[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 111 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H7763-H7766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            STUDENT GRANT HURRICANE AND DISASTER RELIEF ACT

  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3668) to provide the Secretary of Education with waiver 
authority for students who are eligible for Federal student grant 
assistance who are adversely affected by a major disaster.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3668

       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 ``Student Grant Hurricane and 
     Disaster Relief Act''.

     SEC. 2. WAIVERS OF STUDENT GRANT ASSISTANCE REPAYMENT BY 
                   STUDENTS AFFECTED BY DISASTERS.

       Section 484B(b)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1091b(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subparagraph:
       ``(E) Waivers of grant assistance repayment by students 
     affected by disasters.--In addition to the waivers authorized 
     by subparagraph (D), the Secretary may waive the amounts that 
     students are required to return under this section with 
     respect to any other grant assistance under this title if the 
     withdrawals on which the returns are based are withdrawals by 
     students--
       ``(i) who were residing in, employed in, or attending an 
     institution of higher education that is located in an area in 
     which the President has declared that a major disaster 
     exists, in accordance with section 401 of the Robert T. 
     Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5170);
       ``(ii) whose attendance was interrupted because of the 
     impact of the disaster on the student or the institution; and
       ``(iii) whose withdrawal ended within the academic year 
     during which the designation occurred or during the next 
     succeeding academic year.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Boustany) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany).


                             General Leave

  Mr. BOUSTANY. 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. 3668.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Louisiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill to provide additional 
relief to students whose higher education plans have been put on hold 
as a result of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
  Yesterday, the House unanimously approved a bill to ensure that 
students who were forced to withdraw from college because of a natural 
disaster are not forced to repay Pell grant aid. I think that bill will 
provide critical relief to students who are already facing tremendous 
hardships as a result of this tragedy.
  I am pleased today to be taking the next critical step by providing 
this type of flexibility and protection for students receiving all 
types of grant aid under title IV of the Higher Education Act.

                              {time}  1230

  We need to provide the Secretary of Education the utmost flexibility 
to meet the needs of students who have lost their homes and 
communities, and that is exactly what this bill will do.
  Each year millions of American students gain access to higher 
education with the help of Federal student aid. The Federal Government 
is providing more than $73 billion in direct financial aid to students 
for fiscal year 2005 in order to ensure college access for students 
from all walks of life. I am proud of our tremendous investment in 
higher education.
  Unfortunately, the tragic events of the scope like that which we are 
seeing on the Gulf Coast were not anticipated in the structure of the 
Federal student aid programs. The Department of Education lacks the 
flexibility to waive student aid repayment requirements for students 
who are forced to withdraw from higher education as a result of a 
natural disaster.
  Waiver authority does exist within student loan programs, and 
yesterday we provided similar flexibility within the Pell grant 
program. Today, we are addressing the remaining discrepancy for other 
types of student financial aid that play a critical role in providing 
college access to low- and middle-income students.
  The bill will protect students from being forced to repay other types 
of grant aid under title IV of the Higher Education Act. Some examples 
of the types of programs protected under this bill would be TRIO, GEAR 
UP, and the Supplemental Educational Opportunity grants.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is but one small step in what will be a 
comprehensive, long-term relief effort. However, for many students and 
families this bill will provide critical relief as they work to rebuild 
their homes and lives and, ultimately, as they do return to higher 
education in the future.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, yesterday I supported the Keller bill to offer relief to 
Pell grant recipients affected by natural disasters. I rise today to 
support the Jindal bill to offer relief to those benefiting from other 
Title IV grant programs like TRIO, LEAP and HEP/CAMP.
  It is vital that grant recipients affected by this tragedy be spared 
the further hardship of repaying a grant they were never able to 
benefit from. This bill represents a good first step and I am pleased 
to be a cosponsor.
  There is no question that we need to reassess what students and 
families can actually pay for college after the disaster, since many 
have lost jobs, homes, resources and valuables. In addition, we must 
also address the needs of student borrowers stuck paying loans despite 
job loss, lost income, and other financial hardship.
  The 100,000 low- and middle-income students who depend on loans will 
feel the financial crunch of Katrina. Furthermore, we must address the 
needs of students with parents in the affected area, but who are 
attending schools in other parts of the country. Thousands of affected 
students and graduates will be unable to make payments on their 
Stafford or Perkins loans.
  Currently, Mr. Speaker, students in repayment who are suffering from 
economic hardship can seek deferment, but we must cut the red tape by 
allowing any student impacted by a natural disaster to receive an 
automatic deferment of both the accumulation of interest and the 
payments.
  The Miller/Kildee Katrina College Relief Act does just that. This 
change would save the average borrower much over the life of their 
loan.
  Graduates already struggling to dig themselves out of their student 
loan debt must not be penalized because of this tragedy. Enrolled 
students who are currently receiving Federal aid had their financial 
aid package calculated based on their expected family contributions, 
the so-called EFC, which includes parent contributions and 
contributions of working students. With hundreds of thousands 
unemployed, including the one in five undergraduates

[[Page H7764]]

who were working more than 30 hours a week to support themselves, the 
calculated expected family contribution may no longer be realistic.
  The Miller/Kildee Katrina College Relief Act allows these students to 
have their EFC student aid packages readjusted to reflect the financial 
changes the family may have suffered. Affected families have limited 
resources to aid their recovery.
  The little that they do have needs to go toward rebuilding their 
homes and lives, Mr. Speaker, but this should not mean that their 
children should have to put their education on the back burner.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the majority leadership has decided to 
take up the issue of college students impacted by this tragedy. Yet, 
comprehensive relief is necessary for all students with the financial 
hardship.
  While I support these efforts and commend the majority for doing 
this, I hope Congress will soon consider a more comprehensive package 
like the Miller/Kildee Katrina College Relief Act. An extraordinary 
catastrophe, and this indeed is extraordinary, demands an extraordinary 
solution. With over 100,000 students from many institutions displaced, 
Congress must do more.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Jindal).
  Mr. JINDAL. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Louisiana 
(Mr. Boustany) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner) for allowing 
this bill to move so quickly and their time today.
  An awful thing happened in my district and an awful thing happened in 
Louisiana, in Mississippi, and in Alabama. The people of my district, 
the people of my State, the people of the Gulf Coast have been hit not 
once but three different times. Many of them that survived the original 
Hurricane Katrina were then hit by the rising flood waters due to a 
levee that broke, a levee that is actually located within my district 
and just a few miles from my home.
  Many people that survived the rising flood waters were then 
victimized a third time by the awful acts of a small number of looters, 
of people committing violence, and also a lack of basic food, shelter 
and medicines. We, as a body, owe it to these people to make sure they 
are not victimized yet again, a fourth time.
  That is why I am so proud to be able to sponsor this legislation with 
so many co-sponsors. That is why I am so proud of my chairman, of the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany), and the others that have seen 
and understood the potentially devastating impact this hurricane might 
have on thousands of students and their families.
  Many students attending colleges and universities when the hurricane 
hit have now found it necessary to withdraw from college due to the 
impact the storm has had on their homes, job, and families. Indeed, 
many universities in the city of New Orleans are still struggling to 
figure out how or whether they are going to resume classes in the fall. 
Not every institution has decided to offer fall classes. So not only 
are families displaced, not only are many families without their homes, 
their possessions, many universities and colleges have not yet figured 
out how they are going to resume or when they are going to resume their 
instructions.
  Indeed, many of these institutions, many of these administrators have 
not been able to go back and inspect their buildings, inspect the 
damage, to even know what is left. The records, the buildings, the 
facilities, many of them are still unreachable and still inaccessible.
  Under current law, the Higher Education Act and our Federal financial 
aid regulations require the schools determine whether students need to 
refund a portion of the Federal aid they receive in the case of a 
withdrawal. Our current regulations certainly did not anticipate I 
think this kind of catastrophe.
  The rationale behind the bill we have crafted, my bill, was to do it 
narrowly and responsibly to protect low-income students who are forced 
to withdraw from school because of a federally declared natural 
disaster. My bill would grant the Secretary of Education the waiver 
authority for purposes of the return of title IV formula funds in the 
case of a natural disaster in case that natural disaster adversely 
impacts title IV grant and scholarship recipients and forces them to 
withdraw from their institution of higher education.
  Yesterday, I was proud of this House for passing the Keller bill that 
grants similar waiver authority for the return of Pell grant funds also 
in the case of a natural disaster. This bill goes a step further. That 
is a great first step. This bill builds on that bill. This bill allows 
us to go a step further and provides waiver authority for additional 
scholarship and grant funds under title IV.
  What do I mean by that? This includes funds like TRIO scholarships, 
GEAR UP money, Byrd Scholarships, LEAP funds. This bill, in essence, 
gives the Secretary of Education the ability to exercise the waiver 
authority in the event of a natural disaster declared by the President. 
It is the same authority that exists for the student loan program. This 
waiver authority also exists currently for institutions of higher 
education; similar waiver authority exists for institutions of higher 
education that are adversely impacted by natural disasters.
  However, even though there is waiver authority for loans, even though 
there is waiver authority for the institutions, there is currently no 
authority for the Secretary of Education to work with the Nation's 
neediest students in times of catastrophe caused by natural disasters. 
This authority is important.
  It allows the Secretary of Education to ensure that our Nation's 
neediest students are not put in a worse financial situation where they 
are forced to withdraw from a natural disaster.
  In a previous position, I actually served as the President of the 
University of Louisiana, the University of Louisiana system. In that 
system was Delgado Community College. Delgado was located in one of the 
areas most severely impacted, quite literally in the heart of New 
Orleans, most severely impacted by the rising waters, by the hurricane.
  Also in my system was the Southeastern University, Southeastern 
Louisiana University, another university located in a region that was 
hit fairly hard. To their credit, the faculty, the president, the staff 
have been focused on rescue and recovery efforts. Southeastern has 
opened up its dorms to house those that had nowhere else to go. They 
are working with students to welcome them back to campus, sometimes 
allowing them to bring their families who are otherwise homeless, 
allowing them to bend the rules to meet human needs.
  I think we as a body have an obligation to do the same thing. Instead 
of just sticking to the red tape, sticking to the rules, we have an 
obligation to be flexible, to be responsive, to help these neediest 
students in their time of need.
  I am proud of the chairman. I am proud of the different cosponsors. I 
certainly hope that this passes later today with a unanimous vote from 
this body to send a strong bipartisan message that we want to help 
students in need; we do not want them to be victims again. They have 
suffered through a hurricane. They have suffered through a flood. They 
have suffered enough. Let us not make them victims a fourth time.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Jindal) for his bill and I look forward to working with him on even 
broader relief.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Kildee) for yielding me time. I also want to commend the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jindal) for his introduction of this 
bill, which allows the Secretary of Education to waive grant and 
scholarships awarded under title IV of the Higher Education Act for 
students forced to withdraw from classes due to a natural disaster.
  By applying to title IV, the bill grants relief to students in the 
greatest need of financial support in assessing higher education. It 
also covers students receiving Pell grants, TRIO scholarships, 
Supplemental Educational Opportunities grants, GEAR UP grants, Byrd 
scholarships and LEAP funds.

[[Page H7765]]

  Without action, these students would face incredible financial 
hardship because they would be responsible for repaying funds at a time 
of incredible economic and personal difficulty. Without action, we 
would be erecting barriers in their pursuit of their education.
  We need to promote education in every way that we can. And I also 
support this bill as a first step to helping students overcome the 
barriers to education imposed by the horrific storm.
  In addition, I strongly encourage my colleagues to take additional 
steps to ease the educational burdens of Katrina. The Miller/Kildee 
Katrina College Relief Act also grants, and I think it gives us an 
opportunity to go even further, 6-month deferments to students, and 
directs the Secretary to recalculate the expected family income that 
they could contribute to college in light of the catastrophe. These are 
excellent provisions that would greatly assist the hundreds of 
thousands of students and families struggling after Katrina.
  Again, I want to commend the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany) 
for his introduction of this legislation. I also want to commend the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the chairman of the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce and the ranking member, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. George Miller), for the expeditious manner in which the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce has addressed the educational 
needs of students who have been affected by Katrina.
  It is a good bill. I support it.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
distinguished gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the chairman of the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, let me thank my colleague from Louisiana 
(Mr. Boustany) for yielding me time.
  I rise in strong support of this bill to provide additional relief to 
the victims of Hurricane Katrina who have been forced to withdraw from 
institutions of higher education as they work to rebuild their homes 
and their community.
  The tragedy that has befallen the Gulf Coast region in the wake of 
Hurricane Katrina, the level of devastation and its impact on American 
families is truly staggering; and our prayers remain with the residents 
of that region as well as those who are working on relief and this 
recovery effort.

                              {time}  1245

  We are working closely with the Department of Education to determine 
how we can best meet the needs of the children, families, teachers, and 
schools that have been impacted by this tragedy. We have identified an 
immediate need for action to assist students pursuing higher education 
who are forced to withdraw because of the devastation caused by the 
hurricane, and that is why we are taking action today.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jindal) for 
introducing this bill to provide additional flexibility for students 
struggling to cope with this unprecedented natural disaster. The bill 
complements the measure offered yesterday by the gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. Keller) to protect students forced to withdraw from higher 
education as a result of a natural disaster.
  This bill will give the Secretary of Education a new flexibility to 
waive burdensome requirements on students impacted by this or other 
natural disasters. The bill would ensure students forced to withdraw 
from higher education because of natural disaster would not be forced 
to repay their Federal student grant aid, alleviating what could be a 
major burden for students already coping with this disaster.
  This type of waiver authority that we granted yesterday and then 
again today already exists for the student loan programs and is being 
provided yesterday by the gentleman from Florida's (Mr. Keller) bill 
for Pell grants and then today by the gentleman from Louisiana's (Mr. 
Jindal) bill that would allow the Secretary waiver authority for those 
who may receive grant programs and scholarship programs such as GEAR 
UP, TRIO, and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants.
  As we assess the damage in the weeks and months ahead, we will be 
working with our leadership and our colleagues across the aisle to 
provide additional resources and additional flexibility to the 
communities impacted by this tragedy to make sure that all the 
resources of the Federal Government are available to help each and 
every American that has been affected.
  So, once again, I want to thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Jindal), the bill's sponsor, for his work and urge my colleagues to 
support the bill today.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Holt).
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Michigan for the time.
  As we look at repairs of levees and improving public health 
mechanisms and so forth, many Americans might not realize that there 
are other things we must tend to. I applaud the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Jindal) for recognizing that we need to help those who 
are in the midst of their education. This legislation is a good first 
step on the floor.
  I think that the legislation offered by the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Kildee) and the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) and 
others of us that deals with readjusting what families are expected to 
pay for college for the current term and making it more than optional 
for a university to recalculate families contributions and providing 
deferment of 6 months for student borrowers, those additional steps I 
think would be very important. I particularly commend to this body the 
legislation that is offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) 
and the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) and others of us, 
and I hope that those provisions can be added.
  I nevertheless want to strongly support what the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Jindal) has done. It will help many students who are 
disrupted, whose education would otherwise be disrupted by these 
activities.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished 
gentleman from Michigan for the time. I might want to take a moment 
just to say that I cannot thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Kildee) enough for his commitment to education.
  I thank my good friend from Louisiana. It looks like we meet again, 
trying to improve the lives of so many that I know that you wish we in 
Texas were not housing, but we thank you so very much for sharing some 
of the very best people that we have ever had an opportunity to meet.
  I want to say that particularly because this legislation is the kind 
of legislation that I believe should be on the floor every single day 
as we move toward Thanksgiving. Just imagine what life will be like for 
these survivors. Thanksgiving, the Christmas holiday, religious 
holidays that are coming, and literally the town of New Orleans, 
Biloxi, and places in Alabama have been obliterated by this horrific 
tragedy.
  Many of us have spoken to the issues of an inquiry that we support to 
find out what happened and when. Many of us have spoken about issues 
dealing with first responders and why and when and how they could have 
performed. Many of us have discussed FEMA and discussed the idea of the 
impact of the military, but all of us are committed to the lives of the 
victims, those who live, those who have survived; and each step of the 
way we must move expeditiously to make them the focal point of this 
business of this Congress.
  We may disagree and my colleagues will see us vigorously disagree on 
the performance of this government, whether or not it collapsed, 
whether or not we should apologize to the American people; but today, 
we are going to continue to stand here and unite around a solution.
  The Katrina College Relief Act is that solution. It helps the very 
colleges that are impacted ultimately and the families. We know there 
are an array of universities in the region. I know of two in particular 
that impact my community, Dillard and Southern University in New 
Orleans. We are finding that my university, one of my universities, 
Texas Southern University, will

