[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.
____________________