To make permanent the waiver authority of the Secretary of Education with respect to student financial assistance during a war or other military operation or national emergency.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3625) to make permanent the waiver authority of the Secretary of Education with respect to student financial assistance during a war or other military operation or national emergency.

Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may insert material relevant to H.R. 3625 into the Record.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3625, an act to permanently extend waiver authority to the Secretary of Education with respect to enrollment in post-secondary institutions and student financial assistance during a period of combat or national emergency.

This legislation recognizes the unique and unexpected situations that military personnel face when called to active duty to serve our country, as well as situations that many face in times of a national emergency, even here at home.

The intent of this legislation is simple: to provide the Secretary of Education with the permanent authority to ensure that active duty military personnel are not financially harmed by the service that they perform.

The Secretary is thereby granted the authority to take necessary actions which include, first, protecting borrowers from further financial difficulty when they are called to serve. This will ensure that when a student withdraws from college because of his or her status as an individual called up for service, Guard, Reserve or active, or, if they are affected by a disaster, that the requirement that grant overpayments be repaid would be waived, and collection activities on a defaulted education loan may be halted for the time period during which a borrower is serving.

Second, minimizing administrative requirements without impacting the integrity of the Federal Student Aid program. So, for instance, certain requests that previously required written documentation may now be made orally by an affected individual or member of the borrower's family when that member may actually be, while applying for school, actually in conflict overseas.

Third, adjusting the calculation used to determine students' eligibility for aid for those whose financial circumstances change because the student or his or her parents are called to serve, such as when a parent was about to give a large contribution to the son's education, is suddenly called up in the National Guard, and is unable to make that commitment.

This bill, therefore, encourages financial aid administrators to choose to use professional judgment as the proper method of determining financial need that is most beneficial to an affected individual and to his or her family; for instance, taking into account the most favorable tax period for the student's or the parents' recording period in order to be assessed on that year's tax recording period, a grant or aid.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague Mr. Kline for his leadership on this legislation in past Congresses and for the flexibility that our men and women in the service have received because of you. These provisions have been critical to our men and women serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. In addition, these provisions will provide critical relief to those who answer the call to serve in the future, including responding to national emergencies and natural disasters.

I am also pleased with the additional relief provided to men and women in uniform in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which is currently waiting for the President's signature. That piece of legislation included necessary provisions that recognize military service by allowing those called to service to serve on active duty, including National Guard and Reservists, to defer payments on their student loans not only while serving but for a period of time after leaving active duty.

Because of unforeseen national emergencies, such as Hurricane Katrina, as well as our continued military engagement overseas, it is important that we pass the legislation before us and allow the Secretary of Education to continue providing this needed relief. Without prompt passage of H.R. 3625, the Secretary's authority to provide this flexibility will expire at the end of this week. It is critical not only for those currently receiving relief from unnecessary financial burden while sacrificing for our country, but also for those who will serve our country in the future, that these provisions be made permanent.

I urge my colleagues to pass the resolution.

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

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

As the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) has said, I am privileged to stand up here as a former Navy officer with someone who has served so well in the U.S. Marine Corps. Someone has said that the Navy without the Marine Corps is like a coat without buttons. So it is a great bipartisan effort here on what I think is an instrumental bill.

As Mr. Kline knows, and why he has worked on this so assiduously over the years, when you lead men and women in combat, what you most want them to have is their head in the game. You don't want them looking back at some problems at home, at debt at home that is hurting their families, nor do you want them looking ahead into some type of future that they want to have. Their safety and the safety of their brethren, the men and women standing on either side of them, depends upon them having their head in the game. That is why this bill is so very important.

It is extremely important now in Iraq and Afghanistan. I compare the men and women out there and having their head in the game compared to those great patriots of the world's greatest generation, World War II. Back in World War II, the average soldier was in combat 182 days. There were horrific battles from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima to the Battle of the Bulge, but there was dwell time in between those great battles. Our soldiers, our marines over there in Iraq and Afghanistan go outside the wire every day for 15 months. There is unremitting strain upon them. In order to have a measure of relieving that, I am proud to stand beside you, sir, on this bill.

I urge my colleagues to do what is important, recognize the bipartisan approach of this and recognize that this is the way to take care of our troops.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of permanently extending the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003, or HEROES. This extension will ensure that all of our men and women serving in the military will always receive the flexibility they need in dealing with their student loans and post-secondary education commitments.

