June 25, 2004

• Higher Education Reauthorization Memo
• Lame Duck Session Planned for Late Fall
• Texas Congressman Ruben Hinojosa Convenes Texas Regional Leaders Conference in Washington, DC
• Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing On "Top 10 Percent" Law

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Higher Education Reauthorization Memo

Last week, the Chronicle of Higher Education published a story suggesting Congress has abandoned plans to reauthorize the Higher Education Act this year. To counter the impression left by the story, House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner and 21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittee Chairman Howard McKeon sent the following letter to their House colleagues.

The "Dear Colleague" letter sent to all members of the House on June 22nd is the first in a series of such letters to be sent to House members encouraging them to sign on as co-sponsors of the College Access and Opportunity Act (H.R. 4283).

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2181 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6100

June 22, 2004

Expand College Access for Low and Middle-Income Students
COSPONSOR THE COLLEGE ACCESS and OPPORTUNITY ACT

Dear Colleague:

Millions of low and middle-income students today face the possibility of being denied access to a higher education. These students and their families should be first in line for federal higher education assistance. That is why we introduced H.R. 4283, the College Access and Opportunity Act; a fiscally responsible bill that will restore fairness and expand access for incoming, low and middle-income students — the very students the Higher Education Act was created to serve.

We would like to share with you a few of the many ways the College Access and Opportunity Act will expand college access for millions of low and middle-income students striving for higher education. The bill prioritizes college access for current and future students by:

• Strengthening Pell Grants, student aid, student access, and Minority Serving Institutions;
• Reducing loan costs, fees, and red tape for students and graduates;
• Removing barriers for non-traditional students; and
• Empowering consumers through "sunshine" and transparency in college costs and accreditation.

Strengthening Pell Grants, student aid, student access, and Minority Serving Institutions:
The College Access and Opportunity Act will provide extra Pell Grant aid for high-achieving first and second-year students; provide year-round Pell Grant aid for students attending school throughout the year; and remove an incentive for colleges to raise tuition by repealing Pell Grant "tuition sensitivity," which reduces Pell Grant awards for the neediest students attending very low cost schools. The bill will also simplify the financial aid process for needy students and families and allow dependent students to earn more money without losing their student aid. Because fairness is the principle at the heart of our efforts to expand college access, the bill also phases out unfair advantages in campus-based student aid.

To further expand college access for non-traditional, first-generation, and minority students, the College Access and Opportunity Act will strengthen federal college access programs (TRIO and GEAR UP) and Minority Serving Institutions.

Reducing loan costs, fees, and red tape for students and graduates:
Federal student loans make higher education possible for millions of students — in fact, more than 12 million new federal student loans are being provided for FY 2004, making college a reality for these students. The College Access and Opportunity Act strengthens the federal student loan programs and ensures they will continue to serve students into the future by reducing origination fees charged to students, updating loan limits for first and second-year students without increasing overall debt levels, and allowing students to continue to take advantage of low, market-based interest rates.

The bill also includes a number of pro-consumer lending reforms, including elimination of the "single-holder" rule, which limits a borrower's ability to shop around for the best deal on a consolidation loan, and the provision of additional consumer protection information regarding consolidation loans. Further, the bill will require lenders to report federal student loan information to all national credit bureaus, ensuring borrowers can take full advantage of the good credit they earn by repaying their federal student loans. The bill also includes a new interest-only repayment option that will make it easier for borrowers struggling to meet their student loan repayment obligations.

Because students, not lenders, should be the beneficiary of the benefits of the federal student loan programs, the College Access and Opportunity Act eliminates excessive lender subsidies and reforms federal income guarantees by requiring lenders to return excess earnings to the federal government. These resources will be better spent expanding college access for low and middle-income students.

Removing barriers for non-traditional students:
For many non-traditional college students, alternative postsecondary education options such as community colleges, degree granting or certificate programs, proprietary schools, and distance learning programs provide an important alternative gateway to a college education.

