Congressional Record, Volume 154 Issue 71 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)

[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 71 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H2983-H2987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

ENSURING CONTINUED ACCESS TO STUDENT LOANS ACT OF 2008

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the
rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 5715) to
ensure continued availability of access to the Federal student loan
program for students and families.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the Senate amendments is as follows:

Senate amendments:
(1) On page 2, line 5, strike ``AND GRADUATE''
(2) On page 7, line 11, strike ``issued'' and insert:
``first disbursed''.
(3) On page 9, line 12, strike ``issued'' and insert:
``first disbursed''.
(4) On page 9, line 24 through page 10 line 11 strike and
insert:
``(B)(i) Extenuating circumstances.--An eligible lender may
determine that extenuating circumstances exist under the
regulations promulgated pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) if,
during the period beginning January 1, 2007, and ending
December 31, 2009, an applicant for a loan under this
section--
``(I) is or has been delinquent for 180 days or fewer on
mortgage loan payments or on medical bill payments during
such period; and
``(II) is not and has not been more than 89 days delinquent
on the repayment of any other debt during such period.
``(ii) Definition of mortgage loan.--In this subparagraph,
the term `mortgage loan' means an extension of credit to a
borrower that is secured by the primary residence of the
borrower.
``(iii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subparagraph
shall be construed to limit an eligible lender's authority
under the regulations promulgated pursuant to paragraph
(1)(A) to determine that extenuating circumstances exist.''.
(5) On page 10, after line 24 insert:
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting after the second
sentence the following: ``No loan under section 428, 428B, or
428H that is made pursuant to this subsection shall be made
with interest rates, origination or default fees, or other
terms and conditions that are more favorable to the borrower
than the maximum interest rates, origination or default fees,
or other terms and conditions applicable to that type of loan
under this part.'';
(6) On page 12, line 14, strike ``lenders willing to make
loans'' and insert: ``eligible lenders willing to make loans
under this part''.
(7) On page 13, after line 2 insert:
``(6) Expiration of authority.--The Secretary's authority
under paragraph (4) to designate institutions of higher
education for participation in the program under this
subsection shall expire on June 30, 2009.
``(7) Expiration of designation.--The eligibility of an
institution of higher education, or borrowers from such
institution, to participate in the program under this
subsection pursuant to a designation of the institution by
the Secretary under paragraph (4) shall expire on June 30,
2009. After such date, borrowers from an institution
designated under paragraph (4) shall be eligible to
participate in the program under this subsection as such
program existed on the day before the date of enactment of
the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008.
``(8) Prohibition on inducements and marketing.--Each
guaranty agency or eligible lender that serves as a lender-
of-last-resort under this subsection--
``(A) shall be subject to the prohibitions on inducements
contained in subsection (b)(3) and the requirements of
section 435(d)(5); and
``(B) shall not advertise, market, or otherwise promote
loans under this subsection, except that nothing in this
paragraph shall prohibit a guaranty agency from fulfilling
its responsibilities under paragraph (2)(C).
``(9) Dissemination and reporting.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(i) broadly disseminate information regarding the
availability of loans made under this subsection;
``(ii) during the period beginning July 1, 2008 and ending
June 30, 2010, provide to the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on
Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and make
available to the public--

``(I) copies of any new or revised plans or agreements made
by guaranty agencies or the Department related to the
authorities under this subsection;
``(II) quarterly reports on--

``(III) a budget estimate of the costs to the Federal
Government (including subsidy and administrative costs) for
each 100 dollars loaned, of loans made pursuant to this
subsection between the date of enactment of the Ensuring
Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 and June 30,
2009, disaggregated by type of loan, compared to such costs
to the Federal Government during such time period of
comparable loans under this part and part D, disaggregated by
part and by type of loan; and

``(iii) beginning July 1, 2010, provide to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the
Committee on Education and Labor of the House of
Representatives and make available to the public--

``(I) copies of any new or revised plans or agreements made
by guaranty agencies or the Department related to the
authorities under this subsection; and
``(II) annual reports on--

