Floor Statements

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise today in support of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act. As the ranking member on the Higher Education Subcommittee and founder and chairman of the Pell Grant Caucus, I am honored to be a cosponsor of this important legislation.

How did we get here? The troubles that began in the subprime mortgage market have had a ripple effect on our economy, impacting all types of consumer credit. Unfortunately, that includes student loans. As a result of these disruptions in the financial markets, students and families all across the country are worrying about how they will pay for college this fall. Through no fault of their own, middle class families are worrying that their children may have a difficult time getting the financing they need for college. At least when it comes to Federal loans, there are steps we can take now to prevent that from happening. That is why I support this bill before us.

This bill will increase loan limits by $2,000 to undergraduate students, it will give students more flexibility in their loan payment options, and it includes provisions that will help generate more low- interest loans. Additionally, the savings achieved in this bill will provide more aid to full- and part-time eligible students through national SMART grants.

This is how SMART grants work. If you are eligible for a traditional Pell Grant and you major in math, science or foreign languages that are critical and you have a B average, you will be able to get an additional $4,000 above and beyond the maximum award of $4,800. This bill expands that to allow full- and part-time students to partake. That means we will be helping a total of approximately 100,000 students who are majoring in math and science and critical languages, and also helping ourselves, because we desperately need more math and science majors.

I have a chart here regarding our strong support for Pell grants on a bipartisan basis to put this bill in perspective. Since I came to Congress in 2000, I have noted that we have increased Pell Grant funding by 149 percent, from $7.6 billion to $18.9 billion.

We have increased the maximum award from $3,300 to $4,800, an increase of 45 percent. Now, with this new expanded legislation for more part-time students to get these SMART Grants, those particular students in math and science will get, as I said earlier, $8,800 in eligible grants.

And, finally, and particularly significantly, we have made it possible for an additional 1.9 million students to go to college, an increase of 49 percent from 3.9 million students getting Pell Grants in 2000 to 5.8 million today.

Making sure that college is affordable has been a bipartisan priority of this Congress. This bill will help ensure access to college for many worthy students and provide much needed stability to the student loan market at a time when it is most important to our college students.

I want to thank Chairman George Miller, Chairman Hinojosa, and Ranking Member McKeon for their speedy and bipartisan work on this bill. I want to thank my colleagues in the Senate for turning this legislation around so quickly and adding some key provisions dealing with the SMART Grants. I also want to thank the White House for indicating its strong support of this legislation and their willingness to sign it upon arrival.

For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 5715, and let's make college more affordable for all young people.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 330, recognizing April as National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Every 2\1/2\ minutes, a person is sexually assaulted in the United States. Sadly, one in six women have been victims of rape or attempted rape. Two-thirds of these assaults are committed by someone known to the victim, and yet only 40 percent of sexual assaults are reported to the police.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month attempts to change these startling statistics by promoting educational programs, victim support services, advances in DNA and forensics technology, and aggressive prosecution and incarceration of sexual offenders. National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month helps to educate the public about sexual violence in our communities and the long-term effects on these victims. It also recognizes the selfless work of staff and volunteers at rape crisis centers and other community organizations across the United States that provide counseling and victim support services to sexual assault survivors.

This year, the featured event of Sexual Assault Awareness Month was ``Shop to End Sexual Violence.'' Businesses throughout America pledged to donate a percentage of their sales during April to increase awareness of sexual violence and promote community involvement in reducing these crimes.

With education and community support, it is my hope that more victims will pursue prosecution of their attackers by reporting these assaults. Once the victims take the first and critical steps, it is up to lawmakers and law enforcement to ensure these violent offenders are put away.

Earlier this month, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on H.R. 5057, to reauthorize the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Program. The Debbie Smith Program, originally authorized in 2000, awards grants to State and local governments to reduce the DNA backlog of samples collected from crime scenes and the backlog for entry into the national DNA database. Through these grants, State and local governments received funding to test approximately 104,000 DNA cases between 2004 and 2007.

These grants have also funded the collection of 2.5 million DNA samples from convicted offenders and arrestees for inclusion in the national DNA database. The Department of Justice estimates that over 5,000 ``hits'' or matches are the result of this DNA backlog reduction. This is a positive step forward, but we must continue our efforts to reduce the DNA backlog to provide justice for sexual assault victims and put their attackers behind bars for good.

