The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S367-S370 on Jan. 24, 2005.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 7--RELATING TO THE DEATH OF HOWARD S. LIEBENGOOD,
FORMER SERGEANT AT ARMS OF THE SENATE
Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Warner, Mr. Biden, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Graham) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
S. Res. 7
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as a captain in the United States Army Military Police Corps in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970, receiving the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal for his exemplary service;
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood began his service to the Senate in 1973 as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee;
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as an aide to the Senate Church Committee in 1975, as the minority staff director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in 1976, and as legislative counsel to Senate Majority Leader Howard H. Baker, Jr., in 1980;
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as Sergeant at Arms of the Senate from 1981 to 1983;
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as chief of staff to Senator Fred Thompson from 2001 to 2003, and as chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, M.D., from 2003 until his death in January, 2005;
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood was a caring and devoted husband, father, and colleague who served with the utmost humility and distinction and was admired and respected by all as a teacher, adviser, and friend; and
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood inspired others through his personal leadership, generosity, and great love for the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of Howard S. Liebengood; and
(2) the Secretary of the Senate communicate these resolutions to the House of Representatives and transmit an enrolled copy of these resolutions to the family of Howard S. Liebengood.
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SENATE RESOLUTION 8--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE
MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF A FEDERAL PELL GRANT
Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. Coleman) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:
S. Res. 8
Whereas public investment in higher education yields a return of several dollars for each dollar invested;
Whereas higher education promotes economic opportunity and recipients of bachelor's degrees earn 73 percent more in lifetime earnings than those with only a secondary school diploma and are also significantly less likely to be unemployed;
Whereas access to a college education has become a hallmark of American society, and is vital to upholding our belief in equality of opportunity;
Whereas for a generation, the Federal Pell Grant has served as an established and effective means of providing access to higher education;
Whereas when viewed in constant dollars, the value of today's Pell Grant maximum award has actually declined by 16 percent since the mid 1970s;
Whereas grant aid as a portion of student aid has fallen significantly in the past 30 years;
Whereas in 1975, grant aid constituted approximately 80 percent of total student aid awarded to college students and loans constituted only 17 percent, now this has reversed with grants making up only 38 percent, and loans covering 56 percent of total student aid; and
Whereas the increasing reliance on borrowing to finance a higher education is particularly burdensome on low-income families and has negative consequences for the enrollment of these students.
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the maximum Federal Pell Grant for which a student should be eligible during award year 2005-2006 should be
$4,500; and
(2) the authorized levels for the Federal Pell Grant maximum amount found in section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) should be set high enough to accommodate a Federal Pell Grant amount of $9,000 by award year 2010-2011.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the first piece of legislation that I will sponsor in the 109th Congress--a resolution calling on the Senate to strengthen the Pell grant program so that more families can afford higher education.
The Pell grant program is the single largest source of grant aid for postsecondary education funded by the Federal Government. It provides grants to students based on their level of financial need to support their studies at the institutions they have chosen to attend. For this fiscal year, the Pell program is funded at $12.8 billion and is estimated to serve more than 5.3 million students.
I am pleased to have Senator Feingold and Senator Coleman joining me in this bipartisan effort to marshal additional Federal resources for the Pell program. They each have been a leader in the effort to expand access to higher education.
Our system of higher education is in many ways the envy of the world, but its benefits have not been equally available. Unfortunately, it is still the case that one of the most determinative factors of whether students will pursue higher education is their family income. Students from families with incomes above $75,000 are more than twice as likely to attend college as students from families with incomes of less that
$25,000.
Even more unsettling are studies demonstrating the negative effect of unmet financial need on college attendance for even the most academically prepared students. Among the most highly qualified high school students, those from low-income families were 43 percent less likely to attend college than their wealthier counterparts.
To help remedy these inequities, the Federal Government has wisely invested in a need-based system of student financial aid designed to help remove the economic barriers to higher education. Central to this effort over the past 30 years has been the Pell grant program. This program was designed as the cornerstone of Federal student assistance.
