I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4303

To authorize the Secretary of State to make grants to American-sponsored 

schools in Arab and other predominantly Muslim countries to provide 

full or partial merit-based scholarships for children from lower- and 

middle-income families of such countries to attend such schools, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2004

Mr. BERMAN (for himself and Mr. KNOLLENBERG) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of State to make grants to American-sponsored schools in Arab and other predominantly 

Muslim countries to provide full or partial merit-based 

scholarships for children from lower- and middle-income 

families of such countries to attend such schools, and 

for other purposes.

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 ‘‘American Schools 

5 Abroad Support Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) During the 2003–2004 school year, the Of4 fice of Overseas Schools of the Department of State 

5 is financially assisting 189 elementary and sec6 ondary schools in other countries. 

7 (2) These ‘‘American-sponsored’’ schools serve 

8 99,318 students, of whom 27,412 are United States 

9 citizens. 

10 (3) Twenty of these American-sponsored 

11 schools—serving 10,907 students—are located in the 

12 Near East and South Asia region, and other Amer13 ican-sponsored schools are located in countries with 

14 significant Muslim populations in Africa, Central 

15 Asia, and East Asia. 

16 (4) American-sponsored schools provide an 

17 American-style education in English, with curricula 

18 that typically include an emphasis on the develop19 ment of critical thinking and analytical skills. 

20 (5) In response to growing anti-American senti21 ment in Arab and other predominantly Muslim coun22 tries, the United States has placed a renewed em23 phasis on public diplomacy programs, with education 

24 at the elementary, secondary, and university levels 

25 representing an important part of that effort. 
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1 (6) Education is a key element of the efforts of 

2 the United States to promote political, economic, 

3 and social reform in Arab and predominantly Mus4 lim countries, and is one of the main components of 

5 the Middle East Partnership Initiative. 

6 (7) As active, vibrant institutions, American7 sponsored schools play a vital role in their local com8 munities, and help advance public diplomacy inter9 ests of the United States. 

10 (8) The Department of State currently provides 

11 funds to American-sponsored schools amounting 

12 only, on average, to between one and two percent of 

13 their annual operating expenses. 

14 (9) The United States has an interest in in15 creasing the level of financial support provided to 

16 American-sponsored schools in Arab and predomi17 nantly Muslim countries, in order to—

18 (A) increase the number of students in 

19 such countries who attend such schools; and 

20 (B) increase the number of young people 

21 who may thereby gain at any early age an ap22 preciation for the culture, society, and history 

23 of the United States. 

24 (10) The United States has an interest in in25 creasing the number of students in Arab and pre-
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1 dominately Muslim countries who attend American2 sponsored schools beyond those from affluent fami3 lies who are able to afford the cost of tuition, to in4 clude children from lower- and middle-income fami5 lies who otherwise might not be able to afford to at6 tend such schools. 

7 (11) Many American-sponsored schools have the 

8 capacity to increase the number of students who at9 tend such schools. 

10 (12) The Department of State has legal author11 ity under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Ex12 change Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.) (com13 monly referred to as the Fulbright-Hays Act) to pro14 vide increased financial support for American-spon15 sored schools. 

16 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that, based on the findings 

18 contained in section 2, additional funds should be made 

19 available to American-sponsored schools in Arab and pre20 dominately Muslim countries to provide full or partial 

21 merit-based scholarships to children from lower- and mid22 dle-income families of such countries to attend such 

23 schools. 
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1 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO AMERICAN-SPONSORED SCHOOLS IN 

2 ARAB AND OTHER PREDOMINANTLY MUSLIM 

3 COUNTRIES TO PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS TO 

4 STUDENTS. 

5 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of State, 

6 acting through the Director of the Office of Overseas 

7 Schools of the Department of State, may make grants to 

8 American-sponsored schools in Arab and predominantly 

9 Muslim countries for the purpose of providing full or par10 tial merit-based scholarships to students from lower- and 

11 middle-income families of such countries to attend such 

12 schools. 

13 (b) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—For 

14 purposes of expending grant funds, an American-spon15 sored school that receives a grant under subsection (a) is 

16 authorized to establish criteria to be implemented by such 

17 school to determine what constitutes lower- and middle18 income families in the country (or region of the country, 

19 if regional variations in income levels in the country are 

20 significant) in which such school is located. 

21 (c) RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts ap22 propriated to the Secretary of State pursuant to the au23 thorization of appropriations in subsection (c) shall be 

24 used for the sole purpose of making grants under this sec25 tion, and may not be used for the administration of the 
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1 Office of Overseas Schools of the Department of State or 

2 any other activity of the Office. 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 

5 2005 and 2006, $15,000,000 to carry out subsection (a).

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