[Senate Report 110-272]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 592
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-272

======================================================================



 
             SENATOR PAUL SIMON STUDY ABROAD FOUNDATION ACT

                                _______
                                

                 March 4, 2008.--Ordered to be printed

          Mr. Biden, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,
                        submitted the following

                                 REPORT

                        [To accompany H.R. 1469]

    The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1469) to establish the Senator Paul Simon Study 
Abroad Foundation under the authorities of the Mutual 
Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, having 
considered the same, reports favorably, with amendments, and 
recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page

  I. Purpose..........................................................1
 II. Committee Action.................................................1
III. Discussion.......................................................2
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................2
  V. Cost Estimate....................................................4
 VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................5
VII. Changes in Existing Law..........................................5

                               I. PURPOSE

    The purpose of the bill is to establish a new governmental 
foundation to promote and expand study abroad by U.S. 
university students.

                          II. COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1469 was introduced on March 12, 2007, by the Chairman 
and Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
(Representatives Lantos and Ros-Lehtinen). It was approved by 
the House of Representatives on June 5, 2007, by a voice vote. 
A companion measure, S. 991, was introduced by Senators Durbin 
and Coleman on March 27, 2007. It currently has 42 cosponsors, 
including a majority of the members of the Committee on Foreign 
Relations.
    On February 13, 2008, the Committee on Foreign Relations 
ordered H.R. 1469 reported favorably by voice vote, after 
approving several amendments.

                            III. DISCUSSION

    In the FY 2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-
199), Congress created the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln 
Study Abroad Program (Division H, Sec. 104). The purpose of the 
Commission was to ``recommend a program to greatly expand the 
opportunity for students at institutions of higher education in 
the United States to study abroad, with a special emphasis on 
studying in developing nations.''
    The Commission, which was chaired by M. Peter McPherson 
(former President of Michigan State University, and a former 
Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International 
Development), issued its report in November 2005. In it, the 
Commission proposed that the United States send 1 million 
students abroad to study annually within a decade. To achieve 
this objective, it proposed a program of grants to students and 
to institutions of higher education, with initial funding of 
the Federal program of assistance set at $50 million in the 
first year, rising to $125 million in the fifth year of the 
program.
    The United States is nearly 25 percent of the way toward 
reaching this objective. In the academic year 2005-06, nearly 
225,000 U.S. students studied abroad, an increase of 8.5 
percent from the previous year, according to the report ``Open 
Doors 2007,'' an annual survey issued by the Institute for 
International Education (IIE). The IIE survey also indicates 
that study abroad has increased 150 percent in the last decade, 
from fewer than 90,000 in 1995-96.
    Study abroad by American university students is an 
important means of broadening the horizons of citizens who will 
lead the United States in decades to come. In an age of 
globalization, and in order to remain the world's leading 
economic, military, and political power, the United States 
needs a workforce--for government, business, and other 
sectors--educated and experienced in foreign languages and 
cultures. Study abroad is a cost-effective means of helping to 
provide this ``global literacy.''

                    IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    The short title is the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad 
Foundation Act of 2007.

Section 2. Findings

    This section contains 15 findings that, among other things, 
summarize the recommendations of the Lincoln Commission and set 
forth the reasons why the United States should promote study 
abroad.

Section 3. Purposes

    This section contains four purposes of the bill.

Section 4. Definitions

    This section contains definitions of terms used in the 
bill.

Section 5. Establishment and management of the Senator Paul Simon Study 
        Abroad Foundation

    This section establishes in the executive branch a 
government corporation named for former Senator Paul Simon, who 
promoted the idea of government support for study abroad before 
his death in 2003. The section sets forth a mandate that the 
Foundation is to promote study abroad opportunities at diverse 
institutions of higher education, including 2-year 
institutions, minority-serving institutions, and institutions 
that serve nontraditional students.
    The Foundation will be managed by a Chief Executive Officer 
who will report to a Board of Directors. The Board will be 
chaired by the Secretary of State, and will also consist of the 
Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Defense, the 
Administrator the U.S. Agency for International Development, 
and five individuals appointed from the private sector who have 
relevant experience.

Section 6. Establishment and operation of program

    This section establishes a grant program to (1) U.S. 
students; (2) nongovernmental organizations that provide and 
promote study abroad; and (3) institutions of higher education. 
One reason for grants to universities and colleges is to 
promote reform of curricula, and other reforms, that may pose a 
barrier to study abroad. The committee wishes to emphasize that 
the large majority of funds should be used for scholarships. 
The committee amended the bill approved by the House to express 
the recommendation--also consistent with the recommendation of 
the Lincoln Commission--that the Foundation should ensure that 
not less than 85 percent of the amount awarded to institutions 
of higher learning be used to award scholarships to students.

Section 7. Annual report

    This section requires an annual report by the Foundation to 
Congress.

Section 8. Power of the Foundation; related provisions

    This section provides legal authorities necessary for the 
operation of the Foundation.

Section 9. General personnel authorities

    This section contains personnel authorities necessary for 
the operation of the Foundation.

Section 10. GAO Review

    This section, which the committee added to the House-passed 
bill, requires a review of the Foundation's operations by the 
Comptroller General not later than 2 years after enactment of 
the act. The purpose of this provision is to provide a thorough 
examination of the Foundation after an initial period to 
determine that it is operating efficiently, and in a manner 
consistent with the purposes of the act.

Section 11. Authorization of appropriations

    This section authorizes $80 million in fiscal year 2008, 
and each subsequent fiscal year.

                            V. COST ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 11(a) of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, the following cost estimate has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, March 4, 2008.
Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1469, the Senator 
Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sunita 
D'Monte.
            Sincerely,
                                         Robert A. Sunshine
                                   (For Peter R. Orszag, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1469--Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007

    H.R. 1469 would authorize the establishment of the Senator 
Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation to encourage U.S. students 
to study overseas, particularly in nontraditional destinations 
such as China, the Middle East, and developing countries. Over 
200,000 American students currently study overseas every year, 
and one of the foundation's objectives would be to increase 
this number to at least 1 million within 10 years. The 
foundation would be directed to make grants to students, 
nongovernmental organizations, and educational institutions, 
and to report annually to the Congress.
    The act would authorize the appropriation of $80 million a 
year for the foundation and allow it to solicit funds and 
accept gifts and donations. Based on historical spending 
patterns for similar educational exchange programs and assuming 
enactment around the middle of fiscal year 2008, CBO estimates 
that implementing this legislation would cost $20 million in 
2008 and $405 million over the 2009-2013 period, subject to the 
appropriation of the authorized amounts. Any gifts and 
donations to the foundation would increase governmental 
receipts and the spending of these receipts would increase 
direct spending. CBO estimates that initially the foundation 
would receive and spend gifts and donations of less than 
$500,000 a year, but that those amounts could be significant in 
later years. Thus, the act would increase both direct spending 
and receipts, but CBO estimates that the net result would 
likely be negligible in each year.
    H.R. 1469 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 
Some public colleges and universities would benefit from grants 
to encourage students to study abroad. Any costs to those 
schools would be incurred voluntarily as a condition of 
receiving Federal assistance.
    On April 12, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
1469 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign 
Affairs on March 27, 2007. The two versions of the legislation 
are similar, but CBO estimates that H.R. 1469 as ordered 
reported by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations would 
have lower costs in 2008 and higher costs in 2009 and 2010, as 
a result of a later assumed enactment date.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Sunita D'Monte. 
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                  VI. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 11(b) of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, the committee has determined that there is 
no regulatory impact as a result of this legislation.

                      VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 12 of the Standing Rules 
of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill, as 
reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be 
omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in 
italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 
roman).

                           31 U.S.C. 9101(C)


                      TITLE 31. MONEY AND FINANCE

                       SUBTITLE VI. MISCELLANEOUS

                   CHAPTER 91. GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONS

9101. DEFINITIONS.

    In this chapter--
    (1) ``Government corporation'' means a mixed-ownership 
Government corporation and a wholly owned Government 
corporation.
    (2) ``mixed-ownership Government corporation'' means--
          (A) the Central Bank for Cooperatives.
          (B) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
          (C) the Federal Home Loan Banks.
          (D) the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks.
          (E) the Federal Land Banks.
          (F) the National Credit Union Administration Central 
        Liquidity Facility.
          (G) the Regional Banks for Cooperatives.
          (H) the Rural Telephone Bank when the ownership, 
        control, and operation of the Bank are converted under 
        section 410(a) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 
        (7 U.S.C. 950(a) ).
          (I) the Financing Corporation.
          (J) the Resolution Trust Corporation.
          (K) the Resolution Funding Corporation.
    (3) ``wholly owned Government corporation'' means--
          (A) the Commodity Credit Corporation.
          (B) the Community Development Financial Institutions 
        Fund.
          (C) the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
          (D) the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.
          (E) Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated.
          (F) the Corporation for National and Community 
        Service.
          (G) the Government National Mortgage Association.
          (H) the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
          (I) the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation.
          (J) the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
          (K) the Rural Telephone Bank until the ownership, 
        control, and operation of the Bank are converted under 
        section 410(a) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 
        (7 U.S.C. 950(a)).
          (L) the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development 
        Corporation.
          (M) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
        when carrying out duties and powers related to the 
        Federal Housing Administration Fund.
          (N) the Tennessee Valley Authority.
          [(O) Repealed. Pub. L. 104-134, Title III, 
        Sec. 3117(a), Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321-350]
          (P) the Panama Canal Commission.
          (Q) the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
          [(R) the International Clean Energy Foundation.]
          (R) the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation.

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