[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 14 (Thursday, February 10, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1285-S1287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Nelson of 
        Florida, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Martinez):
  S. 357. A bill to expand and enhance post baccalaureate opportunities 
at Hispanic-serving institutions, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the next 
generation of Hispanic Serving Institutions legislation. This 
legislation is critical if we, as a Nation, are going to continue to 
compete in a global economy. Education is the key to building a strong 
and dynamic economy, and therefore, it is our obligation to ensure 
quality educational opportunities for all Americans. That is why I am 
introducing, along with my colleague Senator Hutchison, the Next 
Generation Hispanic Serving Institutions Act of 2005. This legislation 
is supported by the Hispanic Education Coalition, an ad hoc coalition 
of national organizations dedicated to improving educational 
opportunities for more than 40 million Hispanics living in the United 
States, including groups like National Council of La Raza, HACU, and 
MALDEF. Senators Bill Nelson and Clinton have joined in this effort as 
cosponsors.
  According to Census Bureau data, Hispanic population in the United 
States grew by 25.7 million between 1970 and 2000 and continues to grow 
at a very brisk pace. The most recent census data puts the Hispanic 
population at over 40 million, representing approximately 14 percent of 
the U.S. population and making it the Nation's largest minority group. 
Estimates project that the Hispanic population will grow by 25 million 
between 2000 and 2020. By the year 2050, 1 in 4 Americans will be of 
Hispanic origin.
  Currently, Hispanics make up about 13 percent of the U.S. labor 
force. While the overall labor force is projected to slow down over the 
next decades as an increasing number of workers reach retirement age, 
the Hispanic labor force is expected to continue growing at a fast 
pace. It will expand by nearly 10 million workers between now and 2020, 
through a combination of immigration and native-born youth reaching 
working age.
  Our Nation's economic and social success rests, in large part, on the 
level of skills and knowledge attained by our Hispanic population.
  I was one of the authors and lead supporters of the original Hispanic 
Serving Institutions proposal when it was enacted as part of the Higher 
Education Act in 1992 in order to increase educational opportunities 
for Hispanic students. Since then, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, HSIs, 
have made significant strides in increasing the number of Hispanic 
students enrolling in and graduating from college. Although Hispanic-
serving institutions account for only 5 percent of all institutions of 
higher education in the United States,

[[Page S1286]]

