[DOCID: f:sr052.110]
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110th Congress
1st Session SENATE Report
110-52
_______________________________________________________________________
Calendar No. 114
TO EXTEND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
COLLEGE ACCESS ACT OF 1999
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 343
TO EXTEND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE ACCESS ACT OF 1999
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
April 11, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TED STEVENS, Alaska
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware GEROGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana TOM COBURN, Okalahoma
BARACK OBAMA, Illinois PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri JOHN WARNER, Virginia
JOHN TESTER, Montana JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire
Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
Donny R. Williams, Professional Staff Member
Deborah P. Parkinson, Professional Staff Member
Brandon L. Milhorn, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
David Cole, Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on Oversight of
Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of
Columbia
Amy L. Hall, Minority Professional Staff Member
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
C O N T E N T S
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Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................1
III. Legislative History..............................................2
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................2
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................2
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5
Calendar No. 114
110th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 110-52
======================================================================
TO EXTEND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE ACCESS ACT OF 1999
_______
April 11, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 343]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 343), to extend the
District of Columbia College Access Act of 1999, having
considered the same reports favorably thereon without amendment
and recommends that the bill do pass.
I. Purpose and Summary
The purpose of S. 343 is to reauthorize for five additional
years the public school and private school tuition assistance
programs established under the District of Columbia College
Access Act of 1999.\1\
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\1\ Public Law 106-98.
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II. Background and Need for the Legislation
The District of Columbia College Access Act of 1999
established the District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant
(D.C. TAG) program for District residents. The aim of the D.C.
TAG program is to assist District students, who do not have
access to state-supported education systems, in attending
institutions of higher education.
The D.C. TAG program provides scholarships to District
residents to cover the difference between in-state and out-of-
state tuition at state universities nationwide. Individual
scholarship awards are capped at $10,000 per student per school
year, with a cumulative cap of $50,000. In addition, the law
provides District residents who attend private institutions of
higher education in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of
Columbia with tuition grants of up to $2,500 per student per
school year with a cumulative cap of $12,500 per student.
In 2002, the District of Columbia College Access
Improvement Act of 2001 \2\ amended the program to allow
District residents attending Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) nationwide to receive tuition grants of
$2,500 per student per school year, with a cumulative cap of
$12,500 per student. The 2002 Act also eliminated the
requirement that District residents must continue on to college
within three years of high school graduation; expanded
eligibility to include all District residents who have resided
in the District of Columbia for at least five consecutive years
prior to applying for the grant and who were enrolled at an
eligible institution as of the date of enactment; and
established a dedicated account for the resident tuition
support program. In 2004, the program was reauthorized for an
additional two years.\3\
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\2\ Public Law 107-157.
\3\ Public Law 108-457.
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Since the first grants were awarded in 2000, the program
has dispersed more than 26,000 grants, totaling over $141
million to 9,769 District students.\4\ More than 1,500 have
graduated from college. The District of Columbia has seen a 60
percent increase in college attendance,\5\ with 55 percent of
the students being the first in their family to attend
college.\6\
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\4\ Statistics provided by the District of Columbia State Education
Office.
\5\ Statistics provided by the District of Columbia State Education
Office.
\6\ Examining the Challenges the District will Face Today,
Tomorrow, and in the Future: Hearing Before the Senate Subcommittee on
Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the
District of Columbia, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, S. Hrg. 109-511 (2006) (testimony of Anthony A. Williams).
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S. 343 extends the authorization for five additional years.
The extension will ensure that District of Columbia residents
continue to have access to institutions of higher education.
III. Legislative History
On January 22, 2007, S. 343 was introduced by Senator
Voinovich and cosponsored by Senators Akaka, Brownback,
Landrieu, Lieberman, and Warner. The legislation was referred
to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
On February 15, 2007, by voice vote, the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ordered S. 343
reported favorably without amendment.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. 5-Year reauthorization of tuition assistance programs
This section amends the D.C. College Access Act of 1999 by
striking `each of the 7 succeeding fiscal years' and inserting
`each of the 12 succeeding fiscal years' in section 3, the
public school program section, and in section 5, the private
school section.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirement of paragraph 11(b)(1) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. CBO states that
there are no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and no costs on
State, local, or tribal governments. The legislation contains
no other regulatory impact.
VI. Estimated Cost of Legislation
S. 343--A bill to extend the District of Columbia College Access Act of
1999
Summary: S. 343 would amend the District of Columbia
College Access Act of 1999 and reauthorize the District of
Columbia tuition assistance grant (DCTAG) program for students
who are residents of Washington, D.C. Current law authorizes
the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary through
fiscal year 2007, and S. 343 would extend this authorization
through fiscal year 2012. CBO estimates that the necessary
appropriations would total $208 million over the 2008-2012
period. Outlays would match this total over the same period.
The bill would have no significant impact on direct spending or
revenues.
S. 343 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 343 is presented in the following table.
The cost of this legislation falls within budget function 500
(education, training, employment, and social services).
ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF S. 343
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-----------------------------------------------------
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
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CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Spending Under Current Law:
Estimated Authorization Level......................... 33 0 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays..................................... 33 0 0 0 0 0
Proposed Changes:
Estimated Authorization Level......................... 0 30 41 44 46 47
Estimated Outlays..................................... 0 30 41 44 46 47
Spending Under S. 343:
Estimated Authorization Level......................... 33 30 41 44 46 47
Estimated Outlays..................................... 33 30 41 44 46 47
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Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S.
343 will be enacted during 2007 and that the estimated amounts
will be appropriated for each year.
Current Law
Under current law, DCTAG provides financial assistance to
D.C. residents who attend public colleges outside of the
District of Columbia, private postsecondary institutions in the
District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or any
historically black college or university. The private-school
tuition grants are restricted to nonprofit institutions.
Students who attend public schools receive assistance equal to
the difference between the tuition paid by residents of the
state in which the institution is located and the tuition
charged to nonresident students, with an annual limit of
$10,000 and a lifetime limit of $50,000. Private-school
students receive a $2,500 maximum annual grant, with a lifetime
limit of $12,500.
According to data from the District of Columbia's State
Education Office (SEO), the cost of DCTAG has grown
substantially since the program's inception (academic year
2000-2001). For the 2005-2006 academic year, the most recent
year for which final data are available, just over 3,800
students attending public institutions and 900 students
attending private schools received awards. Both the number of
participants and the size of average award have increased over
time. Growth has been particularly high for students attending
public schools.
Current law authorizes the appropriation of such sums as
may be necessary through fiscal year 2007. The Congress
appropriated $33 million for this program in fiscal year 2007,
although costs will likely exceed this total. Because costs for
DCTAG were lower than the appropriated sums during the early
years of the program, however, the SEO has been able to use
carryover funds to supplement appropriated funds to make grants
in recent years. As a result, the SEa has about $42 million
available for the current academic year. The office has
allocated just over $39 million for this award-year, but
because not all students who receive award letters enroll in
school, SEO's spending for financial assistance will likely be
closer to $35 million. SEO also spends about 3 percent of its
funds on operating costs.
Proposed extension
S. 343 would authorize the appropriation of such sums as
are necessary for DCTAG through 2012. CBO assumes that the SEO
would use all of its estimated $7 million in carryover funds in
2008, so while program costs would probably total almost $38
million, additional federal funds needed to cover those costs
would total only $30 million. CBO estimates that the necessary
appropriations and resulting outlays would total $208 million
over the 2008-2012 period. (Federal funds are disbursed and
outlays are recorded when the SEO receives the funds, not when
it actually makes the grants.) Based on population and high
school graduation projections from the Census Bureau and the
National Center for Education Statistics, respectively, CBO
estimates that the number of participants would continue to
grow, but at a slower rate than in the early years of the
program. In addition, some of the early growth was likely
attributable to recruitment efforts, which would be expected to
have a smaller effect as DCTAG matures.
CBO estimates that a total of about 5,500 students annually
would participate in the program by 2012. Based on data from
the SEO and the College Board, CBO also estimates that the
average cost per grant would continue to rise as the cost of
tuition and fees at both public and private schools rises,
although a growing share of the grants would be limited by the
annual caps. On that basis, CBO estimates that the average cost
per grant would reach $9,500 for public schools and about
$2,350 for private schools by 2012, assuming appropriation of
the necessary funds.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 343
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Justin Humphrey.
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Lisa Ramirez-
Branum. Impact on the Private Sector: Fatimot Ladipo.
Estimate approved by: Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the following changes in existing
law made by the bill, as reported, are shown as follows:
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CODE
TITLE 38. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Subtitle IX. College Access Assistance
CHAPTER 27. COLLEGE ACCESS ASSISTANCE
SEC. 38-2702. PUBLIC SCHOOL PROGRAM.
(a) Grants.--
(1) In general.--From amounts appropriated under
subsection (i) of this section the Mayor shall award
grants to eligible institutions that enroll eligible
students to pay the difference between the tuition and
fees charged for in-State students and the tuition and
fees charged for out-of-State students on behalf of
each eligible student enrolled in the eligible
institution.
* * * * * * *
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the District of Columbia to carry out
this section $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and (subject to
Sec. 38-2706) such sums as may be necessary for [each of the 7
succeeding fiscal years] each of the 12 succeeding fiscal
years. Such funds shall remain available until expended.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 38-2704. PRIVATE SCHOOL PROGRAM.
(a) Grants.--
(1) In general.--From amounts appropriated under
subsection (f) the Mayor shall award grants to eligible
institutions that enroll eligible students to pay the
cost of tuition and fees at the eligible institutions
on behalf of each eligible student enrolled in an
eligible institution. The Mayor may prescribe such
regulations as may be necessary to carry out this
section.
* * * * * * *
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the District of Columbia to carry out
this section $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and (subject to
Sec. 38-2706) such sums as may be necessary for [each of the 7
succeeding fiscal years] each of the 12 succeeding fiscal
years. Such funds shall remain available until expended.
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