First Higher Education Extension Act of 2007

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2559, which is a measure to extend programs under the Higher Education Act that are set to expire at the end of this month.

I want to thank my committee colleagues, Chairman Miller, Chairman Hinojosa, Mr. McKeon and Mr. Keller for their work on this bill, as well as their consistent efforts on behalf of our Nation's college students and their families.

Bolstering our higher education and student aid programs has long been a priority for Congress, regardless of which party was in the majority. In the last Congress, for example, under Republican leadership, we passed a measure that reduced lender subsidies, increased loan limits for students, and provided additional resources for students studying math, science and critical foreign languages in college.

Unfortunately, the Senate didn't act on the higher education reauthorization in the last Congress, so we were forced to extend programs under the law last September. In that extension, we included a number of important benefits for college students and institutions of higher education as well. For example, we reduced red tape and provided loan forgiveness to spouses and parents of those who died or became disabled on September 11.

Mr. Speaker, just last month, the House continued our work to strengthen the student aid system by passing the Student Loan Sunshine Act, bipartisan legislation that will restore confidence in the relationships between student lenders and colleges and universities.

Now, as we prepare anew to reauthorize programs under the Higher Education Act, we are again faced with the need to pass an extension of these programs to bridge this gap. Now, make no mistake, the measure before us today is worthy of our support, but, at the same time, I am hopeful that our friends on the other side of the Capitol will renew their commitment to a full reauthorization. These extensions, now five of which we've had in the last Congress alone, ought to become a thing of the past.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and on both sides of the Capitol in completing our reauthorization work in the 110th Congress. Just as importantly, I also look forward to working toward reforms that recognize the contributions of market-based programs that have been made on behalf of millions of students for the last several decades. In the meantime, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield to my good friend and fellow physician, a gentleman from Louisiana who has been a strong proponent of higher education in his work on the committee. I yield the gentleman 3 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman once again for moving this issue forward. Again, I look forward to working with him as we move forward with the Higher Education Reauthorization Act. I am confident that we will be able to get it done in this Congress.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2559) to temporarily extend the programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for 5 legislative days during which Members may insert material relevant to H.R. 2559 into the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. HINOJOSA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong report of H.R. 2559, a bill to extend the Higher Education Act through October 31, 2007.

This bill is very straightforward. It simply extends the current programs authorized under the Higher Education Act until October 31, 2007, giving us the time to fully consider and complete the reauthorization act.

I would like to thank Congressman McKeon, the ranking member of the full committee, and Congressman Ric Keller, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness, for joining Chairman George Miller and me in bringing this noncontroversial extension to the floor in a bipartisan manner.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to express my strong commitment, as chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee, that I will work very closely with Congressman Price from Georgia and all of the members of our committee to be able to finish the work necessary to reauthorize the Higher Education Act sometime before the end of this year, hopefully in October.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank Congressman Price for those closing remarks. And with that, Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to pass H.R. 2559.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I took a leave of absence on June 6, 2007, as I was in my district on personal business. The following list describes how I would have voted had I been in attendance today.

Suspension bills: ``Yea,'' H.R. 1051, National STEM Scholarship Database Act; ``Yea,'' H.R. 2559, Higher Education Act Extension Act of 2007; ``Yea,'' H. Res. 421, honoring the trailblazing accomplishments of the ``Mercury 13'' women, whose efforts in the early 1960s demonstrated the capabilities of American women to undertake the human exploration of space; ``Yea,'' H. Res. 446, honoring the life and accomplishments of Astronaut Walter Marty Schirra and expressing condolences on his passing; ``Yea,'' H.R. 1467, 10,000 Trained by 2010 Act; ``Yea,'' H.R. 1716, Green Energy Education Act of 2007; ``Yea,'' H.R. 632, H-Prize Act of 2007; ``Yea,'' H.R. 964, Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act; ``Yea,'' H.R. 2560, Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2007.

``Yea,'' H. Res. 453, rule providing consideration of H.R. 2446-- Afghanistan Freedom and Security Act of 2007.

Amendments to H.R. 2446: ``Yea,'' Lantos; ``Yea,'' Ackerman; ``Yea,'' Costa; ``Yea,'' Franks; ``Yea,'' Jackson-Lee: technical assistance; ``Yea,'' Jackson-Lee: women legislators; ``Yea,'' Kirk; ``Yea,'' Kucinich; ``Yea,'' Terry; ``Yea,'' Van Hollen.

``Yea,'' H.R. 2446, Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007 (final passage).

I thank my colleague.

Mr. Speaker, it is high time that we actually get the work done on this. We really need to get this done permanently, but I rise in support of this extension so that we can continue to move the ball forward. It is my hope that the other body across the Capitol will move this time around. I know we are going to do it here in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House has agreed to include a provision I offered with subcommittee Chairman Rob Andrews that would limit projected physician shortages. This was an amendment to the bill that we had in the 109th Congress, and it is my understanding that it will be included in the base bill, and I am very pleased.

I hope, also, that Congress will add a provision that I introduced with Congresswoman McCarthy to meet the future need of qualified nurses, which is an area where we have critical shortages throughout the country. And so it is my hope that as we go forward with this bill on the House side we can introduce this language into the bill or perhaps amend the bill, if necessary.

Once again, I think it is critical that we get the job done on this. We did our work in the 109th Congress. The other body needs to move forward. We need to complete our work here so we can get a good, solid reauthorization bill that will do justice to our higher education system.