macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. we all know that paying for college is often a daunting task for our Nations students and families. It can sometimes be difficult to calculate the full costs and find ways to meet them. Far too many students graduate with too much debtdebts that can limit their choices and strain their finances. I am proud that this Congress has focused significant attention on this issue. Last year this Congress passed the largest increase in student assistance since the Montgomery G.I. Bill. That increase was fully paid for by reducing subsidies to banks and lenders. Today. we continue our commitment to increasing access to higher education with the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. This bill provides transparency and clarity in the oftenconfusing process that students and families face as they decide how to pay for college. It simplifies the Free Application for Federal Student Aid process and creates a shorter form for lowincome families. It instructs the Secretary of Education to create a userfriendly website that centralizes information about schools and costs. It also makes sure that students and parents get easytounderstand information about the terms and conditions of both federal and private loans. The College Opportunity and Affordability Act also includes provisions from the Housepassed Student Loan Sunshine Act. which requires schools and lenders to adopt strict codes of conduct to avoid conflicts of interest and protect students from aggressive lending practices. Todays bill also furthers our Competitiveness Agenda. begun with the America COMPETES Act last year._by creating programs to recruit new science and technology teachers and collaborate with the business community to improve science. technology. engineering and math (STEM) and foreign language education. It continues our commitment to our Nations military. creating new scholarships for active duty personnel and their families. providing support for veterans at college. and ensuring that they have fair access to student and housing aid. I thank the chairman and ranking member for including many of the provisions from the Teach for America Act. a bill that I introduced last year with Mr. CASTLE. Ms. DELAuRO. Mr. REGULA. and Mr. SARBANES. These provisions. combined with the amendment to clarify specific authorizing amounts that Mr. CASTLE and I offered today. will allow Teach for America to expand its reach with 8.000 corps members serving 680.000 children in 33 regions around the country. Mr. Chairman. this bill will increase transparency. put more qualified teachers in our classrooms. and open the doors to college to our Nations children. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it today.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I would like to express my support for H.R. 4137. the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007. With each passing day. a college education becomes increasingly important for the success of our workforce while simultaneously becoming more expensive. and unattainable. H.R. 4137 would address this unfortunate trend by making a quality postsecondary education more affordable and accessible for all Americans. This legislation includes a number of commendable provisions that will help to reform our higher education system so that it can better serve the needs of students and their families. It offers a comprehensive approach to reducing educational expenses and provides targeted support to groups with the greatest need. I am particularly pleased with the efforts that have been made to increase access for lowincome and minority students. The bill allows Pell grants to be made available based on a yearround enrollment schedule so that lowincome and nontraditional students will have the flexibility and resources to obtain a college degree. Additional provisions in the bill will expand funding for minorityserving institutions such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities. There are also measures designed to strengthen the GEAR UP and TRIO college readiness programs so that lowincome and first generation students will be adequately prepared. If we truly wish to enable our students to achieve their full potential. we must not let them be confined by their financial limitations. I support the College Opportunity and Affordability Act so that all Americans will be able to pursue a higher education and achieve the American Dream.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I yield myself 1 minute. I want to thank Mr. MCKEON and the minority for working on this managers amendment. With this. it makes additional changes to the Pell Grant program. additional changes to strengthen the TRIO and GEAR UP programs. adds a masters program for the Historical Black Colleges and Universities. and includes changes to encourage colleges and universities to adopt energy efficient sustainable practices in their campuses. and it enhances teacher training and development so we can place qualified teachers in every classroom. It is a bipartisan amendment that has been worked on by the staffs and. Members on both sides of the aisle in the committee and Members of the House. and I urge its passage.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Amendment No. 2 offered by Mr. MCKEON: I just wanted to say that we did re- At the end of title Vill. add the following spond in this managers amendment by new section: making this process more transparent. SEC. 814. FEDERAL REGULATION OF HIGHER encouraging greater communication EDUCATION REPORT. and cooperation between the students. (a) ANALYSIS OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS ON
