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House
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H.R. 13, Museum and Library Services Act
Sponsor: Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich.
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: House Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R. 13 would reauthorize federal support for U.S. libraries and museums in coordination with state, local and private efforts. The bill would authorize $215 million for libraries and $35 million for museums in fiscal 2004, and unspecified sums for both libraries and museums through fiscal 2009. It also would require that the National Museum and Library Services Board include at least one professional librarian or information specialist who knows about electronic information. On the other hand, the measure would delete references to "electronic networks" and "linkages" among libraries as goals of the 1996 Library Services and Technology Act and replace those provisions with more generic language.
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H.R. 94, Children's Access to Technology Act
Sponsor: Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 94 would allow unspent money from the fund reserved for providing telecommunications services in low-income school districts to be distributed the following year. Under the bill, eligible schools could receive up to $25,000. The total amount that could be redistributed could not exceed $100 million.
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H.R. 120, Voluntary Opportunities for Increasing Contributions to Education Act
Sponsor: Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich.
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: House Ways and Means
Description: H.R. 120 would provide a tax credit of up to $500 for taxpayers and $100,000 for corporations that make contributions toward elementary and secondary education. Among other things, the tax break would be available for donations toward the purchase of computers and other technology, or for training to use such equipment in schools.
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H.R. 183, Untitled
Sponsor: Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y.
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: House Administration
Description: H.R. 183 would allow House members to donate used computer equipment to public elementary and secondary schools of the lawmakers' choice.
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H.R. 329, Untitled
Sponsor: Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M.
Introduced: Jan. 8, 2003
Committee: House Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R. 329 would authorize grants for regional workshops aimed at improving math and science education. The one-year grants would enable educators, people who develop curricula and faculty at teacher-training departments of colleges share their ideas.
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H.R. 438, Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act
Sponsor: Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.
Introduced: Jan. 29, 2003
Committee: House Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R. 438 would increase the level of debt forgiveness for student loans made to math, science and special education teachers in an effort to increase the number of people who teach those subjects. Under the bill, loans of up to $17,500 could be forgiven for people who teach math or science in elementary, middle or high schools. A Senate companion measure, S. 291, also was introduced.
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H.R. 484, Untitled
Sponsor: Rep. Doug Ose, R-Calif.
Introduced: Jan. 29, 2003
Committees: House Homeland Security; Energy and Commerce; Government Reform; Science
Description: H.R. 484 would amend the 2002 law that created the Homeland Security Department to address concerns about provisions raised during Senate debate. Among other things, the bill would change the criteria for new security research centers. Some senators criticized that portion of the legislation as being designed to ensure that Texas A&M University is chosen as the location for a center. The measure also would forbid U.S. companies that move overseas to avoid taxes from receiving security contracts with the federal government. Similar Senate bills, S. 28, S. 29 and S. 41, were introduced.
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H.R. 599, Untitled
Sponsor: Rep. Major Owens, D-N.Y.
Introduced: Feb. 5, 2003
Committee: House Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R.599 would authorize funds to renovate the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. The money could be used to upgrade information technology, among other things.
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H.R. 691, Untitled
Sponsor: Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y.
Introduced: Feb. 11, 2003
Committee: House Ways and Means
Description: H.R. 691 would allow corporations to deduct from their taxes the time they give to charities to perform computer-related services such as Internet design, multimedia preparation, and computer training, troubleshooting and repair. The bill would cap the deduction for those services at $65 an hour.
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H.R. 824, Research on High-Performance Networking for Science Education Act
Sponsor: Rep. John Larson, D-Conn.
Introduced: Feb. 13, 2003
Committee: House Science
Description: H.R. 824 would authorize demonstration projects designed to foster the use of high-speed Internet connections in teaching science, math and technology. Under the bill, the National Science Foundation would conduct research on novel uses for high-performance computers in elementary and secondary schools.
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H.R. 936, Leave No Child Behind Act
Sponsor: Rep. George Miller, D-Calif.
Introduced: Feb. 26, 2003
Committee: House Ways and Means; Energy and Commerce; Education and the Workforce; Agriculture; Judiciary; Government Reform; Transportation and Infrastructure
Description: H.R. 936 aims to improve the lives of children by taking several steps, including regulating the sale of firearms over the Internet in an effort to limit children’s access to guns. The measure also would provide tax incentives for school construction and modernization and tax relief to low-income families. A Senate companion bill, S. 448, also was introduced.
