In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

May 13, 1997.

Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of the

Senate to the bill (H.R. 914) entitled ‘‘An Act to make certain technical corrections in the Higher Education Act of

1965 relating to graduation data disclosures’’, with the following

AMENDMENTS:

Insert before section 1 the following:

1 TITLE I—TECHNICAL

2 AMENDMENTS

Redesignate sections 1 through 5 as sections 101

through 105, and at the end of the bill add the following:

3 SEC. 106. PAYMENTS RELATING TO FEDERAL PROPERTY.

4 Section 8002(i) of the Elementary and Secondary

5 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7702(i)) is amended to

6 read as follows:

7 ‘‘(i) PRIORITY PAYMENTS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection

9 (b)(1)(B), and for any fiscal year beginning with fis10 cal year 1997 for which the amount appropriated to
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1 carry out this section exceeds the amount so appro2 priated for fiscal year 1996—

3 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall first use the excess

4 amount (not to exceed the amount equal to the

5 difference of (i) the amount appropriated to

6 carry out this section for fiscal year 1997, and

7 (ii) the amount appropriated to carry out this

8 section for fiscal year 1996) to increase the pay9 ment that would otherwise be made under this

10 section to not more than 50 percent of the maxi11 mum amount determined under subsection (b)

12 for any local educational agency described in

13 paragraph (2); and

14 ‘‘(B) the Secretary shall use the remainder

15 of the excess amount to increase the payments to

16 each eligible local educational agency under this

17 section.

18 ‘‘(2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY DE19 SCRIBED.—A local educational agency described in

20 this paragraph is a local educational agency that—

21 ‘‘(A) received a payment under this section

22 for fiscal year 1996;

23 ‘‘(B) serves a school district that contains

24 all or a portion of a United States military

25 academy;
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1 ‘‘(C) serves a school district in which the

2 local tax assessor has certified that at least 60

3 percent of the real property is federally owned;

4 and

5 ‘‘(D) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the

6 Secretary that such agency’s per-pupil revenue

7 derived from local sources for current expendi8 tures is not less than that revenue for the preced9 ing fiscal year.’’.

10 TITLE II—COST OF HIGHER

11 EDUCATION REVIEW

12 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

13 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cost

14 of Higher Education Review Act of 1997’’.

15 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

16 (1) According to a report issued by the General

17 Accounting Office, tuition at 4-year public colleges

18 and universities increased 234 percent from school

19 year 1980–1981 through school year 1994–1995, while

20 median household income rose 82 percent and the cost

21 of consumer goods as measured by the Consumer

22 Price Index rose 74 percent over the same time pe23 riod.
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1 (2) A 1995 survey of college freshmen found that

2 concern about college affordability was the highest it

3 has been in the last 30 years.

4 (3) Paying for a college education now ranks as

5 one of the most costly investments for American fami6 lies.

7 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL COMMISSION ON

8 THE COST OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

9 There is established a Commission to be known as the

10 ‘‘National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education’’

11 (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

12 SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.

13 (a) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be com14 posed of 7 members as follows:

15 (1) Two individuals shall be appointed by the

16 Speaker of the House.

17 (2) One individual shall be appointed by the Mi18 nority Leader of the House.

19 (3) Two individuals shall be appointed by the

20 Majority Leader of the Senate.

21 (4) One individual shall be appointed by the Mi22 nority Leader of the Senate.

23 (5) One individual shall be appointed by the

24 Secretary of Education.
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1 (b) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.—Each of the indi2 viduals appointed under subsection (a) shall be an individ3 ual with expertise and experience in higher education fi4 nance (including the financing of State institutions of high5 er education), Federal financial aid programs, education

6 economics research, public or private higher education ad7 ministration, or business executives who have managed suc8 cessful cost reduction programs.

9 (c) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The

10 members of the Commission shall elect a Chairperson and

11 a Vice Chairperson. In the absence of the Chairperson, the

12 Vice Chairperson will assume the duties of the Chairperson.

13 (d) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the Com14 mission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of

15 business.

16 (e) APPOINTMENTS.—All appointments under sub17 section (a) shall be made within 30 days after the date of

18 enactment of this Act. In the event that an officer author19 ized to make an appointment under subsection (a) has not

20 made such appointment within such 30 days, the appoint21 ment may be made for such officer as follows:

22 (1) The Chairman of the Committee on Edu23 cation and the Workforce may act under such sub24 section for the Speaker of the House of Representa25 tives.
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1 (2) The Ranking Minority Member of the Com2 mittee on Education and the Workforce may act

3 under such subsection for the Minority Leader of the

4 House of Representatives.

5 (3) The Chairman of the Committee on Labor

6 and Human Resources may act under such subsection

7 for the Majority Leader of the Senate.

8 (4) The Ranking Minority Member of the Com9 mittee on Labor and Human Resources may act

10 under such subsection for the Minority Leader of the

11 Senate.

12 (f) VOTING.—Each member of the Commission shall be

13 entitled to one vote, which shall be equal to the vote of every

14 other member of the Commission.

15 (g) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Commission

16 shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the manner

17 in which the original appointment was made.

18 (h) PROHIBITION OF ADDITIONAL PAY.—Members of

19 the Commission shall receive no additional pay, allowances,

20 or benefits by reason of their service on the Commission.

21 Members appointed from among private citizens of the

22 United States may be allowed travel expenses, including per

23 diem, in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for per24 sons serving intermittently in the government service to the

25 extent funds are available for such expenses.
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1 (i) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of the

2 Commission shall occur within 40 days after the date of

3 enactment of this Act.

4 SEC. 204. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.

5 (a) SPECIFIC FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—

6 The Commission shall study and make findings and specific

7 recommendations regarding the following:

8 (1) The increase in tuition compared with other

9 commodities and services.

