[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 143 (Tuesday, September 25, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H10789-H10791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE DURING A WAR OR OTHER MILITARY OPERATION

  Mr. SESTAK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3625) to make permanent the waiver authority of the 
Secretary of Education with respect to student financial assistance 
during a war or other military operation or national emergency.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3625

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students 
     Act of 2003 addresses the unique situations that active duty 
     military personnel and other affected individuals may face in 
     connection with their enrollment in postsecondary 
     institutions and their Federal student loans; and
       (2) the provisions authorized by such Act should be made 
     permanent, thereby allowing the Secretary of Education to 
     continue providing assistance to active duty service members 
     and other affected individuals and their families.

     SEC. 2. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.

       The Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act 
     of 2003 (Public Law 108-76; 20 U.S.C. 1070, note) is amended 
     by striking section 6.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Sestak) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SESTAK. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which 
Members may insert material relevant to H.R. 3625 into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SESTAK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. SESTAK asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SESTAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3625, an act 
to permanently extend waiver authority to the Secretary of Education 
with respect to enrollment in post-secondary institutions and student 
financial assistance during a period of combat or national emergency.
  This legislation recognizes the unique and unexpected situations that 
military personnel face when called to active duty to serve our 
country, as well as situations that many face in times of a national 
emergency, even here at home.
  The intent of this legislation is simple: to provide the Secretary of 
Education with the permanent authority to ensure that active duty 
military personnel are not financially harmed by the service that they 
perform.
  The Secretary is thereby granted the authority to take necessary 
actions which include, first, protecting borrowers from further 
financial difficulty when they are called to serve. This will ensure 
that when a student withdraws from college because of his or her status 
as an individual called up for service, Guard, Reserve or active, or, 
if they are affected by a disaster, that the requirement that grant 
overpayments be repaid would be waived, and collection activities on a 
defaulted education loan may be halted for the time period during which 
a borrower is serving.
  Second, minimizing administrative requirements without impacting the 
integrity of the Federal Student Aid program. So, for instance, certain 
requests that previously required written documentation may now be made 
orally by an affected individual or member of the borrower's family 
when that member may actually be, while applying for school, actually 
in conflict overseas.
  Third, adjusting the calculation used to determine students' 
eligibility for aid for those whose financial circumstances change 
because the student or his or her parents are called to serve, such as 
when a parent was about to give a large contribution to the son's 
education, is suddenly called up in the National Guard, and is unable 
to make that commitment.
  This bill, therefore, encourages financial aid administrators to 
choose to use professional judgment as the proper method of determining 
financial need that is most beneficial to an affected individual and to 
his or her family; for instance, taking into account the most favorable 
tax period for the student's or the parents' recording period in order 
to be assessed on that year's tax recording period, a grant or aid.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague Mr. Kline for his leadership on 
this legislation in past Congresses and for the flexibility that our 
men and women in the service have received because of you. These 
provisions have been critical to our men and women serving in Iraq, 
Afghanistan and elsewhere. In addition, these provisions will provide 
critical relief to those who answer the call to serve in the future, 
including responding to national emergencies and natural disasters.
  I am also pleased with the additional relief provided to men and 
women in uniform in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which is 
currently waiting for the President's signature. That piece of 
legislation included necessary provisions that recognize military 
service by allowing those called to service to serve on active duty, 
including National Guard and Reservists, to defer payments on their 
student loans not only while serving but for a period of time after 
leaving active duty.
  Because of unforeseen national emergencies, such as Hurricane 
Katrina, as well as our continued military engagement overseas, it is 
important that we pass the legislation before us and allow the 
Secretary of Education to continue providing this needed relief. 
Without prompt passage of H.R. 3625, the Secretary's authority to 
provide this flexibility will expire at the end of this week. It is 
critical not only for those currently receiving relief from unnecessary 
financial burden while sacrificing for our country, but also for those 
who will serve our country in the future, that these provisions be made 
permanent.
  I urge my colleagues to pass the resolution.

                              {time}  1330

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of permanently extending the 
Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003, or 
HEROES. This extension will ensure that all of our men and women 
serving in the military will always receive the flexibility they need 
in dealing with their student loans and post-secondary education 
commitments.
  Mr. Speaker, I have championed this act since coming to Congress, and 
support for this legislation has always transcended party lines. I 
appreciate that Members on both sides of the aisle have joined together 
once again this year. I would like to thank senior Republican Member 
McKeon and Chairmen Miller and Hinojosa for their continued support for 
higher education and this legislation. And I extend my