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H.R. 1252, E-Rate Termination Act
Sponsor: Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.
Introduced: March 12, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 1252 would terminate the FCC's e-rate program, which requires telecommunications and information service companies to provide their services to schools and libraries at a discounted rate. The e-rate program provides 20 percent to 90 percent discounts on telecom services, Internet access and internal connections to schools and libraries. Bill sponsor Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said the program amounts to a "hidden
tax" because telecom providers pass the cost of the program along to
consumers in higher telephone rates.
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H.R. 1523, Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act
Sponsor: Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Introduced: March 31, 2003
Committee: House Ways and Means
Description: H.R. 1523 would allow charitable organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure grants. Among other things, the grants could be applied toward computers and peripheral equipment, computer wiring and telephone service.
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H.R. 2183, Minority-Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act
Sponsor: Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va.
Introduced: May 21, 2003
Committee: House Science; Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R. 2183 would authorize grants to colleges and universities that serve minority populations in an effort to strengthen their technology infrastructures. The bill focuses on digital and wireless technology. Entities applying for federal grants would send requests to the director and provide any relevant statistical or demographic data. Programs that receive grants of more than $2.5 million could receive only one grant.
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H.R. 2211, Ready To Teach Act
Sponsor: Rep Phil Gingrey, R-Ga.
Introduced: May 22, 2003
Committee: House Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R. 2211 seeks to improve the quality of teachers in public schools by strengthening their training in the use of technology and other areas. The legislation would authorize $300 million in fiscal 2004 and unspecified sums from fiscal 2005 through fiscal 2008 for a series of grants to states. Forty-five percent of the grant money would go toward updating and improving teacher-preparation requirements. Among other things, the money could be spent to ensure that teachers know how to use advanced technology in their classrooms or to offer merit pay for retaining highly qualified teachers in math, science and other key topics. The measure also seeks to foster teacher-preparation partnerships among businesses, universities and local educational agencies. One way the partnerships could use their federal grants would be to give future teachers experience in technology, science and math. The money also could be used for training teachers how to use software for multilingual instruction.
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H.R. 2314, Linking Educators and Developing Entrepreneurs for Reaching Success (LEADERS) Act
Sponsor: Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass.
Introduced: June 3, 2003
Committee: House Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R. 2314 would authorize grants to universities, colleges and their nonprofit subsidiaries to create and nurture business incubators within academia. The measure would authorize $20 million for the program over each of the next three years. Funding preference would be given to proposals that encourage collaboration among educational institutions, local governments, businesses and economic development leaders. Grants, which applicants would have to match dollar for dollar, would fund space for incubators to operate, curriculum development, and studies on the development and establishment of business incubators.
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H.R. 2649, Schools Safely Acquiring Faculty Excellence (Schools SAFE) Act
Sponsor: Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev.
Introduced: June 26, 2003
Committee: House Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R. 2649 seeks to ensure students' safety by enabling background checks on out-of-state teachers. The measure would deny Education Department funding to states that have not established systems for sharing criminal information.
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H.R. 2694, Child Profiting From Access To Computer Technology (PACT) Act
Sponsor: Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-N.J.
Introduced: July 10, 2003
Committee: House Government Reform
Description: H.R. 2694 would require federal agencies to safeguard and protect surplus computer equipment for use by schools and nonprofit, community-based educational groups. Agencies would have to erase all data before donating it. Schools with greatest need would receive preference, and donations would be made at the lowest possible cost to recipients.
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H.R. 2801, Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act
Sponsor: Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-Va.
Introduced: July 18, 2003
Committees: House Science; Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R. 2801 would authorize money for digital and wireless opportunities at minority-focused colleges. The measure would authorize $250 million a year from fiscal 2004 through fiscal 2008 to help historically black colleges and institutions whose student bodies include large percentages of Hispanics, American Indians and Native Hawaiians, or that have significant numbers of needy students. The House Science Committee approved the bill July 22, 2003.
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H.R.2884, Dollars to the Classroom Act
Sponsor: Rep. Joseph Pitts, R-Pa.