I wish to thank my Judiciary colleague, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, for sponsoring this resolution, and also thank Congressman Ted Poe for taking the lead on our side of the aisle in moving forward this important resolution. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), the coauthor of this resolution.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise in support of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act. As the ranking member of the Higher Education Subcommittee, I am proud to be a cosponsor of this important legislation. I want to especially thank Chairman Miller, Chairman Hinojosa and Ranking Member McKeon for their hard work in the drafting of this legislation on a bipartisan basis.

The troubles that began in the subprime mortgage market have had a ripple effect on our economy, including all types of consumer credit. Unfortunately, that also includes student loans. As a result of these disruptions in the financial markets, students and families all across America are worrying about how they will pay for college this fall. Through no fault of their own, students may have a more difficult time getting the financing they need for college.

Well, at least when it comes to Federal loans, there are things we can do now to prevent that from happening. Today we are taking positive steps to make sure that students have access to low-interest student loans, despite the recent turmoil in the financial markets. This bill was developed on a bipartisan basis to take preliminary action to shore up the Federal Family Education Loan Program and to offer new flexibility and protections to students and their families.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the troubles facing our student loan program. I appreciate the fact that the Financial Services Committee is also looking at these issues and that we may be exploring additional action in the future that more directly addresses issues of liquidity.

At this time, however, this is a good bill that will have a positive impact, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' and support its passage.

Madam Speaker, I have remained in Orlando, with my wife and our new daughter who was born on Monday, March 3. If I had been present yesterday, I would have voted in the following manner: Rollcall 103: ``nay''; Rollcall No. 104: ``nay''; Rollcall No. 105: ``yea''; Rollcall No. 106: ``nay''; Rollcall No. 107: ``nay.''

Madam Speaker, I have remained in Orlando, Florida with my wife and our new daughter who was born on Monday, March 3rd. If I had been present yesterday, I would have voted in the following manner: Rollcall 91: ``yea''; Rollcall 92: ``yea''; Rollcall 93: ``yea''; Rollcall 94: ``nay''; Rollcall 95: ``nay''; Rollcall 96: ``nay''; Rollcall 97: ``yea''; Rollcall 98: ``yea''; Rollcall 99: ``nay''; Rollcall 100: ``yea''; Rollcall 101: ``yea''; Rollcall 102: ``yea''.

Madam Speaker, I have remained in Orlando, Florida with my wife and our new daughter who was born on Monday, March 3rd. If I had been present yesterday, I would have voted in the following manner: rollcall 88: ``yea''; rollcall 89: ``yea''; rollcall 90: ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, I have remained in Orlando, Florida with my wife as she prepares to give birth to our second child. If I had been present yesterday, I would have voted in the following manner: rollcall 78: ``nay''; rollcall 79: ``nay''; rollcall 80: ``nay''; rollcall 81: ``nay''; rollcall 82: ``nay''; rollcall 83 ``nay''; and rollcall 84: ``nay.''

Madam Speaker, I have remained in Orlando, Florida with my wife as she prepares to give birth to our second child. If I had been present yesterday, I would have voted in the following manner:

Rollcall 72: ``nay''; rollcall 73: ``nay''; rollcall 74: ``nay''; rollcall 75: ``yea''; rollcall 76: ``yea''; rollcall 77: ``nay.''

Madam Speaker, I have remained in Orlando, Florida with my wife as she prepares to give birth to our second child. If I had been present yesterday, I would have voted in the following manner: rollcall 69: ``yea''; rollcall 70: ``yea''; and rollcall 71: ``yea.''

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, which reauthorizes the Higher Education Act.

I support this legislation because it will expand college access for millions of worthy students primarily by strengthening and reauthorizing the Pell Grant program and Perkins student loan program.

I know that these programs work well because I wouldn't have been able to go to college if it wasn't for Pell Grants and student loans. Also, as the chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee, and now its ranking member, I know that over 5.5 million students get Pell Grants each year, and over 500,000 of these students also get Perkins student loans, which, together, are the passport out of poverty for so many of these young people.

I'm going to limit my remarks today to the Pell Grant and Perkins loan sections of the bill since they are, in my view, the heart of this legislation.