Mr. Speaker, I have championed this act since coming to Congress, and support for this legislation has always transcended party lines. I appreciate that Members on both sides of the aisle have joined together once again this year. I would like to thank senior Republican Member McKeon and Chairmen Miller and Hinojosa for their continued support for higher education and this legislation. And I extend my

personal thanks to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sestak) with his many years of distinguished naval service for joining me in this effort to protect the higher education interest of members of the Armed Forces.

The HEROES Act will ensure support for military personnel by continuing to allow the U.S. Secretary of Education to provide the appropriate assistance and flexibility to men and women in uniform as they transfer in and out of post-secondary education during time of war. I must say, this has worked very well and successfully, giving the Secretary the flexibility, but we in Congress need to provide that flexibility.

Throughout our involvement in this war on terrorism, many thousands of men and women who serve our Nation in the Reserves or National Guard have been called to active duty. Many of these men and women are also college and university students who are called away from their families, class work and studies to defend the Nation. Unfortunately, due to a number of restrictions in the Higher Education Act, these individuals are at risk of losing financial assistance and educational credit as a result of their service. Such a scenario is clearly not acceptable.

The HEROES Act provides assurance to our men and women in uniform that they will not face education-related financial or administrative difficulties while they defend our Nation.

This bill is specific in its intent to insure that, as a result of a war or military contingency operation or national emergency, our men and women in uniform are protected. By granting flexibility to the Secretary of Education, the HEROES Act will protect recipients of student financial assistance from further financial difficulty generated when they are called to serve, minimize administrative requirements without affecting the integrity of the programs, adjust the calculation used to determine financial need to accurately reflect the financial condition of the individual and his or her family, and provide the Secretary with the authority to address issues not yet foreseen.

I think all of us recognize the absurdity of a young man or woman being deployed to a foreign shore, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, while they are a student and getting in financial difficulties because of that service.

I am pleased to offer this legislation which provides a permanent extension of the HEROES Act. By permanently extending this act, we not only send a strong message of support to our troops, but we also provide them with the peace of mind that this program will continue throughout the duration of their current or any subsequent deployment.

The legislation before us today is an indication of Congress's commitment to our military, our students, our families and our schools. I urge my colleagues to stand in strong support of the HEROES Act and join me in voting ``yes'' on H.R. 3625.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the ranking Republican member on the House Education and Labor Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon).

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

I thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sestak), for stepping into the breach here and providing the leadership he has provided on this important legislation, and urge all of my colleagues to get behind this legislation and let's vote ``yes'' and permanently extend this flexibility.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I rise in strong support of this bill to support our brave student soldiers.

The men and women of the Armed Forces give selflessly to defend our freedom overseas and respond to emergencies here at home. Some of them are also students pursuing the dream of a college education, just like millions of other Americans. These military personnel volunteer to put their educational pursuits on hold so they can serve the Nation. We owe them a debt of gratitude, and the least we can do is make their transition to and from education as seamless as possible.

I would like to recognize the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline) for his long-standing commitment to the legislation before us. He had an outstanding career with the U.S. Marine Corps before coming to Congress, and I want to thank him also for his service there. He has championed passage of this bill on a temporary basis since 2003, and he is here today supporting a permanent extension of this measure to ensure members of the military will always be afforded the flexibility and support they need.

This bill has always received support from our friends on the other side of the aisle, and I am pleased to have key members of the Education and Labor Committee joining us in introducing legislation to extend the flexibility and waiver authority in this bill. I want to thank Chairmen Miller and Hinojosa, along with Mr. Sestak, who also had a very distinguished career in the Navy, and it is good to see Navy and Marines still working together, for introducing legislation that as we propose makes this legislation permanent.

The men and women of our Armed Forces have made considerable sacrifices for our Nation, and for that we are grateful. As members of the Education Committee, we also recognize the importance of a higher education system that is accessible. What this bill does is allow the Secretary of Education to accommodate the unique needs of our student soldiers so that higher education remains flexible and accessible while they serve our country.

Once again, I would like to thank Representative Kline for his leadership and recognize our friends on the other side of the aisle for their continued support of this legislation. I strongly support the permanent extension of the HEROES Act to support the many heroes protecting our freedom, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 3625, which was received from the House and is at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third time, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.