Higher Education Sustainability Act of 2007

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1389 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida, my friend, Mr. Diaz-Balart. All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I also ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 1389.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 1389 provides for consideration of the conference report on H.R. 4137, the Higher Education Opportunity Act. The rule, which is a traditional conference report rule, waives all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration, and provides that the conference report shall be considered as read.

It should be noted that despite the blanket waiver, the conference report does not violate either clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI. The conference report fully complies with the earmark and PAYGO rules of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Chairman Miller on his dedication to bringing this bill before us. I also want to thank Ranking Member McKeon and the rest of the Education and Labor Committee for their work on this bill. I also want to acknowledge Senator Kennedy for his hard work and constant commitment to this important issue.

It has been 10 years since the Higher Education Act was authorized, and with this conference agreement Congress will continue the vision of Lyndon Johnson's great society where college is accessible and affordable to every American.

As our Nation continues to experience economic uncertainty, it is imperative that we make a college education more affordable. The unfortunate reality is that skyrocketing costs are putting a college education out of the reach for many middle-class families.

According to a recent College Board report, over the last 5 years tuition and fees at 4-year public institutions have increased 31 percent after inflation. At private universities, tuition has increased 17 percent.

In addition to rising tuition, students and their families face a cumbersome Federal student aid application process that is overly complex and difficult to manage. Mr. Speaker, the Higher Education Opportunity Act will resolve many of these issues, thereby continuing this Congress' efforts to make college more affordable and accessible.

Nearly one year ago, the President signed into law landmark changes to lender subsidies and student aid, followed shortly after by a law to ensure access to loans and increase loan limits. And now, we are reauthorizing legislation that will, for the first time in 10 years, reform our higher education system so that it operates in the best interest of students and families.

Specifically, the bill will require colleges to report reasons for any tuition hikes, and plans for lowering student costs. H.R. 4137 will reform and simplify the student loan system by requiring institutions and lenders to adopt strict codes of conduct, many of which were included in the Sunshine Act which passed the House last year.

In an effort to be consumer friendly and provide full disclosure of all options available for each student, the bill requires the Secretary to develop a Web-based calculator to allow families to compare the costs of different colleges. And it also requires lenders to provide students with complete disclosure of the borrowing options, giving them 30 days after the approval of loans to find better deals.

Equally important, the bill provides for an increase in Pell Grant funding from $5,800 to $8,000. This will give more of our youth the opportunity to attend a university. The bill will also expand college access and support for low-income and minority students by allowing students to receive Pell Grant scholarship aid year around.

H.R. 4137 will also expand college opportunities for disabled citizens by expanding eligibility for Pell Grant scholarships and establishing a national center to provide support services.

During times of war, it is extremely important to ensure that our military families and returning veterans have the support services they deserve. This bill will increase college aid and support for veterans and military families, create a new scholarship program for active duty military personnel and their family members, and ensure fairness in student and housing aid for veterans.

The bill also encourages students who graduate from college to enter into public service in high-need areas by granting loan forgiveness. It also provides up to $2,000 a year for 5 years for nurses, teachers, mental health professionals, and other low-paying but crucial professionals. I know this loan assistance and forgiveness will help my home of State of California that is suffering from a lack of nurses, teachers, and other vital support professionals who protect and assist our children and most reliant Americans.

Simply put, this conference report will not only advance the opportunity for every American to go to college, but will also put us on track toward creating a better America.

As Lyndon Johnson said, ``We must open the doors of opportunity, but we must also equip our people to walk through those doors.'' Our Constitution creates those doors of opportunity, and today this bill will equip our constituents to walk through those doors.

I want to thank once again Chairman Miller and Ranking Member McKeon for coming together on this important legislation. I stand strongly in support of the Higher Education Opportunity Act. This is long overdue, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, my friend, Mr. Fattah.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio, a fellow member of the Rules Committee, Ms. Sutton.

