[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19662-19665]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              PELL GRANT HURRICANE AND DISASTER RELIEF ACT

  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3169) to provide the Secretary of Education with waiver 
authority for students who are eligible for Pell grants who are 
adversely affected by a natural disaster, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3169

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Pell Grant Hurricane and 
     Disaster Relief Act''.

     SEC. 2. WAIVERS OF FEDERAL PELL GRANT REPAYMENT BY STUDENTS 
                   AFFECTED BY DISASTERS.

       Section 484B(b)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1091b(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subparagraph:
       ``(D) Waivers of federal pell grant repayment by students 
     affected by disasters.--The Secretary may waive the amounts 
     that students are required to return under this section with 
     respect to Federal Pell Grants if the withdrawals on which 
     the returns are based are withdrawals by students--
       ``(i) who were residing in, employed in, or attending an 
     institution of higher education that is located in an area in 
     which the President has declared that a major disaster 
     exists, in accordance with section 401 of the Robert T. 
     Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5170);
       ``(ii) whose attendance was interrupted because of the 
     impact of the disaster on the student or the institution; and
       ``(iii) whose withdrawal ended within the academic year 
     during which the designation occurred or during the next 
     succeeding academic year.''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
H.R. 3169.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, earlier this year I introduced the Pell Grant Hurricane 
and Natural Disaster Relief Act.
  Last week Hurricane Katrina struck Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and 
Louisiana. While the damage from this storm is particularly tragic, the 
hurricane's devastation was a familiar sight. Last year, four 
hurricanes ravaged Florida over a 40-day period. Many students lost 
their homes, their jobs, and they were forced to withdraw from school.
  In addition to all the suffering they underwent, Pell grant 
recipients who withdrew from classes were forced to repay any Pell 
grant funds they used to pay for school expenses beyond fees and 
tuition, or else were barred from enrolling in future classes.
  I believe that our neediest students, who would not have access to 
college without Pell grants, should not be further punished after 
enduring a natural disaster.
  After writing a letter to the Secretary of Education to ask for 
relief for these students, I discovered that students who are victims 
of natural disasters can receive similar help with regard to student 
loans, but the only way to help Pell grant recipients is by passing 
this legislation.
  My bill would allow the Secretary, in her discretion, to provide a 
waiver for repaying Pell grants for students who were forced to 
withdraw from classes due to a natural disaster as declared by the 
President of the United States.
  Language from this bill was incorporated into the higher education 
bill passed by the Committee on Education and the Workforce earlier 
this year with unanimous, bipartisan support.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3169.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 3169, the Pell Grant 
Hurricane and Disaster Relief Act recognizing the state of emergency 
that the country is in in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Hundreds 
of thousands of people have been left homeless with hundreds, maybe 
even thousands, dead.
  Nearly 100,000 college students have been displaced in some 30 
colleges in the gulf coast region that have been severely damaged by 
the hurricane. In addition, countless more student borrowers have been 
left without jobs, without any income, and yet must repay their college 
loans. I support this legislation because it is the right thing to do, 
and I want to thank the gentleman from Florida for introducing this 
legislation and responding in this manner so quickly.
  It authorizes, as the gentleman said, the Secretary of Education to 
waive the requirement for students to repay their Pell grants if they 
withdraw from college due to a disaster. The Secretary can use this 
authority to ensure that the Pell grant recipients affected by 
Hurricane Katrina are not punished financially as a result of this 
national emergency.
  While this is a necessary and appropriate step, we also must 
recognize that Congress should be doing more to provide relief for 
these 100,000 students. I say that not as a point in contention. I say 
that as part of the dialogue that we have been having between the two 
sides of the aisle on this committee as we start to assess the 
situation that these students find themselves in.

[[Page 19663]]