First, with respect to Pell Grants, Pell Grants are money we give to children from low- and moderate-income families to pay for their college tuition, books, and fees that they never have to repay. This bill strengthens the Pell Grant program by providing year-round Pell Grants to help college students get through college quicker and by increasing the authorization levels.

This legislation also, at my request, has included language which eliminates a wasteful spending loophole that had allowed convicted pedophiles and rapists to get Pell Grants even though Congress passed a law in 1994 making it illegal for prisoners to get Pell Grants. In my home State of Florida, for example, this loophole was exploited by 54 sexual predators who were able to get over $200,000 in Pell Grants.

By passing this legislation, we will take money out of the hands of convicted predators and put it back into the hands of needy, law- abiding college students where it belongs.

With respect to the Perkins loan program, these are very attractive, low, fixed rate at 5 percent student loans for children of low- and moderate-income families. This legislation will strengthen the Perkins loan program by increasing the loan limits for undergraduate and graduate students and expanding loan forgiveness to now allow firefighters to have their Perkins loan forgiven, as well as nurses, teachers, and police officers.

In closing, I want to thank Chairman Miller for his hard work, Ranking Member McKeon and Chairman Hinojosa for working together in a bipartisan spirit. This legislation is good for students; it's also good for our Treasury. The expert studies show that by investing $16 billion in Pell Grants, it can help yield up to $85 billion in additional tax revenue because the average college graduate makes 75 percent more than the average high school graduate.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 4137. Let us work together in a bipartisan manner to make sure that all children, rich or poor, have the opportunity to get their dream of a college education.

Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder).

Mr. Chairman, I note that Mr. Emanuel's extension was shorter than even his form that he's seeking here, but we're in broad bipartisan support of that simplified process. It was a wonderful idea, and I'm glad we could work with him.

At this time, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska.

Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella).

Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Tim Murphy).

Mr. Chairman, at this time I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays).

Mr. Chairman, at this time we will continue to reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers).

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Let me just compare where we are today in Pell Grants versus where we were in 2000 when I was elected to show you why I have so much optimism about the good things being done in this bill and others.

In 2000, there were 3.9 million students getting Pell Grants. This year, 5\1/2\ million students are getting Pell Grants. In 2000, the maximum award was $3,300 per student. This year, it is about 4,800 per student, and based on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act that President Bush signed into law in September, it is going to go up to $5,400 in the next couple years. In 2000, our overall Pell Grant funding was $7.6 billion. Now it is double that amount.

We have made a substantial investment in the lives of these young people to make sure that every single child in America, rich or poor, has the opportunity to get a college education. We have reason for optimism. We are working together in a bipartisan manner on these higher education issues, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Chairman, I know what Mr. Davis is trying to do here, and I'm sympathetic. He realizes, like we all do, that people are hurting and they're paying higher costs for mortgages and health insurance and gas prices and college tuition. And so for those folks who can't make their student loan payments, let's give them some relief in bankruptcy court. The challenge is, this is going to help a small number of people, but hurt a larger number of people.

If you allow this to go forward, then what you have is a much higher risk loan that will result in the lenders having no choice but to charge higher interest rates for new students getting loans, higher origination fees. They will require a higher credit score. Now, since most 18-year-old kids don't have good credit scores, you would have to look to their parents as cosigners. What does that mean? The kids from wealthy families, whose mom and dad have a high credit score and have lots of assets to back up as collateral, nice home, Mercedes, are going to get student loans. The poor kids in the future who you're trying to help whose parents don't have a high credit score are going to have to pay a lot higher interest rate for loans and origination fees. And their mom and dad may not have the collateral to get them a loan if that's required in these private loans.

So it's going to have the unintended consequences of restricting credit in the future. It's also very unfair to lenders who made loans 10 years ago to have this applied retroactively.

Now, what is a better way? The better way is the current system. You get out of school, you've got 10 years to make your payment, and if you can't make it, you work with the lenders for more flexible options, let you pay over 25 years. The Bankruptcy Code already provides a provision for undue hardship for those people who truly need it.

Let's go with the better approach. And that's why it would have been better to have the Judiciary Committee have jurisdiction over this issue, because we could have flushed it out. That was skipped in this process. And while the intentions are good, the consequences are bad. And I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on Mr. Davis' amendment.

