[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 24445]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   FOREIGN OPERATIONS APPROPRIATIONS


                        MEPI Scholarship Program

  Mr. SUNUNU. Mr. President, I commend the senior Senators from Vermont 
and New Hampshire for the fine work that they did last week in managing 
H.R. 2764, the fiscal year 2008 State Department, Foreign Operations 
and Related Programs Appropriations Act. Given how busy they were, I 
regret that we did not have a chance to clarify a scholarship program 
funded in that Act through the Middle East Partnership Initiative, 
MEPI.
  In Senate Report 110-128, the committee provides $55,000,000 for 
MEPI, and recommends $9,000,000 of those funds for scholarship programs 
for students from countries with significant Muslim populations at not-
for-profit U.S. educational institutions in the Middle East.
  In prior year foreign aid bills, eligibility criteria for scholarship 
programs included those students from countries with significant Muslim 
populations at not-for-profit institutions of basic and higher 
education in the Middle East which are accredited by an accrediting 
agency recognized by the Secretary of Education, and that are not 
controlled by the government of the country in which the institution is 
located.
  Those who manage the MEPI program at the State Department added 
additional criteria, namely that American schools in the Middle East 
would be eligible only if U.S. Government dependents were enrolled in 
respective institutions, and only for students in the seventh through 
twelfth grades. I would ask the senior Senators from Vermont and New 
Hampshire if the State Department consulted with the committee prior to 
establishing additional criteria for the scholarship program.
  Mr. LEAHY. I would say to my colleague from New Hampshire that my 
staff informs me that they were not consulted by the State Department 
on this matter.
  Mr. GREGG. I would say to my friend from New Hampshire that my staff 
informs me that they, too, were not consulted on MEPI-added criteria.
  Mr. SUNUNU. I fear that the State Department is severely limiting the 
scope of the scholarship program, including to conflict countries such 
as Lebanon that remain unaccompanied posts for State Department 
employees. To put that another way, no U.S. Government dependents are 
enrolled in schools in Lebanon. Moreover, I would like to suggest that 
the committee consider allocating $7 million for scholarships at higher 
education institutions, and $2 million for secondary schools.
  Mr. GREGG. I appreciate your bringing these matters to my attention. 
My staff will request a briefing from the State Department on the 
scholarship program, and if needed, we will seek additional 
clarification during conference on this matter with the House.

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