[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 21, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H4338-H4340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SECOND HIGHER EDUCATION EXTENSION ACT OF 2006
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5603) to temporarily extend the programs under the Higher
Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 5603
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 2006''.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF PROGRAMS.
Section 2(a) of the Higher Education Extension Act of 2005
(Public Law 109-81; 20 U.S.C. 1001 note) is amended by
striking ``June 30, 2006'' and inserting ``September 30,
2006''.
SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act, or in the Higher Education Extension
Act of 2005 as amended by this Act, shall be construed to
limit or otherwise alter the authorizations of appropriations
for, or the durations of, programs contained in the
amendments made by the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of
2005 (Public Law 109-171) to the provisions of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 and the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act
of 2004.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Keller) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
General Leave
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on H.R. 5603.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5603, the Second Higher
Education Extension Act of 2006. This bill will provide a clean
extension of the Higher Education Act for 3 months. This bill enjoys
bipartisan support and is cosponsored by the chairman and ranking
members of the full Education Committee and the Higher Education
Subcommittee.
On March 30, 2006, the House of Representatives completed its work
and passed the College Access and Opportunity Act to fully reauthorize
the Higher Education Act. We strengthened Pell Grants, improved the
Perkins Loan program, and expanded access for millions of American
students.
However, the Senate has not yet acted to reauthorize the Higher
Education Act. The Senate should soon act to pass the reauthorization
bill so we
[[Page H4339]]
can have these important higher education reforms signed into law
during this session of Congress.
Mr. Speaker, this is a clean extension that will allow the important
programs of the Higher Education Act to continue past their current
June 30, 2006, expiration date until September 30, 2006. Programs like
Pell Grants and Perkins Loans are the passports out of poverty for
millions of American students. We must not break our commitment to
higher education.
{time} 1100
I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 5603.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 5603, a 3-month extension
of the Higher Education Act. I have enjoyed working with the new
chairman of the subcommittee Mr. Keller on this bill.
This bill, in essence, temporarily extends the last portions of the
Higher Education Act not reauthorized in the reconciliation package.
During the 1998 reauthorization, I had the opportunity to work
closely with Chairman McKeon, now chairman of the full committee, in
crafting a bipartisan bill. Our reauthorization attempts this Congress
have been a little more rocky than in 1998. Most of the hard-hitting
changes to the Higher Education Act and student aid have already been
passed in reconciliation, which I opposed. That action forever removed
nearly $12 billion from student aid programs and missed an opportunity
to reinvest in students who are already struggling to pay for college.
In response, along with Representative Miller, I recently introduced
a bill called the Reverse the Raid on Student Aid Act, H.R. 5150. This
bill would have cut interest rates in half for students and parents
taking out subsidized loans, the borrowers most in need. This bill
would save the average borrower already saddled with $17,500 in debt
$6,600 over the life of their loan.
The consideration and passage of the Reverse the Raid on Student Aid
Act is a critical investment in our global competitiveness and would
offer real relief to students and families in need.
Let's set the record straight on Pell. Today we will hear about
Republican support of Pell Grants. Yes, overall, spending on Pell
Grants is on the rise, but Pell Grants are semientitlement programs,
which means that if eligible students apply for Federal financial aid,
they automatically get a Pell Grant. The increased spending they
referred to is not because we are doing more to help individual
students struggling to pay for college; this is because more students
qualify, and more students are going to college. In other words, Mr.
Speaker, we have more poor students that need our help.
In reality, the individual Pell Grant has seen no meaningful increase
in the last 5 years. In fact, Pell Grants today are worth $900 less in
inflation-adjusted terms than they were in the 1975-1976 school year.
Until the appropriators restore the actual buying power of the Pell
Grant to the $5,100 level promised by our President 6 years ago, we
have not done anything meaningful in helping the students and families
struggling to pay for college.
As we worked towards reauthorizing the remainder of the higher
education through H.R. 609 in March, I had hoped we could change the
tone of debate and act in the interest of the students that the Higher
Education Act was intended to help. Unfortunately, in the end, my
concerns in the bill still far outweighed any benefit. The bill that
was considered was not something I considered comfortable to support,
and, for that reason, opposed it.
Again, I would like to thank Chairman Keller and Chairman McKeon for
offering H.R. 5603, the 3-month extension of the Higher Education Act.
And because we still have time to work on this, and hopefully things
can change, we can achieve some repair work, repair of the
reconciliation act. I will support this and have cosponsored the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to
the gentleman from California, the chairman of the full Education and
Workforce Committee, Mr. McKeon.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the subcommittee chairman for his
works on bringing this bill to the floor, and thank Mr. Kildee for his
work in supporting the bill.
It is important that we extend this act and give the Senate time to
act on the bill, so I would encourage all of our colleagues to support
the bill to help our young people get the education they need to
realize the American dream.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5603, the Second Higher
Education Extension Act of 2006. I thank the Chairman of the 21st
Century Competitiveness Subcommittee, Mr. Keller, for his work on this
bill, as well as his consistent efforts on behalf of our Nation's
college students and their families.
