[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 125 (Wednesday, October 6, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H8317-H8319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HIGHER EDUCATION EXTENSION ACT OF 2004

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5185) to temporarily extend the programs under the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5185

       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 ``Higher Education Extension 
     Act of 2004''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF PROGRAMS.

       (a) Extension of Duration to Include Fiscal Year 2005.--The 
     authorization of appropriations for, and the duration of, 
     each program authorized under the Higher Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) shall be extended through 
     fiscal year 2005.
       (b) Performance of Required and Authorized Functions.--If 
     the Secretary of Education, a State, an institution of higher 
     education, a guaranty agency, a lender, or another person or 
     entity--
       (1) is required, in or for fiscal year 2004, to carry out 
     certain acts or make certain determinations or payments under 
     a program under the Higher Education Act of 1965, such acts, 
     determinations, or payments shall be required to be carried 
     out, made, or continued during the period of the extension 
     under this section; or
       (2) is permitted or authorized, in or for fiscal year 2004, 
     to carry out certain acts or make certain determinations or 
     payments under a program under the Higher Education Act of 
     1965, such acts, determinations, or payments are permitted or 
     authorized to be carried out, made, or continued during the 
     period of the extension under this section.
       (c) Extension at Current Levels.--The amount authorized to 
     be appropriated for a program described in subsection (a) 
     during the period of extension under this section shall be 
     the amount authorized to be appropriated for such program for 
     fiscal year 2004, or the amount appropriated for such program 
     for such fiscal year, whichever is greater. Except as 
     provided in any amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965 
     enacted during fiscal year 2005, the amount of any payment 
     required or authorized under subsection (b) in or for fiscal 
     year 2005 shall be determined in the same manner as the 
     amount of the corresponding payment required or authorized in 
     or for fiscal year 2004.
       (d) Advisory Committees and Other Entities Continued.--Any 
     advisory committee, interagency organization, or other entity 
     that was, during fiscal year 2004, authorized or required to 
     perform any function under the Higher Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), or in relation to programs under 
     that Act, shall continue to exist and is authorized or 
     required, respectively, to perform such function during 
     fiscal year 2005.
       (e) Additional Extension not Permitted.--Section 422 of the 
     General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1226a) shall not 
     apply to further extend the authorization of appropriations 
     for any program described in subsection (a) on the basis of 
     the extension of such program under this section.
       (f) Exception.--The programs described in subsection (a) 
     for which the authorization of appropriations, or the 
     duration of which, is extended by this section include 
     provisions applicable to institutions in, and students in or 
     from, the Freely Associated States, except that those 
     provisions shall be applicable with respect to institutions 
     in, and students in or from, the Federated States of 
     Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands only to 
     the extent specified in Public Law 108-188.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Boehner) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner).


                             General Leave

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. 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 H.R. 5185.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.

[[Page H8318]]

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, each year millions of Americans, young and old, 
participate in higher education programs at this Nation's colleges and 
universities. Higher education has become more important than ever, 
with a changing marketplace and increasing international competition. 
That is why the Federal investment in the Higher Education Act is so 
important.
  For 2 years, my colleagues and I have been working to strengthen and 
renew the Higher Education Act so that we can better serve the millions 
of low and middle income students aspiring for college education. We 
have made great progress, but, unfortunately, we were not able to 
complete our work.
  Today I stand in support of the Higher Education Extension Act so we 
can ensure these vital programs continue to serve American students. 
Yet I regret we were not able to accomplish a full reauthorization.
  In May, the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) and I introduced 
the College Access and Opportunity Act to complete the Higher Education 
Act reauthorization. That bill was the final piece of our comprehensive 
effort to expand the college access by focusing on fairness, 
accountability, affordability, and quality. That bill contained a 
number of reforms that I had hoped would be enacted by today.
  The College Access and Opportunity Act would have realigned our 
student aid programs to place first priority back where it belongs, on 
the millions of low and middle income students who have not yet 
received a higher education.