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Chairman. I also rise in support of this amendment and commend Mr. MCKEON. He has been working on this for a considerable period of time. I think it makes sense even more so now. it was envisioned in an earlier reauthorization. because it will include the programs that survive the conference committee and become law. It will also compare those new programs against existing programs. and I ask our colleagues to support this amendment.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I just want to rise and I think support this amendment. I think in the context of going to the conference committee. where we know the Senate has an auction provision. I think. well given even there. where weve done. we have this provision in the reconciliation bill to look at an auction to see whether we can do it and make it feasible. this may be helpful in us making some determinations about how we proceed on that effort and how the Department proceeds on that effort. So I would support the amendment.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Chairman. I rise in support of the gentleman from Wisconsins amendment. I think having these parallel audits. these are two programs that. for the sake of the takpayer. compete with one another. and I think that thats important. I was encouraged to see in the Presidents 2009 budget that. for the first time. the taxpayer costs for student borrowing through the FFEL program are closer to the more efficient direct loan programs. taking into account what we did in the reconciliation bill. I was also interested to see that still we see that it costs only onefourth as much to make a direct loan as it does to make a FFEL loan program. So I think that we should be encouraged and we should be prepared to have these audits. because I think the taxpayer is winning this discussion. thanks in large part to the efforts of
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Chairman. I would simply rise in support of the amendment. I think that the effort that is being made here by Mr. CASTLE will. in fact. add to some understanding by the public and some transparency for those of us who have to make policy as to exactly whats going on with the increase in college costs. I think these kinds of explanatibns will be important for all of us. and we welcome the amendment. Madam Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I rise in support of Mr. WELCHS amendment and thank Mr. KELLER for his support of this amendment. Mr. KELLER has laid it out quite correctly. We have been struggling with this for a number of years. I think that this amendment helps with the transparency and with the information that we need to know as we continue to consider public policy. I say that because growing numbers of Members of Congress come up to me every week after they go home and talk about they have been asked the question about the increased costs of college. We know it is complex. We know it is difficult. -And we know that it is not easily given to the idea that one policy fits all. one size fits all. whatever cliche you want to use. But it must be addressed when we are asking the taxpayers to continue to step up and to provide the assistance to these families so that we can create a strong Nation and a strong economy and welleducated individuals that are critical to maintaining the democracy in a complex world. So I want to thank the gentleman for offering this amendment and ask my colleagues to support it.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Chairman. I rise today in strong support of the JohnsonYoung amendment to expand higher education opportunities for the children of fallen soldiers. Since the year 2001. more than 4.400 U.S. servicemembers have died during their deployment in Iraq -or Afghanistan. Historically. war has cost America the lives of our sons and daughters. However. the soldiers serving today in Iraq and Afghanistan are not just single men. 40 percent of the servigemembers in Iraq are married and 30 percent have children. The soldiers we have lost are not only our sons and daughters. but our husbands and wives and fathers and mothers. As we reflect on the cost of this war. we must realize that many of these brave young men and women have left families and young children behind. These young men and women include Sergeant Paul Sanchez. a native of Irving. Texas. who was killed last January by an IED in Iraq. leaving behind a wife. a 12yearold daughter and a 10yearold son. and Second Lieutenant John Craver who was killed in October 2006 in Baghdad. A native of McKinney. Texas. he left behind a wife and three children. As well as Specialist Jessica Cawvey. who was killed in Fallujah in 2004. She was a 21yearold single mother and left behind a 6yearold daughter. These are just a few of more than 2.100 children who have lost a parent in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The death of a parent is not only emotionally devastating for a child but often creates financial hardships for their family. The JohnsonYoung amendment offers financial assistance and access to higher education for children who lost a parent or guardian as a result of this war. It allows the children who have been left behind to have access to a -maximum Pell Grant award. Through this Pell Grant award. we can offer a chance for a bright future for the children of those brave young men and women who gave their lives in the name of service for our country.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I want to thank the gentlewoman for bringing this amendment to the attention of the committee. I think it is a very good amendment and it is the right thing for us to do with respect to these families that have paid such a high price for their service to our country. I thank the gentlewoman. and I urge our colleagues to support it.