``(aa) the number and amounts of loans originated or
approved pursuant to this subsection by each guaranty agency
and eligible lender; and
``(bb) any related payments by the Department, a guaranty
agency, or an eligible lender.
``(B) Separate reporting.--The information required to be
reported under subparagraph (A)(ii)(II) shall be reported
separately for loans originated or approved pursuant to
paragraph (4), or payments related to such loans, for the
time period in which the Secretary is authorized to make
designations under paragraph (4).''.
(8) On page 13, line 12, strike ``agency's'' and insert:
``agencies''.
(9) On page 14, line 3, strike ``adding at the end'' and
insert: ``inserting before the matter following paragraph
(5)''.
(10) On page 15, line 19, strike ``loans originated'' and
insert: ``loans first disbursed''.
(11) On page 15, line 21, after ``October 1, 2003,''
insert: ``and before July 1, 2009,''.
(12) On page 16, line 1, after ``Federal Government''
insert: ``(including the cost of servicing the loans
purchased)''.
(13) On page 16, strike lines 5 through 23, and insert the
following:
``(2) Federal register notice.--The Secretary, the
Secretary of the Treasury, and the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, shall jointly publish a notice in the
Federal Register prior to any purchase of loans under this
section that--
``(A) establishes the terms and conditions governing the
purchases authorized by paragraph (1);
``(B) includes an outline of the methodology and factors
that the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, will jointly
consider in evaluating the price at which to purchase loans
made under section 428, 428B, or 428H; and
``(C) describes how the use of such methodology and
consideration of such factors used to determine purchase
price will ensure that loan purchases do not result in any
net cost to the Federal Government (including the cost of
servicing the loans purchased).''.
(14) On page 20, after line 9 insert the following:

SEC. 10. ACADEMIC COMPETITIVENESS GRANTS.

(a) Amendments.--Section 401A of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a-1) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
``(a) Academic Competitiveness Grant Program Authorized.--
The Secretary shall award grants, in the amounts specified in
subsection (d)(1), to eligible students to assist the
eligible students in paying their college education
expenses.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``academic year'' each place it appears and
inserting ``year''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``third or fourth'' and
inserting ``third, fourth, or fifth'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``full-time'';
(ii) by striking ``academic'' and inserting ``award''; and
(iii) by striking ``is made'' and inserting ``is made for a
grant under this section'';
(B) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the
following:
``(1) is eligible for a Federal Pell Grant;
``(2) is enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an
institution of higher education on not less than a half-time
basis; and''; and
(C) in paragraph (3)--
(i) by striking ``academic'' each place the term appears;
(ii) in subparagraph (A)--

(I) by striking the matter preceding clause (i) and
inserting the following:

``(A) the first year of a program of undergraduate
education at a two- or four-year degree-granting institution
of higher education (including a program of not less than one
year for which the institution awards a certificate)--'';

[[Page H2984]]

(II) by striking clause (i) and inserting the following:

``(i) has successfully completed, after January 1, 2006, a
rigorous secondary school program of study that prepares
students for college and is recognized as such by the State
official designated for such recognition, or with respect to
any private or home school, the school official designated
for such recognition for such school, consistent with State
law, which recognized program shall be reported to the
Secretary; and''; and

(III) in clause (ii), by inserting ``, except as part of a
secondary school program of study'' before the semicolon;

(iii) in subparagraph (B)--

(I) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking ``year
of'' and all that follows through ``higher education'' and
inserting ``year of a program of undergraduate education at a
two- or four-year degree-granting institution of higher
education (including a program of not less than two years for
which the institution awards a certificate)''; and
(II) in clause (ii), by striking ``or'' after the semicolon
at the end;

(iv) in subparagraph (C)--

(I) in the matter preceding subclause (I) of clause (i), by
inserting ``certified by the institution to be'' after
``is'';
(II) by striking clause (i)(II) and inserting the
following:
``(II) a critical foreign language; and''; and
(III) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and
inserting a semicolon; and

(v) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) the third or fourth year of a program of
undergraduate education at an institution of higher education
(as defined in section 101(a)), is attending an institution
that demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that
the institution--
``(i) offers a single liberal arts curriculum leading to a
baccalaureate degree, under which students are not permitted
by the institution to declare a major in a particular subject
area, and the student--

``(I)(aa) studies, in such years, a subject described in
subparagraph (C)(i) that is at least equal to the
requirements for an academic major at an institution of
higher education that offers a baccalaureate degree in such
subject, as certified by an appropriate official from the
institution; and
``(bb) has obtained a cumulative grade point average of at
least 3.0 (or the equivalent as determined under regulations
prescribed by the Secretary) in the relevant coursework; or
``(II) is required, as part of the student's degree
program, to undertake a rigorous course of study in
mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics, which consists
of at least--

