Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2733, the Higher Education Extension Act of 2008.
While this is the first extension of the Higher Education Act for this year, we have passed over a dozen extensions of this law since it first expired.
S. 2733 will ensure that vital Federal college access and student aid programs continue to serve those students who depend upon them for an additional month. Earlier this year, the House passed H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008, by a vote of 354-58. Unlike last year when the Senate failed to act when the House passed its bill, the Senate passed their Higher Education Act reauthorization bill as well. We are now the closest we have been in recent years to passing a reauthorization bill.
I stand in support of this extension of the Higher Education Act through April 30 of this year because I hope that we can move forward in developing a conference agreement in a bipartisan and thoughtful manner. If it takes 1 more month or 2 more months, I think others would agree that we would rather see a thoughtful product rather than something that was rushed through the process to meet an artificial deadline.
I join with my colleagues in fully supporting efforts to extend the Higher Education Act today and hope that we can work together to develop a conference agreement that will fundamentally reform the programs included in the Higher Education Act.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' in support of this extension.
