US Congress Approves Higher Education Bill - Reauthorization includes increased hate crime data collection provisions
Washington, DC – The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest and largest Sikh American civil rights organization in the United States, applauds the United States Congress in passing the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008 (H.R 4137).
The bill amended and reauthorized the Higher Education Act of 1965 which was intended to increase access to U.S. Colleges and Universities. The original act was part of President Lyndon B. Johnson education platform and, among other actions, increased federal money given to universities, created scholarships, and gave low-interest loans to students.
HR 4137, which was overwhelmingly passed by both the House in February and the Senate yesterday, included provisions that SALDEF and a coalition of national organizations have been advocating for over the past several years. In the recently passed bill, the U.S. Congress has included provisions requiring the U.S. Department of Education to collect data on campus hate crime incidents in categories similar to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Unfortunately campuses and universities continue to be a hot-bed of hate- and bias- crime activity, especially in recent years. In strike contrast to the voluntary statistics provided to the FBI Hate Crimes report, HR 4137 can allow for the loss of federal funding to Colleges and Universities who do not comply with the new hate crime reporting requirements.
"The Sikh American community has a clear and pressing interest in protecting college students from hate-motivated attacks and bias-incidents," said SALDEF Managing Director Kavneet Singh. "With better data collection of bias crimes on our nations’ college and university campuses, we will be able to better protect future generations of students on campuses across the country."
SALDEF applauds Congress for passing this vital piece of legislation and urges the Sikh American community to thank their Congressmen and Senators for voting in favor of this legislation.
