College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007

COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORDABILITY ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - February 07, 2008)

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Mr. BLUMENAUER. I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in permitting me to speak on this; and I particularly appreciate the chairman, Mr. Miller, and the Ranking Member, Mr. McKeon having incorporated into this legislation the committee work that we have been doing for the last several years dealing with sustainability in higher education.

I would like this provision to be named after the late Debbie Murdock. She was a leader at Portland State University with whom I worked who tragically left us far too soon, to make sure that we have equipped, to have strong sustainability programs. This is the wave of the future. This is where the jobs are to be found.

This is what our companies need to be competitive in a world of global warming and climate change. Only 30 percent of these companies say, they have the people with the skills and information and personnel to meet the environmental, sustainability challenge. This provision will enable colleges to develop sustainability programs, and to implement those sustainability programs, to have the appropriate evaluation to know what works.

I hope this is the tip of the iceberg for programs we can work on in the future. I look forward to working with the chairman, looking forward to working with my friend, the subcommittee Chair and our friends on the otherside of the aisle like Mr. McKeon and Mr. Ehlers on this critical bipartisan legislation.

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