Mr. Speaker, I'm privileged to yield 2 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend, the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the gentleman I have two additional speakers.

Mr. Speaker, it's my privilege to yield 2 minutes to my friend, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu).

I have no additional speakers. I will reserve.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Diaz-Balart, and I yield myself the balance of my time.

I would like to say, first, that nearly 80 percent of offshore oil is in areas that are already open for exploration. In fact, 68 million acres, onshore and offshore, are already under lease by oil companies, but not being drilled.

Democrats have said ``use it or lose it'' to the oil companies: drill the oil or give up the lease to someone who will. And Democrats have called for mandatory leasing in the National Petroleum

Reserve in Alaska, which has more oil than the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.

Oil companies have billions of barrels of American oil available to them right now, and the President's own Department of Energy says the impact of any new drilling will be insignificant, promising only pennies per gallon a decade or two down the road.

Under Democratic leadership, the Congress has enacted into law the first new vehicle fuel efficiency standards in 32 years, saving up to $1,000 in gas per car per year; a historic commitment to American-grown biofuels, which are keeping gas prices 15 percent lower now than they would otherwise be as a result of blended fuels; action to impact record gas prices by suspending oil purchasing for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; recovery rebates that help Americans struggling with rising prices, including gas, with a check of $600 or more. And what we're doing today, making college more affordable, will help American working families.

Mr. Speaker, the rule before us today is a fair rule that allows us to highlight educational challenges and offers remedies for them in order to create a better tomorrow.

It is our responsibility to provide our constituents with greater access to a college education, especially at a time when the price of college is steadily increasing.

This bill will complete a year of important changes to higher education policy. Nearly 1 year ago, the Democratic Congress took the lead on landmark changes to lender subsidies and student aid, followed by a measure to ensure access to loans and increase loan limits. And now we will send the President yet another bill that makes college more affordable and address the student loan process.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule.

The material previously referred to by Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida is as follows:

Amendment to H. Res. 1389 Offered by Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida

At the end of the resolution, add the following:

Sec. 2. Immediately upon the adoption of this resolution

the House shall, without intervention of any point of order,

consider in the House the bill (H.R. 6107) to direct the

Secretary of the Interior to establish and implement a

competitive oil and gas leasing program that will result in

an environmentally sound program for the exploration,

development, and production of the oil and gas resources of

the Coastal Plain of Alaska, and for other purposes. All

points of order against the bill are waived. The bill shall

be considered as read. The previous question shall be

considered as ordered on the bill and any amendment thereto

to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one

hour of debate on the bill equally divided and controlled by

the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Natural

Resources, and (2) an amendment in the nature of a substitute

if offered by Representative Rahall of West Virginia or his

designee, which shall be considered as read and shall be

separately debatable for 40 minutes equally divided and

controlled by the proponent and an opponent; and (3) one

motion to recommit with or without instructions.

I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

The previous question was ordered.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui) for the time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Increasing the affordability, accessibility, and reliability of our Nation's institutions of higher education is critical to our economic growth and the role of the United States in the global economy. Now more than ever we need to reassure our Nation's youth that we are willing to invest in their future. I believe that we must do all we can to make education more affordable so that more Americans can achieve the dream of graduating from college.

This year alone, over $90 billion in Federal financial aid is available to students. However, with tuition costs on the rise, students and their families continue to face really the question of how to pay for a college education.

This legislation, the Higher Education Opportunity Act, is a bipartisan effort that reauthorizes the Higher Education Act for 5 years and reforms America's higher education system, expanding college access.

Seeking to address the college cost dilemma, the conference report puts in place college affordability comparison tools that put college costs information in the hands of consumers. Students will be able to search, sort, and compare key cost indicators for every college in the country. I believe we must do everything possible to enhance our students' ability to obtain student loans and obtain the aid necessary to complete their college education.

This bill helps to do that by simplifying the financial aid application process, abbreviating the free Application for Federal Student Aid form, and making financial aid information available to students earlier in the college planning process.

