[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 4 (Monday, January 24, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S367-S370]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

  SENATE RESOLUTION 7--RELATING TO THE DEATH OF HOWARD S. LIEBENGOOD, 
                 FORMER SERGEANT AT ARMS OF THE SENATE

  Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Cochran, Mr. 
Hagel, Mr. Warner, Mr. Biden, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. 
Graham) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
agreed to:

                               S. Res. 7

       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as a captain in the 
     United States Army Military Police Corps in Vietnam from 1968 
     to 1970, receiving the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation 
     Medal for his exemplary service;
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood began his service to the 
     Senate in 1973 as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate 
     Committee;
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as an aide to the 
     Senate Church Committee in 1975, as the minority staff 
     director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in 
     1976, and as legislative counsel to Senate Majority Leader 
     Howard H. Baker, Jr., in 1980;
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as Sergeant at Arms of 
     the Senate from 1981 to 1983;
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as chief of staff to 
     Senator Fred Thompson from 2001 to 2003, and as chief of 
     staff to Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, M.D., from 
     2003 until his death in January, 2005;
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood was a caring and devoted 
     husband, father, and colleague who served with the utmost 
     humility and distinction and was admired and respected by all 
     as a teacher, adviser, and friend; and
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood inspired others through his 
     personal leadership, generosity, and great love for the 
     United States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep 
     regret the announcement of the death of Howard S. Liebengood; 
     and
       (2) the Secretary of the Senate communicate these 
     resolutions to the House of Representatives and transmit an 
     enrolled copy of these resolutions to the family of Howard S. 
     Liebengood.
                                 ______
                                 

 SENATE RESOLUTION 8--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
                 MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF A FEDERAL PELL GRANT

  Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. Coleman) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                               S. Res. 8

       Whereas public investment in higher education yields a 
     return of several dollars for each dollar invested;
       Whereas higher education promotes economic opportunity and 
     recipients of bachelor's degrees earn 73 percent more in 
     lifetime earnings than those with only a secondary school 
     diploma and are also significantly less likely to be 
     unemployed;
       Whereas access to a college education has become a hallmark 
     of American society, and is vital to upholding our belief in 
     equality of opportunity;
       Whereas for a generation, the Federal Pell Grant has served 
     as an established and effective means of providing access to 
     higher education;
       Whereas when viewed in constant dollars, the value of 
     today's Pell Grant maximum award has actually declined by 16 
     percent since the mid 1970s;
       Whereas grant aid as a portion of student aid has fallen 
     significantly in the past 30 years;
       Whereas in 1975, grant aid constituted approximately 80 
     percent of total student aid awarded to college students and 
     loans constituted only 17 percent, now this has reversed with 
     grants making up only 38 percent, and loans covering 56 
     percent of total student aid; and
       Whereas the increasing reliance on borrowing to finance a 
     higher education is particularly burdensome on low-income 
     families and has negative consequences for the enrollment of 
     these students.
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the maximum Federal Pell Grant for which a student 
     should be eligible during award year 2005-2006 should be 
     $4,500; and
       (2) the authorized levels for the Federal Pell Grant 
     maximum amount found in section 401 of the Higher Education 
     Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) should be set high enough to 
     accommodate a Federal Pell Grant amount of $9,000 by award 
     year 2010-2011.

