II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2727 

To amend part A of title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 regarding 

international and foreign language studies. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2004 

Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. FEINGOLD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL

To amend part A of title VI of the Higher Education Act 

of 1965 regarding international and foreign language studies. 

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 ‘‘International and For5 eign Language Studies Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) In recent years, foreign language needs 

9 have significantly increased throughout the Federal 

10 Government due to the presence of a wider range of 
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1 security threats, the emergence of new nation states, 

2 and the globalization of the United States economy. 

3 (2) Likewise, American businesses increasingly 

4 need internationally and multiculturally experienced 

5 employees to compete in the global economy and to 

6 manage a culturally diverse workforce. 

7 (3) Currently, the Federal Government requires 

8 34,000 employees with foreign language skills across 

9 more than 70 Federal agencies. 

10 (4) Federal agency officials have stated that, 

11 over the years, translator and interpreter shortfalls 

12 have adversely affected agency operations and hin13 dered United States military, law enforcement, intel14 ligence, counterterrorism, and diplomatic efforts. 

15 (5) In a 2002 General Accounting Office report, 

16 the United States Army reported that it was experi17 encing serious shortfalls of translators and inter18 preters in 5 of its 6 critical languages: Arabic, Ko19 rean, Mandarin Chinese, Persian-Farsi, and Rus20 sian. 

21 (6) The number of Foreign Language and Area 

22 Studies Fellowships awarded in 2003 was 30 percent 

23 less than the number awarded at its high point in 

24 1967. 
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1 (7) In the 2000–2001 school year, the number 

2 of foreign language degrees conferred was 1 percent 

3 of the total undergraduate degrees conferred, less 

4 than .05 percent of the total masters degrees con5 ferred, and 1 percent of the total doctoral degrees 

6 conferred. 

7 (8) In the 2003 National Survey of Student 

Engagement, only 2 8 ⁄5 of undergraduates reported 

9 taking foreign language coursework, while only 1 in 

10 5 reported having studied abroad. 

11 (9) Only 1 percent of all United States under12 graduates studied abroad in the 2001–2002 school 

13 year. 

14 (10) In 2002, 79 percent of Americans agreed 

15 that students should have a study-abroad experience 

16 sometime during college. 

17 (11) More than 40 percent of Americans said 

18 they were more likely to favor an increase in State 

19 funding for foreign language education at their local 

20 college or university after September 11, 2001. 

21 SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 

22 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

23 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

24 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi25 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 
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1 section or other provision of the Higher Education Act of 

2 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 

3 SEC. 4. GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE LANGUAGE AND 

4 AREA CENTERS AND PROGRAMS. 

5 Section 602 (20 U.S.C. 1122) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(2)—

7 (A) in subparagraph (G), by striking 

8 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (H), by striking the 

10 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(I) support for instructors of the less 

13 commonly taught languages.’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b)—

15 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

16 ‘‘AND UNDERGRADUATE’’ after ‘‘GRADUATE’’; 

17 and 

18 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert19 ing the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—A student receiving 

21 a stipend described in paragraph (1) shall be en22 gaged— 

23 ‘‘(A) in an instructional program with stat24 ed performance goals for functional foreign lan25 guage use or in a program developing such per-
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1 formance goals, in combination with area stud2 ies, international studies, or the international 

3 aspects of a professional studies program; and 

4 ‘‘(B)(i) in the case of an undergraduate 

5 student, in the intermediate or advanced study 

6 of a less commonly taught language; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a graduate student, in 

8 graduate study work in connection with a pro9 gram described in subparagraph (A), including 

10 predissertation level study, preparation for dis11 sertation research, dissertation research abroad, 

12 or dissertation writing.’’; and 

13 (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(d) ALLOWANCES.—

16 ‘‘(1) GRADUATE LEVEL RECIPIENTS.—A sti17 pend awarded to a graduate level recipient may in18 clude allowances for dependents and for travel for 

19 research and study in the United States and abroad. 

20 ‘‘(2) UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL RECIPIENTS.—A 

21 stipend awarded to an undergraduate level recipient 

22 may include an allowance for educational programs 

23 in the United States or abroad that—

24 ‘‘(A) are closely linked to the overall goals 

25 of the recipient’s course of study; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) have the purpose of promoting for2 eign language fluency and cultural knowledge.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS IN UNDERGRADUATE INTER4 NATIONAL STUDIES AND FOREIGN LAN5 GUAGE PROGRAMS. 

6 Section 604 (20 U.S.C. 1124) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (I) 

10 through (M) as subparagraphs (J) through 

11 (N), respectively; and 

12 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

13 (H) the following: 

14 ‘‘(I) providing subgrants to undergraduate 

15 students for educational programs abroad 

16 that—

17 (i) are closely linked to the overall 

18 goals of the program for which the grant 

19 is awarded; and 

20 (ii) have the purpose of promoting 

21 foreign language fluency and cultural 

22 knowledge;’’; and 

23 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(9) LIMITATION ON UNDERGRADUATE

25 GRANTS.—An institution of higher education, a com-
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1 bination of such institutions, or a partnership 

2 awarded a grant under this section shall use not 

3 more than 10 percent of the grant funds for the use 

4 described in paragraph (2)(I).’’; and 

5 (2) by striking subsection (c). 

6 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 

7 Section 605(a) (20 U.S.C. 1125(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

9 the semicolon; 

10 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 

11 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(10) the systematic collection, analysis, and 

14 dissemination of data that contribute to achieving 

15 the purposes of this part.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 Section 610 (20 U.S.C. 1128b) is amended by strik18 ing ‘‘$80,000,000 for fiscal year 1999’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘$120,000,000 for fiscal year 2005’’.

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