Cost of Higher Education Review Act of 1997

Summary: Cost of Higher Education Review Act of 1997 - Establishes a National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education to study and make recommendations to the President and the Congress regarding:  (1) the increase in tuition compared with other commodities and services; (2) innovative methods of reducing or stabilizing tuition; (3) the impact on tuition of specified trends in college and university costs, student financial aid, and government mandates and fiscal policies; (4) mechanisms for a more timely and widespread distribution of data on tuition trends and other costs of operating colleges and universities; and (5) the adequacy of existing Federal and State financial aid programs in meeting the costs of attending colleges and universities. 
(Sec. 6) Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Cost of Higher 
Education Review Act of 1997''.
    (b) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to a report issued by the General Accounting 
        Office, tuition at 4-year public colleges and universities 
        increased 234 percent from school year 1980-1981 through school 
        year 1994-1995, while median household income rose 82 percent 
        and the cost of consumer goods as measured by the Consumer 
        Price Index rose 74 percent over the same time period.
            (2) A 1995 survey of college freshmen found that concern 
        about college affordability was the highest it has been in the 
        last 30 years.
            (3) Paying for a college education now ranks as one of the 
        most costly investments for American families.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE COST OF HIGHER 
              EDUCATION.

    There is established a Commission to be known as the ``National 
Commission on the Cost of Higher Education'' (hereafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Commission'').

SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 7 members as 
follows:
            (1) Two individuals shall be appointed by the Speaker of 
        the House.
            (2) One individual shall be appointed by the Minority 
        Leader of the House.
            (3) Two individuals shall be appointed by the Majority 
        Leader of the Senate.
            (4) One individual shall be appointed by the Minority 
        Leader of the Senate.
            (5) One individual shall be appointed by the Secretary of 
        Education.
    (b) Additional Qualifications.--Each of the individuals appointed 
under subsection (a) shall be an individual with expertise and 
experience in higher education finance (including the financing of 
State institutions of higher education), Federal financial aid 
programs, education economics research, public or private higher 
education administration, or management of business efficiency and cost 
reduction programs.
    (c) Chairperson and Vice Chairperson.--The members of the 
Commission shall elect a Chairman and a Vice Chairperson. In the 
absence of the Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson will assume the duties 
of the Chairperson.
    (d) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission shall 
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
    (e) Appointments.--All appointments under subsection (a) shall be 
made within 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act. In the 
event that an officer authorized to make an appointment under 
subsection (a) has not made such appointment within such 30 days, the 
appointment may be made for such officer as follows:
            (1) the Chairman of the Committee on Education and the 
        Workforce may act under such subsection for the Speaker of the 
        House of Representatives;
            (2) the Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on 
        Education and the Workforce may act under such subsection for 
        the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives;
            (3) the Chairman of the Committee on Labor and Human 
        Resources may act under such subsection for the Majority Leader 
        of the Senate; and
            (4) the Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Labor 
        and Human Resources may act under such subsection for the 
        Minority Leader of the Senate.
    (f) Voting.--Each member of the Commission shall be entitled to one 
vote, which shall be equal to the vote of every other member of the 
Commission.
    (g) Vacancies.--Any vacancy on the Commission shall not affect its 
powers, but shall be filled in the manner in which the original 
appointment was made.
    (h) Prohibition of Additional Pay.--Members of the Commission shall 
receive no additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their 
service on the Commission. Members appointed from among private 
citizens of the United States may be allowed travel expenses, including 
per diem, in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons 
serving intermittently in the government service to the extent funds 
are available for such expenses.
    (i) Initial Meeting.--The initial meeting of the Commission shall 
occur within 40 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Specific Findings and Recommendations.--The Commission shall 
study and make findings and specific recommendations regarding the 
following:
            (1) The increase in tuition compared with other commodities 
        and services.
            (2) Innovative methods of reducing or stabilizing tuition.
            (3) Trends in college and university administrative costs, 
        including administrative staffing, ratio of administrative 
        staff to instructors, ratio of administrative staff to 
        students, remuneration of administrative staff, and 
        remuneration of college and university presidents or 
        chancellors.
            (4) Trends in (A) faculty workload and remuneration 
        (including the use of adjunct faculty), (B) faculty-to-student 
        ratios, (C) number of hours spent in the classroom by faculty, 
        and (D) tenure practices, and the impact of such trends on 
        tuition.
            (5) Trends in (A) the construction and renovation of 
        academic and other collegitate facilities, and (B) the 
        modernization of facilities to access and utilize new 
        technologies, and the impact of such trends on tuition.
            (6) The extent to which institutional financial aid and 
        tuition discounting have affected tuition increases, including 
        the demographics of students receiving such aid, the extent to 
        which such aid is provided to students with limited need in 
        order to attract such students to particular institutions or 
        major fields of study, and the extent to which Federal 
        financial aid, including loan aid, has been used to offset such 
        increases.
            (7) The extent to which Federal, State, and local laws, 
        regulations, or other mandates contribute to increasing 
        tuition, and recommendations on reducing those mandates.
            (8) The establishment of a mechanism for a more timely and 
        widespread distribution of data on tuition trends and other 
        costs of operating colleges and universities.
            (9) The extent to which student financial aid programs have 
        contributed to increased tuition.
            (10) Other related topics determined to be appropriate by 
        the Commission.
    (b) Final Report.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Commission 
        shall submit to the President and to the Congress, not later 
        than 120 days after the date of the first meeting of the 
        Commission, a report which shall contain a detailed statement 
        of the findings and conclusions of the Commission, including 
        the Commission's recommendations for administrative and 
        legislative action that the Commission considers advisable.
            (2) Majority vote required for recommendations.--Any 
        recommendation described in paragraph (1) shall be made by the 
        Commission to the President and to the Congress only if such 
        recommendation is adopted by a majority vote of the members of 
        the Commission who are present and voting.

SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Hearings.--The Commission may, for the purpose of carrying out 
this Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and places, 
as the Commission may find advisable.
    (b) Rules and Regulations.--The Commission may adopt such rules and 
regulations as may be necessary to establish the Commission's 
procedures and to govern the manner of the Commission's operations, 
organization, and personnel.
    (c) Assistance From Federal Agencies.--
            (1) Information.--The Commission may request from the head 
        of any Federal agency or instrumentality such information as 
        the Commission may require for the purpose of this Act. Each 
        such agency or instrumentality shall, to the extent permitted 
        by law and subject to the exceptions set forth in section 552 
        of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the 
        Freedom of Information Act), furnish such information to the 
        Commission, upon request made by the Chairperson of the 
        Commission.
            (2) Facilities and services, personnel detail authorized.--
        Upon request of the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of 
        any Federal agency or instrumentality shall, to the extent 
        possible and subject to the discretion of such head--
                    (A) make any of the facilities and services of such 
                agency or instrumentality available to the Commission; 
                and
                    (B) detail any of the personnel of such agency or 
                instrumentality to the Commission, on a nonreimbursable 
                basis, to assist the Commission in carrying out the 
                Commission's duties under this Act.
    (d) Mails.--The Commission may use the United States mails in the 
same manner and under the same conditions as other Federal agencies.
    (e) Contracting.--The Commission, to such extent and in such 
amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts, may enter into contracts 
with State agencies, private firms, institutions, and individuals for 
the purpose of conducting research or surveys necessary to enable the 
Commission to discharge the Commission's duties under this Act.
    (f) Staff.--Subject to such rules and regulations as may be adopted 
by the Commission, and to such extent and in such amounts as are 
provided in appropriation Acts, the Chairperson of the Commission shall 
have the power to appoint, terminate, and fix the compensation (without 
regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 
appointments in the competitive service, and without regard to the 
provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 
title, or of any other provision, or of any other provision of law, 
relating to the number, classification, and General Schedule rates) of 
an Executive Director, and of such additional staff as the Chairperson 
deems advisable to assist the Commission, at rates not to exceed a rate 
equal to the maximum rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 
section 5332 of such title.

SEC. 6. EXPENSES OF COMMISSION.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to pay any expenses of the 
Commission such sums as may be necessary not to exceed $650,000. Any 
sums appropriated for such purposes are authorized to remain available 
until expended, or until one year after the termination of the 
Commission pursuant to section 7, whichever occurs first.

SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

    The Commission shall cease to exist on the date that is 60 days 
after the date on which the Commission is required to submit its final 
report in accordance with section 4(b).