[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 163 (Saturday, December 17, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H12128-H12129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SECOND HIGHER EDUCATION EXTENSION ACT OF 2005

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4525) to temporarily extend the programs under the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4525

       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 ``Second Higher Education 
     Extension Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF PROGRAMS.

       (a) General Extension.--Section 2(a) of the Higher 
     Education Extension Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-81; 20 U.S.C. 1001 
     note) is amended by striking ``December 31, 2005'' and 
     inserting ``March 31, 2006''.
       (b) Extension of Limitations on Special Allowance for Loans 
     From the Proceeds of Tax Exempt Issues.--Section 438(b)(2)(B) 
     of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087-
     1(b)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ``January 1, 2006'' each 
     place it appears in clauses (iv) and (v)(II) and inserting 
     ``April 1, 2006''.
       (c) Extension of Effective Date Limitation on Higher 
     Teacher Loan Forgiveness Benefits.--
       (1) Amendment.--Paragraph (3) of section 3(b) of the 
     Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-409; 20 
     U.S.C. 1078-10 note) is amended by striking ``October 1, 
     2005'' and inserting ``June 30, 2007''.
       (2) Technical amendment.--Section 2 of such Act is amended 
     by inserting ``of the Higher Education Act of 1965'' after 
     ``438(b)(2)(B)''.
       (d) Effective Dates.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
     amendments made by this section are effective upon enactment.
       (2) Exception.--The amendment made by subsection (c)(1) 
     shall take effect as if enacted on October 1, 2005.

     SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY PROVISION.

       Notwithstanding section 102(a)(4)(A) of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)(4)(A)), the 
     Secretary of Education shall not take into account a 
     bankruptcy petition filed in the United States Bankruptcy 
     Court for the Southern District of New York in July, 2005, in 
     determining whether a nonprofit educational institution that 
     is a subsidiary of an entity that filed such petition meets 
     the definition of an ``institution of higher education'' 
     under section 102 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1002).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Boehner) and the gentleman from California (Mr. George 
Miller) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.


