[EDLING:908] Legislative Update from JNCL-NCLIS

[Francis M Hult]

By way of the ILR list...

July has been a busy month in the Nation's Capital.  The Senate
Appropriations Committee has completed work on their Education spending
bill.  Unlike the Administration and the House of Representatives which
would eliminate the Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP), the Senate
Committee heartily approved $25 million for FLAP.  This would be a $7.1
million increase over present funding.  Report language notes that the
increase is to go to "school districts with poverty rates of 15% or more,
to
help the highest-need elementary schools within such districts establish
foreign language instruction programs."  Funding for international
education
and foreign language studies  of $106.8 million is identical to last year's
appropriations and the Presidential and House requests (Title VI is $92.5
million; Fulbright-Hays is $12.7 million and IIPP is $1.6 million).

Other programs that have been level-funded or close include: Fund for the
Improvement of Post-secondary Education (FIPSE)-$162.2 million; Graduate
Assistance in Areas of National Need-$30.4 million; English Language
Acquisition-$675.8 million; and Javits Gifted and Talented-$11 million.
Improving Teacher Quality was level-funded as well at $2.9 billion.  Civic
Education received a slight increase to $30 million, Star Schools was
increased slightly to $21 million and Educational Technology was cut by $71
million to $425 million.  For a chart comparing the President, House and
Senate appropriations, please visit the JNCL-NCLIS website at
http://www.languagepolicy.org .  It is expected that a conference to
reconcile differences will take place in September.

Last week the House Education and the Workforce Committee completed
work on reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, HR 609, the College
Access and Opportunity Act of 2005 which includes HR 509, The International
Studies in Higher Education Act (Title VI) previously approved by the
Subcommittee on Select Education.  It passed by a party-line vote of 27
Republicans to 20 Democrats.  As reported earlier, a number of improvements
recommended by the language, international education, and higher education
communities were accepted. The final bill [includes] an
International Higher Education Advisory Board.

A number of amendments dealing with languages and international education
were offered during the mark-up, including one by Representative Rush Holt
(D-NJ) that would have created a new $15 million program to study science
and technology in a foreign language.  The Holt amendment was defeated by a
22 to 26 vote with two Republicans, Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)and Thomas Price
(R-GA) voting for it

On the other hand, Representative Holt was successful in having foreign
languages included in Title IV, section 427, Loan Forgiveness for Service in
Areas of National Need.  Loans will be forgiven for foreign language
specialists "in an elementary or secondary school as a teacher of a critical
foreign language" or "in an agency of the United States Government in a
position that regularly requires the use of such critical foreign
language."

To view HR 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act, please visit our
website.

Senate negotiations to reauthorize the Higher Education Act continue apace
and we will let you know of any new developments.

A new bill, S.1376 , the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act has been
introduced by Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS).  This bipartisan legislation is
co-sponsored by Senators Stevens (R-AK), Warner (R-VA), Burns (R-MN), Dodd
(D-CT) and Akaka (D-HI).  S. 1376 is "to improve and expand geographic
literacy among kindergarten through grade 12 students...by improving
professional development programs..." S. 1376 can be accessed through
http://www.languagepolicy.org .

Finally, a number of new bills such as Senator Daniel Akaka's National
Foreign Language Coordination Act, Representative Rush Holt's National
Security Language Act, and Senator Joseph Lieberman's United States-China
Cultural Engagement Act remain under discussion as even more legislative
initiatives are being developed.  For speeches, press releases and to read
bills please go to the JNCL website. .

JNCL-NCLIS
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Suite 310
Washington, DC  20016
Phone: 202-966-8477
Fax:  202-966-8310
info at languagepolicy.org
www.languagepolicy.org