``(aa) 4 years of study in mathematics; and
``(bb) 3 years of study in the sciences, with a laboratory
component in each of those years; and
``(ii) offered such curriculum prior to February 8, 2006;
or
``(E) the fifth year of a program of undergraduate
education that requires 5 full years of coursework, as
certified by the appropriate official of the degree-granting
institution of higher education, for which a baccalaureate
degree is awarded by a degree-granting institution of higher
education--
``(i) is certified by the institution of higher education
to be pursuing a major in--

``(I) the physical, life, or computer sciences,
mathematics, technology, or engineering (as determined by the
Secretary pursuant to regulations); or
``(II) a critical foreign language; and

``(ii) has obtained a cumulative grade point average of at
least 3.0 (or the equivalent, as determined under regulations
prescribed by the Secretary) in the coursework required for
the major described in clause (i).'';
(4) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--

(I) by striking ``The'' and inserting ``In general.--The'';
(II) in clause (ii), by striking ``or'' after the semicolon
at the end;
(III) in clause (iii), by striking ``subsection
(c)(3)(C).'' and inserting ``subparagraph (C) or (D) of
subsection (c)(3), for each of the two years described in
such subparagraphs; or''; and
(IV) by adding at the end the following:

``(iv) $4,000 for an eligible student under subsection
(c)(3)(E).''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--

(I) by striking ``Notwithstanding'' and inserting
``Limitation; ratable reduction.--Notwithstanding'';
(II) by redesignating clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), as
clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv), respectively; and
(III) by inserting before clause (ii), as redesignated
under subclause (II), the following:

``(i) in any case in which a student attends an institution
of higher education on less than a full-time basis, the
amount of the grant that such student may receive shall be
reduced in the same manner as a Federal Pell Grant is reduced
under section 401(b)(2)(B);'';
(B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
``(2) Limitations.--
``(A) No grants for previous credit.--The Secretary may not
award a grant under this section to any student for any year
of a program of undergraduate education for which the student
received credit before the date of enactment of the Higher
Education Reconciliation Act of 2005.
``(B) Number of grants.--The Secretary may not award more
than one grant to a student described in subsection (c)(3)
for each year of study described in such subsection.''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following: and
``(3) Calculation of grant payments.--An institution of
higher education shall make payments of a grant awarded under
this section in the same manner, using the same payment
periods, as such institution makes payments for Federal Pell
Grants under section 401.'';
(5) by striking subsection (e)(2) and inserting the
following:
``(2) Availability of funds.--Funds made available under
paragraph (1) for a fiscal year shall remain available for
the succeeding fiscal year.'';
(6) in subsection (f)--
(A) by striking ``at least one'' and inserting ``not less
than one''; and
(B) by striking ``subsection (c)(3)(A) and (B)'' and
inserting ``subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (c)(3)'';
and
(7) in subsection (g), by striking ``academic'' and
inserting ``award''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall take effect on January 1, 2009.

SEC. 11. INAPPLICABILITY OF MASTER CALENDAR AND NEGOTIATED
RULEMAKING REQUIREMENTS.

Sections 482 and 492 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1089, 1098a) shall not apply to amendments made by
sections 2 through 9 of this Act, or to any regulations
promulgated under such amendments.

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

General Leave

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative
days in which Members may insert extraneous material on H.R. 5715 into
the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to
revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong
support of H.R. 5715, the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans
Act of 2008, as amended by the Senate. Earlier this month the House
acted swiftly to pass this bipartisan legislation to ensure that
students and families will be able to continue to access Federal loans
they need to pay for college, regardless of what happens in the
Nation's credit markets.
Over the past few weeks, the President has also voiced his support
for this legislation. I am glad that the President has recognized the
importance of this legislation, and am very pleased that with today's
vote, we will have an opportunity to send to him this bill for his
signature.
The bill we are considering today now includes some of the amendments
added by the Senate to strengthen the purpose of the legislation. I
want to thank Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi for all of their support
for this legislation and all of their efforts to get it through the
Senate on a timely basis.
Because today's vote is timely, the sooner we get this legislation to
the President's desk, the sooner it can be implemented by the
Department of Education. This week, many incoming freshmen will be
reviewing their financial aid packages and making decisions on where
they plan to attend college this fall. For many of these students,
their families are already worried about paying bills in today's
economy. They shouldn't also have to worry about whether Federal aid
they depend on to pay for college will actually be there this fall when
they need it.
Over the past few months, we have been closely monitoring what has
been happening in the financial markets, and we have heard from
stakeholders across the political and economic spectrum: The Department
of Education, college financial aid officers, lenders, financial
analysts, and students. Not surprising, we have heard varying
predictions. Some believe that the lenders will continue to face
trouble accessing capital for loans, and others believe that the
markets will ease up.
Fortunately so far, the credit crunch has not prevented any student
parent from getting the Federal loans for which they are eligible. But
we believe that it is only prudent to prepare for the possibility that
the ongoing stress in the Nation's financial markets could jeopardize
access to student loans.
In addition to the provisions already passed overwhelmingly by the
House