There is great urgency to this bill for these Pell grant recipients so 
they can quickly calculate the situation that they are going to be in 
and the question of how they continue their education in another 
location.
  But I would hope that we would go further quickly, because this only 
deals with the recipients of Pell grants, and yet we know that we have 
hundreds of thousands of students that have student loans and student 
campus-based loans available to them, all of which have been thrown 
into question.
  Today, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) and I will introduce 
the Katrina College Relief Act to provide expansive relief for college 
students, their families and student borrowers affected by the 
hurricane. In addition to H.R. 3169, the Katrina College Relief Act 
would allow affected student borrowers to defer their loans for 6 
months so they do not have to make payments and are not charged 
interest on those loans.
  Under current law, student borrowers affected by the disaster may 
apply for a 3-month forbearance on their college loans. However, loans 
in forbearance continue to accrue interest, which raises the overall 
cost of the loan. We should not be forcing students who have been 
ravaged by Hurricane Katrina to pay more for their college loans.
  The Katrina College Relief Act would also allow students and families 
affected by the hurricane to have their student aid award immediately 
readjusted to better reflect their financial situation. This is 
important to tens of thousands of these students, because currently 
many of these students and their families no longer have the necessary 
resources to pay for college even after their current Federal student 
aid is taken into account.
  Congress should direct the Secretary of Education to immediately 
readjust how much these families are expected to pay toward college for 
their current term and for the next academic year.
  We must do everything we can to ensure that 100,000 college students 
affected by Hurricane Katrina are able to continue their education 
immediately. While the initial efforts of college alumni and donors to 
help relocate displaced students should be commended, we must do more. 
It is not enough to support a bill that says that we care or accept the 
status quo. We should support efforts to help all of the students 
affected by the hurricane, not just those who receive the Pell grants.
  Mr. Speaker, I would hope that we would be able to pass this 
legislation in a very timely fashion, and I would hope the Senate would 
give its immediate consideration. Then I would also hope that we would 
move forward to see what we can do to financially alleviate the burdens 
that this hurricane has placed on the students and on their families; 
and that we can in a timely fashion, and I understand that the colleges 
support the effort, recalculate the financial contributions that these 
families will be able to make. Given the fact that many of the families 
and students have been devastated in terms of the loss of their homes, 
their jobs, their places of business, and students who were working 
have lost their jobs in these areas, the jobs may or may not be 
available to them.
  These students are now having to quickly decide whether or not they 
can continue their education at an alternative location, in many 
instances far away from their home, or where their home used to be, and 
we have to do everything we can so they will be able to resolve that 
decision in favor of continuing their education, not losing a semester, 
not losing a year, and certainly not having the cost of their education 
increased to them by virtue of the fact that they are the victims of 
this largest national disaster to befall our country.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman again for addressing this 
problem in this very, very timely fashion. I hope that we can work 
together for these other students who are not the recipients of Pell 
grants.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he 
may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), the ranking 
member on the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge this body to offer real 
relief to college students impacted by the disastrous Hurricane 
Katrina. Well over 100,000 students at over 30 major institutions and 
others have been directly impacted by this terrible tragedy, with 
countless more feeling the aftershocks of the disaster.
  I support the bill offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) 
to offer relief to Pell grant recipients affected by natural disasters 
and thank him for this introduction. But this bill is not enough; as we 
all realize, not only Pell grant recipients were affected by this 
tragedy.
  Thousands of affected students and graduates will be unable to make 
payments on their Stafford or Perkins loans. Currently, students in 
repayment who are suffering from economic hardship can go through a 
lengthy process to defer the accumulation of interest and repayment on 
their loans. Also they can apply and receive a temporary forbearance on 
their loans, allowing them to defer payments, but continue the 
accumulation of interest. We need to cut the red tape by allowing any 
student impacted by a natural disaster to receive an automatic 
deferment of both the accumulation of interest and the payments. 
Graduates already struggling to dig themselves out of the student loan 
debt, an average of $17,500, must not be penalized because of this 
terrible tragedy.
  Enrolled students who are currently receiving Federal aid had their 
financial aid packages calculated based on the Expected Family 
Contributions, the so-called EFC, which includes parent contributions 
and contributions of working students. With millions unemployed, 
including the one in five undergraduates who were working more than 30 
hours a week to support themselves, the calculated Expected Family 
Contribution is no longer realistic.
  The Miller-Kildee bill allows those students to have their EFC 
student aid packages readjusted to reflect the financial changes that 
family may have suffered. Affected families have limited resources to 
aid their recovery. The little they have needs to go toward rebuilding 
their homes and lives. But this should not mean that their children 
should have to drop out of school. We really need an adjustment in the 
Expected Family Contributions.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the majority leadership has decided to 
take up the issue of college students impacted by this tragedy and am 
pleased with the work of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller). Yet 
comprehensive relief is necessary for all students with financial 
hardship.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope Congress will soon consider a more comprehensive 
package. An extraordinary catastrophe demands an extraordinary 
solution. Congress must do more.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the chairman of the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill to 
provide assistance to the victims of Hurricane Katrina whose higher 
education aspirations have been disrupted as a result of the tragic 
events of the last 10 days. This bill represents a first small step in 
our efforts in the weeks and months to come that we hope will make a 
critical difference for students and families as they work to rebuild 
their homes and their lives, and hopefully are able to return to higher 
education.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) for 
developing this bill and for recognizing the forgotten struggles of 
students forced to withdraw from college as a result of a natural 
disaster.
  The premise behind this bill is very simple. It says that if a 
student is forced to withdraw from higher education because of a 
natural disaster, that student will not have to repay their Pell grant 
that has already been awarded and perhaps already spent. The gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Keller) has been developing this legislation for 
months, in large part because