HSIs enroll over half, 51 percent, of all Hispanics pursuing higher 
education degrees in the 50 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto 
Rico.
  While Hispanic high school graduates go on to college at higher rates 
than they did even ten years ago, Hispanics still lag behind their non-
Hispanic peers in postsecondary school enrollment. In 2000, only 21.7 
percent of all Hispanics ages 18 through 24 were enrolled in 
postsecondary degree-granting institutions in the United States.
  We must take HSIs to the next level. While the percentage of 
Hispanics attending college has increased significantly over the past 
few years, Hispanic students are disproportionately enrolled in 2-year 
colleges, and are much less likely to finish college than their non-
Hispanic peers. In 2001, only slightly more than 1 in 10 Hispanics ages 
25 years and over had received a bachelor's degree or higher.
  According to the Department of Education, in 2000, Hispanics only 
earned 6 percent of all bachelor's degrees awarded, 4 percent of all 
master's degrees, and only 3 percent of all doctorates. But the pace of 
bachelor's degrees or higher earned by Hispanics is accelerating 
rapidly, according to the Department of Education. Therefore, we must 
keep pace. We must increase the capacity of our institutions of higher 
education to serve the increasing number of Hispanic students.
  The Next Generation HSI bill does just that. Simply, this legislation 
will improve educational opportunities for Hispanic students by 
establishing a competitive grant program to expand post-baccalaureate 
degree opportunities at HSIs, and by eliminating unnecessary and 
burdensome administrative requirements HSIs must contend with.
  Current law only provides support for 2-year and 4-year Hispanic 
Serving Institutions. This legislation will support graduate 
fellowships and support services for graduate students, facilities 
improvement, faculty development, technology and distance education, 
and collaborative arrangements with other institutions. This 
legislation will build capacity and establish a long overdue graduate 
program for HSIs.
  In addition, current law places a number of unnecessary, burdensome 
administrative and regulatory barriers at the gates of our HSIs. If our 
goal is to increase educational opportunities for all students, and 
particularly Hispanic students, then we must eliminate bureaucratic 
barriers that impede access.
  Accordingly, this legislation removes a 2-year period in which HSIs 
must wait before becoming eligible to apply for another grant under 
title V of the Higher Education Act. This 2-year wait out period 
obstructs the efforts of many HSIs to implement continuing programs and 
conduct long range planning. As a result, many HSIs cannot maintain 
continuity in educational programming. We should be creating 
opportunities to improve the quality of education, and eliminating this 
wait-out period is a step in the right direction.
  In addition, this bill eliminates another onerous requirement on HSIs 
that other minority-serving institutions are not required to follow. 
Currently, in order to be eligible as an HSI, the institution must 
serve ``needy students''--meaning at least 50 percent of the degree 
students are receiving Federal need-based assistance or the 
institution's percentage of Pell Grant recipients exceeds the median 
percentage for similar institutions receiving Pell Grants. Also, to be 
eligible, 25 percent of the full time, undergraduate population must be 
Hispanic. However, unlike other grant programs in the Higher Education 
Act, HSIs must also show that 50 percent of the Hispanic population is 
low income.
  This last requirement is particularly burdensome, as it is 
duplicative and unfair, and, in many cases, prevents HSIs from 
providing vital educational services to Hispanic students. This 
provision requires the institutions to collect information and data 
that is not readily available or easily acquirable. It requires the 
schools to come up with data beyond what is required for financial aid 
purposes. Further, there is no other requirement in Federal law for 
institutions to collect this type of data. As a result, many 
institutions with large Hispanic student populations must divert 
critical resources and staff to acquire this information, or they 
simply do not qualify as an HSI.
  To ensure that the institution continues to serve low-income 
students, the Next Generation HSI Act maintains the requirement that 
the institution serve needy students, but eliminates the additional 
requirement that the school demonstrate that 50 percent of its Hispanic 
students are low-income. The elimination of this requirement will ease 
the administrative burdens placed on our schools, and further our goals 
of increasing access and improving quality.
  Finally, this bill facilitates the transition of Hispanic students 
from 2-year colleges to 4-year colleges. As I noted earlier, Hispanics 
are disproportionately enrolled in 2-year colleges as compared to their 
non-Hispanic peers. To encourage and support these students' continued 
education, this legislation adds as an authorized activity programs 
that assist a student's transfer from a 2-year institution to a 4-year 
institution.
  Hispanic students now account for nearly 17 percent of the total 
kindergarten through grade 12 student population. Estimates project 
that this student population will grow from 11 million in 2005 to 16 
million in 2020. We must provide our institutions of higher education 
with the resources and flexibility they need to build capacity and 
serve the increasing Hispanic student population. We must be ready for 
the next generation of students to meet the demands of a competitive 
workforce and to fully participate in the global economy. I ask 
unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 357

       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 ``Next Generation Hispanic 
     Serving Institutions Act''.

    TITLE I--GRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES AT HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS

     SEC. 101. POSTBACCALAUREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HISPANIC 
                   AMERICANS.

       (a) Establishment of Program.--Title V of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating part B as part C;
       (2) by redesignating sections 511 through 518 as sections 
     521 through 528, respectively; and
       (3) by inserting after section 505 the following:

   ``PART B--PROMOTING POSTBACCALAUREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HISPANIC 
                               AMERICANS