[[Page H2985]]

earlier this month, the legislation before us today includes additional
measures approved by the Senate amendments. This amended legislation
assures that loans made through the lender-of-last-resort program are
made with similar terms and conditions as other FFELP loans.
It makes the Secretary's authority to designate entire institutions
as a lender-of-last-resort program temporary. It ensures that guaranty
agencies and lenders operating under the lender-of-last-resort program
are subject to the same rules regarding inducements and conflicts of
interest that other FFELP lenders are subject to.

{time} 1315

It safeguards the lender-of-last-resort program from abuses by
requiring guaranty agencies and lenders acting as lenders of last
resort to report on loans made through the program. It protects
taxpayers by requiring reporting on the cost of the lender-of-last-
resort program as compared to the current loan program. Finally, the
amended legislation reduces low-income students' reliance on Federal
student loans by directing all loans generated by this legislation into
the Academic Competitiveness and SMART grants.
I believe that these additions will enhance this bill by providing
further protection for parent borrowers, boosting aid to low-income
students, increasing accountability in the lender-of-last-resort
program.
Now more than ever, families deserve every assurance that we are
doing all that we can to make sure that they will continue to be able
to finance their children's education. I am confident that our efforts,
coupled with proper planning in the Department of Education, will help
ensure that students are able to get the financial assistance they need
to attend college this fall.
I would like to thank Mr. McKeon, our committee's senior Republican,
Mr. Hinojosa, the subcommittee Chair, Mr. Keller, the senior Republican
on the subcommittee, and all of their staff and all my colleagues on
both sides of the aisle for their commitment to acting promptly on
behalf of America's students and families. Again, thank you to Senator
Kennedy and Senator Enzi for their support.
I urge my colleagues to join us in swiftly passing this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5715, and yield
myself such time as I may consume.
I am pleased to be here just 2 weeks after the House voted
overwhelmingly in support of this effort to restore confidence in our
student loan program. Today we will give final approval to this measure
and send it to the President for his signature. It is not often that
Congress acts so nimbly to respond to a current market challenge, and I
welcome this show of bipartisan cooperation. I hope it is a sign of
things to come.
When we debated this bill on the floor 2 weeks ago, I noted that
while it is a good start, it is not a complete solution. That continues
to be true today. I am particularly interested in exploring a more
market-oriented solution to what is obviously a market-based problem. I
am hopeful that the administration will pursue steps such as an
intervention by the Federal Financing Bank, along with the other
proposals that have been offered to restore balance. Still, the steps
taken under this bill are important preliminary measures, and I look
forward to their swift enactment.
The original bill passed by the House focused on restoring stability
to an uncertain market and offering reassurances to students and their
families. We did that by establishing the U.S. Department of Education
as a temporary backstop to purchase loans and inject modest amounts of
liquidity into the market in order to ensure lenders can make new loans
in the coming school year. We also offered new loan availability and
flexibility, and we called on the Federal financial authorities to
exercise their authority to stabilize the market.
I appreciate that the other Chamber chose to move quickly on our
bill, rather than taking up a competing bill that would have slowed
down this important assistance to students and families. However, some
important improvements were made as this bill moved through the other
body, and I want to highlight those here today.
In early 2005 and early 2006, Congress approved a budget
reconciliation measure that created two new grant programs to help low-
income students pursuing a college education. Those two new programs
are the Academic Competitiveness Grant and the SMART Grant. These grant
programs are meant to promote student academic achievement,
particularly in fields that are vital to our continued competitiveness
in a changing world.
During the committee deliberations on a comprehensive renewal of the
Higher Education Act, Representative Rob Bishop took a leadership role
in clarifying the role of States and not the Federal Government in
establishing rigorous high school curricula. The purpose of the
Academic Competitiveness Grant was to encourage students to pursue
challenging course work to prepare for college, but it was never
intended to usurp State and local responsibility for establishing
curricula. I am pleased we were able to incorporate his proposed
changes into the bill that is moving today.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, but I would be remiss if I did not
highlight what I believe to be the root causes of the current
difficulties in our financial markets. Last year, Federal support for
the loan program was slashed, forcing loan providers to scale back on
benefits and reevaluate their future participation in the program. This
year, disruption in the capital markets have reduced liquidity and
shaken investor and consumer confidence.
I appreciate the steps taken in this bill to begin to stabilize a
program that has been badly shaken. I am especially pleased that this
bill contains no net cost to the American taxpayer and that it does not
force colleges and universities to embrace the government-run Direct
Loan Program that the vast majority have already rejected. I will
remain vigilant in protecting against any efforts to capitalize on the
current situation by imposing a big government monopoly on student
loans. In fact, it is because I did not support a big government
intervention that I favor the bill before us. The fact is that if we
fail to act now, we may be forced to take on much greater government
role in the future.
We made a commitment more than four decades ago that there are
national benefits to an affordable, accessible, higher education
system. What we are doing today is restating that commitment and
sending a signal to students and families that we continue to believe
in this program that has opened the door of higher education to so many
millions of aspiring young Americans.
Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill that deserves our support. I want to
thank Chairman Miller, along with the chairman and ranking member of
the subcommittee, Representatives Hinojosa and Keller, for their
leadership on this issue. I would also like to recognize the staff for
their hard work as well. I urge all my colleagues to join me in support
of this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa), the chairman of the
subcommittee.
Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5715, the
Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act. I especially want to
thank Chairman George Miller and ranking member Buck McKeon and all the
others who have worked with us to be able to resolve the challenge of
access and affordability to higher education to all those who wish to
go to that level of education.
This is urgent legislation, and I thank the leadership in both the
House and the Senate for ensuring its swift passage. We are all united
in our commitment to provide every assurance to students and families
that there will be no disruption in the Federal student loan programs,
regardless of what is happening in the financial markets in our
country.
As of today, no student has been unable to find a lender for a
Federal student loan. However, we are not going to wait until students
and families are denied loans before putting safeguards in place. Today
is the day that many incoming freshman students must decide which
college they will attend in

