[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 130 (Friday, August 1, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1693-E1694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4137, HIGHER EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 31, 2008

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4137) to 
     amend and extend the Higher Education Act of 1965, and for 
     other purposes.

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chairman, I would like to commend Chairman Miller and 
Mr. McKeon for producing a strong piece of legislation. The Higher 
Education Opportunity Act does what the name suggests. It expands 
affordability and access to college education for the broadest range of 
Americans. It expands Pell Grants, the basis of financial aid, and I'm 
pleased to say it allows Pell Grants to be used year round and for 
certificate programs and part-time students, something I have been 
working on for a long time.
  This Act will help bring transparency and accountability to student 
loan programs by requiring institutions of higher education and lenders 
to adopt strict codes of conduct, and protects students from aggressive 
marketing practices by lenders. It will provide students with full 
information about their borrowing options when taking out loans, and 
help promote financial literacy for students and their parents.
  This legislation will help streamline the Free Application for 
Federal Student Aid, FAFSA, and encourage the Department of Education 
to coordinate with the IRS to use information that the Government 
already has. It as well expands the access for low-income families to 
student aid with an easy to use two-page FAFSA-EZ form. Additionally, 
the bill strengthens the TRIO and GEAR UP college readiness programs 
for first-generation and low-income students.
  One of the complaints I hear most from students and their parents is 
about the ever-increasing cost of college textbooks. This bill will 
help make textbook costs more manageable by ensuring students know the 
price of textbooks in advance so they can plan for the expense. And it 
requires colleges and faculty members to have access to the textbook 
costs when making selections for their courses.
  The bill also builds on our work to restore the full benefits of the 
GI Bill to our Nation's veterans, by creating a new scholarship program 
for active duty military personnel and family members. It also 
establishes support centers to help veterans succeed in college and 
ensures fairness for veterans in student aid decisions.
  I am pleased that this bill will help colleges recruit, retain, and 
graduate students with disabilities. The legislation will also help 
colleges

[[Page E1694]]

improve their facilities and educational materials for these students. 
Further, it will establish a national center to provide support 
services and best practices to colleges to best serve students with 
disabilities and their families.
  The legislation also responds to the tragedy at Virginia Tech by 
helping colleges to develop and implement state-of-the-art emergency 
systems and campus safety plans. Following a recommendation from 
college campus safety directors, the bill creates a National Center for 
Campus Safety to work in collaboration with the COPS program.
  The bill also contains provisions, which I wrote into the measure, to 
strengthen our workforce and our Nation's competitiveness.
  The bill would implement my initiative to provide loan forgiveness 
for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) employees who work 
in those fields. My initiative also establishes a loan forgiveness 
program for foreign language specialists who work as teachers or 
Government employees.
  The legislation creates a Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
International and Foreign Language Education in the Department of 
Education. Based on legislation that I wrote, the executive-level 
officer would provide leadership in directing efforts aimed at 
international and foreign language education.
  The measure establishes a program that I championed, the Science and 
Technology Advanced Foreign Language Grants program, to award funding 
to institutions of higher education to create programs that encourage 
students to develop foreign language proficiency as well as science and 
technological knowledge.
  Based on my work, the bill develops the Mathematics & Science 
Scholars Program to grants and loan forgiveness to math and science 
students who commit to 5 consecutive years of service in a math or 
science field after graduation.
  Included in the bill is my legislation to establish a National STEM 
Database to provide students with information on financial assistance 
for postsecondary and graduate programs in science, technology, 
engineering and mathematics. This important database will help capable 
students who are interested in STEM careers find scholarships to 
support their studies.
  I am pleased that the measure includes the ``Preparing Teachers for 
Digital Age Learners'' program to help teacher candidates effectively 
integrate technology in the classroom. The program, which I advocated 
for, would work with teaching candidates on how they can bring modern 
digital tools in the classroom.
  Additionally, the bill incorporates my legislation, the Nursing 
School Capacity Act, which requires the Institute of Medicine to 
explore the constraints that the Nation's schools of nursing face and 
propose short and long term solutions to address the nursing crisis.
  Finally, based on my efforts the bill improves The ``Child Care 
Access Means Parents in Schools'' Program to empower small and 
community colleges to provide child care to working mothers so they can 
attend school.
  Each of these provisions and the many more contained in the final Act 
will have positive impacts on our Nation and I am pleased that they 
soon will be implemented into law.

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