     ``SEC. 511. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) According to the United States Census, by the year 
     2050, 1 in 4 Americans will be of Hispanic origin.
       ``(2) Despite the dramatic increase in the Hispanic 
     population in the United States, the National Center for 
     Education Statistics reported that in 1999, Hispanics 
     accounted for only 4 percent of the master's degrees, 3 
     percent of the doctor's degrees, and 5 percent of first-
     professional degrees awarded in the United States.
       ``(3) Although Hispanics constitute 10 percent of the 
     college enrollment in the United States, they comprise only 3 
     percent of instructional faculty in college and universities.
       ``(4) The future capacity for research and advanced study 
     in the United States will require increasing the number of 
     Hispanics pursuing postbaccalaureate studies.
       ``(5) Hispanic-serving institutions are leading the Nation 
     in increasing the number of Hispanics attaining graduate and 
     professional degrees.
       ``(6) Among Hispanics who received master's degrees in 
     1999-2000, 25 percent earned them at Hispanic-serving 
     institutions.
       ``(7) Between 1991 and 2000, the number of Hispanic 
     students earning master's degrees at Hispanic-serving 
     institutions grew 136 percent, the number receiving doctor's 
     degrees grew by 85 percent, and the number earning first-
     professional degrees grew by 47 percent.
       ``(8) It is in the national interest to expand the capacity 
     of Hispanic-serving institutions to offer graduate and 
     professional degree programs.
       ``(9) Research is a key element in graduate education and 
     undergraduate preparation, particularly in science and 
     technology, and Congress desires to strengthen the role of 
     research at Hispanic-serving institutions. University 
     research, whether performed directly or through a 
     university's nonprofit research institute or foundation, is 
     considered an integral part of the institution and mission of 
     the university.
       ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this part are--
       ``(1) to expand postbaccalaureate educational opportunities 
     for, and improve the

[[Page S1287]]

     academic attainment of, Hispanic students; and
       ``(2) to expand and enhance the postbaccalaureate academic 
     offerings of high quality that are educating the majority of 
     Hispanic college students and helping large numbers of 
     Hispanic students and low-income individuals complete 
     postsecondary degrees.

     ``SEC. 512. PROGRAM AUTHORITY AND ELIGIBILITY.

       ``(a) Program Authorized.--Subject to the availability of 
     funds appropriated to carry out this part, the Secretary 
     shall award competitive grants to eligible institutions.
       ``(b) Eligibility.--For the purposes of this part, an 
     `eligible institution' means an institution of higher 
     education that--
       ``(1) is a Hispanic-serving institution (as defined under 
     section 502); and
       ``(2) offers a postbaccalaureate certificate or degree 
     granting program.

     ``SEC. 513. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.

       ``Grants awarded under this part shall be used for 1 or 
     more of the following activities:
       ``(1) Purchase, rental, or lease of scientific or 
     laboratory equipment for educational purposes, including 
     instructional and research purposes.
       ``(2) Construction, maintenance, renovation, and 
     improvement in classroom, library, laboratory, and other 
     instructional facilities, including purchase or rental of 
     telecommunications technology equipment or services.
       ``(3) Purchase of library books, periodicals, technical and 
     other scientific journals, microfilm, microfiche, and other 
     educational materials, including telecommunications program 
     materials.
       ``(4) Support for needy postbaccalaureate students 
     including outreach, academic support services, mentoring, 
     scholarships, fellowships, and other financial assistance to 
     permit the enrollment of such students in postbaccalaureate 
     certificate and degree granting programs.
       ``(5) Support of faculty exchanges, faculty development, 
     faculty research, curriculum development, and academic 
     instruction.
       ``(6) Creating or improving facilities for Internet or 
     other distance learning academic instruction capabilities, 
     including purchase or rental of telecommunications technology 
     equipment or services.
       ``(7) Collaboration with other institutions of higher 
     education to expand postbaccalaureate certificate and degree 
     offerings.
       ``(8) Other activities proposed in the application 
     submitted pursuant to section 514 that--
       ``(A) contribute to carrying out the purposes of this part; 
     and
       ``(B) are approved by the Secretary as part of the review 
     and acceptance of such application.

     ``SEC. 514. APPLICATION AND DURATION.

