A bill to temporarily extend the programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965.

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

I rise in support of S. 3035, a 1-month extension of the Higher Education Act. I would like to begin by extending my thoughts and prayers to Senator Kennedy and his family in this difficult time. We are all saddened to learn of the diagnosis of his malignant brain tumor and we are hoping and praying for a speedy and full recovery.

I was just with Senator Kennedy a few days ago in the Oval Office with President Bush, as the President signed into law the Ensuring Continuing Access to Student Loans Act on May 7. Senator Kennedy was in a jovial mood and was in good spirits. We look forward to seeing him in the same condition in the future.

Senator Kennedy obviously has played a very integral role in the development of this higher education legislation, and I want to recognize him for his passion for education and his longstanding efforts to ensure that all young people receive a quality education and have the opportunity to obtain a college degree. As we extend the Higher Education Act and allow additional time to negotiate the renewal of this landmark law, I think all of us know that this legislation will bear the indelible imprint of Senator Kennedy's hard work and commitment.

Just last month, we were on the floor passing what we thought and hoped would be the last extension of the Higher Education Act. Unfortunately, while we have made a tremendous amount of progress on the bill, the size of the bill and our concern about producing a thoughtful product prevented us from completing our work.

The Education and Labor Committee, I am happy to report, has worked in a bipartisan fashion to produce a bill that received strong bipartisan support here on the House floor. Chairman Miller and Ranking Member McKeon have been leading our efforts to negotiate a final compromise with the Senate colleagues. We have a handful of issues, however, that remain outstanding, and we believe that we will be able to reach resolution on these issues over the next few weeks. Of course, there may be some complications outside of our control, not the least of which is possibly Senator Kennedy's situation and recovery.

As we move toward finalizing this broad overhaul of Federal higher education programs, our top priority must remain college access and affordability. Bolstering our higher education and student aid programs has long been a priority of Congress. I know, for me personally, making college more affordable is a top priority. All children, rich or poor, should have the opportunity to get a first class college education.

This extension of the Higher Education Act is particularly important because it extends the significant and popular programs such as the Pell Grant program and Perkins student loan programs. This reauthorization is a long time coming. I am pleased to be here supporting what we hope and expect to be the final extension before this law is finally renewed. I urge my colleagues to also support this extension.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time. I would urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote ``yes'' on S. 3035, to extend the Higher Education Act, and thereby extend the Pell Grant program and the Perkins student loan program. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

I yield back the balance of my time.

I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop) for his leadership in education. I rise in support of this temporary extension of the Higher Education Act and also rise to associate myself with the remarks of the gentleman from Florida. Our hearts and prayers go out to Senator

Kennedy, his family, friends, and many supporters around the country, and look forward to his return to the other body as the lion of the Senate, with teeth and claws and roar completely intact.

I also look forward to the new Higher Education Act, which we are close to completing in conference with the other body, and the many provisions that my colleague from New York referred to. I just wanted to point out three. One is a substantial expansion of financial aid, especially to the neediest students in America. Second, a late but very appropriate recognition of the role of community colleges in higher education, and in particular the encouragement of articulation agreements between community colleges and their peers and 4-year colleges.

What articulation agreements would basically permit would be students to seamlessly go between community colleges, and between community colleges and 4-year colleges, because what we have found in Oregon is that students study and learn in a different way today, so that someone may take a class at a community college in the morning, work, and then take a class at a 4-year college at night. We want that system to work for the students and want the institutions to work together so that students do not need to fill out two financial aid forms, two entrance forms, and multiple other forms. These articulation agreements are very, very important. It's a little bit technical. But it will serve the modern education need very, very well.

Finally, I want to point out one area addressed by this higher education bill, and this is a topic on which my office has received the most mail of any topic that we have worked on in my decade in Congress, this is mail from all around the country, from college students, and that is the textbook fairness pricing issue.

Sometimes you will find a book in the college book store here selling for $150. If you go on Amazon U.K., you will find the same textbook being sold, in English, the same textbook in the U.K. for $50. In this Internet era, with a highly motivated, highly educated consumer group, namely college students, this kind of pricing unfairness just can't stand the test of either fairness or propriety anymore.

We have some minimal provisions in the House version of the higher education bill to bring some fairness, some openness to college textbook pricing. Currently, students are cooperating, professors are cooperating, bookstores are cooperating, but the textbook industry is fighting this particular provision very, very hard. I just want to say that we will not give up on this issue. We will insist on the House language because college students who can make a difference, who will make a difference, will insist upon this.

We look forward to the new version of the higher education bill and support this temporary extension.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 3035) to temporarily extend the programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on S. 3035 into the Record.

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

I rise in support of S. 3035, a bill to temporarily extend programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965. At the beginning of February, the House took the next step in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in passing H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. Now we find ourselves in the final phase in completing the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act as we work towards a compromise bill with the Senate to ensure that the doors of college are truly open to all qualified students.

It is our goal to ensure that a final bill encompasses the major issues addressed in H.R. 4137, including skyrocketing college prices, a needlessly complicated student aid application process, and predatory tactics by student lenders.

The bill under consideration today, S. 3035, will extend the programs under the Higher Education Act until June 30, 2008, to allow sufficient time for final deliberations on the two bills reported out of the respective chambers. It has been nearly 10 years since the Higher Education Act was last reauthorized, and I believe Members on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers are anxious to complete work on a compromise bill in this Congress, and we believe it can happen.

I look forward to joining my colleagues on the committee in completing this work with the respective members on behalf of our Nation's hardworking families and students. I urge my colleagues to support this extension.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, let me first associate myself with the heartfelt comments of Mr. Keller regarding Senator Kennedy. I know that everyone in this Chamber hopes and prays for his speedy recovery.

With that, I'd like to yield 4 minutes to a fellow member of the committee, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. 3035.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record.