[[Page H10790]]

personal thanks to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sestak) with 
his many years of distinguished naval service for joining me in this 
effort to protect the higher education interest of members of the Armed 
Forces.
  The HEROES Act will ensure support for military personnel by 
continuing to allow the U.S. Secretary of Education to provide the 
appropriate assistance and flexibility to men and women in uniform as 
they transfer in and out of post-secondary education during time of 
war. I must say, this has worked very well and successfully, giving the 
Secretary the flexibility, but we in Congress need to provide that 
flexibility.
  Throughout our involvement in this war on terrorism, many thousands 
of men and women who serve our Nation in the Reserves or National Guard 
have been called to active duty. Many of these men and women are also 
college and university students who are called away from their 
families, class work and studies to defend the Nation. Unfortunately, 
due to a number of restrictions in the Higher Education Act, these 
individuals are at risk of losing financial assistance and educational 
credit as a result of their service. Such a scenario is clearly not 
acceptable.
  The HEROES Act provides assurance to our men and women in uniform 
that they will not face education-related financial or administrative 
difficulties while they defend our Nation.
  This bill is specific in its intent to insure that, as a result of a 
war or military contingency operation or national emergency, our men 
and women in uniform are protected. By granting flexibility to the 
Secretary of Education, the HEROES Act will protect recipients of 
student financial assistance from further financial difficulty 
generated when they are called to serve, minimize administrative 
requirements without affecting the integrity of the programs, adjust 
the calculation used to determine financial need to accurately reflect 
the financial condition of the individual and his or her family, and 
provide the Secretary with the authority to address issues not yet 
foreseen.
  I think all of us recognize the absurdity of a young man or woman 
being deployed to a foreign shore, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of 
Africa, while they are a student and getting in financial difficulties 
because of that service.
  I am pleased to offer this legislation which provides a permanent 
extension of the HEROES Act. By permanently extending this act, we not 
only send a strong message of support to our troops, but we also 
provide them with the peace of mind that this program will continue 
throughout the duration of their current or any subsequent deployment.
  The legislation before us today is an indication of Congress's 
commitment to our military, our students, our families and our schools. 
I urge my colleagues to stand in strong support of the HEROES Act and 
join me in voting ``yes'' on H.R. 3625.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SESTAK. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield such 
time as he may consume to the ranking Republican member on the House 
Education and Labor Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. 
McKeon).
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time, and I rise in strong support of this bill to support our brave 
student soldiers.
  The men and women of the Armed Forces give selflessly to defend our 
freedom overseas and respond to emergencies here at home. Some of them 
are also students pursuing the dream of a college education, just like 
millions of other Americans. These military personnel volunteer to put 
their educational pursuits on hold so they can serve the Nation. We owe 
them a debt of gratitude, and the least we can do is make their 
transition to and from education as seamless as possible.
  I would like to recognize the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline) 
for his long-standing commitment to the legislation before us. He had 
an outstanding career with the U.S. Marine Corps before coming to 
Congress, and I want to thank him also for his service there. He has 
championed passage of this bill on a temporary basis since 2003, and he 
is here today supporting a permanent extension of this measure to 
ensure members of the military will always be afforded the flexibility 
and support they need.
  This bill has always received support from our friends on the other 
side of the aisle, and I am pleased to have key members of the 
Education and Labor Committee joining us in introducing legislation to 
extend the flexibility and waiver authority in this bill. I want to 
thank Chairmen Miller and Hinojosa, along with Mr. Sestak, who also had 
a very distinguished career in the Navy, and it is good to see Navy and 
Marines still working together, for introducing legislation that as we 
propose makes this legislation permanent.
  The men and women of our Armed Forces have made considerable 
sacrifices for our Nation, and for that we are grateful. As members of 
the Education Committee, we also recognize the importance of a higher 
education system that is accessible. What this bill does is allow the 
Secretary of Education to accommodate the unique needs of our student 
soldiers so that higher education remains flexible and accessible while 
they serve our country.
  Once again, I would like to thank Representative Kline for his 
leadership and recognize our friends on the other side of the aisle for 
their continued support of this legislation. I strongly support the 
permanent extension of the HEROES Act to support the many heroes 
protecting our freedom, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting 
``yes.''
  Mr. SESTAK. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Sestak), for stepping into the breach here and providing the leadership 
he has provided on this important legislation, and urge all of my 
colleagues to get behind this legislation and let's vote ``yes'' and 
permanently extend this flexibility.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SESTAK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  As the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) has said, I am 
privileged to stand up here as a former Navy officer with someone who 
has served so well in the U.S. Marine Corps. Someone has said that the 
Navy without the Marine Corps is like a coat without buttons. So it is 
a great bipartisan effort here on what I think is an instrumental bill.
  As Mr. Kline knows, and why he has worked on this so assiduously over 
the years, when you lead men and women in combat, what you most want 
them to have is their head in the game. You don't want them looking 
back at some problems at home, at debt at home that is hurting their 
families, nor do you want them looking ahead into some type of future 
that they want to have. Their safety and the safety of their brethren, 
the men and women standing on either side of them, depends upon them 
having their head in the game. That is why this bill is so very 
important.
  It is extremely important now in Iraq and Afghanistan. I compare the 
men and women out there and having their head in the game compared to 
those great patriots of the world's greatest generation, World War II. 
Back in World War II, the average soldier was in combat 182 days. There 
were horrific battles from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima to the Battle of the 
Bulge, but there was dwell time in between those great battles. Our 
soldiers, our marines over there in Iraq and Afghanistan go outside the 
wire every day for 15 months. There is unremitting strain upon them. In 
order to have a measure of relieving that, I am proud to stand beside 
you, sir, on this bill.
  I urge my colleagues to do what is important, recognize the 
bipartisan approach of this and recognize that this is the way to take 
care of our troops.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Blumenauer). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sestak) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3625.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the

[[Page H10791]]

rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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