The Roosevelt Scholars Act: Round Two

In May of 2008 during the 110th Congress, Representative David Price (D-NC) introduced H.R.6160: The Roosevelt Scholars Act.  Despite the support of 24 cosponsors, it was referred to subcommittee and, like many bills before it, was never heard from again.  However, now that hope and a new Congressional head count have come to Washington, Representative Price is planning to dust it off and introduce the new and improved Roosevelt Scholars Act of 2009 next month.

For those not acquainted with the Act, the Partnership for Public Service offers the following description:

“The Roosevelt Scholars Act is a new initiative that will help the federal government recruit the best and brightest talent in key fields.  The Act will create a scholarship program to fund graduate-level education in key mission-critical fields (e.g., engineering, medicine and public health, foreign languages, information technology, and law, among others) in exchange for a federal service commitment.  The model is similar to the military's ROTC program, which has proven to be an outstanding source of new talent for our nation's armed forces.”

For those of you that are in information technology, this may sound familiar as it shares several similarities with the Scholarship for Service/CyberCrops Program (www.sfs.opm.gov) currently in place through the National Science Foundation.  However, as stated above, the Roosevelt Scholars Act will have an expanded scope to create a farm team of future federal employees across numerous mission-critical fields.

Some highlights of the Roosevelt Scholars Act are as follows:

Benefits
•    Academic Costs: Tuition, Books and Fees.
•    Living Stipend: Up to $12,000 per year.
•    Total annual award not to exceed $60,000 and not to exceed five academic years.
•    Eligible for noncompetitive employment through partner agencies.

Service Commitment
•    Complete an internship with an Executive agency prior to graduation. 
•    Serve a minimum of three years in an Executive agency following graduation.

The Partnership for Public Service is rallying support for the Act.  They currently have more than 80 leaders of prominent colleges and universities, educational associations, and good government groups that have signed a letter of support, which is circulating on Capitol Hill. Additionally, they have launched a new petition for individual supporters to sign. 

If you would like to support the Roosevelt Scholarship Act or learn more about it, please visit their website: 

http://www.ourpublicservice.org/OPS/programs/governmentaffairs/rooseveltscholars.shtml