10 (2) Innovative methods of reducing or stabilizing

11 tuition.

12 (3) Trends in college and university administra13 tive costs, including administrative staffing, ratio of

14 administrative staff to instructors, ratio of adminis15 trative staff to students, remuneration of administra16 tive staff, and remuneration of college and university

17 presidents or chancellors.

18 (4) Trends in (A) faculty workload and remu19 neration (including the use of adjunct faculty), (B)

20 faculty-to-student ratios, (C) number of hours spent

21 in the classroom by faculty, and (D) tenure practices,

22 and the impact of such trends on tuition.

23 (5) Trends in (A) the construction and renova24 tion of academic and other collegiate facilities, and

25 (B) the modernization of facilities to access and uti-
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1 lize new technologies, and the impact of such trends

2 on tuition.

3 (6) The extent to which increases in institutional

4 financial aid and tuition discounting have affected

5 tuition increases, including the demographics of stu6 dents receiving such aid, the extent to which such aid

7 is provided to students with limited need in order to

8 attract such students to particular institutions or

9 major fields of study, and the extent to which Federal

10 financial aid, including loan aid, has been used to

11 offset such increases.

12 (7) The extent to which Federal, State, and local

13 laws, regulations, or other mandates contribute to in14 creasing tuition, and recommendations on reducing

15 those mandates.

16 (8) The establishment of a mechanism for a more

17 timely and widespread distribution of data on tuition

18 trends and other costs of operating colleges and uni19 versities.

20 (9) The extent to which student financial aid

21 programs have contributed to changes in tuition.

22 (10) Trends in State fiscal policies that have af23 fected college costs.
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1 (11) The adequacy of existing Federal and State

2 financial aid programs in meeting the costs of attend3 ing colleges and universities.

4 (12) Other related topics determined to be appro5 priate by the Commission.

6 (b) FINAL REPORT.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the

8 Commission shall submit to the President and to the

9 Congress, not later than 120 days after the date of the

10 first meeting of the Commission, a report which shall

11 contain a detailed statement of the findings and con12 clusions of the Commission, including the Commis13 sion’s recommendations for administrative and legis14 lative action that the Commission considers advisable.

15 (2) MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED FOR REC16 OMMENDATIONS.—Any recommendation described in

17 paragraph (1) shall be made by the Commission to

18 the President and to the Congress only if such rec19 ommendation is adopted by a majority vote of the

20 members of the Commission who are present and vot21 ing.

22 (3) EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT CIR23 CUMSTANCES.—In making any findings under sub24 section (a) of this section, the Commission shall take

25 into account differences between public and private
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1 colleges and universities, the length of the academic

2 program, the size of the institution’s student popu3 lation, and the availability of the institution’s re4 sources, including the size of the institution’s endow5 ment.

6 SEC. 205. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

7 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may, for the pur8 pose of carrying out this Act, hold such hearings and sit

9 and act at such times and places, as the Commission may

10 find advisable.

11 (b) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Commission may

12 adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to

13 establish the Commission’s procedures and to govern the

14 manner of the Commission’s operations, organization, and

15 personnel.

16 (c) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

17 (1) INFORMATION.—The Commission may re18 quest from the head of any Federal agency or instru19 mentality such information as the Commission may

20 require for the purpose of this Act. Each such agency

21 or instrumentality shall, to the extent permitted by

22 law and subject to the exceptions set forth in section

23 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred

24 to as the Freedom of Information Act), furnish such
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1 information to the Commission, upon request made

2 by the Chairperson of the Commission.

3 (2) FACILITIES AND SERVICES, PERSONNEL DE4 TAIL AUTHORIZED.—Upon request of the Chairperson

5 of the Commission, the head of any Federal agency or

6 instrumentality shall, to the extent possible and sub7 ject to the discretion of such head—

8 (A) make any of the facilities and services

9 of such agency or instrumentality available to

10 the Commission; and

11 (B) detail any of the personnel of such

12 agency or instrumentality to the Commission, on

13 a nonreimbursable basis, to assist the Commis14 sion in carrying out the Commission’s duties

15 under this Act.

16 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

17 States mails in the same manner and under the same condi18 tions as other Federal agencies.

19 (e) CONTRACTING.—The Commission, to such extent

20 and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation

21 Acts, may enter into contracts with State agencies, private

22 firms, institutions, and individuals for the purpose of con23 ducting research or surveys necessary to enable the Commis24 sion to discharge the Commission’s duties under this Act.
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1 (f) STAFF.—Subject to such rules and regulations as

2 may be adopted by the Commission, and to such extent and

3 in such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts,

4 the Chairperson of the Commission shall have the power to

5 appoint, terminate, and fix the compensation (without re6 gard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, govern7 ing appointments in the competitive service, and without

8 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III

9 of chapter 53 of such title, or of any other provision, or

10 of any other provision of law, relating to the number, classi11 fication, and General Schedule rates) of an Executive Direc12 tor, and of such additional staff as the Chairperson deems

13 advisable to assist the Commission, at rates not to exceed

14 a rate equal to the maximum rate for level IV of the Execu15 tive Schedule under section 5332 of such title.

16 SEC. 206. EXPENSES OF COMMISSION.

17 There are authorized to be appropriated to pay any

18 expenses of the Commission such sums as may be necessary

19 not to exceed $650,000. Any sums appropriated for such

20 purposes are authorized to remain available until expended,

21 or until one year after the termination of the Commission

22 pursuant to section 207, whichever occurs first.

23 SEC. 207. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

24 The Commission shall cease to exist on the date that

25 is 60 days after the date on which the Commission is re-
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1 quired to submit its final report in accordance with section

2 204(b).

Attest:

Clerk.
105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H.R. 914

AMENDMENTS

TO

SENATE AMENDMENT