II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 601 

To ensure that significantly more students graduate college with the international knowledge and experience essential for success in today’s global 

economy through the establishment of the Senator Paul Simon Study 

Abroad Program in the Department of Education. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 9, 2017 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. WICKER, Mr. REED, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. 

MERKLEY, and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

Pensions 

A BILL 

To ensure that significantly more students graduate college 

with the international knowledge and experience essential 

for success in today’s global economy through the establishment of the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program in the Department of Education. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Senator Paul Simon 

5 Study Abroad Program Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) To prepare students for success in the mod4 ern global economy, opportunities for study abroad 

5 should be included as part of a well-rounded edu6 cation. 

7 (2) Study abroad programs provide students 

8 with unparalleled access to international knowledge, 

9 an unmatched opportunity to learn foreign lan10 guages, and a unique environment for developing 

11 cultural understanding, all of which are knowledge 

12 and skills needed in today’s global economy. 

13 (3) Less than 2 percent of all enrolled postsec14 ondary students in the United States study abroad 

15 for credit in any given year, and minority students, 

16 first generation college students, community college 

17 students, and students with disabilities are signifi18 cantly underrepresented in study abroad participa19 tion. 

20 (4) Congress authorized the establishment of 

21 the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study 

22 Abroad Fellowship Program pursuant to section 104 

23 of the Miscellaneous Appropriations and Offsets Act, 

24 2004 (division H of Public Law 108–199). Pursuant 

25 to its mandate, the Lincoln Commission submitted 

26 to Congress and the President a report of its recVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Mar 16, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S601.IS S601

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1 ommendations for greatly expanding the opportunity 

2 for students at institutions of higher education in 

3 the United States to study abroad, with special em4 phasis on studying in developing nations. 

5 (5) According to the Lincoln Commission, 

6 ‘‘[e]xperience shows that leadership from adminis7 trators and faculty will drive the number of study 

8 abroad participants higher and improve the quality 

9 of programs. Such leadership is the only way that 

10 study abroad will become an integral part of the un11 dergraduate experience.’’. A competitive grant pro12 gram is necessary to encourage and support such 

13 leadership. 

14 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

15 The purposes of this Act are— 

16 (1) to ensure that significantly more students 

17 have access to quality study abroad opportunities; 

18 (2) to ensure that the diversity of students 

19 studying abroad reflects the diversity of students 

20 and institutions of higher education in the United 

21 States; 

22 (3) to encourage greater diversity in study 

23 abroad destinations by increasing the portion of 

24 study abroad that takes place in nontraditional 


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1 study abroad destinations, especially in developing 

2 countries; and 

3 (4) to encourage a greater commitment by in4 stitutions of higher education to expand study 

5 abroad opportunities. 

6 SEC. 4. SENATOR PAUL SIMON STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM. 

7 Section 741 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1138) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (12) and 

11 (13) as paragraphs (13) and (14), respectively; 

12 and 

13 (B) by inserting after paragraph (11) the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(12) awarding grants under the Senator Paul 

16 Simon Study Abroad Program described in sub17 section (g);’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(g) SENATOR PAUL SIMON STUDY ABROAD PRO20 GRAM.— 

21 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

22 ‘‘(A) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU23 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu24 cation’ has the meaning given the term in sec25 tion 101(a). 


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1 ‘‘(B) NATIONAL OF THE UNITED

2 STATES.—The term ‘national of the United 

3 States’ means a national of the United States 

4 or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent res5 idence (as those terms are defined in section 

6 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

7 U.S.C. 1101)). 

8 ‘‘(C) NONTRADITIONAL STUDY ABROAD

9 DESTINATION.—The term ‘nontraditional study 

10 abroad destination’ means a location that is de11 termined by the Secretary to be a less common 

12 destination for students who study abroad. 

13 ‘‘(D) STUDENT.—The term ‘student’ 

14 means a national of the United States who is 

15 enrolled at an institution of higher education lo16 cated within the United States. 

17 ‘‘(E) STUDY ABROAD.—The term ‘study 

18 abroad’ means an educational program of 

19 study, work, research, internship, or combina20 tion thereof that is conducted outside the 

21 United States and that carries academic credit. 

22 ‘‘(2) SENATOR PAUL SIMON STUDY ABROAD

23 PROGRAM.— 

24 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab25 lished in the Department a program to be 


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1 called the ‘Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad 

2 Program’. 

3 ‘‘(B) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the 

4 program established under subparagraph (A) 

5 are, that not later than 10 years after the date 

6 of enactment of the Senator Paul Simon Study 

7 Abroad Program Act of 2017— 

8 ‘‘(i) not less than 1,000,000 under9 graduate students will study abroad annu10 ally; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the demographics of study 

12 abroad participation will reflect the demo13 graphics of the United States under14 graduate population by increasing the par15 ticipation of underrepresented groups; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) an increasing portion of study 

17 abroad will take place in nontraditional 

18 study abroad destinations, with a substan19 tial portion of such increases in developing 

20 countries. 

21 ‘‘(C) COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO INSTITU22 TIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—In order to ac23 complish the objectives set forth in subpara24 graph (B), the Secretary shall award grants on 

25 a competitive basis to institutions of higher 


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1 education, individually or in a consortium, 

2 based on applications by the institutions that— 

3 ‘‘(i) set forth detailed plans for using 

4 grant funds to further such objectives; 

5 ‘‘(ii) include an institutional commit6 ment to expanding access to study abroad; 

7 ‘‘(iii) include plans for evaluating 

8 progress made in increasing access to 

9 study abroad; 

10 ‘‘(iv) describe how increases in study 

11 abroad participation achieved through the 

12 grant will be sustained in subsequent 

13 years; and 

14 ‘‘(v) demonstrate that the programs 

15 have established health and safety guide16 lines and procedures. 

17 ‘‘(D) NONGOVERNMENTAL INSTITU18 TIONS.—Consortia of institutions of higher edu19 cation applying for grants described in subpara20 graph (C) may include nongovernmental institu21 tions that provide and promote study abroad 

22 opportunities for students. 

23 ‘‘(E) COMMISSION ON THE ABRAHAM LIN24 COLN STUDY ABROAD FELLOWSHIP PRO25 GRAM.—In administering the program, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Mar 16, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S601.IS S601

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1 retary shall take fully into account the rec2 ommendations of the Commission on the Abra3 ham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Pro4 gram, established pursuant to section 104 of 

5 the Miscellaneous Appropriations and Offsets 

6 Act, 2004 (division H of Public Law 108–199). 

7 ‘‘(F) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out 

8 this paragraph, the Secretary shall consult with 

9 representatives of diverse institutions of higher 

10 education, educational policy organizations, and 

11 others with appropriate expertise. 

12 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than Decem13 ber 31 of each year following the date of enactment 

14 of the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program 

15 Act of 2017, the Secretary shall submit to the Com16 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

17 of the Senate and the Committee on Education and 

18 the Workforce of the House of Representatives a re19 port on the implementation of this subsection during 

20 the prior fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

23 this subsection such sums as may be necessary for 

24 fiscal year 2018 and each subsequent fiscal year.’’. 

Æ 


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