The College Access and Opportunity Act will expand college access through these channels by repealing outdated rules that are hindering the ability of these schools to serve their students. For instance, the bill will repeal the unfair "90-10" rule to provide greater fairness for low-income, middle-income, and minority students. Further, the bill will allow all eligible schools to compete for federal funding, ensuring needy students are not denied services simply because of the school they choose to attend. The College Access and Opportunity Act will also repeal unfair barriers to distance education, giving schools the flexibility to increase the use of technology and provide students with new postsecondary options.

Empowering consumers through "sunshine" and transparency in college costs and accreditation:
The College Access and Opportunity Act includes a number of provisions that will increase accountability in higher education by empowering consumers — students, parents, and taxpayers — with information. The bill will give consumers more information about what they're getting for their money, and shine a spotlight on excessive tuition hikes. Importantly, the bill will make accrediting agencies more accountable by making information more public.

With recent data showing more than 50 percent of students attend multiple institutions of higher education, it has become increasingly important for students to have the flexibility to transfer their credits from one school to another. To make it more difficult for academic credits earned by students to be wrongly denied for territorial or political reasons, the bill will simply require institutions to have a transfer of credit policy, make that policy public, and follow that policy. The College Access and Opportunity Act also ensures credits are not unfairly and arbitrarily denied based on the accreditor of a college or university where the credits being transferred were earned, so long as the accreditor is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.

In 1965, the Higher Education Act was established to assist low and middle-income students striving for a higher education. We cannot allow federal policy to lose sight of that original mission — students must be our number one priority. The College Access and Opportunity Act answers the call of expanding college access, and embodies the intent of the law established nearly four decades ago to help American students achieve the dream of a college education.

A comprehensive summary of H.R. 4283, the College Access and Opportunity Act, can be viewed online at http://edworkforce.house.gov/heasummary.pdf. To sign on as a cosponsor of the bill, or for more information on our efforts to expand college access for low and middle-income students, please contact Kathleen Smith or Alison Ream with the Education and the Workforce Committee majority staff at x5-6558.

Sincerely,

/s/ John Boehner (R-OH) Chairman Education and the Workforce Committee

/s/ Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) Chairman 21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittee

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Lame Duck Session Planned for Late Fall

Even though House and Senate leaders are trying to avoid a lame-duck session this year, they acknowledge that it is likely that the Second Session of the 108th Congress will be reconvening after the November General Election to complete work on unfinished business, e.g., primarily FY2005 appropriations bills and, Department of Defense authorization, etc.

With a majority of Senators (Republican and Democrat) refusing to compromise on a FY2005 budget resolution and both chambers behind schedule after missing a week to memorialize former President Reagan, several high-ranking members are resigned to spending at least part of the late fall in session.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Don Nickles has been working to bring together conservatives and moderates. "I'm not very enthusiastic about a lame-duck session," said Minority Leader Tom Daschle, adding he would do everything he could to avoid it.

The Senate is already behind schedule on the Department of Defense authorization bill and with nearly 200 amendments still pending on the bill, it may be another week or more before the Senate passes the measure.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens said he will delay a full committee mark up of all 13 appropriations bills until the Senate completes the defense authorization bill citing as his reason that the Committee cannot appropriate money until it knows what's authorized.

In the House, The Speaker's position is without a budget resolution from the Senate and most House appropriations bills still outstanding, "it's not going to be easy" to avoid coming back to Washington in November.

Nickles has been working to bring together conservatives and moderates to accept a bicameral budget resolution, but a group of Republican moderates, led by Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, have stalled the process to fight for pay-as-you-go, or pay-go, spending restraints on all new spending including tax reductions.

Nickles said he hopes a lame-duck session will not be necessary, but that having no budget on the table at this point, "probably increases that likelihood."

Options if progress cannot be made on the 13 appropriations bills are a continuing resolution which would maintain funding for all federal programs at FY2004 levels for a set period of time, or rolling all 13 bills into a single omnibus bill.