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the first piece 
of legislation that I will sponsor in the 109th Congress--a resolution 
calling on the Senate to strengthen the Pell grant program so that more 
families can afford higher education.
  The Pell grant program is the single largest source of grant aid for 
postsecondary education funded by the Federal Government. It provides 
grants to students based on their level of financial need to support 
their studies at the institutions they have chosen to attend. For this 
fiscal year, the Pell program is funded at $12.8 billion and is 
estimated to serve more than 5.3 million students.
  I am pleased to have Senator Feingold and Senator Coleman joining me 
in this bipartisan effort to marshal additional Federal resources for 
the Pell program. They each have been a leader in the effort to expand 
access to higher education.
  Our system of higher education is in many ways the envy of the world, 
but its benefits have not been equally available. Unfortunately, it is 
still the case that one of the most determinative factors of whether 
students will pursue higher education is their family income. Students 
from families with incomes above $75,000 are more than twice as likely 
to attend college as students from families with incomes of less that 
$25,000.
  Even more unsettling are studies demonstrating the negative effect of 
unmet financial need on college attendance for even the most 
academically prepared students. Among the most highly qualified high 
school students, those from low-income families were 43 percent less 
likely to attend college than their wealthier counterparts.
  To help remedy these inequities, the Federal Government has wisely 
invested in a need-based system of student financial aid designed to 
help remove the economic barriers to higher education. Central to this 
effort over the past 30 years has been the Pell grant program. This 
program was designed as the cornerstone of Federal student assistance.
  Unfortunately, the purchasing power of the Pell grant has been 
significantly eroded in recent years, forcing students to rely 
increasingly on loans to finance their higher education. In 1975, the 
maximum Pell grant covered approximately 80 percent of the costs of 
attending a public, 4-year institution. Today, it covers less than half 
of these costs, forcing students to make up the difference by taking on 
larger and larger amounts of debt. On average, students from the 
University of Maine graduate with approximately $18,000 in debt from 
Federal student loans alone, and this reflects national trends. As 
startling as this figure is, it does not include additional 
indebtedness that many students incur through private loans or credit 
card debt to finance their education.
  The decline in the value of grant aid and the growing reliance on 
loans bring other negative consequences. The staggering amount of loans 
can force some students to abandon their plans to attend college 
altogether. According to the College Board, low-income families are 
significantly less willing, by almost 50 percent, to finance a college 
education through borrowed money than their wealthier counterparts.
  That does not surprise me. Many working families in Maine are 
committed to living within their means. Understandably, they are 
extremely wary of the staggering amount of debt that is now required to 
finance a college education.
  I also know this to be true from my experiences as a college 
administrator at Husson College in Maine. At Husson, 85 to 90 percent 
of students currently receive some sort of Federal financial aid, and 
approximately 60 percent of students receive Pell grants.

  As Linda Conant, the financial aid director at Husson told me, ``You 
cannot imagine how difficult it is to sit with a family and to explain 
to them the amount of loans that are needed to finance a post-secondary 
degree. It

[[Page S368]]