                              {time}  2320

  The bill would have strengthened Pell grants, college access 
programs, and campus-based student aid. It would have broken down 
barriers and eliminated outdated regulations that are preventing 
nontraditional students from achieving their higher education goals. It 
would have significantly realigned the multibillion dollar student loan 
programs to extend access for current and future students, and restore 
fairness so that all student borrowers could be treated equally. 
Consumer protections for borrowers would have been strengthened, and 
red tape would have been reduced. And because accountability is the 
cornerstone of education reform, colleges and universities would have 
been held more accountable to the students, parents, and taxpayers they 
serve through increased sunshine and transparency.
  Yet, none of these reforms will be enacted today because partisan 
politics got in the way of student-focused reforms. The bill before us 
is critically important. We cannot allow programs under the Higher 
Education Act to expire. Too many students depend on this assistance as 
they strive for a higher education. Yet, it is equally important that 
we remain committed to comprehensive reforms that will build upon these 
programs, strengthening them to expand college access.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the extension of the Higher Education 
Act. Millions of American students depend on these programs, and we 
must not let our commitment to higher education lapse. But it is 
equally important that we remain focused on the ultimate goal of 
enacting comprehensive reforms that will strengthen and renew the 
Higher Education Act so we can meet the needs of current and future 
students. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill and work with 
us in the coming year to complete a comprehensive reform package so 
that we can better serve American students pursuing the dream of a 
college education.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill extends our higher education program for one 
year. We need to do this because Congress has not completed its work in 
reauthorizing the Higher Education Act this session.
  While I support this legislation, it represents a missed opportunity. 
Students are facing some of the worst tuition increases in decades. 
Families have struggled to find ways to pay for college. Unfortunately, 
the bipartisan cooperation has not been as helpful as it was back in 
1998, and the administration has neglected its role.
  The Congress and the Bush administration have frozen the maximum Pell 
grant over the last 3 years. Indeed, Republican higher education 
legislation which failed to move would have jeopardized college 
affordability for millions of students by eliminating the ability of 
students to lock in low, fixed interest rates when they consolidate 
their student loans, by reducing student choice in how they can repay 
their student loans, and by increasing the ability of students to go 
further into debt.
  If we did reauthorize the Higher Education Act, we could have 
addressed the critical needs of students, including allowing student 
borrowers to refinance their consolidation loans and lock in today's 
low interest rates. This increases the long-term affordability of 
college. We could have provided incentives to help colleges hold down 
increases in tuition. Recent tuition increases have hit American 
families and students especially hard. We could have allowed working 
students to keep more of the funding they earn than having it used to 
calculate their student aid. Unfortunately, today, we are not going to 
be improving our student aid programs. Instead, we are keeping the 
status quo.
  While this bill is necessary, we have lost an opportunity. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues as we did in 1998, hopefully in a 
bipartisan fashion in the next Congress, to improve our higher 
education programs.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon), the chairman of the 
Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this 
time. I appreciate the opportunity.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 5185, the Higher Education Extension 
Act of 2004. This legislation will provide for the continuation of all 
of the programs authorized within the Higher Education Act for a period 
of 1 year. This extension will allow Congress to finish its work on the 
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to provide more 
streamlined, flexible, cost-effective, and student-friendly programs 
for the future.
  The House has done a great deal of work to move forward on the Higher 
Education Act reauthorization. We passed four bills from this chamber 
that unfortunately received no further consideration in the other body. 
There have been bills introduced by my friends on the other side of the 
aisle, and the majority has also introduced several other bills, 
including H.R. 4283, the College Access and Opportunity Act. This most 
recent comprehensive legislative package provides for a great many 
benefits for current students, while holding institutions of higher 
education, accrediting agencies, and participants in the student loan 
programs more accountable. The bill maintains two student loan programs 
and equal benefits for all student loan borrowers, regardless of the 
program in which their school participates. Unfortunately, both the 
calendar and election-year politics stood in the way of the legislative 
process moving forward in its entirety.
  This extension will allow all programs to run without interruption 
and ensure student financial aid will be available to all eligible 
students. It is a clean, straight-line extension, meaning that this 
bill has not been weighed down with other amendments, but does strictly 
what it was intended to do, extend all current programs.
  The majority has continued to attempt to work with our colleagues on 
several pieces of legislation. However, many of those attempts failed. 
Now there is a deadline approaching. No one in this chamber wants to 
see these programs expire, nor do we want to instill any sort of 
concern on the part of students, institutions, or student loan 
providers. It is time to put politics aside, pass this legislation and 
get it to the President for his immediate signature.
  I have every confidence that the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce will come together early in the 109th session and move 
quickly to enact a comprehensive, bipartisan higher education 
reauthorization bill. I

[[Page H8319]]

look forward to working with my colleagues to do so, and I urge the 
passage of H.R. 5185 today.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Holt).
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for 
yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, while I support this temporary extension of the Higher 
Education Act, I am very disappointed that we have not passed the full 
Higher Education Act reauthorization.
  The committee chair is correct. Higher education is more important 
than ever to ensure America's economic prosperity, security, and 
health. Just as college has become essential to both individuals and 
society's success, college tuition has risen dramatically, causing 
students to take on high loan debt, $17,000, on average; to work long 
hours that interfere with academic success sometimes; or to forgo 
college altogether. Yet, Congress has failed to pass the Higher 
Education Act.
  Now, one party controls the White House, the Senate, and the House; 
the same party. Yet, they have failed to pass a Higher Education Act. 
Where are the priorities? Congress seems to have no trouble passing tax 
cuts for the wealthy, but to provide opportunities for students to 
attend college does not seem to be a priority.
  Mr. Speaker, the failure of the House to pass a higher education 
reauthorization is emblematic of this ineffective Congress. In past 
years, the Higher Education Act was one of the easiest to pass, one of 
the most bipartisan, a bill we could count on. And with this temporary 
extension, we have missed many opportunities today. We could have 
increased the Pell grant and provided it year-round. We could have 
significantly increased aid to minority-serving institutions. We could 
have increased assistance to low-income and first-generation college 
students. We could have increased loan forgiveness. We could have 
eliminated origination fees on student loans. We could have provided 
child care for parents who are attempting to go back to college. We 
could have changed the student aid formulas for working students. But, 
today, we pass a temporary extension. We have failed to do any of those 
things, and American college students and their parents are paying for 
Congress' failure.

                              {time}  2330

  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Let me thank my colleague on the other side of the aisle. We have 
been locked in a really difficult situation trying to come to an 
agreement on the reauthorization of this bill. But it is not just here. 
I think we could have overcome our differences, but clearly there was 
no action in the other body, and we have no choice but to extend the 
Higher Education Act, which the underlying bill here today does.
  This is important to millions of low- and middle-income American 
students who depend on Pell grants and student loans to achieve their 
dream of a college education. I ask my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida). The 
question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Boehner) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5185, 
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.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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