New Bedford Whaling Nation Historical Park Resources Assistant Act

I rise in support of this legislation, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The House easily passed this bill under suspension at the end of March and, as often happens with the legislative process, when it went to the Senate, a few changes were made. Therefore, we are here again today simply to give final approval to a bill we have already supported, and rightfully so.

The primary purpose of this legislation is to make technical changes to ensure smooth implementation of the bipartisan higher education reforms enacted last year. Second, it addresses a pressing issue facing the Federal student loan programs. And third, the legislation includes a provision to assist students who have lost a parent to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The technical corrections are just that, clarifications needed to ensure that the first comprehensive renewal of higher education programs in a decade can be put into place as Congress intended. The legislation will also help student loan borrowers who have fallen behind to rebuild their damaged credit by making these loans eligible for emergency liquidity measures enacted last fall. It's a simple change that will make a real difference for borrowers who are just trying to do the right thing by restarting regular payments on their Federal student loans.

The other change we are making in this bill is also important for a different set of students, students who have suffered a terrible loss but who have continued to move forward to achieve a postsecondary education. And I'm talking about the students who have lost a parent due to the military action taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Higher Education Act reauthorization bill that was passed by this body last Congress included a provision that would allow Pell-eligible students to automatically receive the maximum Pell Grant if one of their parents died as a result of their military service in Iraq or Afghanistan. The legislation before us today extends a similar benefit to students who may fall outside of the income limits placed on the Pell Grant program but who have also suffered the same type of loss.

Under this legislation, all students who have lost a soldier-parent as a direct result of fighting in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan will be eligible for a grant. The parents of these students have given their lives in service to our country.

A college student who loses a parent in the war loses so much more than we can fathom. These students will not have their parent around to move into their first dorm room or hear complaints about cafeteria food. They will not have their parent's consolation and encouragement to continue even after a poor test grade or a difficult professor. Of course, these students who lose a parent in Iraq or Afghanistan will not have the financial support of their parent in this time of rising college costs and economic uncertainty.

While this legislation does not provide students with the same type of support a parent could provide, I hope it will ease the financial burden of paying for college just a little bit.

The legislation before us easily passed the House once. I hope for a similar result again, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on this legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the

Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 1777) to make technical corrections to the Higher Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H.R. 1777 into the Record.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1777, a bill to make technical corrections to H.R. 4137, which is the Higher Education Act.

Mr. Speaker, the House originally passed this legislation on March 30, 2009. This is a revised version from the Senate. The Senate made additional conforming and technical changes, including a scholarship program for students whose parent or guardian was a member of the Armed Forces of the United States and died as a result of performing military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, clarifying the ``experimental site'' authority at the Department of Education. Let me explain some of these changes.

Currently, borrowers may rehabilitate their defaulted Federal student loans by making nine on-time payments. Once they meet this threshold, the guaranty agency may sell the loan to a lender, which results in the default being removed from the borrowers' credit reports.

Mr. Speaker, because of the current credit crunch, guaranty agencies have been unable to find lenders for these loans. The bill amends the loan to allow those loans qualified for rehabilitation to be assigned to the Department of Education for this purpose.

The bill makes three changes to the exemption of veterans' assistance in the calculation of the Federal financial aid. The first is to clarify that assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill is included in exempted veterans' benefits, and the second is to move the date of the exemption of veterans' benefits from the calculation of the estimated financial assistance from July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2009.

The third change is to provide scholarships in the amount of the maximum Pell Grant award to students whose parent or guardian was a member of the Armed Forces of the United States and died as a result of performing military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001.

The bill ensures the continuation of the Department of Education's ``experimental site'' program on existing campuses for another year and defines a successful program as one that reduces administrative cost and increases student services, without additional cost to the government.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank our committee chairman, Representative George Miller from California, and our ranking member, John Kline, along with our ranking

member on the subcommittee, Representative Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, for expediting this legislation and helping us make these needed corrections in a bipartisan manner.

I urge all my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1777.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I voted to oppose H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, because I cannot support legislation that amounts to a government takeover of student loans, and at the expense of private industry. The same legislation does continue several efforts I have championed throughout my time as a Member of Congress, and it is regretful that these initiatives were not taken up separately to make it easier for students to get the financial aid they need to get a college degree.

I support increasing the amount of aid available to college students through Pell Grants awards and voted to do so twice in the 110th Congress (H.R. 4137 and H.R. 2669). This program is vital to ensuring the accessibility of higher education for all Americans and I'm pleased this bill continues this increase in Pell Grants.

In addition, I supported efforts to cut interest rates on federal student loans in half (H.R. 5) and to expand eligibility for parents to qualify for education loans for their children (H.R. 5715). I have also been a strong supporter of funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions, which received valuable support in this bill as well.

I was a proud supporter and original sponsor of legislation that would help bridge economic opportunity and the digital divide between minority institutions and their counterparts (H.R. 4137 in the 110th). I will continue to fight for these critical initiatives and others to improve access and quality in American education.

Pell Grants awards, HBCUs, community college funding, and pre-K programs are too important to include them in the same bill alongside reckless provisions that restrict the student loan market and place the fate of student access to financial aid under the care and supervision of the federal government.

Madam Speaker, our brave student servicemembers defending the United States in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries abroad are often charged interest on their federal college student loans while deployed. Because this interest is costly and unfair, I rise today to introduce the Servicemember Student Loan Interest Relief Act to end the practice.

This legislation builds upon a provision included in the Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137) in the 110th Congress, which prevents interest from accruing on loans originated after October 2008 during activations. The provision provided important relief to servicemembers who intended to take out loans in the future, but it did not address those who currently had student loan debt.

The bill I introduce today corrects that issue and provides interest relief to all active duty servicemembers with eligible loans. Our students in uniform could save up to $1,479 during a 12- to 15-month activation under this bill, according to estimates.

As our servicemembers put themselves in harm's way, the least we can do is put their student loans on hold until they return home. I'm pleased to work with Senator Bayh on this important issue.

I urge passage of this legislation and yield back the balance of my time.