[[Page H2986]]

the fall. Financial aid is a critical consideration for that decision
process. We can leave no doubt in the minds of students, families or
campuses about the availability of that aid. That is why we must send
this legislation to the President for his signature without delay.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation will provide much-needed liquidity to
the student loan marketplace by authorizing the Secretary of Education
on a temporary basis to purchase student loans so that lenders have the
funds to make new loans. The legislation clarifies the lender-of-last-
resort option so that, if called upon, guaranty agencies will be able
to fulfill their role as lender of last resort as required under the
Higher Education Act.
The legislation will reduce the reliance on private loans to fill the
gap between Federal student aid and the cost of college by increasing
the amount a student can borrow in the unsubsidized loan program.
This contingency plan for the student loan marketplace will come at
no cost to the taxpayers. In fact, any savings that may be generated
will be directed to the Academic Competitiveness and SMART grants that
are available to needy students who complete a rigorous program of
study in high school and those students who are pursuing majors in
high-need fields, such as science, engineering, technology and foreign
languages.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield the gentleman 30 more
seconds.
Mr. HINOJOSA. Finally, with H.R. 5715 we are signaling that we will
bring all of our tools to the task of guaranteeing access to student
loans. This legislation also calls upon Treasury and our Federal
financial institutions to do their share to ensure that there is
sufficient capital in the Federal student loan marketplace.
I urge all my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this critical stopgap
legislation.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller), the ranking member of the
Subcommittee on Higher Education.
Mr. KELLER of Florida. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
I rise today in support of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student
Loans Act. As the ranking member on the Higher Education Subcommittee
and founder and chairman of the Pell Grant Caucus, I am honored to be a
cosponsor of this important legislation.
How did we get here? The troubles that began in the subprime mortgage
market have had a ripple effect on our economy, impacting all types of
consumer credit. Unfortunately, that includes student loans. As a
result of these disruptions in the financial markets, students and
families all across the country are worrying about how they will pay
for college this fall. Through no fault of their own, middle class
families are worrying that their children may have a difficult time
getting the financing they need for college. At least when it comes to
Federal loans, there are steps we can take now to prevent that from
happening. That is why I support this bill before us.
This bill will increase loan limits by $2,000 to undergraduate
students, it will give students more flexibility in their loan payment
options, and it includes provisions that will help generate more low-
interest loans. Additionally, the savings achieved in this bill will
provide more aid to full- and part-time eligible students through
national SMART grants.
This is how SMART grants work. If you are eligible for a traditional
Pell Grant and you major in math, science or foreign languages that are
critical and you have a B average, you will be able to get an
additional $4,000 above and beyond the maximum award of $4,800. This
bill expands that to allow full- and part-time students to partake.
That means we will be helping a total of approximately 100,000 students
who are majoring in math and science and critical languages, and also
helping ourselves, because we desperately need more math and science
majors.
I have a chart here regarding our strong support for Pell grants on a
bipartisan basis to put this bill in perspective. Since I came to
Congress in 2000, I have noted that we have increased Pell Grant
funding by 149 percent, from $7.6 billion to $18.9 billion.

