[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H8917-H8919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIP FUND MODERNIZATION ACT
Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 6206) to revise the calculation of interest on
investments of the Harry S. Truman Memorial Scholarship Fund.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 6206
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 ``Truman Scholarship Fund
Modernization Act''.
SEC. 2. REVISION OF INVESTMENT PROCEDURE.
Section 10 of the Harry S Truman Memorial Scholarship Act
(20 U.S.C. 2009) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) Investment of Amounts Appropriated.--
``(1) At the request of the Board, it shall be the duty of
the Secretary of the Treasury to invest in full the amounts
appropriated and contributed to the fund. Such investments
may be made only in the interest-bearing obligations of the
United States issued directly to the fund.
``(2) The purposes for which obligations of the United
States may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31 are hereby
extended to authorize the issuance at par of special
obligations directly to the fund. Such special obligations
shall bear interest at a rate equal to the average rate of
interest, computed as to the end of the calendar month next
preceding the date of such issue, borne by all marketable
interest-bearing obligations of the United States then
forming a part of the public debt; except that where such
average rate is not a multiple of one-eighth of 1 per centum,
the rate of interest of such special obligations shall be the
multiple of one-eighth of 1 per centum next lower than such
average rate. All requests of the Board to the Secretary of
the Treasury provided for in this section shall be binding
upon the Secretary.''; and
(2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
[[Page H8918]]
``(c) Sale of Obligations Acquired by Fund.--At the request
of the Board, the Secretary of the Treasury shall redeem any
obligation issued directly to the fund. Obligations issued to
the fund under subsection (b)(2) shall be redeemed at par
plus accrued interest. Any other obligations issued directly
to the fund shall be redeemed at the market price.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Kuhl) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Kuhl).
General Leave
Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks on H.R. 6206.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 6206, a bill to revise the calculation of
interest on investments in the Harry S. Truman Memorial Scholarship
Fund.
The Harry S. Truman Memorial Scholarship Fund was signed into law by
President Ford in 1974, created with the purpose of awarding
scholarships to college juniors who, and I quote, ``demonstrate
outstanding potential for and who plan to pursue a career in public
service.''
The foundation provides for at least 53 scholarships, and includes at
least one for each State, each year, to deserving young people. The
purpose of this measure before us is to align the foundation with other
similar scholarship foundations.
Under current law, the Secretary of the Treasury is required to
invest the foundation's trust fund solely, and I repeat, solely, in
U.S. Treasury securities unless the Secretary explicitly chooses to
invest in other obligations. Because of this restrictive policy, the
scholarship funds have not been able to keep pace with the rapid
increases in college tuition.
Specifically, H.R. 6206, would shift the authority for making the
investment decisions in the Par Value Special Treasury Obligations to
the foundation's board of trustees. The Par Value Special Treasury
Obligations have a slightly higher interest rate than the current yield
on the 10-year Treasury note. In addition, these special obligations
may be bought and sold without penalty, a feature that would provide
the foundation with much needed flexibility in its investments.
Both the James Madison Memorial Scholarship Foundation and the John
C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development currently
have this authority already. This measure simply gives the Harry S.
Truman Memorial Scholarship Fund, the sole memorial to President
Truman, the same authority.
Mr. Speaker, as college tuition continues to skyrocket, we must
continue every opportunity to create scholarships that have the tools
necessary to continue to attract students to serve in the areas of
public service. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6206.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of H.R.
6206, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
The Harry S. Truman Memorial Scholarship Fund provides an essential
service to students in our country. By awarding graduate students
scholarships in the fields of public service, they not only help to
make higher education more affordable, but encourage students to give
back to their country with service. The fund was founded nearly 30
years ago, and continues to serve as a living memorial to President
Truman and his service to this country.
The scholarship foundation awards approximately 75 scholarships each
year to students pursuing careers in public service. After leaving
graduate school, students must serve at least 3 years in public service
employment, including teaching, government service, or public interest
organizations. In 2004, the foundation awarded 77 scholarships to
students from 67 universities and colleges. Additionally, 52 percent of
the scholars were women, and 32 percent were of African, Hispanic,
Asian, or Native American heritage.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, college affordability is a serious concern
for students and families in this country. Tuition at 4-year public
colleges has increased by 35 percent in the last 5 years, higher than
at any other 5-year period in the last 30 years.
