years.
  The College Access Program has been a key component of the District's 
revitalization efforts in recent years. It is critical that Congress 
continue to support its partnership with the District in providing 
access to higher education resources.
  Madam Speaker, Congress chose to establish the D.C. College Access 
Program in 1999 for two primary reasons. First, the program addresses 
the fact that the District of Columbia does not have a State university 
system for its high school graduates. The program essentially leveled 
the playing field for high school graduates in the Nation's Capital by 
enabling them to attend colleges and universities around the country at 
in-State tuition rates, which makes college education affordable for 
students coming out of the District of Columbia, something that really 
was not available to them prior to this.
  The program's second purpose was to deter tax-paying families in the 
District from moving to surrounding States in order to take advantage 
of in-State higher education options available to residents in other 
States, thus depriving the District of much-needed stability and tax 
revenue.
  I cannot tell my colleagues how many mothers and fathers have 
approached me to say thank you for not having to leave the District so 
our child could go to college, but thanks to this program, we can stay.
  At a Committee on Government Reform hearing on the program last 
March, it was clear that the program has been more than a mere 
anecdotal success over the last 5 years. D.C. Mayor Tony Williams 
testified that since the creation of the program the number of high 
school graduates in the District continuing on to college has increased 
28 percent. The national average over the same time period was 5 
percent.
  It was not too long ago we had high schools in the District sending 
more kids out to Lorton Prison than to college. College was not an 
affordable option for many of these kids in the District. What we see 
happening now is, as it becomes more affordable, we see kids getting in 
the spirit and we see a significant increase of District kids going on 
to higher education. With that, crime decreases, the economy is 
improving, the District is achieving financial stability.
  The impact of the College Access Program is undeniable. According to 
a survey of high school graduates in the District, 75 percent of the 
students who have received assistance through the program have 
indicated that the existence of these grants makes the difference in 
their decision to attend college and was a key factor in deciding which 
college to attend. H.R. 4012 represents a shot at a better education 
and, in turn, a better life for countless D.C. students.
  The District is not a State, and D.C. residents do not have access to 
the network of in-State universities like residents of other States. As 
I said before, this legislation also provides an incentive to families 
to stay in the District. This program operates hand-in-hand with the 
D.C. College Access Program, which is the private sector's College 
Access Program, providing college counseling to D.C. high school 
students and last dollar financial assistance to college-bound D.C. 
high school graduates. This is a double punch provided by the public 
and the private sectors and it has made a tremendous impact on the 
educational opportunities available to D.C. high school students.
  It is equally clear that the students are becoming more aware and 
choosing to take advantage of these opportunities.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4012 and to 
continue to support a level playing field for high school graduates in 
the District of Columbia.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Ms. NORTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, the District of Columbia College Access 
Act of 1999, which funds the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant, or TAG 
program, was passed with bipartisan sponsors in the House and Senate, 
led in this House by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis). It 
included a number of cosponsors, as many, if not more, from the other 
side of the aisle as from this side.
  The champions of the bill in the Senate were equally bipartisan. I am 
particularly grateful to the current House and Senate sponsors of H.R. 
4012 who were on the original bill for their continuing leadership 
efforts in sustaining TAG and to President Bush who came to office 
several years after the bill was in effect, saw the evidence of its 
success, and has continued to fund it in his budget at authorized 
levels.
  I want to specifically thank my good friend, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), who has offered indispensable leadership on 
this bill and on a number of other very important D.C. initiatives over 
the years.
  The Act gives D.C. residents the options for college attendance 
routinely enjoyed by other Americans through their State college 
systems. This is the one jurisdiction in the United States that does 
not have a university system. D.C. has only one public university, the 
University of the District of Columbia, or UDC, an open-admission 
institution.

