[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 154 (Tuesday, November 30, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7707-H7709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SUPPORTING NATIONAL GEAR UP DAY

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 1638) supporting the goals and ideals of 
National GEAR UP Day.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1638

       Whereas Congress created the Gaining Early Awareness and 
     Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) in 1998 to 
     increase the number of low-income students who are prepared 
     to enter and succeed in postsecondary education;
       Whereas increasing the number of low-income students who 
     complete postsecondary education is critical to the health 
     and vitality of our communities and the Nation as a whole;
       Whereas, on February 24, 2009, President Barack Obama 
     addressed a Joint Session of Congress, during which he stated 
     his goal that the United States would once again have the 
     highest proportion of college graduates;
       Whereas GEAR UP is currently providing essential college 
     preparatory services to 670,000 students in over 5,000 
     schools across 46 States, the District of Columbia, America 
     Samoa, Micronesia, and Puerto Rico;
       Whereas GEAR UP students are taking more rigorous and 
     advanced courses, graduating from high school and enrolling 
     in postsecondary education at rates significantly higher than 
     their low-income peers;
       Whereas these remarkable achievements are attributable to 
     the selfless dedication of the students, families, education 
     professionals, and business and community leaders involved in 
     GEAR UP;
       Whereas in September 2009 GEAR UP Day was recognized across 
     the United States, including proclamations by the Governors 
     of the States of Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Oklahoma, and West 
     Virginia, the Governor of American Samoa, and other 
     observances noticed in the Congressional Record on Tuesday, 
     September 22, 2009; and
       Whereas September 29, 2010, would be an appropriate day to 
     designate as National GEAR UP Day: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of a National GEAR UP 
     Day;
       (2) recognizes with gratitude the contributions of caring 
     teachers, counselors, and program staff who encourage and 
     prepare students for success in college; and
       (3) encourages all students to set ambitious goals and to 
     work hard to achieve their dreams.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Woolsey) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) 
will each control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.

                              {time}  1700


                             General Leave

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which 
Members may revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous 
material on House Resolution 1638 into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1638 which 
recognizes the goals and ideals of National GEAR UP Day, celebrated on 
September 29, 2010. GEAR UP, or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness 
for Undergraduate Programs, was created by Congress in 1998 to help 
increase the number of low-income and underserved students who are 
prepared to succeed in postsecondary education.
  This year, the GEAR UP program provided college prep services to over 
670,000 students in over 5,000 schools across 46 States, the District 
of Columbia, American Samoa, Micronesia, and Puerto Rico.
  National GEAR UP Day, sponsored by the National Council for Community 
and Education Partnerships, is an opportunity for us to recognize the 
continued success of GEAR UP programs nationwide. It guarantees an 
entire cohort of students beginning no later than the seventh grade and 
follows that group through high school.
  GEAR UP funds are also used to provide college scholarships to low-
income students. Students participating in the GEAR UP program, Mr. 
Speaker, are encouraged in a variety of ways to enter and complete 
postsecondary education. They may visit local postsecondary 
institutions and survey classes that interest them, learn about 
financial aid and scholarship opportunities, or meet with a counselor 
for career planning.
  I want to thank Representative Fattah for introducing this resolution 
and, once again, express my support for House Resolution 1638, which 
celebrates National GEAR UP Day.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1638, 
supporting the goals and ideals of National GEAR UP Day.
  While access to postsecondary education is a barrier for many low-
income students, far too many students who enter college fail to 
complete programs and attain credentials. The goal of the Gaining Early 
Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, GEAR UP, program is 
to address both access and success changes to ensure more low-income 
students succeed in the workforce. GEAR UP provides 6-year grants to 
States and partnerships to provide services at high-poverty middle 
schools and high schools. GEAR UP grantees serve an entire cohort of 
students beginning no later than the seventh grade and follow the 
cohort through high school or their first year of college. GEAR UP 
funds are also used to provide college scholarships to low-income 
students.
  Nearly 77 million Americans will retire over the next several 
decades, and the United States will face a worker gap, a skills gap, 
and a wage gap. Filling these gaps will require developing better 
trained and more skilled workers for productive jobs with upward 
mobility. Ensuring that the Nation's youth enter adulthood well 
educated, prepared for work, and able to integrate into society will 
help to ensure we are able to fill these gaps. Currently, the GEAR UP 
program is providing important college preparatory services to 
approximately 670,000 students in over 5,000 schools throughout the 
country.
  Today, we support the goals and ideals of National GEAR UP Day, 
recognize the contribution of teachers, counselors, and program staff 
that encourage and prepare students for success in college and beyond. 
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), the author of this resolution 
and the author of GEAR UP.
  Mr. FATTAH. I thank the gentlelady and I thank her colleague for 
their support for this resolution.

