119-hr4767

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4767 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4767

To encourage the growth of educational exchanges between international 
 scholars and United States junior or community colleges and United 
 States postsecondary vocational institutions, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 July 25, 2025

Mr. Olszewski (for himself, Mr. Bera, Mrs. McClain Delaney, Ms. Clarke 
of New York, Mr. Fields, Mrs. McIver, and Mr. Thanedar) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To encourage the growth of educational exchanges between international 
 scholars and United States junior or community colleges and United 
 States postsecondary vocational institutions, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Community College Educational 
Exchange Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
 ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
        (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
 of Representatives; and
        (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
 Senate.

    (2) Educational exchange.--The term ``educational 
 exchange'' means an activity listed in 

section 102

    (a)

    (1)
        (B) of 
 the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 
 U.S.C. 2452

    (a)

    (1)
        (B) ).

    (3) Eligible institutions.--The term ``eligible 
 institutions'' means United States junior or community colleges 
 and United States postsecondary vocational institutions that 
 the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United 
 States Agency for International Development have identified 
 that--
        (A) have entered into a grant, contract, or 
 cooperative agreement with the Department of State or 
 the United States Agency for International Development; 
 or
        (B) are eligible to participate in programs and 
 initiatives under the jurisdiction of either such 
 agency.

    (4) Junior or community college.--The term ``junior or 
 community college'' mean an institution of higher education (as 
 such term is defined in 

section 312

    (f) of the Higher Education 
 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002
            (c) ))--
        (A) that admits as regular students persons who are 
 beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in the 
 State in which the institution is located and who have 
 the ability to benefit from the training offered by the 
 institution;
        (B) that does not provide an educational program 
 for which it awards a bachelor's degree (or an 
 equivalent degree); and
            (C) that--
            (i) provides an educational program of not 
 less than 2 years that is acceptable for full 
 credit toward such a degree, or
            (ii) offers a 2-year program in 
 engineering, mathematics, or the physical or 
 biological sciences, designed to prepare a 
 student to work as a technician or at the 
 semiprofessional level in engineering, 
 scientific, or other technological fields 
 requiring the understanding and application of 
 basic engineering, scientific, or mathematical 
 principles of knowledge.

    (5) Postsecondary vocational institution.--The term 
 ``postsecondary vocational institution'' means a school that--
        (A) provides an eligible program of training to 
 prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized 
 occupation;
        (B) meets the requirements of paragraphs

    (1) ,

    (2) ,

    (4) , and

    (5) of 

section 102
            (c) in the Higher Education 
 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002
            (c) ); and
            (C) has been in existence for at least 2 years.

    (6) Relevant federal departments and agencies.--The term 
 ``relevant Federal departments and agencies'' includes--
        (A) the Department of State;
        (B) the United States Agency for International 
 Development; and
            (C) any other Federal department or agency that is 
 engaged in designing, providing, or supporting United 
 States foreign assistance (including development 
 finance) that the President determines is relevant for 
 the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 3. EXPANDING EXCHANGE PROGRAMMING FOR INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS AND 
 EXPERTS TO STUDY AT UNITED STATES JUNIOR OR COMMUNITY 
 COLLEGES AND UNITED STATES POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL 
 INSTITUTIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the Administrator of 
the United States Agency for International Development should seek to 
strengthen and expand partnerships and educational exchange 
opportunities, including by working with eligible institutions, that 
build the capacity and expertise of students, scholars, and experts in 
key development sectors, including--

    (1) food systems and agriculture-led economic growth;

    (2) microenterprise business development and 
 entrepreneurship;

    (3) early childhood education;

    (4) engineering;

    (5) information technology;

    (6) media;

    (7) social services, health, and public safety;

    (8) tourism and hospitality management;

    (9) water, sanitation, and hygiene;

    (10) water security; and

    (11) environmental resilience.

    (b) Exchange Programming.--To deepen relationships and educational 
exchange between foreign participants from underrepresented backgrounds 
and the United States in ways that advance United States foreign policy 
goals and increase academic collaboration, there is established in the 
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State a 
Community College and Postsecondary Vocational Institution Initiative 
Program to provide scholarships for students, scholars, and technical 
experts to spend up to one academic year at eligible institutions to 
support knowledge and skills training in the sectors referred to in 
subsection

    (a) .

SEC. 4. BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF UNITED STATES JUNIOR OR COMMUNITY 
 COLLEGES AND UNITED STATES POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL 
 INSTITUTIONS TO EXPAND STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMMING.

    (a) Capacity Building Program.--To strengthen educational grant 
opportunities for eligible institutions and expand educational 
exchanges with these institutions, there is established in the Bureau 
of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State a 
capacity building program to increase the capacity of eligible 
institutions to create and expand study abroad programs for their 
scholars through small-grant and in-person and virtual study abroad 
capacity building activities. This program should seek to prepare 
scholars to contribute to the fields critical to United States national 
and economic security.

    (b) Small-Grant and In-Person and Virtual Study Abroad Capacity 
Building Activities.--The Secretary of State is authorized to award 
grants, provide technical assistance, and develop resources for the 
program outlined in subsection

    (a) to--

    (1) increase the number of eligible institution students 
 participating in study abroad programs;

    (2) provide training for faculty and staff at eligible 
 institutions to design, implement, and sustain study abroad 
 programs;

    (3) create and disseminate toolkits, curriculum guides, and 
 program templates for eligible institutions seeking to launch 
 or expand study abroad offerings;

    (4) fund faculty and staff training workshops on best 
 practices for developing, managing, and sustaining study abroad 
 programs;

    (5) support the development of study abroad programs 
 aligned with workforce needs to STEM, technical, and vocational 
 fields;

    (6) pilot hybrid exchange models that combine virtual and 
 short-term in-person components to make study abroad more 
 flexible and accessible for students at eligible institutions;

    (7) develop outreach and advising resources for 
 underrepresented student populations to increase their 
 participation in study-abroad programs; and

    (8) other activities the Secretary of State determines are 
 necessary to strengthen the capacity of eligible institutions 
 to create or expand their ability to administer study abroad 
 programs.

SEC. 5. COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH PROGRAMMING.

 As part of strengthening and enhancing partnerships, the Secretary 
of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development shall advance outreach to and communications 
with eligible institutions, including by--

    (1) providing technical assistance in the development of 
 grant and partnership applications; and

    (2) upon request, providing feedback to eligible 
 institutions to the maximum extent practicable, after a grant 
 rejection in order to improve future grant applications, as 
 appropriate.

SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL CONSULTATION.

 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Development, shall consult with 
the appropriate congressional committees regarding implementation of--

    (1) the countries prioritized for the program established 
 by 

section 3;

    (2) existing partnerships and programs between relevant 
 Federal departments and agencies and eligible institutions and 
 efforts to expand such partnerships and programs;

    (3) efforts to strengthen the capacity of eligible 
 institutions to participate, or to be eligible to participate, 
 in relevant programs and initiatives; and

    (4) any progress made towards--
        (A) advancing plans to develop partnerships or 
 programs and initiatives with eligible institutions 
 that are not engaged in existing partnerships with 
 relevant Federal departments and agencies;
        (B) identifying plans in which an eligible 
 institution may participate; and
            (C) any other information that relevant Federal 
 departments and agencies determine is relevant to 
 promoting opportunities to fund, partner, contract, or 
 otherwise interact with eligible institutions.
 <all>