                              {time}  2245

  And as part of DC TAG, Congress allowed UDC to be funneled on an 
annual basis as a Historically Black College or University for the 
first time in our history.
  The bill allows DC residents to attend any public college or 
university anywhere in the United States at in-state tuition rates up 
to $10,000 annually and to receive $2,500 to attend any private college 
or HBCU in the city or region. Already over 6,000 DC students have 
attended more than 150 colleges nationwide because of supplementary 
funds provided by the act.
  The best indication of the success of the act is that in the 5 years 
since it was passed, college attendance in the district has increased 
by 28 percent, compared with only 5 percent nationally. DC TAG 
recipients range from residents for whom college was more a dream than 
a possibility, to residents who might otherwise have moved out of the 
district and along with them more of the district's already depleted 
tax base.
  The cost of tuition is a significant reason many residents left and 
others refused to settle here rather than in Maryland or Virginia, each 
of which has more than 30 different colleges and universities to fit 
the specific needs and interests of residents.
  The evidence of the success of the program and return on the dollar 
to residents, to the city, and to the Federal Government is not in 
dispute. Close monitoring by the GAO and by our office has shown that 
TAG has been well run. TAG is universally popular among DC residents 
and businesses because of the act's simultaneous and immediate benefits 
to both District residents and to the city itself.
  This program is an unqualified success story. It continues to exceed 
all expectations. It deserves the 5-year extension the committee 
recommends today, and I strongly urge passage.
  Mr. SCHROCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
4012, a bill to reauthorize the District of Columbia College Access Act 
for 5 years.
  This legislation allows high school graduates from D.C. to pay in-
state tuition rates at state colleges and universities throughout 
Maryland and Virginia. As a Congressman from the Commonwealth of 
Virginia, I welcome these students.
  Over the past year, I have become increasingly aware of the hardships 
the children in our Nation's capital face. Their public school system 
is in shambles. Without this legislation, a DC student who manages to 
succeed in the failed school system despite the odds, and is accepted 
to college, has very limited choices on where he or she can go and pay 
lower in-state rates.
  Since the creation of the program 5 years ago, the number of high 
school graduates in the District continuing on to college has risen by 
an astonishing 28 percent. These are the kind of results we like to 
see.
  This legislation simply levels the playing field for these students, 
who do no have the

[[Page H5783]]

benefit to choose from several in-state colleges like their 
counterparts throughout the rest of the nation.
  I believe that the city of Washington, DC should be a model to the 
rest of the nation. Ensuring that young people in DC have access to a 
good education is a great place to start.
  I hope that my colleagues will overwhelmingly support this 
legislation, and show the students in the District of Columbia that we 
are committed to ensure they have every opportunity to succeed in life.
  Mr. SHAYS. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4012, which helps 
level the playing field for the students of D.C. by permanently 
expanding opportunities for affordable higher education at colleges and 
universities across the nation.
  Too many children in our Nation's Capital are not getting the higher 
education they need and deserve, and this program gives many the 
opportunity to go to college.
  D.C. residents do not have access to a network of in-state 
universities like residents of States. The D.C. College Access Program 
provides D.C. high school graduates access to colleges and universities 
throughout the country at in-State tuition rates.
  The program has been a tremendous success since it was implemented in 
1999. The number of D.C. high school graduates continuing on to college 
increased from 1,750 in 1998 to 2,230 in 2002. That's a 28 percent 
increase since the program was created.
  It also provides an incentive to families to stay in the District. 
Before the program existed, families would often move to Virginia or 
Maryland to take advantage of in-State tuition rates for their 
children. This was a drain on the District's economy, exacerbating the 
District's dependence on the federal government.
  By encouraging families to stay in D.C., we are helping to stabilize 
the District's tax base and reduce the local jurisdiction's financial 
dependence on the Federal Government.
  The D.C. College Access Program is clearly having a positive impact 
on the educational opportunities available to D.C. high school 
students, and it is clear that students are becoming more aware of and 
choosing to take advantage of these opportunities.
  Because of the program's tremendous success, and the support it gives 
to the youth in our Nation's Capital, I urge my colleagues to support 
this legislation.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Harris). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4012, 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 is amended so as to read: ``A bill to amend the District of 
Columbia College Access Act of 1999 to reauthorize for 5 additional 
years the public school and private school tuition assistance programs 
established under the Act.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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