[[Page H7708]]

  GEAR UP continues, as from its inception, to have bipartisan support. 
On National GEAR UP Day, we had Governors like Haley Barbour from 
Mississippi and Governors throughout the country claim GEAR UP Days in 
their State. We had mayors and school superintendents and college 
associations all across our country celebrate the great achievements of 
young people who have been a part of this program and the adults who 
have worked with them.
  The Federal Government partners with States and with higher education 
institutions in what I call an elongated conversation with young people 
over the course of 6 years. And in this Congress, we reauthorized GEAR 
UP and we have now added a seventh year. GEAR UP has proven to be 
successful over its first decade of work, given the research that has 
been done, and it has shown that there has been a remarkable success 
across the 40-plus States, and now 46 States. In communities of every 
stripe, GEAR UP has worked to increase the number of young people 
graduating from high school, taking rigorous courses, and going on to 
college.
  We saw a multiday series in The Washington Post focusing on students 
in Virginia, and thankfully going to colleges in Pennsylvania, through 
GEAR UP. I have visited GEAR UP youngsters in Wichita, Kansas, and 
Oklahoma City and California, all across our land. It is an amazing and 
extraordinary feat to see young people who statistically others would 
have written off, but now, because of the work of the GEAR UP program 
and because of their own work and parental involvement, they have been 
written back in.
  The President has said we need to return our country to leadership in 
the world by 2020 with the number of adults with a college degree. We 
now are ninth in the world with the number of our young people 
graduating from college. This is an important program. It is the 
largest early college program in our country and in our country's 
history. It began with bipartisan support, and it continues to have 
that support because it is locally administered. It is a partnership 
program involving higher education institutions in partnership with 
middle schools and high schools and community and civic associations. 
It has worked well in Native American communities and rural communities 
and urban cities. It has helped in terms of youngsters who have English 
as a second language.
  My great partner in this, Congressman Hinojosa, who will be speaking, 
and many others in this Congress have been strong supporters of GEAR 
UP. I thank the gentleman and the gentlelady for yielding me an 
appreciable amount of time, and I thank them for their support of this 
resolution.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa).
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House 
Resolution 1638, a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of 
National GEAR UP Day.
  As subcommittee chairman for Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and 
Competitiveness, I want to thank my good friend and colleague, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), the father of the GEAR UP 
program, for his outstanding leadership and unwavering commitment to 
ensure that low-income students enter and succeed in postsecondary 
education as well as in life.
  I am proud to have joined Congressman Fattah on the Education 
Committee back in 1998 to be an original cosponsor of this great GEAR 
UP program that he introduced.
  In supporting the goals and ideals of National GEAR UP Day, it is 
important that we recognize national teachers and counselors and 
program staff for their tireless work on behalf of our neediest 
students. Throughout the year, these extraordinary individuals provide 
essential college preparatory services to over 670,000 students in over 
5,000 schools across 46 States, as well as in the District of Columbia, 
and American Samoa, Micronesia, and Puerto Rico.
  I am extremely proud of GEAR UP students in the Rio Grande Valley of 
south Texas for setting ambitious career goals and for making their 
education a top priority. Our region serves approximately 18,000 
students, and these young people are studying hard, taking rigorous 
courses, graduating from high school, and preparing themselves to earn 
a college degree.
  In my congressional district, we are fortunate to have talented and 
committed individuals who have made GEAR UP a huge success. I 
personally want to thank Tina Atkins, the director of the Region 1 GEAR 
UP program, as well as Dr. Martha Cantu, director of the University of 
Texas-Pan American in Edinburg for their GEAR UP program, and business 
and community leaders in our region who have done a terrific job in 
educating and encouraging GEAR UP students and their families to reach 
for the stars.
  On March 30, 2010, President Obama signed the Health Care Education 
Reconciliation Act of 2010 into law. With the enactment of this law, 
President Obama and Congress are taking bold steps to ensure 
accessibility and affordability in higher education.

                              {time}  1710

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. I yield the gentleman an additional 1\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. These investments in education will undoubtedly provide 
thousands of GEAR UP students throughout the country with the financial 
aid and support they need to succeed in college.
  As our Nation strives to build a world-class educational system, to 
increase graduation rates at all levels and to lead the world in the 
proportion of college graduates by the year 2020, it is critical that 
we continue to invest in successful Federal programs like GEAR UP.
  Today, I urge my colleagues and our Nation to support H.R. 1638 and 
to encourage greater numbers of low-income students to pursue their 
dreams by supporting the goals and ideals of a National GEAR UP Day.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representative Fattah and 
Representative Hinojosa for their participation in introducing this 
resolution.
  Once again, I want to express my support for House Resolution 1638, 
which celebrates National GEAR UP Day--a chance for all of us to 
recognize the GEAR UP program's accomplishments and its success in 
increasing the accessibility of college for those students who need it 
the most. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
resolution.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
support of H. Res. 1638, a resolution supporting the goals and ideals 
of National GEAR UP Day. Since 1998, the Gaining Early Awareness and 
Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) have been serving 
thousands of at-risk students in entering into and succeeding in 
postsecondary education.
  The GEAR UP programs have been extremely successful in raising 
expectations amongst our youth. They show our students that obtaining a 
college education is possible. In communities and high schools where 
the dropout rate is much greater than the graduation rate, students 
face an uphill battle in achieving a degree in higher education. GEAR 
UP exposes them to achievement, and gives them the tools to create 
academic success in their own lives.
  GEAR UP is implementing the type of intervention programs that we 
need on a larger scale, including: promoting educational ideals of 
parent involvement; rigorous curriculum; academic and personal 
counseling; mentoring and tutoring; and college awareness. GEAR UP 
tracks student progress, rather than letting our children become part 
of a larger statistical tally. These GEAR UP students were able to 
attend and succeed in college; a goal that all students should be able 
to achieve.
  We are currently losing millions of bright minds to the achievement 
gap. Our failure to invest in all of our students has resulting in 
America falling behind in the rankings of global education. If this 
continues, America will not be able to compete in the global economy. 
Programs such as GEAR UP help close that gap.
  I would like to thank Congressman Fattah for introducing this 
resolution and support its passage.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1638.
  The question was taken.

[[Page H7709]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  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.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________