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Chairman. I would like to thank the chairman of the full committee and his staff for working with me on these important issues that will help to deliver for the needs of our Nations students. I thank Mr. YOUNG. and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Madam Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Chairman. I want to thank the gentleman for offering this amendment and join Mr. KELLER in support of this amendment. I think this is an important amendment. As the gentleman pointed out. not only are these difficult positions. but they are becoming more and more difficult to fill with the wave of retirements and all the other impacts on schools. I want to thank him for. bringing this to our attention and getting it included in the bill. I join in its support.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I thank the gentleman from Texas . Thank you so much for offering this amendment. Madam Chairman. this is a critical amendment if we are. in fact. going to simplify the process of applying for student loans. if we are going to make it understandable to parents and to students who make these applications. and we are going to cut down the time that is required by them to do this. This linking of the data between the IRS and the Department of Education. we have been given excuse after excuse after excuse why this couldnt be done. The DoggettHayes amendment allows this to happen. requires that it happen. Its very important that we support this amendment and that it be part of the final bill when it comes out of the conference committee. I want to thank the gentlemen. Mr. DOGGETT from Texas and Mr. HAYES. for offering this amendment. a very. very important amendment if we are going to change the way we do business and do it on behalf of families and students to make their life easier and to save the Federal taxpayers a lot of money.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I want to thank the gentleman for offering this amendment. Madam Chairman. I think that this is a very important amendment. It starts to make the attempt to conform our policies with the makeup of the college population and the reasons that people go back to college. which are much more diverse today than they were 10. 15 years ago. and I want to thank him and urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I rise today to join my colleague. Mr. CASTLE of Delaware. in offering this amendment in support of Teach for America. And I want to recognize the efforts of Mr. CASTLE for his years of advocacy for this very important cause and thank Chairman MILLER and Ranking Member McKEON for their stalwart bipartisan support for Teach for America. For many years. Teach for America has pioneered an innovative and very successful approach to teacher recruitment. placing over 17.000 outstanding college graduates in schools around our Nation. reaching over 2 million students. Many of those graduates remain in education after teaching as corps members. either as teachers or as principals. or remain otherwise active within our educational community. This is a program that has received strong bipartisan support from this Congress. and the Teach for America Act. which authorizes the partnership between the Federal. Government and this important program. was introduced on a bipartisan basis by a number of us. including Mr. CASTLE. MS. DELAURO. who has been a champion of this issue. Mr. REGULA. Mr. SARBANES. and now has over 105 cosponsors. And I want to thank Chairman MILLER and the committee for incorporating the major provisions of that legislation into the bill that is before us today. This amendment proposes one change. which is the bill before us authorizes such sums as may be necessary for this program. And what this amendment does is seek to clarify our congressional intent with respect to the specific targets that we want to hit with respect to funding. It sets an authorized level of $20 million for fiscal year 2009 and $25 million for fiscal year 2010. And those are the levels that are consistent with the Teach for Americas published budget. And with this funding. Teach for America can expand from 5.000 members in 26 urban and rural areas around the country. to 8.000 members in 33 regions and serve 680.000 economically disadvantaged children. This is an important. real impact. Teach for America has been forthright about its plans. and. it raises about 80 percent of its funds from nongovernment sources. This amendment. of course. does not make this mandatory. but it clearly says that this is the intent of Congress tp reach these levels. These are the levels necessary to get the job done and make sure we fund our share of this very important partnership. Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance of my time.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I just want to thank my colleagues for support of this amendment. I want to thank Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Hes been so persistent on this amendment. Teach for America brings a lot of exciting new people to teaching. to join career teachers to rebuild our schools. And I know theres been some criticism of this program. I would just say. ask a principal who has Teach for America students in their schools. Theyre delighted. They would like more. I also want to recognize. I see Mr. REGULA sitting here. whos been a champion of this program year after year after year in the appropriations process.