[[Page 19664]]

of what he saw in last year's hurricane in Florida and how it impacted 
his constituents enrolled in higher education and those that had Pell 
grants.
  The Higher Education Act already allows waiver authority for the 
Secretary of Education to exercise in case of a natural disaster 
declared by the President. However, that authority exists for student 
loans and not for Pell grants, a discrepancy that can have a 
significant impact on disadvantaged college students.
  Pell grants serve some of the most disadvantaged students enrolled in 
higher education. In fiscal year 1999, an estimated nearly 45 percent 
of dependent Pell grant recipients had total parental income of below 
$20,000, and more than 90 percent had total income of less than 
$40,000.
  Pell grants are a need-based aid that students do not have to pay 
back. However, when students withdraw from higher education, they may 
have to return a portion of their Pell grant aid.

                              {time}  1700

  Unfortunately, in the case of a natural disaster, there is no 
mechanism for the Secretary to waive that requirement, which may force 
students who have already lost their homes and communities to actually 
pay back the Pell grant funds that they had been awarded.
  I am pleased that my committee included this provision in a 
comprehensive Higher Education Act reform package approved in July. 
Today, however, we have an opportunity to act quickly to ensure that 
students in the gulf coast region get the relief they need and they get 
it soon. This proposal was adopted with bipartisan support in the 
committee, by a voice vote, during subcommittee markup of our higher 
education reform package; and I expect similar support today as my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle join together to provide relief 
to college students impacted by this unprecedented natural disaster.
  Once again, I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller), 
the bill's sponsor, and urge my colleagues to join me in support of the 
bill.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member from 
California for yielding me this time.
  I rise in support of this legislation, and I want to commend the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) for his introduction of it.
  I think all of us recognize the importance of formal education, 
higher education, training; and that if individuals for whatever the 
reason are not able to avail themselves of these opportunities, then 
obviously life for them will be far more difficult.
  I think it is also important, though, that we go beyond just the 
individuals who are recipients of the Pell grant, and I support 
strongly the legislation that I understand is being introduced later on 
today by the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) and the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) that would allow us to provide for 
the recalculation to take another look at how we assess family income 
to try to make sure that we maximize the potential of each and every 
individual in our country to have the greatest possibility of receiving 
formal education that goes beyond the primary and secondary levels.
  So there are many ways to respond to the impact of Katrina, and I 
think many people are doing so in many places throughout the country, 
everybody using what it is that they have got to give.
  Again, I commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) for his 
insight, for his intuition, for his introduction of this bill, and 
would urge that we support it and also urge support for the Miller-
Kildee legislation that I understand is being introduced later on 
today.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop).
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 
Pell Grant Hurricane and Disaster Relief Act.
  Hurricane Katrina created a disaster of monumental proportions. First 
and foremost, our priority should remain saving of lives and delivering 
aid immediately to those most in need. As long as this crisis 
continues, we should tap every available resource of the Federal 
Government to make sure that we are providing relief in every corner of 
the disaster zone. This relief extends to young Americans who work so 
very hard and, with the help of Federal assistance, were able to 
realize their dream of attending college.
  This crucial legislation would allow the Secretary to grant waivers 
to students who were forced from school by a natural disaster such as 
Katrina. This would waive the requirement for them to pay back Federal 
Pell grant aid when they withdraw from school. It is hard enough for 
them to get into college without this disaster throwing up yet another 
barrier to achieving the dream of a college education.
  I commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) for introducing 
this legislation, and I thank the leadership for calling this 
legislation to the floor so quickly. And I also thank my colleagues on 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce for supporting this 
measure when we considered the Higher Education Act in July.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill in a difficult hour. I strongly 
encourage my colleagues to vote for it.
  I also would like to say a word about the bill that the gentleman 
from California (Mr. George Miller) and the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Kildee) are introducing today. It is every bit as important that 
we pass that bill in a timely fashion as it is that we pass the 
gentleman from Florida's (Mr. Keller) bill. It is particularly 
important that we allow families to adjust their expected family 
contribution.
  One of the problems with the financial aid system is that the 
information that is used to determine eligibility is often a year 
behind reality. That system works when reality does not change that 
much from year to year; but when it changes as dramatically as it has 
for so many people affected by this tragedy, it would place students in 
a thoroughly disadvantageous position if they were unable to change 
their financial contribution. So I urge speedy consideration and 
passage of that bill as well as of the gentleman from Florida's (Mr. 
Keller) bill.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  I simply want to join in the chorus in support for this bill. It is 
difficult for us to recognize how far reaching the implications and 
consequences of Hurricane Katrina have been. And I know, for example, 
when I mentioned to another individual today that we would be dealing 
with the Pell grant in the context of the hurricane, this Member did 
not see any connection whatsoever until I pointed out the consequences.
  I am very pleased that we are taking such rapid action in this 
Chamber to deal with the wide-reaching consequences of the hurricane 
and recognize that there are so many dimensions of our citizens' lives 
that have been affected by this. I am pleased at this rapid action. I 
am grateful that this bill is presented to us. I will certainly support 
it and vote for it, and I hope the other body will give equal 
consideration and rapid consideration so that we may service our 
students.
  Let us also remember to continue in prayer for all the victims who 
have been affected in their lives in so many different ways, and let us 
continue to work together to ensure that very rapidly we can deal with 
restoring the Southern States to their positions, their economic 
position, and, above all, the positions of the families who live there 
so that they may return to their homes.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Again, I just want to thank the gentleman from Florida for 
introducing