I am especially pleased that the conference report will strengthen our Nation's Pell Grants programs by increasing the maximum authorized Pell Grant amount to $8,000, and by giving students access to Pell Grants year round, a measure that will undoubtedly help many students.

I think we as a nation have the responsibility to support those in every way possible who have served this country in the Armed Forces. That is why I am pleased that this legislation includes measures to specifically meet the unique needs of student soldiers.

I am also pleased that the conference report expands opportunities for minority students by providing increased funding for graduate student programs, by reauthorizing programs such as GEAR UP and TRIO. These programs serve our Nation's most under-represented groups and provide the necessary guidance, support and awareness to provide minority students the tools needed to succeed.

This conference report is a testament to the fact that Congress can work in a bipartisan manner to produce quality legislation. Since the Education Committee began working on the Higher Education Reauthorization legislation, both sides of the aisle have worked together to bridge their concerns and worked together to give students a quality education.

I think it is appropriate to thank both the chairman, Mr. Miller, and the ranking member, Mr. McKeon for their work on this important legislation.

I know that the ranking member of the Higher Education Subcommittee, Mr. Keller, has done admirable work on this legislation, and I thank him as well, in addition to the subcommittee chairman.

I also wish to note the conference report has come to the floor for final approval through the normal legislative and conference process, allowing Members from both the minority and the majority to debate and consider the issues of contention in the legislation.

Unfortunately, the majority, Mr. Speaker, in the 110th Congress, has often used a procedure known as amendments between the two Houses to avoid conference and subvert the rights of the minority. So I am pleased that, in this instance, they have decided to use the regular order, the normal conference procedure, and I would urge them to use the conference procedure as well in the future. So while it is unique, what they have done with this legislation, it is commendable.

I reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield so much time as he will consume to the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, who has done tremendous work in this legislation, Mr. Keller.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to my good friend and classmate, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Knollenberg).

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

Mr. Speaker, we continue to reserve.

Mr. Speaker, I would inquire of my friend how many additional speakers she has.

We continue to reserve.

I would ask my friend if she has any additional speakers.

It's obvious, Mr. Speaker, that this legislation appropriately enjoys extraordinary bipartisan support, and really, I'm pleased to see an example of Congress working together across the aisle for the good of the Nation, in this instance, all of those who seek a higher education, which is such an important part of the American Dream. The dream of being able to acquire a higher education and to see one's children and one's grandchildren do so, to advance that dream as this legislation does is something that's admirable; and I wish to commend all who have worked to make this legislation possible.

Mr. Speaker, we will not fail to utilize every opportunity on this House floor, before leaving for a 5-week break to be with our constituents, to provide our constituents, before we leave a debate on this floor on the issue that I certainly am being contacted most about by my constituents, and I know that many of our colleagues are as well: the unacceptable price of gasoline, the energy crisis facing American families, American workers, American businesses.

Part of the reason that we are seeing this situation and that we are seeking a debate to alleviate this crisis is that gas prices have continued to rise, one important reason being because more and more so we are dependent on foreign oil, while we avoid developing domestic energy sources. And so we think that we need to comprehensively debate this issue to alleviate the crisis. The crisis is affecting all American families and affecting countless millions of businesses.

One important source of domestic energy is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. However, efforts to develop just a tiny portion of ANWR have been fought and blocked to the detriment of America's energy independence, even though the people of that great State overwhelmingly are in favor of searching for energy there.

With the price of gasoline at $4 a gallon, we should be looking to do all we can to lower that price, and that includes domestic exploration when the people of a State wish to permit it. I think it demonstrates arrogance on our part to say we know better than the people of a State and their Representatives. In the case of Alaska, all of their Representatives in Congress are clamoring for what the overwhelming majority of the people of that great State are also clamoring for: the ability to search for additional sources of energy within their borders.