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I also want to recognize Mr. REGULA for his early and steady support. I yield 1 minute to Congresswoman ROSA DELAURO of Connecticut.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I want to once again thank the chairman of the committee. Mr. MILLER. and the ranking member. Mr. McKEON. for their efforts on this. I yield the remainder of my time to Mr. Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania who has been such a great leader on education issues across the board.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the gentlelady from New York very much for offering this amendment. The question of student safety is something that the committee is hearing more and more about from not only schools but obviously from parents. Parents are asking these questions now as they seek to apply to different institutions. and I think this amendment will be very helpful to us. I urge the support of the amendment.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

sylvania. Mr. Chairman. I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. today. with this bill. we will vote to make a real difference and put a college education within reach of more students than ever before. My colleagues. Chairman MILLER. Chairman HINOJOSA. Mr. McKEON. and
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I want to thank the gentleman from North Carolina for offering this amendment. This information would be helpful to us. It would also give us the ability to determine whether weie putting our resources and our time and our taiunts in the right place with iespet to properly preparing people for the wo.l: force. I would urge my colleagues to �upport the amendment.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Carter It is tough to do when I realize the sub- Chabot this amendment. It should be o the author of the amendto the party that supports it. out Teach for America? Have d to the principals in the tricts that have these magoung people who have come stem to give us a couple of ears of their life? It wont be ader this amendment. what about the disabled kids n college where. for the first he Higher Education Act. we he needs of the disabled comat can thrive and do well in ut they need help. You pit inst their brothers and sisur choice. ladies and gentlecan vote for the past and a s record and commitment on or you can vote for the fuabout some change? gAKER pro tempore. Without the previous question is orhe motion to recommit. as no objection. EAKER pro tempore. The s on the motion to recommit. stion was taken. and the ro tempore announced that ppeared to have it.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: C41ifornia

Madam Speaker. I request 5 legislative days in which Members may revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the RECORD on the bill. H.R. 4137.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that. in the engrossment of the bill. H.R. 4137. the Clerk be authorized to correct the table of contents. section numbers. punctuation. citations. and crossreferences and to make such other technical and conforming changes as may be appropriate to reflect the actions of the House.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

pointed out. Thats what you saw with the economic stimulus. You might not see it every time. but you are going to see it a lot more times in this Congress.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

And thats the direction we are going to continue to go in. because that line in the sand that you referred to. we have got to draw one. And the place that we draw it is a real commitment to making sure that we move back into a surplus situation like we were in before this administration took us to hell -in a handbasket. I mean. lets take a look at the deterioration that our budget has gone through over the last number of years. We had a situation where the budget has deteriorated by $8.8 trillion under Republican policies. In the 2001 fiscal year. we had a $5.6 trillion surplus. Literally leading into President Bush taking office. we were in a $5.6 trillion surplus. Now. over the time of this administration. which is approaching 71/2. almost 8 years. we have gone from a $5.6 trillion surplus to a $3.2 trillion deficit. LI 2045 Now. if there is anyplace that I think that this Democratic majority. will draw a line in the sand. its here. so that we can make sure we take our established policies and adopt a budget and a plan and a blueprint to get us back to a surplus situation.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Exactly. And lets detail some of those facts. because the mythology that you just laid out. which is that its Republicans that are fiscally responsible and that its Democrats that cause debt. lets take the reality of the Bush administrations responsibility and stewardship of our fiscal house over the last several years. This administration. under President Bushs leadership. is responsible for the five biggest deficits in American history. Now. there was a whole lot of talk. Mr. ALTMIRE. as you recall over the last year or so. from this administration about how they were going to get us out of debt over the next 4 or 5 years. Right? Well. the third highest deficit that exists is proposed in the budget document that President Bush submitted to the Congress on Monday at $407 billion. The only two higher deficits that were projected were last fiscal year and in fiscal year 2004. when it was $413 billion. Were going in the wrong direction.
Date: 2008-02-07
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Thank you. Because we backed out $3 billion in deficit in a $3 trillion budget. The budget this year that he proposed was over $3 trillion.