Woohoo! The House Approves the Simon Study Abroad Bill

This has been a long time coming.  Gulliver has blogged about the Simon Study Abroad Bill before and we were super excited when it was introduced earlier in the year.  Today, the US House of Representatives approved the Bill as part of the Foreign Relations Act and will soon make its way to the Senate.  The Bill aims to send over 1 million US college students abroad in the next 10 years.  To accomplish that, it will create a separate entity to administer $80 million in grants to students, universities, and NGOs that send students overseas.  Here at Gulliver we have one thing to say: it’s about time!

Vote Yay!

With current economic woes taking their toll on schools across the nation (Reed College is a prime example) students are having to fight for all the economic aid they can find.  This doesn’t translate well for study abroad students, who are also having a tough time finding scholarships and grants to pay for their trips abroad.  If the Bill passes with full funding, the money will go a long way to helping students go abroad.  We wished for this sort of Bill when we were going abroad and are all too happy that it’s prospects look good.

But don’t start applauding and hollering just yet.  The Bill still has to be approved by the Senate before being confirmed, and last year it narrowly missed approval.  Keep your fingers crossed.  We certainly will.