[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26258]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 NO FINANCIAL AID FOR SEX OFFENDERS ACT

  (Mr. KELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the No Financial Aid 
for Sex Offenders Act for 2003. It is a national embarrassment that we 
are handing out taxpayer dollars for pedophiles and rapists to take 
college courses while hardworking young people from poor and middle 
class families are left to flip hamburgers and mow lawns to pay for 
college.
  In 1972, Congress created the Pell grant program to help children 
from low- and moderate-income families go to college. In 1994, Congress 
prohibited State and Federal prisoners from getting these Pell grants. 
This past year, 54 violent sexual predators in Florida obtained over 
$200,000 in Pell grants at taxpayer expense. They got a free ride by 
exploiting a loophole, that is, they were involuntarily confined in 
something called a civil commitment center as opposed to being called a 
prison.
  This legislation closes that loophole and ensures that this money 
will be used as intended, by needy law-abiding college students. I urge 
my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation, H.R. 3385.

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