scares them. That is why Pell grant aid is so important for low-income 
families. For these families, loans don't always work, but Pell does.''
  I also heard from Judy Kenney from Northern Maine about the 
importance of Pell grants. Judy lives in Castle Hill, not far from my 
home town of Caribou. Her daughter and son both were able to attend 
college with the help of Pell grants. As she told me, ``At the time, my 
husband Maylen was farming and having a rough go of it and I was a 
teacher and didn't make much. But the Pell grants my children received 
made it possible for them to graduate, one from the University of New 
England and one from Thomas College. Without these grants, they 
couldn't have finished and now they are making good wages and paying 
taxes!''
  Judy couldn't be more right on both counts. Not only can the typical 
bachelor's degree recipient expect to earn about 73 percent more over a 
lifetime than a high school graduate, they also typically contribute 
100 percent more in Federal income taxes than the average high school 
graduate. So this is truly a Federal investment that pays for itself 
over the long run.
  We also know that having a well-educated workforce is crucial to our 
economic future and competitiveness in the global economy. The Bureau 
of Labor Statistics has projected that over the next 10 years, there 
will be significant growth in jobs requiring at least some post-
secondary education. So increasingly, higher education is going to be 
necessary to ensure employability and to prepare Americans to 
participate in tomorrow's economy.
  Pell grants make the difference in whether students have access to 
higher education, and a chance to participate fully in the American 
dream. That is why today I am introducing a resolution calling on the 
Senate to begin restoring the value of the Pell grant program.
  This resolution calls on the Senate to raise the Pell maximum grant 
award to $4,500, a $450 increase in a single year. This increase is 
long overdue. The maximum grant award has been essentially level-funded 
for 4 straight years--at $4,050 for the past 3 years and only a $50 
increase in FY 2002.
  During these 4 years, think of the students who might have entered 
college and graduated with a degree, if only they had received 
additional Pell grant aid. Pell grants are targeted to the neediest of 
students--recipients have a median family income of only $15,200. An 
additional $450 in Pell grant aid may very well be the deciding factor 
on whether these students can pursue their college dreams.
  The resolution also calls on the Senate to amend the Higher Education 
Act to provide higher authorization levels for the Pell maximum grant 
that would allow for a doubling of the maximum grant to $9,000 over the 
next 5 years. This is an ambitious goal but a worthy one for a nation 
that understands the opportunities that a college education brings.
  As my colleagues know, the Higher Education Act is expected to be 
reauthorized this year. As the Senate HELP Committee considers the 
reauthorization, it is my hope that this resolution will prompt a 
discussion about the need for the maximum grant to grow.
  I know that my good friends Senator Enzi, the new chairman of the 
Senate HELP Committee; Senator Kennedy, the ranking member; Senator 
Alexander, the chairman of the new Education and Early Childhood 
Development Subcommittee; and his Democratic counterpart will all work 
hard with other committee members to produce a strong reauthorization 
bill. I look forward to working with them further; they are all 
champions of ensuring greater access to quality education for all 
Americans, regardless of their financial means.
  The President also has recently announced his intention to include a 
proposal in his 2006 budget request to eliminate the Pell shortfall and 
to provide an increase in the maximum grant of $100 for each of the 
next 5 years. I commend the President for focusing on Pell grants, and 
I hope that we can work together to provide a more substantial increase 
for the maximum grant for the upcoming year. An increase of 
approximately $100 for each of the next 5 years will not be enough to 
increase the purchasing power of Pell grants and will not keep pace 
with inflation or rising tuition costs. For 2004-2005, the average 
costs of tuition and fees for a public, 4-year institution rose by over 
10 percent.
  I will ask unanimous consent to have a letter of support for my 
legislation printed in the Record. This letter is from the Student Aid 
Alliance, a coalition of more than 60 organizations representing 
students, colleges and universities. Founded by the American Council on 
Education and the National Association of Independent Colleges and 
Universities, the Student Aid Alliance includes members such as the 
American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of 
State Colleges and Universities, and the National Association of 
Student Financial Aid Administrators, to name just a few. I am pleased 
to have their support.
  Mr. President, now is the time for us to make a commitment to raising 
the Pell maximum award to $4,500 for the upcoming award year. The Pell 
grant program is the foundation of making good on the American promise 
of access to higher education. I hope that my colleagues will join me 
in supporting this resolution.
  I ask unanimous consent to have the letter to which I referred 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:


                                         Student Aid Alliance,

                                 Washington, DC, January 24, 2005.
     Re support for Collins-Feingold Resolution on Pell Grants

       Dear Senator: The Student Aid Alliance, a coalition of over 
     60 higher education associations representing students, 
     parents, colleges and universities, supports the passage of 
     the Collins-Feingold resolution to increase the Pell Grant 
     maximum award to $4,500 in the 2005-06 award year, and to 
     double the maximum over the next 5 years. We urge the Senate 
     to adopt this legislation, which paves the way toward 
     achieving increased support for students seeking to finance a 
     college education.
       The Pell Grant program is one of the most successful 
     programs that the federal government has ever initiated. It 
     has financed the education of millions of college students 
     who are now contributing members of society--doctors, 
     teachers, mayors, and members of Congress. It is rooted in 
     the abiding American value that one's aspirations--not one's 
     income--should determine the shape of one's future.
       Increasing the Pell Grant maximum award by $450 is vitally 
     important to the millions of college students who have seen 
     no increase in their grants for the past three years in a 
     row. During this period, the college-age population has 
     continued to expand, states have been cutting their 
     investments in higher education, and family savings have been 
     diminished by economic losses. Increasing the Pell Grant 
     maximum award is an essential and necessary component of 
     keeping college possible for these students.
       Passage of the Collins-Feingold resolution will signal 
     Congress' interest in and support of America's neediest 
     students. We encourage you to support this important 
     legislation.
           Sincerely,
     David Ward,
       Co-Chair.
     David Warren,
       Co-Chair.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:


                          2005 List of Members

       American Association for Higher Education
       American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
       American Association of Colleges of Nursing
       American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
       American Association of Collegiate Registrars and 
     Admissions Officers
       American Association of Community Colleges
       American Dental Education Association
       American Association of State Colleges and Universities
       American Association of University Professors
       American College Personnel Association
       American College Testing
       American Council on Education
       American Indian Higher Education Consortium
       American Jewish Congress
       American Psychological Association
       American Society for Engineering Education
       American Student Association of Community Colleges
       APPA: The Association of Higher Education Facilities 
     Officers
       Association of Academic Health Centers
       Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools
       Association of American Colleges and Universities

[[Page S369]]

       Association of American Law Schools
       Association of American Medical Colleges
       Association of American Universities
       Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
       Association of Community College Trustees
       Association of Governing Boards of Universities and 
     Colleges
       Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
       Citizen's Scholarship Foundation of Arnerica
       Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations
       College and University Personnel Association for Human 
     Resources
       College Board
       College Parents of America
       Council for Advancement and Support of Education
       Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
       Council for Higher Education Accreditation
       Council of Graduate Schools
       Council of Independent Colleges
       Council for Opportunity in Education
       Educational Testing Service
       Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
       Lutheran Educational Conference of North America
       NAFSA: Association of International Educators
       National Association for College Admission Counseling
       National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher 
     Education
       National Association of College and University Business 
     Officers
       National Association of Graduate and Professional Students
       National Association of Independent Colleges and 
     Universities
       National Association of State Student Grant and Aid 
     Programs
       National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant 
     Colleges
       National Association of Student Financial Aid 
     Administrators
       National Association of Student Personnel Administrators
       National College Access Network
       National Collegiate Athletic Association
       National Council for Community and Education Partnerships
       National Council of University Research Administrators
       National Education Association
       NAWE: Advancing Women in Higher Education
       The Council on Government Relations
       United Negro College Fund
       United States Public Interest Research Group
       United States Student Association
       University Continuing Education Association
       Women's College Coalition
                                 ______
                                 

   SENATE RESOLUTION 9--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING 
  DESIGNATION OF THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER AS ``NATIONAL MILITARY FAMILY 
                                MONTH''

  Mr. INOUYE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary:

                               S. Res. 9

       Whereas military families, through their sacrifices and 
     their dedication to our Nation and its values, represent the 
     bedrock upon which our Nation was founded and upon which our 
     Nation continues to rely in these perilous and challenging 
     times: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate--
       (1) that the month of November should be designated as 
     ``National Military Family Month''; and
       (2) to request that the President--
       (A) designate the month of November as ``National Military 
     Family Month''; and
       (B) issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the 
     United States to observe the month with appropriate 
     ceremonies and activities.

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, today I rise to honor all our military 
families by introducing a Resolution to designate November as National 
Military Family Month. As we all know, memories fade and the hardships 
experienced by our military families are easily forgotten unless they 
touch our own immediate family.
  Today, we have our men and women deployed all over the world, engaged 
in this war on terrorism. These far-ranging military deployments are 
extremely difficult on the families who bear this heavy burden.
  To honor these families, the Armed Services YMCA has sponsored 
Military Family Week in late November since 1996. However, due to 
frequent ``short week'' conflicts around the Thanksgiving holidays, the 
designated week has not always afforded enough time to schedule 
observance on and near our military bases.
  I believe a month long observation will allow greater opportunity to 
plan events. Moreover, it will provide a greater opportunity to 
stimulate media support.
  A resolution will help pave the way for this effort. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this tribute to our military 
families.
                                 ______
                                 

 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 3--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE CONGRESS 
               WITH RESPECT TO THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL

  Mr. SCHUMER (for himself and Mr. Talent) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                             S. Con. Res. 3