       ``(a) Application.--Any eligible institution may apply for 
     a grant under this part by submitting an application to the 
     Secretary at such time and in such manner as determined by 
     the Secretary. Such application shall demonstrate how the 
     grant funds will be used to improve postbaccalaureate 
     education opportunities for Hispanic and low-income students 
     and will lead to such students' greater financial 
     independence.
       ``(b) Duration.--Grants under this part shall be awarded 
     for a period not to exceed 5 years.
       ``(c) Limitation.--The Secretary may not award more than 1 
     grant under this part in any fiscal year to any Hispanic-
     serving institution.''.
       (b) Cooperative Arrangements.--Section 524(a) of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (as redesignated by subsection (a)(2)) 
     is amended by inserting ``and section 513'' after ``section 
     503''.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 528(a) of the 
     Higher Education Act of 1965 (as redesignated by subsection 
     (a)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(a) Authorizations.--
       ``(1) Part a.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
     carry out part A of this title $175,000,000 for fiscal year 
     2006 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 
     succeeding fiscal years.
       ``(2) Part b.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
     carry out part B of this title $125,000,000 for fiscal year 
     2006 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 
     succeeding fiscal years.''.
       (d) Conforming Amendments.--Title V of the Higher Education 
     Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended--
       (1) in section 502--
       (A) in subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii), by striking ``section 
     512(b)'' and inserting ``section 522(b)''; and
       (B) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``section 512(a)'' 
     and inserting ``section 522(a)'';
       (2) in section 521(c)(6) (as redesignated by subsection 
     (a)(2)), by striking ``section 516'' and inserting ``section 
     526''; and
       (3) in section 526 (as redesignated by subsection (a)(2)), 
     by striking ``section 518'' and inserting ``section 528''.

      TITLE II--REDUCING REGULATORY BARRIERS FOR HISPANIC-SERVING 
                              INSTITUTIONS

     SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 502(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1101a(a)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (5)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``; and'' and 
     inserting a period; and
       (C) by striking subparagraph (C); and
       (2) by striking paragraph (7).

     SEC. 202. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.

       Section 503(b)(7) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1101b(b)(7)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(7) Articulation agreements and student support programs 
     designed to facilitate the transfer from 2-year to 4-year 
     institutions.''.

     SEC. 203. ELIMINATION OF WAIT-OUT PERIOD.

       Section 504(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1101c(a)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(a) Award Period.--The Secretary may award a grant to a 
     Hispanic-serving institution under this title for 5 years.''.

     SEC. 204. APPLICATION PRIORITY.

       Section 521(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as 
     redesignated by section 101(a)(2)) is amended by striking 
     ``(from funds other than funds provided under this title)''.

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill that 
will amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise provisions for 
Hispanic-serving institutions, HSIs, under Title V, Developing 
Institutions. The changes will expand opportunities in postgraduate 
education, an essential part of our economy that enables our workforce 
to maintain the knowledge that keeps our nation at the forefront of 
science and technology.
  The bill will establish a program of competitive grants for HSIs that 
offer post-baccalaureate certifications or degrees. Grants will support 
graduate fellowships, services for students, facilities improvement and 
faculty development, among other things. It authorizes $125 million in 
grants for fiscal year 2006, and will reduce red tape by eliminating 
the requirement that an HSI certify half of its students are low-
income, thus making it easier for students to transfer from two to four 
year colleges.
  According to the 2000 Census, Hispanics represent the nation's 
largest minority population. Unfortunately, too few graduate from high 
school or college, despite being the fastest-growing ethnicity in that 
age group. We need more resources to support Hispanic educational 
opportunities. Hispanic-Serving Institutions are currently educating 51 
percent of the 457,000 Hispanic higher education students in the United 
States. Although HSIs account for 5 percent of all institutions of 
higher education, almost one-half of the 1.5 million Hispanic students 
currently in college programs attend them.
  Between 1991 and 2000, the number of Hispanics earning master's 
degrees grew 136 percent and the number of doctor's degrees grew 85 
percent. Our Nation's economic strength and prosperity will depend on 
the knowledge, skills, and leadership of a population that already 
makes up one of three new workers joining the U.S. labor force today.
  As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have been 
committed to increasing federal support of HSIs. Since 1995, Title V 
funding has increased from $12 million to $95 million in fiscal year 
2005. I believe this is an important investment to ensure our nation's 
youngest and largest ethnic population has access to the educational 
opportunities needed to excel.
  Because I believe the success of Hispanic students will play a 
critical role in determining this country's future, I am proud to offer 
this bill that will improve options for graduate and postgraduate 
study, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. President, I ask 
unanimous consent that a copy of the bill be printed in the Record.
                                 ______