Nickles agreed that without a budget agreement and time running out, bundling all 13 appropriations bills — or a large chunk of them — into one package may be necessary.

"If we don't get a budget, we'll probably have to do all the appropriations bills in one package," Nickles said.

Stevens said two, three or four bills could be melded together into omnibus bills to save time rather than debating each individual bill.

If the 108th Congress ends in a lame duck, it will be the 15th lame-duck session since 1940. Most recently, Congress came back to Washington after its target October adjournment date for an extended session in 2000 and in 2002. While much of the work in lame-duck sessions centers around appropriations bills, lawmakers also aim to move other major measures. For example, Congress passed a multi-billion dollar Medicare bill in the 2000 lame-duck session.

The Senate still could act this year on several high-profile pieces of legislation, e.g., defense authorization bill, class action legislation — which would move several class action cases from state to federal court before the July 4th recess. After the recess the party conventions and the month-long August recess occur, leaving little time before the target adjournment date of October 1st.

Finishing those bills and completing the appropriations process before Republicans and Democrats leave Washington to attend their respective conventions in July and August will be difficult.

Several issues that threatened to dominate the legislative session earlier in the year, such as a constitutional amendment on marriage and a bill to allow prescription drugs to be legally reimported from other countries, may not make it to the Senate floor. The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act falls into this category, even though aspects of the legislation could be acted upon by the House before October 1st.

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Texas Congressman Ruben Hinojosa Convenes Texas Regional Leaders Conference in Washington, DC

On June 22nd, Congressman Rubén Hinojosa hosted his fourth Regional Leaders Issues Conference in Washington, DC. This conference is a bi-annual event that brings together local elected officials, education administrators, municipal representatives, economic development officers, chambers of commerce, and non-profit organizers to Washington, DC.

TG was honored to assist in cosponsoring the luncheon for the event.

The mission of this event is to spark a dynamic dialogue between Texas leaders and Washington officials on issues affecting the 15th Congressional District of Texas. In general, the conference was a fast-paced exercise in networking, information gathering, and initiative planning.

The 160 conference participants met and participated in discussions with Members of Congress, Senators and Administration officials who possess the means to foster continued development in their economically challenged community.

Key areas to be covered included workforce development, resource management, educational empowerment, homeland security, housing excellence, rural development, and infrastructure enhancement, and small business investments.

Texas Regional Leaders who attended the conference included representatives from counties, cities, economic development organizations, colleges, superintendents, school board members, and business leaders from throughout Texas' 15th district.

"This conference is a tremendous opportunity for representatives from Texas to meet with federal officials in Washington, DC who directly impact the federal funding our communities receive. I am certain that this coordinated presence in Washington by Texas leaders will have a positive and dramatic impact on the degree of federal investments our community secures," said Hinojosa.

The innovative and creative nature of this conference has historically attracted a distinguished list of speakers including former President William Jefferson Clinton, former HUD Secretary Mel Martinez, Senator and Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry.

This year's speakers included Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Senator John Cornyn, Senator Patty Murray, Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson, Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Gil Gonzalez, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Ranking Member Steny Hoyer, House Appropriations Committee, Ranking Member Charlie Rangel, House Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, Congressman Soloman Ortiz, Congressman Silvestre Reyes, Congressman Jim Turner, Congressman Charlie Gonzalez, Congressman Ed Pastor, Congressman Bob Menendez, Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Congressman Ron Andrews, and many more.

A number of Bush Administration officials also spoke, including staff and officials from the Department of Education, Department of Commerce, Small Business Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, and the National Science Foundation.

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Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing On "Top 10 Percent" Law

Action by the next Texas Legislature may determine which students get into state universities here in Texas, and which students have to go elsewhere. In 1997, the state passed SB 588, which ordered state universities to automatically admit high school students who are academically in the top ten percent of their graduating class. The hope of legislators supporting the measure was that this would help to promote racial diversity on Texas college campuses. While this guarantees admission for some students, there have been complaints from others that extremely high-performing schools have been shut out because it is more difficult to get into the top ten percent in those schools.