       Whereas Emmett Till was born in Chicago, Illinois, at Cook 
     County Hospital, on July 25, 1941, to Mamie and Louis Till;
       Whereas Emmett Till traveled to Money, Mississippi, to 
     spend the summer with his uncle, Moses Wright, and his 
     relatives;
       Whereas in August 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till--with 
     adolescent flamboyance, but unfamiliarity of the racial 
     customs of the South--allegedly whistled at Carolyn Bryant, a 
     White woman;
       Whereas on August 28, at about 2:30 a.m., Roy Bryant, 
     Carolyn Bryant's husband, and his half brother, J.W. Milam, 
     kidnaped Emmett Till from his uncle Moses Wright's home;
       Whereas Bryant and Milam brutally beat Emmett Till, took 
     him to the edge of the Tallahatchie River, shot him in the 
     head, fastened a large metal fan used for ginning cotton to 
     his neck with barbed wire, and pushed the body into the 
     river;
       Whereas 3 days later, Emmett Till's decomposed corpse was 
     pulled from the Tallahatchie River;
       Whereas Emmett's mother, Mamie Till, made the extraordinary 
     decision to leave the casket open at her son's funeral in 
     Chicago, in order to allow the world to see the brutality of 
     the crime perpetrated against her son;
       Whereas tens of thousands of people viewed Emmett Till's 
     body in a Chicago church for 4 days; and press from around 
     the world published photographs of Emmett's maimed face; and 
     the sheer brutality of his murder became international news 
     that highlighted the violent racism of the Jim Crow South;
       Whereas Jet Magazine and the Chicago Defender published 
     photographs of Emmett Till's body outraging African-Americans 
     around the United States;
       Whereas the trial of J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant began in 
     September of that year with an all-male, all-White jury, 
     because African-Americans and women were banned from serving;
       Whereas the trial of Milam and Bryant was a microcosm of 
     the Jim Crow South: African-Americans were packed in a 
     specific section of the courtroom balcony; the defendants' 
     families were seen laughing and joking with the prosecution 
     and the jury; and food and snacks were passed out to White 
     observers;
       Whereas Moses Wright did the unthinkable as an African-
     American and openly accused the White defendants in public 
     court of murdering his nephew;
       Whereas Moses Wright was run out of town for his actions in 
     court;
       Whereas J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant were acquitted of the 
     murder of Emmett Till, and Bryant celebrated his acquittal 
     with his wife in front of the cameras;
       Whereas protected from further prosecution, Milam and 
     Bryant candidly confessed their torture and murder of Emmett 
     Till; Milam did so on the record to Look Magazine for $4,000;
       Whereas Mamie Till and thousands of others pleaded with the 
     Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
     to reopen and investigate the case;
       Whereas the Federal Government did absolutely nothing, and 
     President Eisenhower and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover refused 
     to reopen the case and did not even answer Mamie Till's 
     urgent telegraph;
       Whereas 100 days later, Rosa Parks refused to give up her 
     bus seat to a White patron and the modern civil rights 
     revolution began;
       Whereas many historians regard the murder of Emmett Till as 
     the true spark of the civil rights movement;
       Whereas Mamie Till, who died on January 6, 2003, moved back 
     to Chicago, taught, and continued to talk about her son 
     Emmett's murder; and expressed her wishes for a full Federal 
     investigation;
       Whereas more than 48 years have passed since the murder of 
     Emmett Till;
       Whereas the remaining witnesses to this gruesome crime are 
     elderly;
       Whereas House Concurrent Resolution 360 entitled 
     ``Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the murder 
     of Emmett Till'', was introduced on February 10, 2004, by 
     Representative Bobby Rush;
       Whereas the Department of Justice reopened the 
     investigation into the murder of Emmett Till on May 11, 2004; 
     and
       Whereas Congress supports the decision to reopen the 
     investigation of the murder of Emmett Till: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) calls on all authorities with jurisdiction, including 
     the Department of Justice and the State of Mississippi, to--

[[Page S370]]

       (A) expeditiously bring those responsible for the murder of 
     Emmett Till to justice, due to the amount of time that has 
     passed since the murder and the age of the witnesses; and
       (B) provide all the resources necessary to ensure a timely 
     and thorough investigation; and
       (2) calls on the Department of Justice to fully report the 
     findings of their investigation to Congress.

                          ____________________