Today I will be asking each of our colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question to this rule. If the previous question is defeated, I will amend the rule to make it in order for the House to consider an amendment that would have the effect of lowering the price of gasoline and diesel by increasing the domestic supply of oil by permitting the extraction of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as the people of the great State of Alaska wish to do so and their Senators and Representatives wish to do so, in representation of the overwhelming majority of the people of that great State.

I remind the Members that defeating the previous question will not stop debate on the important underlying legislation. It enjoys bipartisan support. We wish, in addition to bringing forward an important piece of legislation like we are today, to offer the American people a debate on the issue that is on the minds of the overwhelming majority of American people, certainly of my constituents, the simply unacceptable price of gasoline.

We have to do everything we can to deal with the issue. And I think it's unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, that we're not and that we're not being allowed to.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment and extraneous materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Again, by voting no on the previous question, Members can take a stand, can show that they want to do everything possible on this issue. Once again, I reiterate that this will not preclude taking action on the important piece of education legislation that we possibly, even unanimously, in this House, certainly in consensus fashion, support.

I ask for a ``no'' vote on the previous question.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentlelady from California for her leadership. I thank the Education Committee and our leadership.

As many States in this great Nation, Texas is a college State; in my community in particular, the University of Houston, Texas Southern University, Houston Baptist, Saint Thomas, Houston Community College, and I'm sure many, many others. This is a relief. This is a hallelujah day to be able to help our young people reach their greatest promise.

This is an important initiative. It encourages colleges to reign in price increases and provides consumers with helpful information. Now, because of desperate times, many, many State legislatures are giving our colleges the ability to raise tuition. It is going up and up and up. Now there will have to be an accountability. You will have to explain what are you doing to mitigate the cost. We want our children educated. We don't want them broke.

This restores integrity and accountability to the student loan program. You'll have an option, you'll have information, your parents will have information. You will be able to work together so that you can invest in your education and still be able to survive once you graduate.

It simplifies the Federal Student Aid application access. It expands college access and support for low-income and minority students. It allows you to have your loans forgiven if you are police officers, teachers, scientists, and others that are helping this community. It strengthens our workforce and our competitiveness. It helps our veterans and military families. It is a day that recognizes that America is made great by those who educate and those who, with their own genius, will provide for the next intelligence, the next leadership of the 21st century.

All over the world they want to copy and emulate how we educate. They want to come to the United States because of the principles of freedom. This higher education bill will allow us to pursue that freedom in the right way, and it assures equal college opportunities for students with disabilities. I applaud that. I celebrate that. I encourage that opportunity for those students whose minds are agile and who are ready to go to work, and it encourages colleges, the most important place, to adopt sustainable and energy-efficient practices. This is a valuable step in educating our community.

I do want to close by simply saying we have to be on the front lines of education, primary and secondary education. This is the bill that does it. I ask my colleagues to support the Higher Education Opportunity Act.

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4137, To amend and extend the Higher Education Act of 1965, introduced by my distinguished colleague from California, Representative George Miller. This significant piece of legislation provides greater access to colleges and universities, making higher education affordable for all Americans, not just the wealthy.

A quality education continues to be the best pathway to social and economic mobility in this country. As a member and senior whip of the Congressional Black Caucus, I have consistently advocated for the maintenance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This legislation will increase funding to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as well as Hispanic and other minority-serving institutions, and it will expand college access and support for low- income and minority students.

