On July 21 the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will mark up a bill that would continue to make students from the District of Columbia eligible for federal grants to help pay for out-of-state colleges and universities. The bill (S 2347) would permanently extend the District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant program (PL 106-98), which has allowed District students to pay the equivalent of in-state tuition by paying the difference, up to $10,000 per year, since 1999. The program also provides up to $2,500 for students to attend private schools in the Washington area and historically black colleges nationwide. Senators George V. Voinovich (R-Illinois) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) hope to bring the measure in line with the House bill (HR 4012) by reducing the reauthorization to five years. The House’s draft fiscal 2005 spending bill for the District increases the spending for tuition grants by 52%, bringing the amount to $25.6 million.