Almost HEAR: reauthorization is on the horizon, but in an election year, the wheels of progress grind slowly.

Every five years--although it sometimes can take longer--Congress passes a Higher Education Act Reauthorization. First enacted in 1965, the HEA was last reauthorized in 1998, and is due for an overhaul again this year, but don't break out the champagne just yet. Because this is an election year (which means both a shorter than usual legislative calendar and sharpened partisan wrangling and angling), the odds of both the House and Senate passing and sending the president a reauthorization bill to sign are growing steadily slimmer. In election years, only the most essential legislation (like appropriations) and politically valuable legislation (for instance, new penalties for airing indecent broadcasts such as those carrying "wardrobe malfunctions") passes both the House and the Senate in final form.

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

It's not that Congress isn't trying. The current reauthorization process began in earnest Last year, but it likely won't be completed until 2005. The Education and the Workforce Committee in the House of Representatives held at least seven hearings, and GOP Committee members have introduced eight separate HEA bills that ultimately can be merged into one comprehensive measure. Still, some key issues have yet to be addressed.

So far, of these separate bills, the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act (HR 438), the Ready to Teach Act (HR 2211), the Graduate Opportunities in Higher Education Act (HR 3076), and the International Studies in Higher Education Act (HR 3077) have passed the House and are pending in the Senate.

The Committee has also held hearings on both the Expanding Opportunities in Higher Education Act (HR 3039) and the Financial Aid Simplification Act (HR 2956). The Pell Grants Plus Act (HR 3894) was introduced on March 4, but no action has been taken on it yet.

Finally, the Committee has taken no action on the key Affordability in Higher Education Act (HR 3311). This bill would exclude colleges from some federal aid programs if they increase their tuition above inflation. However, it is increasingly clear that affordability is and will likely remain a hot-button issue in reauthorization. This conclusion is reflected in the Committee Republican's Web site on the topic (see "Higher Education Act on the Web," page 26), which features "The College Cost Crisis: A Congressional Analysis of College Costs and Implications for America's Higher Education System" published Last September (and available as a PDF download).

Not to be left behind, House Democrats have introduced their own HEA bills: the College Opportunity for All Act (HR 3180), and the College Affordability and Accountability Act (HR 3519). The Committee Democrats have also issued several press releases on affordability which are available on their HEA Web page.

ADDRESSING AFFORDABILITY

HR 3311 was introduced last year with considerable fanfare on the GOP side by Congressman Buck McKeon (R-CA), chair of the subcommittee with HEA jurisdiction. McKeon said he had "long been concerned about decades of dramatic increases in the cost of higher education that are pricing students and families out of the college market. I believe we can no longer stand by and allow hard-working students to miss out on the opportunity for a college degree simply because of skyrocketing tuitions."

Education and the Workforce Chairman John Boehner (R-OH) added, "Skyrocketing tuition increases are having a devastating effect on students and families. The consumers of higher education--students and parents--need more information so they can fully exercise their power in the college marketplace." (The Democrats, for their part, countered with HR 3180, dubbed the College Opportunity for All Act. This bill would double the Pell grant maximum and increase the Income Protection Allowance.)

The McKeon bill caused quite a bit of consternation at the higher education associations in Washington, DC, because it seeks to impose--beginning in 2008--accountability for dramatic cost-of-attendance increases by an institution. Containing the increase in the cost of attendance is an issue of political significance for both GOP and Democratic members of the Committee. As introduced, the bill would, in part, require the Department of Education to establish the College Affordability Index. The index for a given institution would be determined by its comparing tuition and fee increases to increases in the rate of inflation over that same time period.

So, in 2008, if an institution's affordability index exceeds 2.0, the institution would be required to provide the Department of Education with:

* An explanation of the factors contributing to the increase in costs and in tuition and fees

* A management plan to reduce its index below 2.0; and

* An action plan, with timelines by which it will maintain or reduce increases in costs and tuition and fees.

The management plan would be available to the public. Should an institution fail to comply with the management after two academic years, HR 3311 would require that the institution provide the Department with a detailed accounting of all costs and expenditures, which would be made public. More significantly, the institution would be placed in "cost affordability alert" status. At the end of the next academic year, if the institution has not made good faith efforts to control its costs, tuition, and fees, it will be ineligible to participate in Title IV programs, except for those that provide direct aid to its students (i.e., Pell Grants, and Stafford and Direct Loans).

Having rocked the boat by introducing HR 3311 Last year, McKeon announced victory in early March. He said his bill had prompted a national debate on college costs and had resulted in a number of major colleges and universities acting to "curb tuition growth." He also noted that the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (www.aascu.org) had pledged to work with Congress to "address the college cost crisis."

Because of these developments, McKeon offered a compromise. He said he would remove the portion of his bill that renders institutions exceeding tuition increase standards ineligible to participate in the Pell, Stafford, and Direct Loan programs, "in exchange for a continued commitment from institutions to avoid excessive tuition hikes." But McKeon also cautioned that he would not hesitate to restore the provision "if the positive trend slows or is reversed in the months ahead."

HELP IS ON THE WAY

The Senate was not active on HEA reauthorization last year, with the leadership of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee opting to Let the House and the White House take the Lead. But, that's not to say that the Committee sat on its hands. On the contrary, it held three HEA-related hearings Last year and one this February that focused on the idea of year-round Pell grants. (A House bill, the Part-Time Student Assistance Act, HR 3968, was introduced in March and would authorize a pilot year-round Pall grant program.) However, with relatively Little progress made in the House toward crafting a comprehensive HEA reauthorization bill, and a strong desire to complete the process in 2004--an election year--HELP Committee Chairman Gregg (R-NH) and his GOP Committee colleagues are taking charge by writing their own comprehensive reauthorization bill.

The Senate GOP HEA reauthorization measure was expected to be introduced by Senator Gregg sometime in April (as this issue of University Business goes to press), followed shortly thereafter by a Committee markup--a session in which amendments are considered and the bill reported to the full Senate for consideration.

So, the question is, will colleges and universities be faced with understanding and mastering a new Higher Education Act by the end of 2004? The answer increasingly appears to be "no." Barring the unforeseen, that means not only no new HEA Law this year, but starting the reauthorization process from scratch (new hearings and new bills) when the next Congress convenes in January 2005.

Higher Education Act on the Web

Head here for reauthorization news and complete explanations of the various HEA bills working their way through Congress:

* Committee Republican's Web page http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/ 108th/education/highereducation/highereducation.htm

* Committee Democrat's Web page http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/higheredinfo.html

Kenneth Solomon is a member of Dow, Lohnes & Albertson, PLLC (www.dlalaw.com), with offices in Washington, DC, and Atlanta.