[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6755]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     THE DRUG CONVICTION QUESTION AND FEDERAL STUDENT FINANCIAL AID

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, both the Washington Post and the 
New York Times reported that under the Bush administration the military 
has increasingly granted so-called ``conduct waivers'' to allow more 
people with criminal records, including drug convictions, to serve in 
the Armed Forces. As a matter of fact, conduct waivers granted for 
felonies and other crimes constitute the majority of all waivers, about 
60 percent for the Army, and 75 percent for the Marine Corps.
  It is important to note that the vast majority of such convictions 
stem from juvenile offenses, but at the same time, a provision of the 
Higher Education Act, which Congress is currently in the process of 
reauthorizing, bars young people with drug convictions from receiving 
Federal financial aid to go to college. I find it absolutely alarming 
that the Bush administration seems to think that youth who are prone to 
youthful indiscretions and get into trouble with drug use are, on the 
one hand, not worthy of Federal support to obtain a college education, 
but on the other hand, are perfectly fit to go and to fight the war in 
Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Because of what many have termed the ``Drug War Draft,'' countless 
students with minor drug convictions are turned away from the 
university financial aid office only to be funneled across the street 
to the military recruiting office. While there is absolutely nothing 
wrong with giving young people with past drug convictions an 
opportunity to redeem themselves in service to our country by joining 
the armed services, it is a moral outrage that current law blocks 
redemption through educational opportunities to these same individuals.
  When asked about the conduct waivers, the Army's Operations Chief 
Lieutenant General James Thurman stated, ``You've got to give people an 
opportunity to serve.'' Well, I thoroughly agree with the general, 
people should be able to contribute to this society in whatever way 
they best can, whether by enlisting in the military or by enrolling in 
school and obtaining the skills needed to become productive members of 
our workforce, our communities, and by extension, our Nation.

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