Higher Education Extension Act of 2004

HIGHER EDUCATION EXTENSION ACT OF 2004 -- (House of Representatives - October 06, 2004)

(BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT)

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time. I appreciate the opportunity.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 5185, the Higher Education Extension Act of 2004. This legislation will provide for the continuation of all of the programs authorized within the Higher Education Act for a period of 1 year. This extension will allow Congress to finish its work on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to provide more streamlined, flexible, cost-effective, and student-friendly programs for the future.

The House has done a great deal of work to move forward on the Higher Education Act reauthorization. We passed four bills from this chamber that unfortunately received no further consideration in the other body. There have been bills introduced by my friends on the other side of the aisle, and the majority has also introduced several other bills, including H.R. 4283, the College Access and Opportunity Act. This most recent comprehensive legislative package provides for a great many benefits for current students, while holding institutions of higher education, accrediting agencies, and participants in the student loan programs more accountable. The bill maintains two student loan programs and equal benefits for all student loan borrowers, regardless of the program in which their school participates. Unfortunately, both the calendar and election-year politics stood in the way of the legislative process moving forward in its entirety.

This extension will allow all programs to run without interruption and ensure student financial aid will be available to all eligible students. It is a clean, straight-line extension, meaning that this bill has not been weighed down with other amendments, but does strictly what it was intended to do, extend all current programs.

The majority has continued to attempt to work with our colleagues on several pieces of legislation. However, many of those attempts failed. Now there is a deadline approaching. No one in this chamber wants to see these programs expire, nor do we want to instill any sort of concern on the part of students, institutions, or student loan providers. It is time to put politics aside, pass this legislation and get it to the President for his immediate signature.

I have every confidence that the Committee on Education and the Workforce will come together early in the 109th session and move quickly to enact a comprehensive, bipartisan higher education reauthorization bill. I look forward to working with my colleagues to do so, and I urge the passage of H.R. 5185 today.