                             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. 4525.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a very simple bill that extends the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 for 3 months until March 31, 2006. While the 
committee has passed the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, 
it is not completed. The Senate concluded their Higher Education Act 
amendments in their reconciliation bill, and we expect part of this 
higher education reauthorization to occur in the reconciliation 
process. But there will be a balance of it left that does need to be 
dealt with, and I am hopeful that early next year Congress will, in 
fact, complete the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act 
authorization.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Second Higher Education 
Extension Act of 2005. The bill before us today, as the chairman has 
noted, temporarily extends the laws that govern higher education and 
student aid while the Congress continues to work to reauthorize the 
Higher Education Act. I would also like to note for the record that the 
Department of Education has informed us that they have no objections to 
the manager's amendment offered by Mr. Boehner to this effort.
  I rise in support of the second Higher Education Extension Act of 
2005.
  The bill before us today temporary extends laws that govern higher 
education and student aid while Congress continues to work to 
reauthorize the Higher Education Act.
  It also extends the partial closure of the 9.5 percent loan loophole 
and teacher loan forgiveness provisions.
  There has never been a more important time than right now to help 
students and their families afford a higher education.
  Despite the tremendous personal and economic benefits of a college 
education, however, millions of American students and families struggle 
to pay for college.
  Last year the maximum Pell grant scholarship was worth $900 less than 
the maximum grant 30 years ago.
  The typical student borrower now graduates with $17,500 in debt, 
while more and more students are working long hours to pay for college.
  Even with increased borrowing and longer work hours, millions of 
students and families continue to fall short when paying for college.
  But rather than help to make college more affordable and accessible, 
this weekend the Republican leadership plans to raid the student aid 
programs by nearly $13 billion--the largest cut in the history of the 
programs.
  As a result, students and families will be forced to pay even more 
for college.
  Rather than work to build a better, stronger America for future 
generations, they chose to cut our national commitment to a college 
education for every qualified student.
  The Republican leadership plans to use the nearly $13 billion in cuts 
to deal with Congress' budget mess.
  It is wrong to force America's students and families to pay for the 
irresponsible management of the Nation's budget.
  We should be doing more, not less, to significantly increase 
affordable college opportunities.
  For years, Democrats and others have been demanding that the majority 
join us in stopping excess lender subsidies--such as the 9.5 percent 
loans--and re-deploy those billions of dollars in savings to students 
and their families struggling to pay for college.
  Billions in taxpayer funds were squandered on super-sized lender 
subsidies that the majority party is only now, under great pressure, 
conceding should be constrained.
  Unfortunately, the raid on student aid misses a golden opportunity to 
re-direct billions of dollars in savings by recycling the excessive 
subsidies paid to student lenders into additional grant aid for 
students--without any additional costs to taxpayers.
  I support this temporary extension today because it ensures that the 
nearly 11 million students who rely on student grants, loans and work-
study to finance their college education will continue to receive this 
much needed aid in a timely fashion.
  However, I urge the Republican leadership and my colleagues to 
recognize that this is only the first step towards boosting affordable 
college opportunities and ensuring the Nation's global competitiveness.
  The next step is to stop the raid on student aid and to reinvest all 
of the savings found from eliminating excessive student lender 
subsidies towards boosting grant aid, lowering interest rates and fees 
for student borrowers.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to note for the record that the Department 
of Education has informed us that they have no objection to the 
manager's amendment offered by Representative Boehner to reinstate St. 
Vincent's Nursing Schools of Brooklyn and Queens, New York.
  The St. Vincent nursing schools lost eligibility for Federal student 
aid in November of this year due to the fact that their parent company, 
Saint Vincents Catholic Medical Centers of New York, filed for 
bankruptcy.
  Under the Higher Education Act, once a school, or parent company of a 
school, files for bankruptcy they automatically become ineligible for 
Federal student aid such as student loans and Pell grants.
  It is our understanding that the representatives for the parent 
company did not understand that filing for bankruptcy would result in 
students attending the two nursing schools losing their Federal student 
aid.

[[Page H12129]]

  The Department of Education has informed us that both schools are in 
good fiscal standing and that a statutory fix by Congress is necessary 
to ensure that the students at these two nursing schools can receive 
federal student aid again.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding. I will 
be brief.
  I realize that this is simply an extension of the Second Higher 
Education Act, but I would like to make a couple of points here. This 
act authorizes Pell grants and student loan programs, which are so 
important to so many students to continue their education. As part of 
the reauthorization package that moved through the Education and 
Workforce Committee this year, I was pleased to offer an amendment that 
would allow the Secretary of Education to award Pell grants on a year-
round basis.
  We think this is very important because this would allow students to 
be eligible for Pell grants during summer enrollment. The reason this 
is important is that we are going to see a rather dramatic increase in 
college enrollment in coming years.
  In over 36 years on the college campus, I saw some rather significant 
changes in the time that it took for people to graduate from college. 
When I started on the college campus in the 1960s, most people 
graduated in 4 years, 4\1/2\ years; and now a 5\1/2\- to 6-year 
graduation timetable is very, very common. As a result, with increasing 
enrollment and also this extended time period, we are putting greater 
and greater stress on the facilities in colleges and universities.
  Therefore, we feel that allowing students Pell grants during the 
summer which will allow them to go to school year-round and maybe 
approximate a 4-year to 4\1/2\-year graduation time would be very 
important. I look forward to seeing a reauthorization of the Higher 
Education Act signed into law in 2006. However, for now we must extend 
the existing authorization, and therefore I support H.R. 4525.
  I thank Chairman Boehner for bringing this legislation forward. I 
urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 4525 today.
  Mr. HOLT. 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 and once again we 
are passing an extension.
  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.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. 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. 4525, 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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