Introduced: July 24, 2003
Committee: House Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R. 2884 would consolidate several education programs and require that states commit 95 percent of the money received to classroom use. Some programs considered duplicative would be repealed, and programs that are not repealed would revert to a state block-grant formula. Bill sponsor Joseph Pitts, R-Pa., said the goal is to ensure that less money is spent on bureaucracy and more on things like computers and other classroom aids.
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H.R. 2913, Distance Education and Online Learning Act
Sponsor: Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J.
Introduced: July 25, 2003
Committee: House Education and the Workforce
Description: H.R. 2913 would remove the limits on federal student loans for distance learning and set new standards for evaluating and accrediting online learning programs. Standards such as the quality and integrity of faculty-student interactions would be added to other requirements, such as state licensing. Given the growing popularity of online courses, the bill would rewrite 1965 limits on distance-learning courses and agencies or associations that oversee and certify them.
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H.R. 3018, Untitled
Sponsor: Rep. Lane Evans, D-Ill.
Introduced: Sept. 5, 2003
Committee: House Armed Services
Description: Description: H.R. 3018 would allow members of the military reserve to use education benefits to pay for licensing and certification tests. Those tests could include computer systems or application programs, such as Microsoft training.
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H.R. 3064, National Science Education Incentive Act
Sponsor: Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-Mich.
Introduced: Sept. 10, 2003
Committee: House Ways and Means
Description: H.R. 3064 would amend the tax code to create a tax credit for full-time teachers of math, science, engineering or technology in elementary and secondary schools. Qualified teachers could claim a tax credit of up to $1,000 a year over 10 years. The maximum credit would equal 10 percent of the teachers’ undergraduate tuition. The measure also would allow taxpayers to deduct from their tax liability the value of property and services that they donate to schools for use in teaching math, science, engineering or technology.
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H.R. 3089, Greater Access to E-Governance (GATE) Act
Sponsor: Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J.
Introduced: Sept. 16, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 3089 would establish a grant program to enable state and local governments to deploy high-speed Internet networks in local schools and libraries. Grant money could be used to hire nonprofit organizations or contractors to deploy the broadband service or to acquire necessary equipment and services.
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H. Con. Res. 132, Untitled
Sponsor: Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky.
Introduced: March 31, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H. Con. Res. 132 would urge Americans to support the National SAFE KIDS Campaign to prevent unintentional childhood injuries. The campaign's programs include online safety. The group has partnered with America Online, which donated $500,000 in space on its Internet service for announcements to promote the campaign’s Web site.
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Senate
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S. 22, Justice Enhancement and Domestic Security Act
Sponsor: Sen. Thomas Daschle, D-S.D.
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 22 is a sweeping bill that encompasses the educational priorities of the Senate Democratic leadership. Among other things, the bill would create a program aimed at providing instruction in “digital network technologies.” The program would involve grants, contracts and partnerships made through the Technology Opportunities Program, which has been targeted for budget cuts by the Bush administration. The “fundamentals of educational opportunity” in the bill include a call for advances in computer technology that would be measured by such things as Internet access in schools, the ratio of computers to students, and the quality of computer labs. The measure also would require the Education secretary to post to the Internet each year a report on each state’s progress in meeting the goals of the legislation. And the bill would require a study to determine whether the lack of technology in schools is hindering efficiency in the military.
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S. 28, Untitled
Sponsor: Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Description: Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Description: S. 28 would amend the 2002 law that created the Homeland Security Department by changing the criteria for new security research centers. Some senators criticized that portion of the legislation as a special-interest provision designed to ensure that Texas A&M University is chosen as the location for a center. The bill would give the Homeland Security secretary the discretion to establish the criteria for any centers.
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S. 196, Digital and Wireless Network Technology Program Act
Sponsor: Sen. George Allen, R-Va.
Introduced: Jan. 17, 2003
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 196 seeks to bridge the “digital divide” by authorizing grants to help minority-population colleges and universities buy new technology and train people how to use it, among other things. The bill would authorize $250 million in grants to historically black colleges and universities, and Hispanic-serving institutions. Bill sponsor George Allen, R-Va., said he is "increasingly concerned that when it comes to high-technology jobs, which pay higher wages, this country runs the risk of economically limiting many college students in our society."