Unfortunately, the purchasing power of the Pell grant has been significantly eroded in recent years, forcing students to rely increasingly on loans to finance their higher education. In 1975, the maximum Pell grant covered approximately 80 percent of the costs of attending a public, 4-year institution. Today, it covers less than half of these costs, forcing students to make up the difference by taking on larger and larger amounts of debt. On average, students from the University of Maine graduate with approximately $18,000 in debt from Federal student loans alone, and this reflects national trends. As startling as this figure is, it does not include additional indebtedness that many students incur through private loans or credit card debt to finance their education.
The decline in the value of grant aid and the growing reliance on loans bring other negative consequences. The staggering amount of loans can force some students to abandon their plans to attend college altogether. According to the College Board, low-income families are significantly less willing, by almost 50 percent, to finance a college education through borrowed money than their wealthier counterparts.
That does not surprise me. Many working families in Maine are committed to living within their means. Understandably, they are extremely wary of the staggering amount of debt that is now required to finance a college education.
I also know this to be true from my experiences as a college administrator at Husson College in Maine. At Husson, 85 to 90 percent of students currently receive some sort of Federal financial aid, and approximately 60 percent of students receive Pell grants.
As Linda Conant, the financial aid director at Husson told me, ``You cannot imagine how difficult it is to sit with a family and to explain to them the amount of loans that are needed to finance a post-secondary degree. It scares them. That is why Pell grant aid is so important for low-income families. For these families, loans don't always work, but Pell does.''
I also heard from Judy Kenney from Northern Maine about the importance of Pell grants. Judy lives in Castle Hill, not far from my home town of Caribou. Her daughter and son both were able to attend college with the help of Pell grants. As she told me, ``At the time, my husband Maylen was farming and having a rough go of it and I was a teacher and didn't make much. But the Pell grants my children received made it possible for them to graduate, one from the University of New England and one from Thomas College. Without these grants, they couldn't have finished and now they are making good wages and paying taxes!''
Judy couldn't be more right on both counts. Not only can the typical bachelor's degree recipient expect to earn about 73 percent more over a lifetime than a high school graduate, they also typically contribute 100 percent more in Federal income taxes than the average high school graduate. So this is truly a Federal investment that pays for itself over the long run.
We also know that having a well-educated workforce is crucial to our economic future and competitiveness in the global economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that over the next 10 years, there will be significant growth in jobs requiring at least some post-
secondary education. So increasingly, higher education is going to be necessary to ensure employability and to prepare Americans to participate in tomorrow's economy.
Pell grants make the difference in whether students have access to higher education, and a chance to participate fully in the American dream. That is why today I am introducing a resolution calling on the Senate to begin restoring the value of the Pell grant program.
This resolution calls on the Senate to raise the Pell maximum grant award to $4,500, a $450 increase in a single year. This increase is long overdue. The maximum grant award has been essentially level-funded for 4 straight years--at $4,050 for the past 3 years and only a $50 increase in FY 2002.
During these 4 years, think of the students who might have entered college and graduated with a degree, if only they had received additional Pell grant aid. Pell grants are targeted to the neediest of students--recipients have a median family income of only $15,200. An additional $450 in Pell grant aid may very well be the deciding factor on whether these students can pursue their college dreams.
The resolution also calls on the Senate to amend the Higher Education Act to provide higher authorization levels for the Pell maximum grant that would allow for a doubling of the maximum grant to $9,000 over the next 5 years. This is an ambitious goal but a worthy one for a nation that understands the opportunities that a college education brings.
As my colleagues know, the Higher Education Act is expected to be reauthorized this year. As the Senate HELP Committee considers the reauthorization, it is my hope that this resolution will prompt a discussion about the need for the maximum grant to grow.
I know that my good friends Senator Enzi, the new chairman of the Senate HELP Committee; Senator Kennedy, the ranking member; Senator Alexander, the chairman of the new Education and Early Childhood Development Subcommittee; and his Democratic counterpart will all work hard with other committee members to produce a strong reauthorization bill. I look forward to working with them further; they are all champions of ensuring greater access to quality education for all Americans, regardless of their financial means.
The President also has recently announced his intention to include a proposal in his 2006 budget request to eliminate the Pell shortfall and to provide an increase in the maximum grant of $100 for each of the next 5 years. I commend the President for focusing on Pell grants, and I hope that we can work together to provide a more substantial increase for the maximum grant for the upcoming year. An increase of approximately $100 for each of the next 5 years will not be enough to increase the purchasing power of Pell grants and will not keep pace with inflation or rising tuition costs. For 2004-2005, the average costs of tuition and fees for a public, 4-year institution rose by over 10 percent.
I will ask unanimous consent to have a letter of support for my legislation printed in the Record. This letter is from the Student Aid Alliance, a coalition of more than 60 organizations representing students, colleges and universities. Founded by the American Council on Education and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Student Aid Alliance includes members such as the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, to name just a few. I am pleased to have their support.
Mr. President, now is the time for us to make a commitment to raising the Pell maximum award to $4,500 for the upcoming award year. The Pell grant program is the foundation of making good on the American promise of access to higher education. I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this resolution.
I ask unanimous consent to have the letter to which I referred printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Student Aid Alliance,
Washington, DC, January 24, 2005.Re support for Collins-Feingold Resolution on Pell Grants
Dear Senator: The Student Aid Alliance, a coalition of over 60 higher education associations representing students, parents, colleges and universities, supports the passage of the Collins-Feingold resolution to increase the Pell Grant maximum award to $4,500 in the 2005-06 award year, and to double the maximum over the next 5 years. We urge the Senate to adopt this legislation, which paves the way toward achieving increased support for students seeking to finance a college education.
The Pell Grant program is one of the most successful programs that the federal government has ever initiated. It has financed the education of millions of college students who are now contributing members of society--doctors, teachers, mayors, and members of Congress. It is rooted in the abiding American value that one's aspirations--not one's income--should determine the shape of one's future.
Increasing the Pell Grant maximum award by $450 is vitally important to the millions of college students who have seen no increase in their grants for the past three years in a row. During this period, the college-age population has continued to expand, states have been cutting their investments in higher education, and family savings have been diminished by economic losses. Increasing the Pell Grant maximum award is an essential and necessary component of keeping college possible for these students.
Passage of the Collins-Feingold resolution will signal Congress' interest in and support of America's neediest students. We encourage you to support this important legislation.
Sincerely,David Ward,
Co-Chair.David Warren,
Co-Chair.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
2005 List of Members
American Association for Higher Education
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
American Association of Community Colleges
American Dental Education Association
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
American Association of University Professors
American College Personnel Association
American College Testing
American Council on Education
American Indian Higher Education Consortium
American Jewish Congress
American Psychological Association
American Society for Engineering Education
American Student Association of Community Colleges
APPA: The Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers
Association of Academic Health Centers
Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools
Association of American Colleges and Universities
Association of American Law Schools
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Universities
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
Association of Community College Trustees
Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
Citizen's Scholarship Foundation of Arnerica
Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations
College and University Personnel Association for Human Resources
College Board
College Parents of America
Council for Advancement and Support of Education
Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Council of Graduate Schools
Council of Independent Colleges
Council for Opportunity in Education
Educational Testing Service
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Lutheran Educational Conference of North America
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
National Association for College Admission Counseling
National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education
National Association of College and University Business Officers
National Association of Graduate and Professional Students
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
National Association of Student Personnel Administrators
National College Access Network
National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Council for Community and Education Partnerships
National Council of University Research Administrators
National Education Association
NAWE: Advancing Women in Higher Education
The Council on Government Relations
United Negro College Fund
United States Public Interest Research Group
United States Student Association
University Continuing Education Association
Women's College Coalition
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SENATE RESOLUTION 9--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING
DESIGNATION OF THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER AS ``NATIONAL MILITARY FAMILY
MONTH''
Mr. INOUYE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:
S. Res. 9
Whereas military families, through their sacrifices and their dedication to our Nation and its values, represent the bedrock upon which our Nation was founded and upon which our Nation continues to rely in these perilous and challenging times: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate--
(1) that the month of November should be designated as
``National Military Family Month''; and
(2) to request that the President--
(A) designate the month of November as ``National Military Family Month''; and
(B) issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe the month with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, today I rise to honor all our military families by introducing a Resolution to designate November as National Military Family Month. As we all know, memories fade and the hardships experienced by our military families are easily forgotten unless they touch our own immediate family.
Today, we have our men and women deployed all over the world, engaged in this war on terrorism. These far-ranging military deployments are extremely difficult on the families who bear this heavy burden.
To honor these families, the Armed Services YMCA has sponsored Military Family Week in late November since 1996. However, due to frequent ``short week'' conflicts around the Thanksgiving holidays, the designated week has not always afforded enough time to schedule observance on and near our military bases.
I believe a month long observation will allow greater opportunity to plan events. Moreover, it will provide a greater opportunity to stimulate media support.
A resolution will help pave the way for this effort. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this tribute to our military families.
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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 3--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE CONGRESS
WITH RESPECT TO THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL
Mr. SCHUMER (for himself and Mr. Talent) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:
S. Con. Res. 3
Whereas Emmett Till was born in Chicago, Illinois, at Cook County Hospital, on July 25, 1941, to Mamie and Louis Till;
Whereas Emmett Till traveled to Money, Mississippi, to spend the summer with his uncle, Moses Wright, and his relatives;
Whereas in August 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till--with adolescent flamboyance, but unfamiliarity of the racial customs of the South--allegedly whistled at Carolyn Bryant, a White woman;
Whereas on August 28, at about 2:30 a.m., Roy Bryant, Carolyn Bryant's husband, and his half brother, J.W. Milam, kidnaped Emmett Till from his uncle Moses Wright's home;
Whereas Bryant and Milam brutally beat Emmett Till, took him to the edge of the Tallahatchie River, shot him in the head, fastened a large metal fan used for ginning cotton to his neck with barbed wire, and pushed the body into the river;
Whereas 3 days later, Emmett Till's decomposed corpse was pulled from the Tallahatchie River;
Whereas Emmett's mother, Mamie Till, made the extraordinary decision to leave the casket open at her son's funeral in Chicago, in order to allow the world to see the brutality of the crime perpetrated against her son;
Whereas tens of thousands of people viewed Emmett Till's body in a Chicago church for 4 days; and press from around the world published photographs of Emmett's maimed face; and the sheer brutality of his murder became international news that highlighted the violent racism of the Jim Crow South;
Whereas Jet Magazine and the Chicago Defender published photographs of Emmett Till's body outraging African-Americans around the United States;
Whereas the trial of J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant began in September of that year with an all-male, all-White jury, because African-Americans and women were banned from serving;
Whereas the trial of Milam and Bryant was a microcosm of the Jim Crow South: African-Americans were packed in a specific section of the courtroom balcony; the defendants' families were seen laughing and joking with the prosecution and the jury; and food and snacks were passed out to White observers;
Whereas Moses Wright did the unthinkable as an African-American and openly accused the White defendants in public court of murdering his nephew;
Whereas Moses Wright was run out of town for his actions in court;
Whereas J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant were acquitted of the murder of Emmett Till, and Bryant celebrated his acquittal with his wife in front of the cameras;
Whereas protected from further prosecution, Milam and Bryant candidly confessed their torture and murder of Emmett Till; Milam did so on the record to Look Magazine for $4,000;
Whereas Mamie Till and thousands of others pleaded with the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to reopen and investigate the case;
Whereas the Federal Government did absolutely nothing, and President Eisenhower and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover refused to reopen the case and did not even answer Mamie Till's urgent telegraph;
Whereas 100 days later, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a White patron and the modern civil rights revolution began;
Whereas many historians regard the murder of Emmett Till as the true spark of the civil rights movement;
Whereas Mamie Till, who died on January 6, 2003, moved back to Chicago, taught, and continued to talk about her son Emmett's murder; and expressed her wishes for a full Federal investigation;
Whereas more than 48 years have passed since the murder of Emmett Till;
Whereas the remaining witnesses to this gruesome crime are elderly;
Whereas House Concurrent Resolution 360 entitled
``Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the murder of Emmett Till'', was introduced on February 10, 2004, by Representative Bobby Rush;
Whereas the Department of Justice reopened the investigation into the murder of Emmett Till on May 11, 2004; and
Whereas Congress supports the decision to reopen the investigation of the murder of Emmett Till: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That Congress--
(1) calls on all authorities with jurisdiction, including the Department of Justice and the State of Mississippi, to--
(A) expeditiously bring those responsible for the murder of Emmett Till to justice, due to the amount of time that has passed since the murder and the age of the witnesses; and
(B) provide all the resources necessary to ensure a timely and thorough investigation; and
(2) calls on the Department of Justice to fully report the findings of their investigation to Congress.
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