Lynn C. Woolsey: “the civil war in Iraq has devastated the colleges and the universities in that country. It is estimated that thousands…”

“the civil war in Iraq has devastated the colleges and the universities in that country. It is estimated that thousands of students and professors have been forced to flee the violence, cutting short their studies and their academic careers. A humanitarian organization called the Iraqi Student Project is trying to help. It's working with 15 American universities to identify quality Iraqi students and provide them with a tuition-free education here in the United States. The project, which was created by two Americans based in the Middle East, is modeled on the Bosnian Student Project of the 1990s, a project that brought approximately 150 Bosnian students to American colleges. This Friday, Madam Speaker, I will have the honor of delivering the commencement address at the graduation ceremonies for Dominican University's graduate students. I'm proud to say that Dominican University in my district is one of the institutions working with the Iraqi Student Project. Dominican anticipates admitting two Iraqi students in September and waiving their tuition. Upon graduation, it is hoped that the students will return to Iraq to help that devastated country rebuild. In the coming days, this House will have the chance to show that we, too, have the right priorities. We will be considering the 21st Century GI Bill. This is a bipartisan proposal that would provide a college education to our brave troops when they return from the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.”