Requires the Secretary of Education, beginning in FY2011, to pay to Fort Lewis College in Colorado an amount equal to the charges for tuition for Indian students who are not residents of Colorado and who are enrolled in the College.
Limits the amount paid to Fort Lewis College per fiscal year to an amount equal to the charges for tuition for Indian students who were Colorado non-residents and who were enrolled for the academic year 2009-2010.
Treats amounts received under this Act as a reimbursement from Colorado to Fort Lewis College for complying with federal law requiring the admission of Indian students at the College free of charge of tuition.
Prohibits anything in this Act from being construed as relieving Colorado from reimbursing Fort Lewis College for each academic year: (1) with respect to Indian students who are not Colorado residents and who are enrolled in Fort Lewis College, any amount of the charges for tuition for such enrolled Indian students which exceeds the amount received under this Act; and (2) with respect to Indian students who are Colorado residents and who are enrolled in Fort Lewis College, an amount equal to the charges for tuition for such enrolled Indian students.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5974 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5974
To direct the Secretary of Education to pay to Fort Lewis College in
the State of Colorado an amount equal to the tuition charges for Indian
students who are not residents of the State of Colorado.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 29, 2010
Mr. Salazar (for himself, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Markey of Colorado, Mr. Polis
of Colorado, Mr. Coffman of Colorado, and Mr. Perlmutter) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education
and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Education to pay to Fort Lewis College in
the State of Colorado an amount equal to the tuition charges for Indian
students who are not residents of the State of Colorado.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PURPOSE.
It is the purpose of this Act to ensure that Federal funding is
provided to support and sustain the longstanding Federal mandate
requiring Fort Lewis College in the State of Colorado to waive tuition
charges for each Indian student it admits to an undergraduate program,
including the waiver of tuition charges for Indian students who are not
residents of the State of Colorado.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) Fort Lewis College in the State of Colorado is a
signature school for Indian students from throughout the Nation
and graduates more Indian students than any other institution
of higher education;
(2) in 2009 Fort Lewis College awarded science, technology,
engineering, and math degrees to 95 Indian students, which is
equal to 13.5 percent of the total number of degrees awarded to
Indian students in the Nation in 2009 and more than the number
of degrees awarded by any other institution of higher education
awarded in 2009;
(3) Fort Lewis College currently provides federally
mandated tuition-free education to approximately 750 Indian
students from 122 different Indian tribes and 30 States,
representing about 21 percent of the overall student population
at this Native American-Serving Non-Tribal College;
(4) this Federal mandate to provide tuition-free education
to Indian students was first placed upon the State of Colorado
in the Act of April 4, 1910 (Session II, Chapter 140), as a
condition of the transfer of the land, buildings, and fixtures
comprising the then federally operated Fort Lewis School;
(5) the amount of funds expended by the State of Colorado
to meet the waiver of tuition obligations under the Act of
April 4, 1910 (Session II, Chapter 140), for all Indian
students, both out-of-State and in-State, far exceeds the value
of the land, buildings, and fixtures it holds for the benefit
of Fort Lewis College;
(6) while the present value of the land, buildings, and
fixtures conveyed in 1910 is approximately $19,000,000, the
State of Colorado has expended, just counting the past 25
years, over $110,000,000 to meet the costs of the tuition
waivers for Native American Indian students from 44 different
States; and
(7) the federally mandated tuition waiver program for
Indian students at Fort Lewis College is now at risk of being
reduced by severe budget constraints being experienced by the
State of Colorado, thereby jeopardizing the education of many
talented Indian students in present and future classes from
around the Nation.
SEC. 3. STATE RELIEF FROM FEDERAL MANDATE.
(a) Amount of Payment.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), for fiscal year
2011 and each succeeding fiscal year, the Secretary of
Education shall pay to Fort Lewis College in the State of
Colorado an amount equal to the charges for tuition for all
Indian students who are not residents of the State of Colorado
and who are enrolled in Fort Lewis College for the academic
year ending before the beginning of such fiscal year.
(2) Limitation.--The amount paid to Fort Lewis College for
each fiscal year under paragraph (1) may not exceed an amount
equal to the charges for tuition for all Indian students who
were not residents of the State of Colorado and who were
enrolled in Fort Lewis College for academic year 2009-2010.
(b) Treatment of Payment.--Any amounts received under this section
shall be treated as a reimbursement from the State of Colorado to Fort
Lewis College for complying with the requirement of the Act of April 4,
1910 (Session II, Chapter 140), to admit Indian students free of charge
of tuition.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed
to relieve the State of Colorado from reimbursing, for purposes of
complying with the requirements of the Act of April 4, 1910 (Session
II, Chapter 140), Fort Lewis College for each academic year--
(1) with respect to Indian students who are not residents
of the State of Colorado and who are enrolled in Fort Lewis
College, any amount of charges for tuition for such students
that exceeds the amount received under this section for such
academic year; and
(2) with respect to Indian students who are residents of
the State of Colorado and who are enrolled in Fort Lewis
College, an amount equal to the charges for tuition for such
students for such academic year.
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Indian students''
refers to the term ``Indian pupils'' in the Act of April 4, 1910
(Session II, Chapter 140).
(e) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated, and there
are appropriated (in addition to any other amounts appropriated to
carry out this section and out of any money in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated), such sums as may be necessary to carry out
this section.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.
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