[[Page 19665]]

this legislation, for bringing it to the floor, and I hope that we can 
get the Senate to give its timely attention.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense piece of legislation that will 
make sure our neediest college students will not be forced to 
prematurely terminate their college education due to Hurricane Katrina 
or other natural disasters. Without this legislation, thousands of 
college students will be barred from enrolling in future college 
classes as a result of a hurricane that they had no control over 
whatsoever.
  Let us join together now in a bipartisan spirit and help these 
college students by providing the Secretary of Education with waiver 
authority for students who are eligible for Pell grants and who have 
been adversely impacted by natural disasters. I urge all of my 
colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3169.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 
3169, which would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize 
the Secretary of Education to waive requirements for Pell Grant 
repayments if student withdrawals from institutions of higher education 
are due to disasters. This bill essentially provides aid to those 
students who have been displaced as a result of the devastating forces 
of Hurricane Katrina. In Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama thousands 
of students are no longer able to attend classes at universities such 
as Dillard, Xaiver, and the University of New Orleans. These 
universities have historically provided minorities the opportunity to 
receive a college education.
  Fortunately, universities such as Texas Southern, and the University 
of Houston are taking in displaced students so they can continue their 
education as we continue to address the many problems facing the 
victims of Hurricane Katrina.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation to 
assist college students who have been victimized by widespread 
devastation visited on the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina last week. 
We, in North Carolina, know well the destruction hurricanes can cause 
as our State has been hit by at least five major hurricanes over the 
past decade. The Federal Government has a solemn responsibility to help 
those in need, and H.R. 3169 is one very small step in that effort.
  Specifically, H.R. 3169 will relieve some burden for displaced 
college students who otherwise would be required to pay back their Pell 
grants. This bill would allow the U.S. Education Department to waive 
the repayment requirement for Pell grant recipients whose school 
attendance is interrupted because of the impact of a disaster, provided 
that the students were living, working or attending school in an area 
designated by the President to warrant major disaster assistance.
  Congress must also pass legislation introduced by Congressman George 
Miller and Congressman Dale Kildee to provide more comprehensive relief 
for student victims of the storm. Nearly 100,000 college students have 
been displaced, while some 30 colleges in the Gulf Coast region have 
been severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Many students and families 
no longer have the necessary resources to pay for college--even after 
their current Federal student aid is taken into account. We need to 
ensure that we help all college students and student borrowers who have 
been adversely impacted by this disaster.
  Congress has much, much more work to do to assist in the relief, 
recovery and reconstruction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. H.R. 3129 
is a minimal early step in that effort, and I urge its adoption.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3169, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. KELLER. 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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