{time} 1300
Additionally, recent estimates show that the debt burden from paying
for college has priced students out of public service careers. These
estimates show that 23 percent of 4-year college students graduate with
too much debt to manageably repay with a starting teacher's salary.
Meanwhile, public investment in higher education is waning and we are
expecting students to bear more of the burden of paying for college.
Students are now taking out more loans than grants to finance college.
This is especially true for graduate students; only 28 percent of
graduate school financing is grant aid.
Scholarship funds such as the Truman Memorial fund help to limit the
reliance on loans and the growing debt burden of students. Since its
inception in 1977, the Truman Memorial fund has given scholarships to
2,480 students of public service from States and schools across the
Nation.
Some notable graduates include Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano,
David Atkins, vice chancellor of the University of Kansas Medical
Center, and Margot Rogers, senior executive with the Gates Foundation
working on elementary and secondary education issues.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation will help the Truman Foundation
continue to serve students and our country by allowing them additional
financial flexibility and autonomy, which will allow the foundation to
continue to award substantial scholarships to students and will
continue the living memory of President Truman.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KUHL of New York. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. English).
Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of
H.R. 6206, the Truman Scholarship Fund Modernization Act. It closes an
important loophole in our existing law.
First, I want to thank all of us who helped us get this bill to the
floor today: Chairman McKeon and the Education and the Workforce
Committee, Representatives Boehner and Blunt, and all of their staffs.
This bill would simply allow the board of trustees of the Harry S.
Truman Scholarship Foundation, instead of the Secretary of the
Treasury, to choose the type of interest that would be received as a
yield on the bonds issued by the Truman fund.
Other established and highly accreditable programs have already had
this minor change in their discretion; for example, the James Madison
Memorial Fellowship Foundation and the John C. Stennis Center for
Public Service Training and Development.
This foundation, the Harry S. Truman Foundation, is a living memorial
to our 33rd President. And it has also become an emblematic program of
promoting young people to encourage them to be educated for citizenship
and political responsibility and to assume the mantle of leadership in
our political process.
Every year hundreds of college juniors compete for what amounts to
approximately 80 awards. The rigorous selection process requires the
candidates have a strong record of public service as well as a policy
proposal that addresses a particular issue facing society. These
individuals are among our Nation's best and brightest, and many of them
have gone on to provide real leadership within our government and
within our institutions.
I am a strong supporter of this program, a program that assists in
education as a lifelong learning process.
Scholars who participate in this program are invited to participate
in a number of programs, including the Truman Scholar Leadership Week,
The Summer Institute, The Truman Fellows Program, and the Public
Service Law Conference.
This program has been an extraordinary success, and this bill
provides it
[[Page H8919]]
greater flexibility in generating the one source of revenue it has. We
think that this program is very important. We think that this change is
essential. We think that this is an important commitment for this
Congress to make to cultivate the leadership of the future in public
service.
I salute the gentleman for leading this effort to pass this bill on
the floor. I am privileged to have introduced it with the idea that
this one small change can do a great deal to promote greater leadership
not only in this institution but throughout our political process and
throughout our governmental and nongovernmental institutions.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.
Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Missouri (Mr. Akin).
Mr. AKIN. Mr. Speaker, I am one of the two Congressmen who serves on
the board of this Truman Scholarship fund. As has been explained here
today, it is a very good use of money to help students obtain these
different scholarships, to prepare them for work in public service.
The problem is that the principal cannot be invested in a very
flexible kind of way. That is why this is a modernization act, to allow
us to use those funds. I think it is completely noncontroversial. I
serve with a Member of the other party on that board. Everybody, as far
as I know, is in agreement that this modernization needs to take place.
It is going to result in more money for scholarships, and people will
be better prepared for public service. It seems like everybody wins,
and so I am a strong supporter. I urge my colleagues to support H.R.
6206.
Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Kuhl) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6206.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds of those voting having
responded in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was
passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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