Madam Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition.

Madam Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I'm not opposed to the amendment. I don't have any objection to it. But at this time I would like to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price).

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time

Madam Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition.

Madam Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not personally opposed to this amendment.

I just want to briefly address the subject matter of articulations and the free flow of credit. And while that's important, many people listening to us, our colleagues, may not be familiar with the term ``articulation agreements'' if they do not serve on the Education Committee, for example. Let me give them an idea of what that is.

If you go to a community college in my district, let's say one called Valencia Community College, and you get your associate's degree, there is an articulation agreement that exists with the local 4-year university that's called the University of Central Florida. That agreement says if you graduate from Valencia Community College, we guarantee you admission and acceptance into our 4-year university. That is a wonderful thing for low-income kids who want to get a 4-year education, because it only costs 2 grand a year to go to this community college, and you know that based on this articulation agreement and the transfer of credits you will then go to a prestigious 4-year school for an additional 2 years and be guaranteed admission. It's really the only silver bullet I see out there right now at a time when we see the public 4-year universities increasing their tuition by 31 percent over the past 5 years. The one bright spot that exists is so many partnerships that exist between community colleges and 4-year schools in the forms of articulation agreements.

Whatever we can do in Congress to make it easier to have more of these articulation agreements and a freer

flow of transfer of credit can only help those children from low- and moderate-income families achieve their dream of a college education. That's why I am going to support this amendment, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it as well.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition.

Madam Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to this amendment.

Let me just clarify for our colleagues what this amendment is about, at least from my perspective.

If you are a high school special education teacher, you are probably familiar with autism and dyslexia, and by virtue of your training and daily experience, you know how to relate to the children with these special needs pretty well. But what if you are a 10th grade history teacher trained in, obviously, teaching history? It may be a little more challenging for you to teach children who have autism or dyslexia unless you have some special training to help you teach them history. So what this amendment does is to provide funding for these general education teachers to partner up with their 4-year universities to get some extra training in teaching children with special needs.

That seems like a commonsense approach to us. So I will be voting for this amendment and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.

I claim the time in opposition although I am not opposed to this amendment. We have seen a skyrocketing problem, at least in my home State of Florida, with the rise in violent juvenile crime. In my area, central Florida, we have seen juvenile robberies over the past 2 years of kids of 15 and under increase by 311 percent.

When I talk with the experts about this problem, I am told that we do need a holistic approach, as my colleague, Congressman Hastings, says; and that for the worst of the worst offenders, the repeat violent offenders, people who slit other kids' throats, you have got to lock them away. But on the front end when you can still have hope to catch some of these kids and turn them around, we have to make every effort to do it.

The reason I say that is because when we look at the statistics in Florida we find that 80 percent of the inmates in our jails and prisons are high school dropouts. If we deal with them holistically, we say, hey, if you're going to stay in school, we will give you a Pell grant to pay for a college education so you can have a nice car and a home. If you are willing to stay in school but you can't read, we will get you a reading coach to help you read, even if you are in high school. We are going to get you a mentor to get you through it.

We have to give these young people hope in educational and job opportunities and approach it holistically. Yes, that means prevention, but you also need tough enforcement. I think this amendment recognizes you need all of it. And so we are pleased to support this amendment. I urge my colleagues to do the same.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Madam Chairman, one of the most frustrating things that Members of Congress have had to deal with over the past 5 years on a bipartisan basis is the skyrocketing cost of tuition. Over the past 5 years, tuition at public 4-year universities has gone up 31 percent. And we are frustrated because you want to rein in the tuition costs, but at the same time you are hesitant to implement any sort of cost control or micromanaging of these universities.

What this amendment says essentially is that we are going to ask the college to tell us what your endowment is and how much of it you spent on helping kids with their aid to go to your college. Sometimes that will mean that gives us an opportunity to really thank these colleges for doing a great job. For example, Harvard University has a $34 billion endowment. They recently received nationwide publicity, well deserved, for using that endowment to say, if you are accepted to Harvard and you are from a low-income family, we are going to use our endowment to pay for you to come here. If you are from a middle income family, we are going to pay for you to come here. If you are from an upper-middle-income family, all the way up to

$180,000, we are still going to help you with tuition. I think that is wonderful. And you have seen other schools, Yale and others, follow suit.

We would like to see exactly what schools across America are doing on the positive front to use their endowment to help low- and moderate- income kids go to college, and on the flip side what schools with substantial endowments are not making any efforts to help these low- and moderate-income kids get a college education.

So for these reasons, I will be voting for this amendment, and I will urge my colleagues to also vote for the amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Madam Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young).

Madam Chairman, I just want to thank Congresswoman Johnson and Congressman Young for offering this wonderful amendment. This will mean that the 2,100 children of parents who died in Iraq or Afghanistan will be able to get the full Pell Grant, which is about $4,800 this year and will be upped to $5,400 by 2012. It is certainly the least we can do.

There are many more things we want to do beyond this to help these children whose parents paid the ultimate sacrifice. But I think it is wonderful that these two Congressmen have come forward with this very commonsense and important amendment. I enthusiastically support it and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it as well.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Madam Chairman, we want the best and the brightest to go into the inner city, low-income areas to give these young people as much hope and opportunity as we can. Right now, we already provide student loan relief for math and science teachers who are willing to go

into these low income areas to help turn around a school.

When I look at Mr. Stupak's amendment, it reminds me of the movie ``Lean on Me,'' where it has a principal who goes into a low-income area and, against all odds, completely turns around the school.

We want the best and the brightest of our assistant principals, principals, and school superintendents to go into these areas and say, Hey, look at all these young people who are taking AP calculus and AP English, and we are excited, and we turned things around.

The more we can do to get the best and the brightest into these inner city areas, then the better these young people's lives will be. So I am happy for those reasons to support this amendment, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Madam Chairman, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes).

Madam Chairman, I also rise in support of this amendment, which will encourage the prepopulation of the FAFSA income and asset information with tax data provided directly from the IRS to the Department of Education, if done by taxpayer consent.

In a nutshell, this amendment will greatly simplify the financial aid process and help to eliminate erroneous payments under the Pell Grant program. By taking these commonsense steps, it is estimated that the Federal Government would save billions of dollars over the next 5 years, which could go toward providing additional Pell Grant aid to our most disadvantaged students.

For all of these reasons, I urge its adoption and yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Madam Chairman, we have no objections to this amendment, will be voting ``yes.'' I urge my colleagues to do the same, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Madam Chairman, this is a very creative outside-the-box way to provide an incentive to recruit mentors for at- risk kids, and I commend the author of this amendment, Congressman Crowley, for coming up with this idea; and I will be voting for it.

I had a mentor myself when I was a young child in Big Brothers Big Sisters program. When I got a little older and became an adult, I became a mentor to high school students through the largest mentoring program in Orlando, Florida, called Compact, which provides mentors to children who are at risk of dropping out of school.

I then became chairman of the board of that organization; chairman of the Mentoring Caucus, once I got to Congress; and a coauthor of the Mentoring for Success Act with Congressman Tom Osborne, which is now part of No Child Left Behind.

I tell you this by way of background, because I know that the hardest thing in mentoring organizations is recruiting mentors. I gave in 1 year 50 speeches to Rotary clubs and Kiwanis clubs to recruit 700 mentors, and it was very difficult because sometimes you only get folks to mentor for 1 year. But I saw that once you invested the time towards recruitment, it made a difference. That program, Compact, has a 95 percent success rate in keeping kids in school. As Congressman Crowley alluded to, that helps all of us in terms of lower incarceration rates. Right now, 75 percent of the inmates in our jails and prisons nationwide are high school dropouts. State prisons cost taxpayers $20,000 a year; Federal prisons, $25,000 a year.

If we can say to community college students, Hey, we want you to do the right thing by providing an hour a week as a mentor, or more, and by the way, if you do, we will help you financially for $10 an hour for every hour you mentor for a year, that creates a pretty good pool of folks that we can look to to do the right thing and have a financial incentive.

I congratulate you for this innovative approach. I never thought of it, but am impressed with it, and will be voting for it. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for it as well.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle).

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

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle).

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I also will be supporting the Ryan-Altmire amendment. I am not so far removed from college and law school that I don't remember the days when you would go to buy your textbook at the bookstore. Often you'd be required to buy a particular textbook written by that professor and get sticker shock that this particular book is $120.

When you talk to the publisher, sometimes they say, well, it's not our fault. We sold it to the bookstore at 60 bucks and they marked it up to 120 bucks. And when you talk to the bookstore people they said, no, it's their fault because they told us an abnormally low suggested retail price and made us look bad.

I don't know whose fault it is. All I know is we've got to get some relief to these college and law school and graduate students who are forced to buy particular books. This seems to at least try, and whatever we can do to try to help these kids who are spending $900 to $2,000 a year we owe it to them to do. So I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the coauthor of this amendment, the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle).

Mr. Chairman, at this time I'd like to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula).

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, we have no objections to the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 916, offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski). This resolution increases the awareness of Catholic education while honoring the contributions of America's Catholic schools.

January 27 through February 2, 2008 has been designated Catholic Schools Week, an annual tradition in its 34th year and jointly sponsored by the National Catholic Education Association as well as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. With this resolution we recognize the vital role Catholic elementary and secondary schools play in providing an education with high standards of quality and excellence to the nearly 2.4 million students enrolled in Catholic schools across the country.

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic schools have a graduation rate of over 98 percent, and about 97 percent of Catholic high school graduates go on to post-secondary training at 4-year colleges, community colleges, or technical schools. This success can be attributed to the importance Catholic educators place on character and morals. By making the development of moral and social values an integral part of the curriculum, Catholic schools are ensuring that their students are not only good academicians but also good citizens.

The theme for Catholic Schools Week 2008 is ``Catholic Schools Light the Way.'' This theme highlights the mission of Catholic schools to provide a faith-based education that supports the whole child academically and spiritually and prepares students for future success.

Catholic schools demonstrated an enormous amount of character and compassion in their response to the devastating hurricanes that hit the gulf coast 3 years ago. In the wake of this national disaster, more than 300,000 students were displaced from their homes, schools, and communities. Catholic schools opened their doors and hearts and welcomed these students into their classrooms. They provided these children with the opportunity to continue their studies without stopping to consider the cost of that education. Instead, the Catholic schools knew their first priority was to educate these children. In addition, the Catholic schools in New Orleans have proved to be most resilient by becoming some of the first schools in the hurricane- damaged area to reopen their doors to students.

I appreciate the great work done by Catholic schools, their administrators and teachers, as well as the parents and volunteers. Catholic schools carry out their servant mission by building the academic achievement, character, and values of their students.

I again commend the gentleman from Illinois for introducing this resolution and urge my colleagues to support it.

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

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).

I have two more speakers.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I would urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H. Res. 916.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 908 which recognizes National Mentoring Month. National Mentoring Month celebrates mentors who are positively impacting the lives of young people and highlights the need for additional mentors to make themselves available to America's youth. I applaud Representative McCollum for sponsoring this resolution, and as a cosponsor I look forward to further bipartisan efforts to draw attention to support this very important issue.

Mentors give their time and energy to improve the lives of American young people who are increasingly spending less time with concerned adult role models. Young people with mentors are less likely to drop out of school, use illegal drugs, or engage in criminal behavior. The positive effects of mentoring include higher self-esteem, higher graduation rates, and higher academic achievement. I have personally seen the positive impacts of mentoring firsthand. As a young boy, I benefited from having a mentor from the Big Brother Big Sisters program. As I became an adult, I then became a mentor to two high school students at my alma mater, Boone High School, who were at risk of dropping out of high school, but fortunately stayed in school and graduated.

I then became chairman of the board of the COMPACT mentoring program, which is the largest mentoring program in central Florida and it is targeted at at-risk students in high schools and middle schools who possibly may drop out of school. I am pleased to report that we were able to recruit 700 new mentors and the COMPACT program has a 95 percent success rate of kids staying in school and going on to graduate. In fact, one of the mentors for the COMPACT program itself is none other than Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has spent a great deal of time with the leaders of the COMPACT program and the children themselves every year.

When I was elected to Congress in 2000, one of the first things I did was join together with then-Congressman Tom Osborne, the famous coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, to author the Mentoring for Success Act which Coach Osborne and I were able to successfully include in No Child Left Behind to provide substantial funding for mentoring programs. As we move forward with the No Child Left Behind reauthorization, we will work again to make sure that this language is included and stays in existing law.