{time} 1330

We have increased the maximum award from $3,300 to $4,800, an
increase of 45 percent. Now, with this new expanded legislation for
more part-time students to get these SMART Grants, those particular
students in math and science will get, as I said earlier, $8,800 in
eligible grants.
And, finally, and particularly significantly, we have made it
possible for an additional 1.9 million students to go to college, an
increase of 49 percent from 3.9 million students getting Pell Grants in
2000 to 5.8 million today.
Making sure that college is affordable has been a bipartisan priority
of this Congress. This bill will help ensure access to college for many
worthy students and provide much needed stability to the student loan
market at a time when it is most important to our college students.
I want to thank Chairman George Miller, Chairman Hinojosa, and
Ranking Member McKeon for their speedy and bipartisan work on this
bill. I want to thank my colleagues in the Senate for turning this
legislation around so quickly and adding some key provisions dealing
with the SMART Grants. I also want to thank the White House for
indicating its strong support of this legislation and their willingness
to sign it upon arrival.
For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 5715,
and let's make college more affordable for all young people.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I recognize the gentleman from
Connecticut, a member of the committee, for 2 minutes.
Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, what a difference 6 weeks makes. On March
14, under Mr. Miller's leadership, the Education and Labor Committee
held a hearing on the question of student loan availability. And at
that time, Secretary Spellings from the Department of Education came in
and said that the administration was merely ``monitoring the
situation,'' and expressed some diffidence and confusion about whether
or not in fact the Federal Government really had a role to play in
terms of being lender of last resort.
During the last 6 weeks, what we have seen is the collapse of Bear
Stearns, we have seen lenders withdrawing from the student loan market,
and a clear signal that the subprime mortgage crisis is in fact
extending to the student loan market. In Connecticut, the Connecticut
Commissioner of Higher Education Mike Meotti and the Director of
Financial Aid at University of Connecticut, who I met with, confirmed
the fact that they were seeing some withdrawal from the market and a
need to step up their activity in terms of giving students more help as
they enter a very challenging year, again, because of what is happening
in the financial markets.
This legislation, which now the administration has come around in
support of, will in fact strengthen the Direct Student Loan program and
will confirm that the Federal Government will in fact be a lender of
last resort so that it will make sure that, in August and September,
students and families will not be running into difficulty and will in
fact be able to go to college in the fall.
The Federal Government acted swiftly to help Bear Stearns, an
investment bank which frankly morally and ethically didn't deserve the
help. Millions of students, however, do. And this legislation, which
will clearly confirm that the Federal Government has a role to play
going into the summer months as students reach out to get financial
assistance, that in fact the doors of colleges and universities will
remain open.
I applaud Mr. Miller for his leadership going back to last March 14
and ensuring that passage of this bill will occur on a bipartisan
basis.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Altmire).
Mr. ALTMIRE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill that
I joined with Chairman Miller in introducing to ensure the current
credit crunch does not prevent students from attending college.
Recent decisions to suspend the issuing of student loans by the
Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and other lenders
around the

