‘‘SEC. 132. STATE COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABLE COLLEGE 
EDUCATION. 
‘‘(a) MAINTENANCE
OF EFFORT REQUIRED.—No 
State shall reduce the total amount provided by the State 
for public institutions of higher education in such State 
for any academic year beginning on or after July 1, 2007, 
to an amount which is less than the average amount pro-
vided by such State to such institutions of higher edu-
cation during the academic years between July 1, 2002, 
and July 1, 2007. 
‘‘(b) WITHHOLDING OF ALL EDUCATION ADMINIS-
TRATIVE FUNDS FOR VIOLATIONS.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the Secretary of Education shall 
withhold from any State that violates subsection (a) any 
amount that would otherwise be available to the State for 
administrative expenses and costs under any Federal edu-
cation program until such State has corrected such viola-
tion.’’. 
SEC. 5. COST CONTAINMENT STRATEGIES. 
Title I is further amended by inserting after section 
132 (as added by section 4) the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 133. COST CONTAINMENT STRATEGIES. 
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Each institution of higher 
education shall in accordance with the requirements of this 
section engage in, and report upon, cost containment 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
22:07 Jun 14, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2690.IH
H2690
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
strategies. Such strategies may include (but are not lim-
ited to) the following activities: 
‘‘(1) bulk purchasing; 
‘‘(2) joint faculty appointments; 
‘‘(3) streamlining administration; 
‘‘(4) energy conservation and savings; 
‘‘(5) technological innovations; and 
‘‘(6) joint degree offerings. 
‘‘(b) FIVE-YEAR PLANS.—Within 2 years after the 
enactment of the Act, each institution of higher education 
shall submit a 5-year plan on their cost containment strat-
egies and any progress made to date to the Secretary of 
Education. 
‘‘(c) RESEARCH INTO COST CONTAINMENT METH-
ODS.— 
‘‘(1) 
RESEARCH
AUTHORIZED.—From 
the 
funds appropriated under paragraph (2), the Sec-
retary is authorized— 
‘‘(A) to conduct or provide for the conduct 
of research to identify methods of cost contain-
ment currently utilized by institutions of higher 
education and systems of such institutions, and 
research into other possible methods of cost 
containment; 
‘‘(B) to disseminate— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
22:07 Jun 14, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2690.IH
H2690
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
‘‘(i) the information obtained by such 
research to such institutions and systems; 
and 
‘‘(ii) other research that has identified 
successful methods of cost containment; 
‘‘(C) to publicly recognize institutions of 
higher education that are doing an effective job 
at cost containment; and 
‘‘(D) to work together with such institu-
tions and systems to implement these methods. 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this subsection $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and 
such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 
succeeding fiscal years. 
‘‘(d) CONSUMER INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRED.— 
‘‘(A) CONTENTS
OF
REPORT.—The Sec-
retary shall annually prepare and publish a re-
port on college affordability in America. The 
college affordability report shall provide, at a 
minimum, comprehensive information on— 
‘‘(i) the sticker price, total price of at-
tendance, net tuition price, and net access 
price for every institution of higher edu-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
22:07 Jun 14, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2690.IH
H2690
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
cation that participates in the Federal stu-
dent aid programs under title IV of this 
Act; 
‘‘(ii) the percentage change in the list-
ed sticker price, total price of attendance, 
net tuition price, and net access price over 
a 3-, 5-, and 10-year time period for each 
such institution; and 
‘‘(iii) the level of Federal and State 
support for higher education per capita 
and per pupil. 
‘‘(B) ADVISORY GROUP.—To ensure that 
the annual college affordability in America re-
port provides consumer-friendly information, 
the Secretary shall convene an advisory group 
of students, parents, and college officials to 
help determine the information that shall be in-
cluded in the report. 
‘‘(2) DATA
DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary 
shall make publicly available the data collected pur-
suant to this section, including an institution’s net 
price tuition index as calculated in accordance with 
subsection (e). Such data shall be made available in 
a manner that permits the review and comparison of 
data submissions of individual institutions of higher 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
22:07 Jun 14, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2690.IH
H2690
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
education. Such data shall be presented in a form 
that is easily accessible and understandable and al-
lows parents and students to make informed deci-
sions based on the average prices for full-time un-
dergraduate students and the institution’s rate of in-
crease in the sticker price, total price of attendance, 
net tuition price, and net access price. 
‘‘(3) WEBSITE ENHANCEMENT.— 
‘‘(A) WEBSITE INFORMATION.—In order to 
further enhance public knowledge and under-
standing of college affordability, the Secretary 
shall modify the college opportunities on line 
(COOL) web site. The goal of such changes 
shall be to make the website the single best 
source of information about applying to and 
paying for a postsecondary education. Such 
changes shall make the website more user 
friendly and facilitate the comparison of mul-
tiple institutions at the same time. Such website 
shall provide detailed tuition and student aid 
data for each institution (including data from 
the annual college affordability in America re-
port). As part of improving the website, the 
Secretary shall establish an advisory board of 
students and parents to guide the redesign. The 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
22:07 Jun 14, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2690.IH
H2690
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS