Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4555 To ensure that significantly more students graduate college with the inter- national knowledge and experience essential for success in today’s global economy through the establishment of the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program in the Department of Education. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 Mrs. BUSTOS (for herself and Mr. KATKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To ensure that significantly more students graduate college with the international knowledge and experience essential for success in today’s global economy through the estab- lishment of the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Pro- gram in the Department of Education. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Senator Paul Simon 4 Study Abroad Program Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4555.IH H4555 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4555 IH (1) To prepare students for success in the mod- 1 ern global economy, opportunities for study abroad 2 should be included as part of a well-rounded edu- 3 cation. 4 (2) Study abroad programs provide students 5 with unparalleled access to international knowledge, 6 an unmatched opportunity to learn foreign lan- 7 guages, and a unique environment for developing 8 cultural understanding, all of which are knowledge 9 and skills needed in today’s global economy. 10 (3) Less than 2 percent of all enrolled postsec- 11 ondary students in the United States study abroad 12 for credit in any given year, and minority students, 13 first generation college students, community college 14 students, and students with disabilities are signifi- 15 cantly underrepresented in study abroad participa- 16 tion. 17 (4) Congress authorized the establishment of 18 the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study 19 Abroad Fellowship Program pursuant to section 104 20 of the Miscellaneous Appropriations and Offsets Act, 21 2004 (division H of Public Law 108–199). Pursuant 22 to its mandate, the Lincoln Commission submitted 23 to Congress and the President a report of its rec- 24 ommendations for greatly expanding the opportunity 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4555.IH H4555 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4555 IH for students at institutions of higher education in 1 the United States to study abroad, with special em- 2 phasis on studying in developing nations. 3 (5) According to the Lincoln Commission, 4 ‘‘[e]xperience shows that leadership from adminis- 5 trators and faculty will drive the number of study 6 abroad participants higher and improve the quality 7 of programs. Such leadership is the only way that 8 study abroad will become an integral part of the un- 9 dergraduate experience.’’. A competitive grant pro- 10 gram is necessary to encourage and support such 11 leadership. 12 (6) Student safety while studying abroad is and 13 must continue to be a priority for institutions of 14 higher education and study abroad programs. 15 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 16 The purposes of this Act are— 17 (1) to ensure that significantly more students 18 have access to quality study abroad opportunities; 19 (2) to ensure that the diversity of students 20 studying abroad reflects the diversity of students 21 and institutions of higher education in the United 22 States; 23 (3) to encourage greater diversity in study 24 abroad destinations by increasing the portion of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4555.IH H4555 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4555 IH study abroad that takes place in nontraditional 1 study abroad destinations, especially in developing 2 countries; and 3 (4) to encourage a greater commitment by in- 4 stitutions of higher education to expand study 5 abroad opportunities. 6 SEC. 4. SENATOR PAUL SIMON STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM. 7 Section 741 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 8 U.S.C. 1138) is amended— 9 (1) in subsection (a)— 10 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (12) and 11 (13) as paragraphs (13) and (14), respectively; 12 and 13 (B) by inserting after paragraph (11) the 14 following: 15 ‘‘(12) awarding grants under the Senator Paul 16 Simon Study Abroad Program described in sub- 17 section (g);’’; and 18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(g) SENATOR PAUL SIMON STUDY ABROAD PRO- 20 GRAM.— 21 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 22 ‘‘(A) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU- 23 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4555.IH H4555 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4555 IH cation’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 1 tion 101(a). 2 ‘‘(B) NATIONAL OF THE UNITED 3 STATES.—The term ‘national of the United 4 States’ means a national of the United States 5 or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent res- 6 idence (as those terms are defined in section 7 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 8 U.S.C. 1101)). 