The Higher Education Sustainability Act (HESA) has taken another major step forward. On November 9, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller unveiled the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 (HR 4137), which reauthorizes the Higher Education Act. At the request of many of the 17 co-sponsors of HESA, Chairman Miller included HESA in HR 4137. (For more background on HESA, see my previous posts on the subject: HESA Introduced in Congress!, How You Can Help and House Committee Passes Bill Containing HESA.)

On November 14, the Committee marked up HR 4137 and unanimously voted to send it to the full House, another promising step forward. The full House could vote on HR 4137 in December. If it passes, the next step is to ensure that it stays in the final bill that reconciles differences with the Senate version of HR 3147 (S. 1642). This conference process will likely take place in January. If we can keep HESA in the new Higher Education Act, it will avoid the more difficult route of trying to get HESA passed as a separate bill.

Most importantly, Senator Patty Murray plans to introduce a Senate version of HESA within the next week or so to help build support in the Senate for keeping HESA in the final Higher Education bill. As a highly respected senior Senate leader and a strong education and environment supporter, Senator Murray is the perfect HESA champion.

We have perhaps 3 weeks to enlist additional Senate co-sponsors, especially from the members of the HELP Committee, listed below. It is critical that these Members hear from schools in their states about the importance of HESA. We need any help you can offer in getting schools in these states to contact their Senators and ask them to support HESA. For more detailed information on how to do this, click here: http://www.fundee.org/campaigns/hesa

• Edward M. Kennedy (MA), Chairman
• Christopher Dodd (CT)
• Tom Harkin (D-IA)
• Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
• Jack Reed (D-RI)
• Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
• Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
• Barack Obama (D-IL)
• Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
• Michael Enzi. Ranking (R-WY)
• Judd Gregg (R-NH)
• Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
• Lisa Murkowski (R-AR)
• Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT)
• Wayne Allard (R-CO)

We are getting close to winning passage of this important bill, thanks in part to those who helped build the impressive list of HESA endorsers and House co-sponsors. But we can't let up yet. If your school or association has not yet joined the list of prominent HESA endorsers below, please do so ASAP! Let me or Jim Elder (978-526-7768) know if you need help. Many thanks to Jim, Director of the Campaign for Environmental Literacy, for keeping AASHE updated on HESA.

-Judy Walton

HESA Endorsers (as of November 18, 2007)

Higher Education Associations:

• American Academy of Religion (John R. Fitzmier, Executive Director)
• American Association of Community Colleges (George R. Boggs, President)
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (Alan I. Leshner, Executive Director)
• American College Personnel Association (Gregory Roberts, Executive Director)
• American Dental Education Association (Richard W. Valachovic, Executive Director)
• American Studies Association (John Stephens, Executive Director)
• Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (Tom Kimmerer, Executive Director)
• Association of College & Research Libraries (Julie Todaro, President)
• Association of College and University Housing Officers - International (Sallie Traxler, Executive Director)
• Association of College Unions International (Marsha Herman-Betzen, Executive Director)
• Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (Richard D. Legon, President)
• Collegiate Conference and Events Directors-International (Deborah Blom, Executive Director)
• Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (Paul R. Corts, President)
• Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (Bruce Coull, President)
• Ecological Society of America (Katherine S. McCarter, Executive Director)
• Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (Antonio R. Flores, President & CEO)
• National Association for Campus Activities (John Ogle, Director of Education and Research)
• National Association of Biology Teachers (Pat Waller, President)
• National Association of College and University Business Officers (Matthew Hamill, Senior Vice President)
• National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (Karen Bach, Chief Operating Officer)
• Society for College and University Planning (Jolene Knapp, Executive Director)

Colleges and Universities:

• Albion College (Donna M. Randall, President)
• Berea College (Larry D. Shinn, President)
• California State University, East Bay (Mohammad H. Qayoumi, President)
• Evergreen State College (Thomas L. Purce, President)
• Grand Valley State University (Thomas J. Haas, President)
• Michigan State University (Terry Link, Director, Office of Campus Sustainability)
• New York University (Steve Heuer, Director, Federal Relations)
• Portland State University (David Ervin, Coordinator of Academic Sustainability Programs)
• Rider University (Mordechai Rozanski, President)
• Southern Connecticut State University (Cheryl Joy Norton, President)
• University of Florida (Office of Sustainability)
• University of Puget Sound (Ronald R. Thomas, President)
• University of Illinois at Chicago (Sylvia Manning, President)
• University of New Hampshire (Mark W. Huddleston, President)
• University of Oregon (Dave Frohnmayer, President)
• University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh (Richard H. Wells, Chancellor)
• Western Michigan University (Gregory Rosine, Senior Vice President)
• Western Washington University (Karen W. Morse, President)

NGOs:

• American Institute of Architects (Andrew Goldberg, Senior Director of Federal Affairs)
• Au Sable Institute (Ed Johnson, President)
• Campaign for Environmental Literacy (James L. Elder, Director)
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation (Don Baugh, Vice President for Education)
• Comprehensive US Sustainable Population (Alan Kuper, President)
• Earth Day Network (Kathleen Rogers, President)
• Massachusetts Audubon Society (Laura Johnson, President)
• National Council for Science and the Environment (Peter Saundry, Executive Director)
• National Wildlife Federation (Kevin Coyle, Vice President for Education)
• North American Association for Environmental Education (Brian Day, Executive Director)
• Ocean Project (Bill Mott, Director)
• Second Nature (Anthony Cortese, President)

Corporations:

• Mary Kay, Inc. (Richard C. Bartlett, Vice Chair)
• Nike (Brad Figel, Director, Global Government Affairs