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S. 291, Quality Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act
Sponsor: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Introduced: Feb. 4, 2003
Committee: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Description: S. 291 would increase the level of debt forgiveness for student loans made to math, science and special education teachers in an effort to increase the number of people who teach those subjects. Under the bill, loans of up to $17,500 could be forgiven for people who teach math or science in elementary, middle or high schools. A House companion bill, H.R. 438, also was introduced.
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S. 448, Leave No Child Behind Act
Sponsor: Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.
Introduced: Feb. 26, 2003
Committee: Senate Finance
Description: S. 448 aims to improve the lives of children by taking several steps, including regulating the sale of firearms over the Internet in an effort to limit children’s access to guns. The measure also would provide tax incentives for school construction and modernization and tax relief to low-income families. A House companion bill, H.R. 936, also was introduced.
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S. 589, Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act
Sponsor: Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii
Introduced: March 11, 2003
Committee: Senate Governmental Affairs
Description: S. 589 seeks to strengthen homeland security by providing incentives for government service in computer science and other critical areas. The bill would authorize national security agencies to repay up to $10,000 a year in the student loans of workers who pledge to serve at least three years. It also would create a fellowship program for graduate students to enter key federal positions after completing their schooling, and it would allow workers in a new National Security Service Corps to rotate among jobs in various federal agencies.
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S. 856, Incentives to Educate American Children Act
Sponsor: Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V.
Introduced: April 10, 2003
Committee: Senate Finance
Description: S. 856 would authorize funds for the construction of new school buildings and renovation of those needing modernization. The legislation also would provide a $1,000 tax credit for teachers in rural or low-income schools who earn certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
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S. 888, Museum and Library Services Act
Sponsor: Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.
Introduced: April 11, 2003
Committees: Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Description: S.888 would reauthorize, for six years, federal programs that provide aid to the nation's museums and libraries. The measure would authorize money for four grant programs to help libraries improve access to information technology, with the goal of providing underserved areas such access. It also would authorize museum programs that provide new technologies for exhibits, among other things. The bill would authorize $250 million in fiscal 2004, and unspecified sums through fiscal 2009, for library technology. It also would encourage museums to adopt new technologies and authorize $41.5 million in fiscal 2004, and unspecified sums through fiscal 2009, for that and other museum activities.
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S. 1203, Distance Learning and Online Education Act
Sponsor: Sen. Michael Enzi, R-Wyo.
Introduced: June 5, 2003
Committee: Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Description: S. 1203 would change the rules for federal financial aid so that college students could receive funding for courses offered over the Internet. The bill seeks to expand higher education in remote areas and for non-traditional students by authorizing aid for distance learning programs. Schools that offer 50 percent of their courses online could qualify for federal aid programs. However, those schools would have to be accredited by an agency experienced in evaluating distance education, and to prevent fraud, the schools would have to demonstrate financial responsibility.
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S. 1246, Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act
Sponsor: Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.
Introduced: June 12, 2003
Committee: Senate Finance
Description: S. 1246 would amend the tax code so certain trusts and educational organizations could retain their status as tax-exempt charities when they make grants for collegiate housing and infrastructure. The grant money could be used for computers and related equipment, computer wiring and telephone service, among other things.
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S. 1248, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.
Introduced: June 12, 2003
Committee: Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Description: S. 1248 would reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the law that covers education programs for students with disabilities. Among other things, the bill seeks to improve the use of assistive technologies such as low-vision devices that are designed to help the disabled, and it would support efforts by teachers to integrate technology into their curricula and communications with parents. State agencies that receive money authorized under the measure could spend it on developing peer-to-peer networks to share information and on distance learning. Money also could be used to for technology geared to individualized instruction.
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S. 1854, Digital Opportunity Investment Trust Act
Sponsor: Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.
Introduced: Nov. 12, 2003
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 1854 would take 30 percent of the money earned from spectrum auctions and fees from electromagnetic spectrum and put it toward technology grants. The grants and contracts would be used to help underwrite the digitizing of university collections and to make technology improvements within schools and nonprofit agencies. A nine-member board of non-government employees appointed by the president would oversee allocation of the funds.
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