[[Page H7766]]

be taking in students. The University of Houston will be taking in 
Tulane students, and others are finding their way across our cities and 
States across America.
  So giving the Secretary of Education authority to waive the amounts 
of student grants such as Pell and TRIO will be vital in terms of 
students who have to withdraw from school. Directing the Secretary of 
Education to immediately readjust how much these families are expected 
to pay will be vital toward continuing a child's education. Providing 
student borrowers who live in the affected areas with 6 months of 
deferment is vital for the survival of these families.
  Might I say that I hope we will come to the floor again dealing with 
the under-21 age group. We know that there are thousands of children in 
the Texas area, in the Houston area under the age of 15. We have 
visited in those respective shelters, late into the night, visiting 
with families, with babies as young as 1 month old, children who are 9 
and 10, 13, 14, and 15, who are now living their lives in temporary 
housing and/or in shelters.
  There has to be a focus, possibly of a one-time grant, for the 
enormous impact on the children of this region, on the children of 
America.
  So this first step dealing with the Katrina College Relief Act, and I 
applaud the sponsors of this legislation, leaders of this legislation, 
is just one statement that we are focused on America's children and 
America's future and that, in fact, those located in Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Alabama and the impact regions have our attention. We 
will not only address the questions of education but we will also fix 
the provisions that will allow us to directly pay those victims so they 
can get housing under FEMA and Housing and Urban Development.
  This is a good start. It is a plus direction for us to take. It is a 
unifying direction for us to take; but Mr. Speaker, we have many miles 
to travel, and I would like to be able to offer ultimately legislation 
dealing with the children who have been impacted by Katrina.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  First of all, I appreciate very much the very expeditious way in 
which the majority has approached this problem and look forward to 
working with them to seek an even more comprehensive way.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I thank the gentleman from Michigan for his cooperation in this. This 
bill represents a small, but certain, step toward comprehensive 
recovery; and I urge its passage.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BOUSTANY. I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask to be added as a sponsor 
of this legislation, and I have to ask before the gentleman finally 
closes it out, as a cosponsor.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Yes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mrs. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill.
  Hurricane Katrina has devastated children, parents, teachers and 
schools from all over our country.
  The school year has just started, and now thousands upon thousands of 
students have been displaced.
  Those which are lucky enough to have been able to begin school in 
other locations are still dealing with the turmoil of being uprooted 
not only from their homes but also their community, friends, and 
classmates.
  The instability of their situations must be incredibly difficult and 
painful to deal with.
  Education is one of the most important things we can provide our 
students with, and it is so important to take care of our young people 
in this horrible time.
  Yesterday we passed a bill which would provide a waiver for Pell 
Grants.
  Today we are going to pass a bill which will waive other Title IV 
requirements to other programs such as TRIO, Academic Achievement 
Incentive Scholarship, Child Care Access Means Parents in School 
(CAMPIS), Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), 
Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP/SLEAP), High School 
Equivalency Program (HEP), College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), 
and the Robert Byrd Scholarship Program.
  These are good first starts, but in the coming days we need to do 
even more.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany) that 
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3668.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________