This legislation contains provisions allowing students to receive Pell Grant scholarships year-round, and it increases the Pell Grant maximum to $8,000. In addition, it strengthens college readiness programs, namely the TRIO and GEAR UP college readiness and support programs for low-income and first-generation students. These increases will expand college access for low-income and minority students. The amendment offered by my colleagues Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson and Representative Don Young expands upon current Pell Grant eligibility, allowing children who lost a mother or father to our wars in Iraq or Afghanistan to be eligible for the maximum amount of Pell Grant assistance. In this age of global war on terror, it is imperative that we ensure that those left behind by those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our great Nation are given the greatest opportunity our country can provide. As such, I encourage all my colleagues to join me in supporting this important amendment.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation contains important provisions opening up even wider opportunities for our veterans by increasing college aid and housing aid for not only veterans, but their families. This legislation creates a new scholarship program for active duty military personnel and family members, including children and spouses of active duty military service members or veterans. It establishes support centers to help veterans succeed in college and graduate. Finally, it ensures fairness in student aid and housing aid for veterans, making it easier for them to attend college while also fulfilling their military service duties.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to express my strong support for an amendment introduced by my distinguished colleague Congressman Danny Davis restoring safeguards to student loan borrowers. Mr. Speaker, students who take out loans borrow money as part of their pursuit to better themselves and contribute to the advancement of our Nation and economy. However, current bankruptcy laws apply the same severe standards to student borrowers that it applies to those trying to escape child support payments, alimony, overdue taxes, and criminal fines. Under Mr. Davis's amendment, Government student loans and loans made by nonprofit entities would remain non-dischargeable; other student loans, made by for-profit banks and other lenders, would continue to be non-dischargeable for the first 5 years after they come due, and after that time they would be treated like other unsecured consumer loans in bankruptcy. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and to work to restore bankruptcy protection to private student loans.

Understanding the federal application for Federal Student Aid can be challenging and complex even for the most knowledgeable parent. The College Opportunity and Affordability Act would streamline and simplify the application process, giving families the tools they need to properly plan for their college expenses. This legislation will reform our higher education system, ensuring students and their families have the information they need to understand their borrowing options when applying for Federal and private loans.

Mr. Speaker, as an active member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I am extremely supportive of the provisions in this legislation that boost campus safety and disaster readiness plans. Last year's tragedy at Virginia Tech has illustrated the horror to which students might be exposed, and natural disasters in recent years have underlined the necessity of having campus disaster plans.

This legislation helps all colleges develop and implement state-of- the-art emergency systems and campus safety plans, and it requires the Department of Education to develop and maintain a disaster plan in preparation for emergencies. In addition, this legislation creates a National Center for Campus Safety at the Department of Justice to work in collaboration with the COPS program. Finally, it establishes a disaster relief loan program, to help schools recover and rebuild in the event of a disaster.

This important piece of legislation gives our youth, our veterans, and our families the opportunity to not only dream of attending college but actually realize that dream. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4137 and the conference report.

Mr. Speaker, it is not so much the next election that will determine our Nation's future. It is the next generation. And this bill focuses on the needs of growing leadership in our country through providing a higher education to our citizens.

I want to commend Chairman Miller and the chairman on the Senate side, Senator Kennedy, and on the Republican side, my good friend, Buck McKeon and Mark Souder, and the ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Mr. Keller. They have done a magnificent job putting together a bill that addresses a whole range of issues that are supported in the higher education and broader business community in our country. It represents the real needs of moving our kids on to college.

I think cutting the FAFSA form from seven pages down to two, increasing the Pell Grant from $4,800 this year to $6,000 in 2009, up to $8,000 in 2014, in terms of authorization, are very important parts of this reauthorization.

But in 1998, when the reauthorization of Higher Ed was signed into law by President Clinton, we established the GEAR UP program. Now, I am credited with being the architect of that program, but the truth is all of us worked together. It was a bipartisan effort, and the House and Senate, Senator Specter and Senator Kennedy, all of us working together.

Now some 2 million young people have been served over the last 10 years. 85 percent of them have graduated from high school, from the toughest schools in our country, and in the most difficult circumstances.

Featured on the front page of Philadelphia's newspaper is a young man, Nicholas Shanks, who, unfortunately, spent years in a homeless shelter, but has graduated at the head of his class, 3.9 average. He is a GEAR UP student, and there are millions of them across country who have done so well.

This is the most successful college awareness program in the country's history. It is reauthorized in this legislation. It is expanded. The appropriation or the authorizing level is doubled.

