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[House Report 109-553]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     109-553

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    TO AMEND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE ACCESS ACT OF 1999 TO 
   REAUTHORIZE FOR 5 ADDITIONAL YEARS THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOL 
         TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS ESTABLISHED UNDER THE ACT

                                _______
                                

 July 11, 2006.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, from the Committee on Government Reform, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4855]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Government Reform, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 4855) to amend the District of Columbia College 
Access Act of 1999 to reauthorize for 5 additional years the 
public and private school tuition assistance programs 
established under the Act, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Committee Statement and Views....................................     2
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Section-by-Section...............................................     3
Explanation of Amendments........................................     3
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Rollcall Votes...................................................     3
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch.....................     3
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the 
  Committee......................................................     4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     4
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     4
Federal Advisory Committee Act...................................     4
Unfunded Mandate Statement.......................................     4
Committee Estimate...............................................     4
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate...     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5

                     Committee Statement and Views

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H.R. 4855 amends the District of Columbia College Access 
Act of 1999 to reauthorize the District of Columbia Tuition 
Assistance Grant Program (TAG) for five additional years.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In 1999, Congress passed P.L. 106-98, the District of 
Columbia College Access Act, authorizing the establishment of a 
Tuition Assistance Grant Program in the Nation's Capital. The 
Program provides limited financial assistance to D.C. high 
school graduates pursuing higher education opportunities in 
other states. The original legislation authorized funding for 
the Program for five years (FY00-FY05). In 2004, Congress 
reauthorized the College Access Act for an additional two 
years, through fiscal year 2007 (see P.L. 108-457).
    The original purpose of the District of Columbia College 
Access Act was twofold. First, the legislation was intended to 
address the District of Columbia's lack of a state university 
system by providing D.C. high school graduates with access to 
higher education opportunities available to residents of other 
States. The District of Columbia is not a state and does not 
have a state education system to provide affordable higher 
education opportunities for its high school graduates. As bill 
sponsor Chairman Tom Davis said when the legislation passed the 
House in November 1999: ``College bound seniors in each of the 
50 states have a vast network of state-supported institutions 
to attend. This bill seeks to level the playing field for D.C. 
residents.'' The second purpose of the legislation was to deter 
tax-paying families in the District from moving to surrounding 
states in order to take advantage of in-state higher education 
options available to residents in other states, thus depriving 
the District of much needed tax revenue. TAG has been a key 
component of the District's revitalization efforts, and it is 
critical that this support is continued.
    TAG covers the difference between in-state and out-of-state 
tuition rates, up to $10,000 per year, for District of Columbia 
high school graduates that attend public colleges and 
universities in other states. Additionally, the TAG provides 
$2,500 annually in tuition assistance to D.C. high school 
graduates who attend private colleges and universities in the 
counties surrounding the District. Finally, an amendment to the 
legislation in 2001 authorized TAP to provide $2,500 annually 
to D.C. high school graduates who attend private Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities throughout the country.
    In conjunction with TAG, the private sector established a 
similar program, the District of Columbia College Access 
Program, by providing additional financial assistance to D.C. 
high school graduates pursuing college degrees. Additionally, 
the private sector program has placed college counselors in 
public high schools in the District to educate and counsel high 
school students on the options available to them after 
graduation. A consortium of 17 private sector companies and 
foundations fund the non-profit DCCAP organization and provide 
the money for the scholarships for the D.C. high school 
graduates.
    As evidenced by the 4,700 students currently enrolled in 
the program to attend colleges and universities across the 
country, as well as the proposed increase to $35 million for 
the program in the President's fiscal year 2007 budget, the 
District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant Program is 
undeniably a successful federal program.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    On March 2, 2006, Chairman Tom Davis and Congresswoman 
Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced H.R. 4855, to amend the 
District of Columbia College Access Act of 1999 to reauthorize 
the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program for five additional 
years. The bill was referred to the House Committee on 
Government Reform. On March 9, 2006, the Committee met in open 
session and ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 4855, by 
voice vote, a quorum being present.

                           Section-by-Section

Section 1. 5-year reauthorization of tuition assistance programs.

    This section would reauthorize the Tuition Assistance Grant 
Program for an additional five years, through fiscal year 2012. 
This section would amend sections 3(i) and 5(f) of the District 
of Columbia College Access Act of 1999 by striking ``each of 
the 7 succeeding fiscal years'' and inserting ``each of the 12 
succeeding fiscal years''.

                       Explanation of Amendments

    No amendments were adopted in committee.

                        Committee Consideration

    On March 9, 2006, the Committee met in open session and 
ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 4855, by voice vote, 
a quorum being present.

                             Rollcall Votes

    No rollcall votes were held.

              Application of Law to the Legislative Branch

    Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a 
description of the application of this bill to the legislative 
branch where the bill relates to the terms and conditions of 
employment or access to public services and accommodations. 
This bill provides limited financial assistance to D.C. high 
school graduates pursuing higher education opportunities in 
colleges and universities in otherStates. Legislative branch 
employees and their families, to the extent that they are otherwise 
eligible for the benefits provided by this legislation, have equal 
access to its benefits.

  Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee's performance 
goals and objectives are reflected in the descriptive portions 
of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Under clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the Committee must include a statement 
citing the specific powers granted to Congress to enact the law 
proposed by H.R. 4855. Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the 
Constitution of the United States provides Congress the power 
to enact this law.

                     Federal Advisory Committee Act

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish 
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within 
the definition of 5 U.S.C. App., Section 5(b).