9 ‘‘(C) NONTRADITIONAL STUDY ABROAD 10 DESTINATION.—The term ‘nontraditional study 11 abroad destination’ means a location that is de- 12 termined by the Secretary to be a less common 13 destination for students who study abroad. 14 ‘‘(D) STUDENT.—The term ‘student’ 15 means a national of the United States who is 16 enrolled at an institution of higher education lo- 17 cated within the United States. 18 ‘‘(E) STUDY ABROAD.—The term ‘study 19 abroad’ means an educational program of 20 study, work, research, internship, or combina- 21 tion thereof that is conducted outside the 22 United States and that carries academic credit. 23 ‘‘(2) SENATOR PAUL SIMON STUDY ABROAD 24 PROGRAM.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4555.IH H4555 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4555 IH ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab- 1 lished in the Department a program to be 2 called the ‘Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad 3 Program’. 4 ‘‘(B) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the 5 program established under subparagraph (A) 6 are, that not later than 10 years after the date 7 of enactment of the Senator Paul Simon Study 8 Abroad Program Act of 2019— 9 ‘‘(i) not less than 1,000,000 under- 10 graduate students will study abroad annu- 11 ally; 12 ‘‘(ii) the demographics of study 13 abroad participation will reflect the demo- 14 graphics of the United States under- 15 graduate population by increasing the par- 16 ticipation of underrepresented groups; and 17 ‘‘(iii) an increasing portion of study 18 abroad will take place in nontraditional 19 study abroad destinations, with a substan- 20 tial portion of such increases in developing 21 countries. 22 ‘‘(C) COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO INSTITU- 23 TIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—In order to ac- 24 complish the objectives set forth in subpara- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4555.IH H4555 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4555 IH graph (B), the Secretary shall award grants on 1 a competitive basis to institutions of higher 2 education, individually or in a consortium, 3 based on applications by the institutions that— 4 ‘‘(i) set forth detailed plans for using 5 grant funds to further such objectives; 6 ‘‘(ii) include an institutional commit- 7 ment to expanding access to study abroad; 8 ‘‘(iii) include plans for evaluating 9 progress made in increasing access to 10 study abroad; 11 ‘‘(iv) describe how increases in study 12 abroad participation achieved through the 13 grant will be sustained in subsequent 14 years; and 15 ‘‘(v) demonstrate that the programs 16 have established health and safety guide- 17 lines and procedures, informed by Depart- 18 ment of State travel advisories and other 19 appropriate Federal agencies and re- 20 sources, including the Overseas Security 21 Advisory Council, the USA Study Abroad 22 Office of the Department of State, and the 23 Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 24 tion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4555.IH H4555 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4555 IH ‘‘(D) NONGOVERNMENTAL INSTITU- 1 TIONS.—Consortia of institutions of higher edu- 2 cation applying for grants described in subpara- 3 graph (C) may include nongovernmental institu- 4 tions that provide and promote study abroad 5 opportunities for students. 6 ‘‘(E) COMMISSION ON THE ABRAHAM LIN- 7 COLN STUDY ABROAD FELLOWSHIP PRO- 8 GRAM.—In administering the program, the Sec- 9 retary shall take fully into account the rec- 10 ommendations of the Commission on the Abra- 11 ham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Pro- 12 gram, established pursuant to section 104 of 13 the Miscellaneous Appropriations and Offsets 14 Act, 2004 (division H of Public Law 108–199). 15 ‘‘(F) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out 16 this paragraph, the Secretary shall consult with 17 representatives of diverse institutions of higher 18 education, educational policy organizations, and 19 others with appropriate expertise. 20 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than Decem- 21 ber 31 of each year following the date of enactment 22 of the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program 23 Act of 2019, the Secretary shall submit to the Com- 24 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4555.IH H4555 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4555 IH of the Senate and the Committee on Education and 1 Labor of the House of Representatives a report on 2 the implementation of this subsection during the 3 prior fiscal year. 4 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 5 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 6 this subsection such sums as may be necessary for 7 fiscal year 2020 and each subsequent fiscal year.’’. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4555.IH H4555 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS