|
June
13, 2002
The
Honorable Howard "Buck" McKeon, Chairman
Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness
2242 Rayburn House Office Building
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515 |
The
Honorable Patsy T. Mink,
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness
2210 Rayburn House Office Building
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
|
Dear Mr.
Chairman and Representative Mink,
The United
States Student Association and the state Public Interest Research
Groups are writing to express our support of an amendment
to be offered by Rep. George Miller to H.R. 4866, the technical
amendments bill to the Higher Education Act. This amendment
is an important step in eliminating financial barriers to
higher education.
Section
484(r) of the Higher Education Act—Suspension of Eligibility
for Drug Related Offenses—currently mandates that a student
who is convicted of a drug offense automatically be rendered
ineligible for Title IV aid. Rep. Miller's amendment would
make a number of important changes: first, it would amend
the current law to apply only to students who are convicted
of a drug offense while receiving aid; and second, it would
grant judicial discretion. Judicial discretion would allow
the courts to determine whether or not to recommend loss of
Title IV eligibility as a penalty for a drug offense and to
eliminate "double jeopardy"—instances when
students lose their financial aid eligibility in addition
to a judicial penalty or sentence.
The amendment
would also eliminate the need to list the drug conviction
question on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA),
ending the confusion amongst applicants that has kept thousands
of students from receiving financial aid to attend college.
While
we are disappointed that these changes were removed from the
final version H.R. 4866, we strongly support Rep. Miller's
amendment to restore them. We believe that Section 484(r)
is a flawed higher education policy that keeps thousands of
eligible students out of college classrooms. We support full
repeal of Section 484(r) and we look forward to continuing
to work with you to remove these barriers to ensure access
to higher education for all Americans.
Sincerely,
Julia
Beatty
United States Student Association President |
Ellynne
Bannon
State PIRGs Higher Education Advocate |
cc: The
Honorable John Boehner, Chairman, House Education and Workforce
Committee
The Honorable George Miller, Ranking Member, House Education
and Workforce Committee
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