One of the big benefits of a mentoring program is in the area of crime prevention. Roughly eight out of 10 inmates in Florida's jails and prisons are high school dropouts. We see mentoring programs like the COMPACT program in Orlando having a 95 percent success rate of keeping kids in school. That's making a difference in these children's lives and also helping us as taxpayers because we pay $20,000 a year for people in State prisons and $25,000 a year for folks in Federal prison.

President Bush himself has praised the importance of mentoring programs. On December 19, 2007, President Bush proclaimed January 2008 as National Mentoring Month, giving public recognition to mentors who serve as role models. Specifically the President stated, ``By sharing their knowledge and experiences, mentors serve as examples for young people and help teach them the skills they need to succeed in life.''

By honoring mentors and mentoring programs, we recognize the importance of mentoring programs implemented in our local schools and communities. We also draw attention to the components of a quality program, including appropriate screening of potential mentors and careful matching of youth with adults who have a genuine interest in providing guidance and being exemplary role models.

Mentoring programs are varied and unique. They can be school-based or faith-based. They may be established through community organizations or corporate initiatives. I encourage people across the country to take time to discover what mentoring programs exist in their communities and see what they can do to help. Many volunteers are needed to meet the growing demand for mentors.

Again, I am pleased to cosponsor House Resolution 908, recognizing the important work of mentors and quality mentoring programs, and I urge Members to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, we have no further speakers. If I can inquire if the other side has any further speakers.

Madam Speaker, I would urge all my colleagues, then, to vote ``yes'' on H. Res. 908 and will yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 932 offered by the Representative from California (Ms. Linda T. Sanchez). National School Counseling Week, which is celebrated annually the first full week of February, helps focus public attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors. School counselors are employed in school districts and public and private schools of all levels across America to help students reach their full potential. They are actively committed to helping students explore their abilities, strengths, interests and talents as these traits relate to academic success and career awareness and development. School counselors serve as a vital resource for parents by helping them focus on ways to further the educational, personal and social growth of their children. They work with teachers and other educators to help students explore their potential and set realistic goals for themselves. They often seek to identify and utilize community resources that can enhance and complement comprehensive school counseling programs that help students become productive members of society.

These comprehensive developmental school counseling programs are considered an integral part of the educational process which enables all students to achieve.

National school counseling week highlights the tremendous impact that counselors have in helping students achieve academic success and plan for their career. This year's theme, ``School Counselors: Creating Pathways to Success,'' truly sums up the effort they put forth daily to ensure that no child is left behind.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to all school counselors, not only from my home State of Florida but also all across this great Nation. I also wish to thank the Representative from California (Ms. Linda T. Sanchez) and the Representative from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) for bringing forth this resolution today.

I urge all my colleagues to support it.

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

Mr. Speaker, as the former chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee, and now the ranking member, I rise in support of H.R. 4153, a bill which provides for technical changes to the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007.

I was honored to be with President Bush on September 27, 2007, at the White House when he signed this important legislation into law. Joining me at that time was Chairman George Miller of the Education Committee, and the budget chairman, John Spratt. It was a special time to be there as the only Republican in Congress at that time seeing this historic legislation signed into law. It has been referred to by my colleagues as the most important piece of higher education legislation since the GI Bill in 1944.

That legislation dramatically increased Pell Grant funding and cut student loan interest rates in half. For example, Pell Grant funding went from $4,310 up to $5,400 over a period of years. And the student loan interest rate for undergraduates was cut from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent.

Well, what are we doing here today? As a follow-up to that important legislation, today we are making some necessary technical clarifications and corrections to ensure that the act is implemented just as Congress intended. For example, this piece of technical legislation will clarify that members of the Armed Forces reserves are eligible for student loan deferments when they return home after serving abroad.

This legislation will ensure that students whose loan applications were submitted prior to the law's effective date are not unnecessarily subjected to higher rates or deprived of important student loan benefits.

This package of technical corrections will improve our financial aid programs by clarifying the intent of the recently enacted College Cost Reduction and Access Act. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us today in supporting this important measure and voting ``yes'' on H.R. 4153.

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