And I just want to thank the members of the conference committee for its support of GEAR UP. It has proven its worth in some 48 States and in all of our territories, in Guam and Puerto Rico, in terms of developing young people who are economically disadvantaged but academically have every ability to succeed. And we see that in the college-going rates, which exceed the national average for all students and exceed the high school graduation rates for all students.

So it is a great program, even if I am the author of it, and I want to thank the conferees for including it, expanding it, and having it reach more and more young people in important ways through reauthorization.

[From the philly.com, July 26, 2008]

Formerly Homeless Teen Role Model

(By Ashwin Verghese)

Standing in a room full of homeless teenagers yesterday,

Nicholas Shanks was hopeful that he could be a role model.

``I really do hope I can help them some way, by setting an

example,'' said Shanks, a friendly, soft-spoken 18-year-old

who overcame homelessness in his high school years to become

his class valedictorian.

Shanks, who graduated from Martin Luther King High School

this year with a 3.91 GPA, was at work yesterday as a

counselor at the Traveler's Aid Society's summer program, a

camp for teens who have experienced homelessness. ``It sounds

like some of them really do appreciate what I've done,''

Shanks said of the 45 children in the program at the

Kirkbride Center at 49th and Arch Streets in West

Philadelphia.

What he has done has brought him national and local media

attention in recent days. Just yesterday he was featured in a

segment on Good Morning America.

Two days ago, Shanks got the best news of all: Foundation

Inc., the nonprofit that manages King High, offered to

bankroll his college tuition.

``It was a relief,'' he said of the money. ``I really never

expected to see that happen so fast.''

For his mother, Sherri Newton, the news was the answer to

her prayers.

``I've been praying for this for the longest time,'' she

said recalling how she dropped to her knees in thanks when

Nicholas told her. ``God is so good,'' she added. ``Thank

everybody that's going to be helping Nicholas.''

Shanks plans to matriculate this fall at the Art Institute

of Philadelphia, where he wants to major in animation and

media arts. He hopes to become a video game designer.

Art was an escape for Shanks years ago when he was living

in a crowded homeless shelter. He was 14 when his family

could no longer afford the rent on its Northeast Philadelphia

apartment. The family was forced to take refuge at the Mount

Airy Stenton Family Manor in Germantown, said Newton.

For two years, Shanks, Newton and Newton's mother shared a

cramped gymnasium with about 30 other families, Newton said.

Drawing--``creating worlds,'' as Shanks put it--allowed him

to escape the tiny confines.

``When I was in the shelter, it was boring a lot of

times,'' Shanks said. ``I had a CD player, paper and a

pencil, and that got me through most of the months.''

Shanks and Newton now live in transitional housing in

Kensington. But the family still faces problems. The lease is

up in October, and the family does not have a new place lined

up yet.

Newton, who battled drug addiction and unemployment for

years, said she has been clean for 17 months. She was

recently laid off as a teaching assistant and is looking for

employment.

``It's scary,'' Newton said. ``I just want to know where

we're going to move.''

Her son is relying on the optimism that saw him through

tough times before.

Shanks said he does not often think about his days in the

shelter unless he is around people with a similar history.

``I would not necessarily say I'm reliving my past,'' he

said, ``but if I ran into a situation where I hear something

about a similar past, I might be like, `Yeah, I know how

that's like.' ''

Steven Golden, another teen in the summer program, has a

very similar past. He's known Shanks for three years. The two

are the same age, but, because of academic troubles, Golden

is a year behind in school.

Seeing Shanks has motivated Golden to commit to his

studies.

``He's showed me I need to do this to succeed,'' said

Golden, a senior at Fitzsimons High School in North

Philadelphia. ``Seeing where he's at now, from where we both

were, he has inspired me.''

Mel Monk, director of the summer program, said that once

teens become homeless, ``education is the first thing that

takes a

nosedive.'' The teens deal with embarrassment, he said.

Sometimes losing their home means they have to travel across

the city to get to school.