[[Page H2987]]

country clearly demonstrate the need for this legislation.
This bill is a model for bipartisan cooperation. Problems in the
credit market began affecting the student loan market only 2 months
ago, and since that time Congress has quickly moved to identify the
problem, craft a responsible solution to that problem, and quickly move
that solution through the legislative process. And, today, we are
sending this bill to the President for his signature.
Congress can be proud of taking this proactive step to prevent a
crisis and I am proud of what we did today, and encourage my colleagues
to support this bill.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Bishop), a member of the committee.
Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for
yielding, and I thank the chairman and the ranking member of the full
committee and also of the subcommittee for working together so quickly
and so cooperatively to bring this legislation to the floor. It is very
badly needed, and the passage of it will allow us to expand upon the
gains that this Congress has made in the dual goals of access and
affordability. And let me just quickly reflect on those.
We have significantly reduced student loan interest rates. We have
significantly increased the Pell Grant maximum. We have overridden the
administration's recommendation to eliminate the SCOG program. We have
overridden the administration's recommendation to eliminate the Perkins
Loan program. We have done all of this on a bipartisan basis, and we
have done all of this with a focus on keeping student need and student
interests uppermost in our mind.
There are several very positive features of this bill. Let me talk
just about three of them. The first is seeing to it that we maintain
liquidity in the student loan market, a situation that is forced upon
us by factors that have nothing to do with the Student Loan program.
The second is the increase in loan limits on an annual basis. The most
important element of this is that it will reduce student reliance on
private lending, and that certainly is a goal of ours, to see to it
that students have access to government regulated loans as opposed to
private loans. And, lastly, the easing of the repayment requirements
for the parent loan will be enormously helpful to needy families and
the students of those families.
So I again want to commend leadership on both sides of the aisle and
both sides of the Capitol for working so quickly on this. I want to
commend the Education Department and the administration for their
willingness to be supportive, and I urge speedy passage.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. 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, I congratulate Mr. Miller and Mr. McKeon
for skillfully navigating this legislation to the floor, and I strongly
support it.
Our country's economy has been severely affected by a lack of
liquidity crisis. In plain language, people who need to borrow money to
do good things who are creditworthy are having a very difficult time
borrowing that money.
The early tremors are present in the education field that young men
and women who need money to go to school are beginning to have trouble
borrowing that money; and we are, frankly, concerned that an earthquake
may follow those tremors.
Rather than wait for that disaster to occur, Chairman Miller and Mr.
McKeon are taking preventive, action along with the Secretary of
Education, to try to prevent such a calamity from occurring.
This legislation is commendable on any number of grounds. First, it
strengthens the lender of last resort program so that guarantee
agencies around the country will be equipped to quickly move capital to
students and schools who find it difficult or impossible to get that
capital from the banking institutions. Second, it increases the limits
that students can borrow money that is guaranteed under the Federal
guaranteed loan programs.
This is especially important, because so many of our students need
what are called gap loans. This is the person who has an aid package of
$28,000, but who needs 31,000 to go to school. In the past, the way
families and students have dealt with this problem is to find a private
lender to make a loan to fill that gap. There is increasing evidence
that achieving that loan is increasingly difficult. By raising the loan
limits in a fiscally responsible way, this bill alleviates that
problem.
And, finally, by encouraging the growth of technological progress in
the education sector, this bill ramps up the infrastructure that will
be necessary to move loans to more students around the country as the
time has come.
There is a lot of cynicism, Mr. Speaker, in this country about
government, and some of it is quite justified. But I would hope that
the cynics would watch the process that has occurred here where two
leaders, one Democrat, one Republican, have come together, listened to
the Secretary of Education, carefully analyzed the problem, and worked
together to produce a piece of legislation that I believe will solve
that problem. I commend them for their leadership.
I am proud to support this legislation, and I would urge Republicans
and Democrats to vote ``yes.''
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to echo the words of others
that have spoken here today, and thank Chairman Miller, thank Mr.
Hinojosa again, Mr. Keller, and especially Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Renzi on
the other side for working very closely and deciding to take up our
bill, because this could have been delayed. They moved expeditiously,
and now we will be able to get this to the President's desk. And,
hopefully, the concerns that I have felt for several months now will
never come to bear; that we will go through this year, and students
will be able to get their loans and we will do this without any
hiccups. But, if not, this will be a big help as we move forward.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I associate myself with the remarks
of the gentleman.
Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 5715, and voted for it when
it was first considered on the House floor. Although I have some
reservations, I believe it is a reasonable compromise that will provide
the student loan market added flexibility and stability going forward.
Had I been present, however, I would have voted ``aye.''
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) that the House suspend
the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill, H.R. 5715.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the
yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.

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