H.R. 1184

As your constituent, I'm writing to urge you to co-sponsor legislation fully repealing the ban on financial aid for college students with drug convictions. Since the penalty was added as an amendment to the Higher Education Act in 1998, nearly 200,000 students have been blocked access to aid, often for relatively minor offenses such as misdemeanor possession.

H.R. 1184, the Removing Impediments to Students' Education (RISE) Act, currently has more than 70 co-sponsors in the U.S. House. This legislation would repeal the HEAR Aid Elimination Penalty and help hardworking and determined individuals get back into school.

As a personal example I offer my own travels to Canada, to be considered. My roommate borrowed an old clunker his father used around the service station to run errands for parts. Crossing the border back into the US, the Customs agent put his hand into the crack of the front bench seat of the car and pulled out what he alleged was a marijuana seed. Strip searches were ordered and the car bought back at book value cost, fortunately a clunker, after spending time in the clink, the four of us and seeing the judge and a legal aid lawyer. I can't imagine being kept from continuing your education for being "in concert" as this legislation is doing.

That's why it is essential that the Aid Elimination Penalty is scrapped altogether. Students who have made mistakes and paid their debt to society should be allowed to get an education and get their lives back on track.

All the national higher education groups have pushed for the repeal of this provision for the past eight years. Numerous addiction recovery, criminal justice, religious, and other experts have insisted that education is one of the best means to reduce crime and drug abuse. Even Congress's own Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance recommended the removal of the drug conviction question from the FAFSA, calling it "irrelevant."

At-risk students can't wait another eight years for Congress to act.

Please co-sponsor H.R. 1184 or similar legislation today.

Thanks for your attention on this important issue. I look forward to hearing your thoughts as soon as you get a chance to share them.