IV

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 145

Providing for the concurrence of the House with the amendment of the

Senate to H.R. 914, with amendments.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 13, 1997

Mr. MCKEON submitted the following resolution; which was considered and

agreed to

RESOLUTION

Providing for the concurrence of the House with the

amendment of the Senate to H.R. 914, with amendments.

1 Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution

2 the bill (H.R. 914), to make certain technical corrections

3 in the Higher Education Act of 1965 relating to gradua4 tion data disclosures, shall be considered to have been

5 taken from the Speaker’s table to the end that the Senate

6 amendments thereto be, and the same are hereby, agreed

7 to with amendments as follows:

8 Insert before section 1 the following:
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1 TITLE I—TECHNICAL

2 AMENDMENTS

3 Redesignate sections 1 through 5 as sections 101

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

5 SEC. 106. PAYMENTS RELATING TO FEDERAL PROPERTY.

6 Section 8002(i) of the Elementary and Secondary

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

8 to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(i) PRIORITY PAYMENTS.—

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

11 (b)(1)(B), and for any fiscal year beginning with fis12 cal year 1997 for which the amount appropriated to

13 carry out this section exceeds the amount so appro14 priated for fiscal year 1996—

15 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall first use the ex16 cess amount (not to exceed the amount equal to

17 the difference of (i) the amount appropriated to

18 carry out this section for fiscal year 1997, and

19 (ii) the amount appropriated to carry out this

20 section for fiscal year 1996) to increase the

21 payment that would otherwise be made under

22 this section to not more than 50 percent of the

23 maximum amount determined under subsection

24 (b) for any local educational agency described

25 in paragraph (2); and
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1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary shall use the remainder

2 of the excess amount to increase the payments

3 to each eligible local educational agency under

4 this section.

5 ‘‘(2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY DE6 SCRIBED.—A local educational agency described in

7 this paragraph is a local educational agency that—

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

9 for fiscal year 1996;

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

11 all or a portion of a United States military

12 academy;

13 ‘‘(C) serves a school district in which the

14 local tax assessor has certified that at least 60

15 percent of the real property is federally owned;

16 and

17 ‘‘(D) demonstrates to the satisfaction of

18 the Secretary that such agency’s per-pupil reve19 nue derived from local sources for current ex20 penditures is not less than that revenue for the

21 preceding fiscal year.’’.
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1 TITLE II—COST OF HIGHER

2 EDUCATION REVIEW

3 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Cost of Higher Education Review Act of 1997’’.

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

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

8 Accounting Office, tuition at 4-year public colleges

9 and universities increased 234 percent from school

10 year 1980–1981 through school year 1994–1995,

11 while median household income rose 82 percent and

12 the cost of consumer goods as measured by the

13 Consumer Price Index rose 74 percent over the same

14 time period.

15 (2) A 1995 survey of college freshmen found

16 that concern about college affordability was the

17 highest it has been in the last 30 years.

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

19 one of the most costly investments for American

20 families.

21 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL COMMISSION ON

22 THE COST OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

23 There is established a Commission to be known as

24 the ‘‘National Commission on the Cost of Higher Edu-
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1 cation’’ (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commis2 sion’’).

3 SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.

4 (a) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be com5 posed of 7 members as follows:

6 (1) Two individuals shall be appointed by the

7 Speaker of the House.

8 (2) One individual shall be appointed by the Mi9 nority Leader of the House.

10 (3) Two individuals shall be appointed by the

11 Majority Leader of the Senate.

12 (4) One individual shall be appointed by the Mi13 nority Leader of the Senate.

14 (5) One individual shall be appointed by the

15 Secretary of Education.

16 (b) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.—Each of the in17 dividuals appointed under subsection (a) shall be an indi18 vidual with expertise and experience in higher education

19 finance (including the financing of State institutions of

20 higher education), Federal financial aid programs, edu21 cation economics research, public or private higher edu22 cation administration, or business executives who have

23 managed successful cost reduction programs.

24 (c) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The

25 members of the Commission shall elect a Chairperson and
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1 a Vice Chairperson. In the absence of the Chairperson,

2 the Vice Chairperson will assume the duties of the Chair3 person.

4 (d) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

5 Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction

6 of business.

7 (e) APPOINTMENTS.—All appointments under sub8 section (a) shall be made within 30 days after the date

9 of enactment of this Act. In the event that an officer au10 thorized to make an appointment under subsection (a) has

11 not made such appointment within such 30 days, the ap12 pointment may be made for such officer as follows:

13 (1) The Chairman of the Committee on Edu14 cation and the Workforce may act under such sub15 section for the Speaker of the House of Representa16 tives.

17 (2) The Ranking Minority Member of the Com18 mittee on Education and the Workforce may act

19 under such subsection for the Minority Leader of

20 the House of Representatives.

21 (3) The Chairman of the Committee on Labor

22 and Human Resources may act under such sub23 section for the Majority Leader of the Senate.

24 (4) The Ranking Minority Member of the Com25 mittee on Labor and Human Resources may act
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1 under such subsection for the Minority Leader of

2 the Senate.

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

4 be entitled to one vote, which shall be equal to the vote

5 of every other member of the Commission.

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

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

8 in which the original appointment was made.

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

10 the Commission shall receive no additional pay, allow11 ances, or benefits by reason of their service on the Com12 mission. Members appointed from among private citizens

13 of the United States may be allowed travel expenses, in14 cluding per diem, in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by

15 law for persons serving intermittently in the government

16 service to the extent funds are available for such expenses.

17 (i) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of the

18 Commission shall occur within 40 days after the date of

19 enactment of this Act.