The effects of that 1997 legislation are being studied by the Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education. At a meeting June 24th in Austin the subcommittee heard a variety of witnesses describe the state of college admissions. Troy Johnson, President of the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, said the legislature has damaged the credibility of admissions offices by offering certain state financial aid programs, then cutting them back during times of financial difficulty. He told the subcommittee that admissions officers have recruited students with promises of financial aid, only to have that aid vanish by the time the students are ready for college. As to changes in ethnicity on college campuses, Johnson said that any increased minority enrollment is not exclusively due to the top ten percent rule, that financial aid plays a major role as well.

The subcommittee then reviewed recent court decisions, with testimony from Curt Levey of the Center for Individual Rights, and Lino Graglia and Douglas Laycock of the University of Texas School of Law. Levy testified that stories of students being squeezed out are exaggerated, but that Texas cannot offer the top ten percent guarantee forever, that there are just not enough openings in Texas universities for all the students. He said we need to guarantee that a certain number of students from each school will be admitted, but that the number may need to be less than ten percent. Professor Graglia said that the only reason we have race-based admissions is that "many blacks and Mexican-Americans are simply not academically competitive with whites and Asian-Americans" and that the only reason we're considering abandoning the top ten percent rule is that because "we've succeeded too well". Professor Laycock said that to legally use race as an admissions criteria you must use it only for achieving diversity, not strict quotas. He also said that minority students admitted due to race are actually "victims" because they have higher dropout rates than other students, which means they may not be properly prepared for college.

Senator Gonzalo Barrientos replied to this testimony by saying that before the top ten percent rule, "even with affirmative action, minorities were vastly under-represented" at Texas universities. He said it helped restore diversity and reward students who worked hard in high school. Barrientos said that rather than change the top ten percent law, we should be working to make the high schools better.

Marta Tienda, Principal Investigator, Texas Top 10 Percent Project, Princeton university, described how Texas standards for college admission differ from those of other states. She said that students are leaving Texas not because they can't get into Texas schools, but because they are being recruited by top-tier, out of state schools.

James Huffines, Chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, testified that the UT system is committed to structuring a financial aid package that can help all students. Scott Caven, a member of the UT Board of Regents, echoed the Chairman's concerns and said that a task force will have recommendations on that subject and about racial diversity at a later date. Erle Nye, Vice Chairman of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, said that while Texas A&M has made significant improvements in its percentage of minority students, the top ten percent rule is not responsible.

Senator Leticia Van de Putte said that previous efforts at increasing minority enrollment have not been acceptable, given that today's minority groups will soon be the majority of Texans. She said, "If you increase at 10-15-20 percent, you will still be awfully short when the time comes...I'm scared to death that we aren't going to be prepared. I don't know how long we can keep up with the empty promises."

Dr. Bruce Walker, Vice Provost and Director of Admissions at UT-Austin, said that the number of African-American students seems "stubbornly stuck" at about four percent, despite all of the efforts. Frank Ashley, Assistant Provost for Enrollment at Texas A&M said "there are a lot of students who get admitted to Texas A&M, but not UT, and vice versa". He told the committee that even before the top ten percent rule came into effect, practically all of the top ten percent of students were admitted anyway, and that the law hasn't helped very much as far as diversity is concerned.

Luis Figueroa from the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, testified that the current plans for minority enrollment at the state's public universities were "...good, but not good enough", saying the opportunity was not there for minority students.

Beth Watson from the Young Conservatives of Texas complimented the universities for their outreach efforts, but said that other states recognize that not all high schools are equal and allow their universities to take that into consideration when deciding who should be admitted. Public testimony followed.

The Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education is chaired by Senator Royce West. Members include Senators Kip Averitt, Kyle Janek, Todd Staples and Leticia Van de Putte. The committee recessed subject to call of the chair.

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For more information, contact:

TG Congressional and Legislative Relations
(512) 219-4503
P.O. Box 83100
Round Rock, TX 78683-3100