GOINGLOBAL.COM

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2007 – Senators Dick Durbin (D–Ill.) and Norm Coleman (R–Minn.) today introduced the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007 (S.991). Following quickly on the heels of similar legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and adding momentum to an historic effort to dramatically increase study abroad by American students, the new bill stresses the need to build the global competencies of American citizens in order to sustain U.S. global leadership, competitiveness, and security.

“We applaud the champions of these important pieces of legislation and salute them for their bold leadership in launching study abroad into a new era – an era in which a period of study outside the United States will be the norm, rather than the exception, in the academic preparation of American college students,” said NAFSA: Association of International Educators Executive Director and CEO Marlene Johnson.

The Durbin-Coleman legislation (which garnered 22 original cosponsors) closely mirrors H.R. 1469, introduced March 12 by Representatives Tom Lantos (D–Calif.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R–Fla.), chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The House bill was reported favorably out of committee today without amendment.

Both bills call for the creation of an innovative public-private partnership to administer a program with an ambitious mandate: to ensure that at least 1 million American college students will study abroad annually in 10 years’ time, giving particular attention to making participation in study abroad available to the widest possible spectrum of students and to expanding study abroad opportunities in less-common destinations, especially in the developing world. The bills convey a sense of urgency about the need to dramatically increase opportunities for American students to learn about the world, noting that a “lack of global literacy is a national liability in an age of global trade and business, global interdependence, and global terror.”

The Simon Study Abroad Act has resounding bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress, as well as the endorsement of many higher-education and exchange organizations. The idea for a national study abroad program had its start with the vision of the late Senator Paul Simon who, before his untimely death, worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the need to ensure that the next generation of Americans is prepared with global knowledge and skills. A bipartisan federal commission subsequently recommended a national effort to dramatically increase study abroad by Americans. Senators Durbin and Coleman first introduced legislation in the last Congress calling for such a program. The bill had overwhelming bipartisan support, garnering 46 cosponsors before the session ended.