                       Unfunded Mandate Statement

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded 
Mandate Reform Act, P.L. 104-4) requires a statement whether 
the provisions of the report include unfunded mandates. In 
compliance with this requirement the Committee has received a 
letter from the Congressional Budget Office included herein.

                           Committee Estimate

    Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 4855. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides 
that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has 
included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the 
bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act.

     Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received 
the following cost estimate for H.R. 1317 from the Director of 
Congressional Budget Office:

H.R. 4855--A bill to amend the District of Columbia College Access Act 
        of 1999 to reauthorize for 5 additional years the public and 
        private school tuition assistance programs established under 
        the Act

    Summary: H.R. 4855 would amend the District of Columbia 
College Access Act of 1999 and reauthorize the District of 
Columbia tuition assistance grant (DCTAG) program for students 
who are residents of Washington, D.C. Current law authorizes 
the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary through 
fiscal year 2007, and H.R. 4855 would extend this authorization 
through fiscal year 2012. CBO estimates that the necessary 
appropriations would total $232 million over the 2008-2012 
period. Outlays would match this total over the same period. 
The bill would have no significant impact on direct spending or 
revenues.
    H.R. 4855 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 4855 is presented in the following 
table. The cost of this legislation falls within budget 
function 500 (education, training, employment, and social 
services).

                                    ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF H.R. 4855
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
                                                                   2007    2008    2009    2010    2011    2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Spending Under Current Law:
    Estimated Authorization Level...............................      34       0       0       0       0       0
    Estimated Outlays...........................................      34       0       0       0       0       0
Proposed Changes:
    Estimated Authorization Level...............................       0      41      45      48      49      50
    Estimated Outlays...........................................       0      41      45      48      49      50
Spending Under H.R. 4855:
    Estimated Authorization Level...............................      34      41      45      48      49      50
    Estimated Outlays...........................................      34      41      45      48      49      50
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 
4855 will be enacted during 2006 and that the estimated amounts 
will be appropriated for each year.

Current law

    Under current law, DCTAG provides financial assistance to 
D.C. residents who attend public colleges outside of the 
District of Columbia, private postsecondary institutions in the 
District of Columbia or in one of the surrounding jurisdictions 
in Maryland or Virginia, or any historically black college or 
university. The private-school tuition grants are restricted to 
nonprofit institutions. Students who attend public schools 
receive assistance equal to the difference between the tuition 
paid by residents of the state in which the institution is 
located and the tuition charged to nonresident students, with 
an annual limit of $10,000 and a lifetime limit of $50,000. 
Private-school students receive a $2,500 maximum annual grant, 
with a lifetime limit of $12,500.
    According to data from the District of Columbia's State 
Education Office (SEO), the cost of DCTAG has grown 
substantially since the program's inception (academic year 
2000-2001). For the 2004-2005 academic year, the most recent 
year for which data are available, just over 3,700 students 
attending public institutions received a total of $26 million. 
Both the number of participants and the size of the average 
award have increased over time. Growth has been particularly 
high for students attending public schools.
    Current law authorizes the appropriation of such sums as 
may be necessary through fiscal year 2007. The Congress 
appropriated $33 million for this program in fiscal year 2006, 
although the SEO anticipates that costs will exceed this total. 
Because costs for DCTAG were lower than the appropriated sums 
during the early years of the program, however, the SEO has 
been able to use carryover funds to supplement appropriated 
funds in recent years to make grants. SEO also spends about 3 
percent of its funds on operating costs. CBO estimates that 
with approximately $4 million in unspent funds remaining at the 
end of 2006, total spending for the program would be $38 
million in 2007, assuming appropriations in the vicinity of the 
requested amount.

Proposed extension

    H.R. 4855 would authorize the appropriation of such sums as 
are necessary for DCTAG through 2012. CBO estimates that the 
necessary appropriations and resulting outlays would total $232 
million over the 2008-2012 period. Based on population and high 
school graduation projections from the Census Bureau and the 
National Center for Education Statistics, respectively, CBO 
estimates that the number of participants would continue to 
grow, but at a slower rate than in the early years of the 
program. In addition, some of the early growth was likely 
attributable to recruitment efforts, which would be expected to 
have a smaller effect as DCTAG matures. CBO estimates that a 
total of about 5,900 students annually would participate in the 
program by 2012. Based on data from the SEO and the College 
Board, CBO also estimates that the average cost per grant would 
continue to rise as the cost of tuition and fees at both public 
and private schools rise, although a growing share of the 
grants would be limited by the annual caps. On that basis, CBO 
estimates that the average cost per grant would reach $9,500 
for public schools and about $2,350 for private schools by 
2012.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 4855 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Justin Humphrey; 
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Lisa Ramirez-
Branum; Impact on the Private Sector: Fatimot Ladipo.
    Estimate approved by: Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OFFICIAL CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

TITLE 38--EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                 Subtitle IX--College Access Assistance

CHAPTER 27--COLLEGE ACCESS ASSISTANCE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Sec. 38-2702. Public school program

  (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated to the District of Columbia to carry out this 
section $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and (subject to 
Sec. 38-2706) such sums as may be necessary for [each of the 7 
succeeding fiscal years] each of the 12 succeeding fiscal 
years. Such funds shall remain available until expended.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Sec. 38-2704. Private school program

  (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated to the District of Columbia to carry out this 
section $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and (subject to 
Sec. 38-2706) such sums as may be necessary for [each of the 7 
succeeding fiscal years] each of the 12 succeeding fiscal 
years. Such funds shall remain available until expended.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                                  
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