Discretionary programs under the Higher Education Act will expire on
June 30, 2006, and this legislation before us simply extends the
programs for an additional three months.
Earlier this year, when the Deficit Reduction Act was signed into
law, we authorized the Act's mandatory spending programs. In the
process, we reduced lender subsidies; increased loan limits for
students; simplified the financial aid process; and provided additional
resources for needy students studying math, science, and critical
foreign languages in college. And we managed to achieve all that while
also making certain that student aid programs operate more efficiently,
saving U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars.
In March, the House backed H.R. 609, the College Access & Opportunity
Act, which would reauthorize the remaining programs under the Higher
Education Act. This bill would strengthen the Pell Grant program,
empower parents and students through ``sunshine'' and transparency in
college costs and accreditation, improve college access programs, and
much more. I am hopeful that our friends on the other side of the
Capitol will act on these reforms soon so these extensions will become
a thing of the past.
In the meantime, however, Congress again must act to extend the
Higher Education Act, which we have done previously on several
occasions and with bipartisan support. The Second Higher Education
Extension Act will ensure that vital Federal college access and student
aid programs continue to serve those students who depend upon them. At
the same time, the bill also gives our Senate colleagues additional
time to complete a renewal of the Higher Education Act.
Mr. Speaker, we are facing new realities in an increasingly
competitive global economy. U.S. workers of today are no longer just
competing with one another for jobs, but also against counterparts
across the globe. One avenue we have for tackling today's new climate
is through education in general, but more significantly through higher
education. That's why the Federal investment in the Higher Education
Act is so vital. Our Nation has millions of low and middle income
students aspiring to go to college. They not only deserve an
opportunity to educate themselves, but we personally depend on their
having that opportunity.
I encourage my colleagues to support the bill before us today and
continue to work toward a fundamental reform package so that we can
better serve American students pursuing the dream of a college
education.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Bishop).
Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, almost 3 months to the day, I
stood here in support of the third extension to the Higher Education
Act with the hope that it would be the last short-term measure we
needed to pass before we finally produced an improved bipartisan and
long overdue reauthorization bill that reflects the best interest of
America's college students.
I now rise in support of H.R. 5603 with a different hope, that the
pending version of the Higher Education Act that the House passed in
late March does not advance in the Senate, and that during the next
session of Congress, under a new majority, we start over by making this
legislation truly about increasing access and affordability.
On July 1, student borrowers will be burdened with a higher interest
rate on their loans as a result of the administration's fiscal
irresponsibility. Student loan interest rates are based on the 91-day
T-bill, which is directly tied to the status of our economy. Based on
today's current T-bill, interest rates for student borrowers who do not
consolidate by July 1 will jump from 5.3 percent to 7.14 percent, which
is a 34 percent increase in the rate.
Record-breaking budget deficits, tax breaks for the wealthiest
Americans, and an economic policy flawed by fiscal
[[Page H4340]]
irresponsibility have resulted in higher interest rates and our
Nation's students having to pay for the mistakes of this administration
and this Congress.
Last year the House leadership chose to cut student loans to the tune
of $12 billion through the Deficit Reduction Act. With those cuts in
the budget reconciliation bill, and now with higher interest rates on
student loans, we are sending a message to America's students and their
families that they are no longer among this Nation's top priorities.
As high school graduates and their proud parents calculate how they
can squeeze college costs into their budget, they are discovering that
it is an uphill climb for most families, made tougher by new higher
interest rates.
Mr. Speaker, I support this extension that we are considering here
today, but I do not support the direction and actions of this Congress
as it relates to higher education. We must do more to ensure that every
qualified student has the chance to go to college.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Andrews).
(Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, the last couple of weeks and months have
been times of mixed emotions for a lot of American families. Many
people got the thick envelope in the mail that told them they were
accepted to the school they really want to get into. And then it became
time to figure out how to pay for it.
Now, a few families were fortunate enough, very few families were
fortunate enough, they have enough income to meet the tuition payment.
Others immediately went down to the bank and made a home equity loan
application to figure out a way to borrow enough money to send their
son or daughter to school. Others weren't so fortunate and had to
decide some other course, maybe including not going to school at all.
And then others who are themselves already parents who are raising
children and working full time just can't figure out a way to do it
without putting themselves so far in debt that it makes no sense to get
an education.
This bill is a missed opportunity to address that problem. There were
significant savings generated in the student loan programs that were
thrown away by the reconciliation bill, the budget-cutting bill passed
by this Congress late in 2005. Money that could have been used to raise
loan limits, eliminate origination fees, expand programs where people
can pay back their loan as a function of their income, money that could
have been used to increase Pell Grants was instead put into the
economic priorities of this majority: tax cuts for the very wealthy,
subsidies for corporate America and misadventures around the world. So
here we are feebly extending existing terms of this bill, while
millions of American families struggle with the very real problem of
how to pay for a higher education.
This is a missed opportunity. It calls for a radical change in the
country's priorities away from tax breaks for the wealthy, away from
welfare for corporate America, away from misadventures around the
world, toward educating and investing in the people of this country.
Those changes in priorities are coming.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time and
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I also yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5603.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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