Shanks was able to persevere, Monk said, because of his

internal drive and the support of the people around him,

including his mother and teachers.

``They've got to have a person in their life telling them

they can do it,'' he added.

Monk hopes Shanks can show the younger children that they

can get into college, too.

``Nicholas is a model example,'' he said. ``He's been

through a lot, but he's maintained.''

Spasoje Jovanovic, 17, a former camper and now the

administrative assistant at the program, which is teaching

the teens about marine biology, said Shanks is an inspiration

to the others.

``He's proof that it's possible,'' said Jovanovic, who is

enrolled at the Community College of Philadelphia for the

fall.

Shanice Johnson, 15, has lived in four different homes with

her family this year alone. She expects to be in yet another

in a few months, she said.

Nonetheless, Johnson has been able to keep a 3.6 GPA. She

said Shanks' story gives her courage to keep working hard at

school through all of the tumult at home.

``He was in transitional housing, I was in transitional

housing,'' said Johnson, who wants to become a surgeon.

``He's someone I look up to.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the conference report on the Higher Education Opportunity Act. As a conferee on this bill, I am very pleased that we have a final bill before us. I want to thank Chairman Miller and Ranking Member McKeon for all their hard work on this bill, and I especially thank them for including provisions that are very important to people in Michigan.

Higher education is vitally important for students entering the workforce and for the global competitiveness of this country. This bill will ensure students have better access to higher education, and that they have received a high quality educational experience when they receive their degree. Now that a college degree is the bare minimum requirement for so many jobs, the need for better access is stronger than ever.

Let me comment on some specific provisions in the bill.

In 2007, Representative Blumenauer and I joined together to introduce the Higher Education Sustainability Act (H.R. 3637). I commend Representative Blumenauer for his leadership in ``greening'' colleges and universities, and I am grateful that he allowed me to partner with him on an issue that is so dear to my heart. I am very pleased that provisions of our bill have been included in the conference report, especially now when energy prices and shortages are on everyone's mind.

Simply put, sustainability is meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. As population growth, urban development and growing energy use place stress on our ecosystem, it is imperative that we develop innovative and successful sustainable operations and programs.

Colleges and universities are in a unique position to foster new knowledge, evaluate policies and discover new technologies to address sustainability. Sustainable operations and programs on university campuses include water and energy conservation, recycling, and academic programs such as engineering courses that encourage innovative product designs, e.g., alternative fuels for cars, other new energy sources, and new types of packaging that use fewer natural materials.

The conference report contains two key sustainability provisions. First, it convenes a Summit on Sustainability with higher education experts working in the area of sustainable operations and programs. The Federal Government and university and business leaders are encouraged to identify best practices in sustainability by promoting current efforts, enhancing research and identifying opportunities for partnerships to expand sustainable operations and academic programs. Also, it authorizes the Sustainability Grant Program. The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is authorized to award grants to colleges and universities to establish sustainability research programs, such as developing new alternative energy sources. It also allows schools to implement sustainability practices on campus.

The conference report also contains an important study of distance education. It requires the Secretary of Education to contract with the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a scientifically valid study of the quality of distance education, as compared to traditional, campus-based education. With so many students using distance education and a huge Federal investment in helping students attend college, it is critical that we effectively evaluate new modes of instruction to ensure that our students are receiving a topnotch education.

Finally, the conference report contains an array of provisions related to science, technology, engineering and math, collectively ``STEM'', education. Notably, it includes the National STEM Database to allow students with an interest in the STEM fields to more easily find financial aid. Also, it authorizes important loan forgiveness for college graduates pursuing careers in the STEM fields, and it authorizes the Mathematics and Science Scholars Program to award scholarships to students pursuing STEM majors. Now, more than ever, we must increase the size of our STEM workforce to maintain our competitiveness and national security.

In closing, I support this conference report since it helps students and makes many overdue improvements to the Higher Education Act. I urge all Members to vote in support of it.