[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 43 (Thursday, April 6, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E549]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              INTRODUCTION OF THE SCHOLARSHIP DATABASE ACT

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                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 6, 2006

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the Scholarship Database Act 
to create a one-stop Web portal of scholarships, grants, fellowships, 
and other forms of financial aid for the students wishing to study 
science, technology, engineering, or mathematics disciplines.
  Yes, there are many websites in existence that inform students about 
federal financial aid or students pay for a service to locate other 
scholarship opportunities. However, none seems to meet the needs of a 
wide range of students across the country. We grapple with what to do 
for our nation's future in terms of the science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics students, the least we can do is ease the 
burden of finding financial aid. In a time of fiscal responsibility, 
this is an affordable way to enable our workforce of tomorrow to be 
highly skilled and well educated.
  The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) 
Scholarship Database would give a complete list of scholarships, 
fellowships, and other programs of financial assistance from all public 
and private sources for science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics postsecondary and post-graduate level study.
  First generation students would greatly benefit from such a database 
that would separate the information according to disciplines of study, 
level of study, and assistance based on gender, ethnicity, or other 
characteristics.
  When one is the first person in your family to consider going to 
college one often has very little guidance on how to proceed with the 
entire college application process, of which financial aid is one 
piece. If a student does not immediately or easily find financial 
assistance they may at first see their dream of a college degree in a 
STEM field shattered. We can ease this with the one-stop Web portal of 
STEM financial aid.
  As we move forward, this Web portal can expand to meet the needs of 
our nation, and it can serve as a model for other disciplines to follow 
suit.

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