20 SEC. 204. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.

21 (a) SPECIFIC FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—

22 The Commission shall study and make findings and spe23 cific recommendations regarding the following:

24 (1) The increase in tuition compared with other

25 commodities and services.
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1 (2) Innovative methods of reducing or stabiliz2 ing tuition.

3 (3) Trends in college and university administra4 tive costs, including administrative staffing, ratio of

5 administrative staff to instructors, ratio of adminis6 trative staff to students, remuneration of adminis7 trative staff, and remuneration of college and univer8 sity presidents or chancellors.

9 (4) Trends in (A) faculty workload and remu10 neration (including the use of adjunct faculty), (B)

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

12 in the classroom by faculty, and (D) tenure prac13 tices, and the impact of such trends on tuition.

14 (5) Trends in (A) the construction and renova15 tion of academic and other collegiate facilities, and

16 (B) the modernization of facilities to access and uti17 lize new technologies, and the impact of such trends

18 on tuition.

19 (6) The extent to which increases in institu20 tional financial aid and tuition discounting have af21 fected tuition increases, including the demographics

22 of students receiving such aid, the extent to which

23 such aid is provided to students with limited need in

24 order to attract such students to particular institu25 tions or major fields of study, and the extent to
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1 which Federal financial aid, including loan aid, has

2 been used to offset such increases.

3 (7) The extent to which Federal, State, and

4 local laws, regulations, or other mandates contribute

5 to increasing tuition, and recommendations on re6 ducing those mandates.

7 (8) The establishment of a mechanism for a

8 more timely and widespread distribution of data on

9 tuition trends and other costs of operating colleges

10 and universities.

11 (9) The extent to which student financial aid

12 programs have contributed to changes in tuition.

13 (10) Trends in State fiscal policies that have af14 fected college costs.

15 (11) The adequacy of existing Federal and

16 State financial aid programs in meeting the costs of

17 attending colleges and universities.

18 (12) Other related topics determined to be ap19 propriate by the Commission.

20 (b) FINAL REPORT.—

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

22 the Commission shall submit to the President and to

23 the Congress, not later than 120 days after the date

24 of the first meeting of the Commission, a report

25 which shall contain a detailed statement of the find-
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1 ings and conclusions of the Commission, including

2 the Commission’s recommendations for administra3 tive and legislative action that the Commission con4 siders advisable.

5 (2) MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED FOR REC6 OMMENDATIONS.—Any recommendation described in

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

8 the President and to the Congress only if such rec9 ommendation is adopted by a majority vote of the

10 members of the Commission who are present and

11 voting.

12 (3) EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT CIR13 CUMSTANCES.—In making any findings under sub14 section (a) of this section, the Commission shall take

15 into account differences between public and private

16 colleges and universities, the length of the academic

17 program, the size of the institution’s student popu18 lation, and the availability of the institution’s re19 sources, including the size of the institution’s endow20 ment.

21 SEC. 205. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

22 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may, for the pur23 pose of carrying out this Act, hold such hearings and sit

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

25 find advisable.
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1 (b) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Commission

2 may adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary

3 to establish the Commission’s procedures and to govern

4 the manner of the Commission’s operations, organization,

5 and personnel.

6 (c) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

7 (1) INFORMATION.—The Commission may re8 quest from the head of any Federal agency or in9 strumentality such information as the Commission

10 may require for the purpose of this Act. Each such

11 agency or instrumentality shall, to the extent per12 mitted by law and subject to the exceptions set forth

13 in section 552 of title 5, United States Code (com14 monly referred to as the Freedom of Information

15 Act), furnish such information to the Commission,

16 upon request made by the Chairperson of the Com17 mission.

18 (2) FACILITIES AND SERVICES, PERSONNEL DE19 TAIL AUTHORIZED.—Upon request of the Chair20 person of the Commission, the head of any Federal

21 agency or instrumentality shall, to the extent pos22 sible and subject to the discretion of such head—

23 (A) make any of the facilities and services

24 of such agency or instrumentality available to

25 the Commission; and
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1 (B) detail any of the personnel of such

2 agency or instrumentality to the Commission,

3 on a nonreimbursable basis, to assist the Com4 mission in carrying out the Commission’s duties

5 under this Act.

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

7 States mails in the same manner and under the same con8 ditions as other Federal agencies.

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

10 and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation

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

12 firms, institutions, and individuals for the purpose of con13 ducting research or surveys necessary to enable the Com14 mission to discharge the Commission’s duties under this

15 Act.

16 (f) STAFF.—Subject to such rules and regulations as

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

18 and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation

19 Acts, the Chairperson of the Commission shall have the

20 power to appoint, terminate, and fix the compensation

21 (without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States

22 Code, governing appointments in the competitive service,

23 and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and

24 subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, or of any other

25 provision, or of any other provision of law, relating to the
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1 number, classification, and General Schedule rates) of an

2 Executive Director, and of such additional staff as the

3 Chairperson deems advisable to assist the Commission, at

4 rates not to exceed a rate equal to the maximum rate for

5 level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5332 of

6 such title.

7 SEC. 206. EXPENSES OF COMMISSION.

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to pay any

9 expenses of the Commission such sums as may be nec10 essary not to exceed $650,000. Any sums appropriated for

11 such purposes are authorized to remain available until ex12 pended, or until one year after the termination of the

13 Commission pursuant to section 207, whichever occurs

14 first.

15 SEC. 207. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

16 The Commission shall cease to exist on the date that

17 is 60 days after the date on which the Commission is re18 quired to submit its final report in accordance with section

19 204(b).

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