Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici today reported that Senate-passed legislation contains a provision they wrote to ensure that eligible St. John’s College students have access to an important federal scholarship fund.

The U.S. Senate today approved the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, a bill that contains a provision the New Mexico lawmakers wrote to guarantee that St. John’s College students are not prevented from tapping into a federally-funded needs-based scholarship program, called the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant – or SMART Grant.

http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/SmartGrants.jsp

Under current law, only financially-eligible students who major in math or science can receive SMART Grant funds. But St. John’s College, a four year liberal arts institution in Santa Fe, does not have majors or departments.

Bingaman and Domenici wrote a provision that says students taking at least four years of study in mathematics and three years of study in the sciences -- including biology, chemistry and physics -- are eligible to apply for SMART Grants.

“Students at St. John’s College receive an outstanding education and I believe it’s unfair to deny them access to math and science scholarships,” Bingaman said. “This bill will ensure that St. John’s College students can tap into the same grant funding that other eligible New Mexico students receive.”

“The unique academic environment at St. John’s College should not prevent students from equal access to resources to excel in the math and science disciplines. Increasing our youth’s knowledge and skills in these areas is vital to America’s future competitiveness in the global marketplace. I am pleased our provision is one step closer to final enactment,” said Domenici.

A version of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 already passed the House of Representatives, but the Senate made modifications which require a second vote in that chamber.

The New Mexico senators were lead authors of the America Competes Act -- comprehensive legislation aimed at keeping the United States competitive globally by putting a heavy emphasis on improving math and science education and investing in technological research and development.