| Sponsor | Rep. Miller, George |
| Committee | Education and Labor |
| Date | January 13, 2009 (111th Congress, 1st Session) |
| Staff Contact | Adam Hepburn |
H.Res. XX is being considered on the floor under a motion to suspend the rules and requires a two-thirds majority vote for passage. This legislation was introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and was referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor, but was never considered.
H.Res. XX resolves that the House of Representatives:
- "honors the life, achievements, and distinguished career of Senator Claiborne Pell;
- "emphasizes that, among his legislative accomplishments, Senator Claiborne Pell changed the face of higher education by enabling millions of low and middle-income students to achieve the dream of a college education; and
- "recognizes the Federal Pell grants, the educational grants that bear his name, as a significant part of the legacy of Senator Claiborne Pell."
Claiborne Pell (D-RI) was a six term United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving from 1961 to 1997. Senator Pell was mostly known for his sponsorship of the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant program, which provides financial aid funding to U.S. college students (currently known as the Pell Grant). In addition, Senator Pell was the main Senate sponsor of the 1965 law creating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He participated in the 1945 San Francisco conference that wrote the United Nations charter and served in the U.S. foreign service for seven years. Senator Pell was the longest serving Senator from Rhode Island, and he passed away on January 1, 2009.