Wicker unveils bipartisan bill to increase study abroad participants

To ensure more students graduate college with the international knowledge and experience essential for succeeding in today’s global economy, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) on Nov. 15 introduced a bipartisan bill that would establish the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program in the U.S. Department of State.

“Study abroad is a valuable experience for many American college students who hope to become our country’s future leaders,” Sen. Wicker said. “I appreciate this effort to expand access to study abroad for thousands of undergraduates who would not otherwise have the opportunity.”

The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program Act, S. 5098, which Sen. Wicker cosponsored with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), would rename a competitive grant program run by the State Department to the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program. 

The grant helps institutions of higher education expand study abroad opportunities to nontraditional locations for underrepresented American college students, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

“Senator Paul Simon always knew the value of understanding how the world works and how we are all interconnected,” said Sen. Durbin of the Democratic senator who first served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 before being elected to serve in the U.S. Senate from 1985 to 1997, and who unsuccessfully ran for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination. 

“This legislation builds on Senator Simon’s vision by creating more opportunities for American students of all backgrounds to see and experience the world,” Sen. Durbin said. 

If enacted, S. 5098 aims to increase the overall number of undergraduate students studying abroad annually to one million students within 10 years; increase the number of minority students, first-generation college students, community college students, and students with disabilities studying abroad; and increase the number of students who study abroad in nontraditional destinations, with an emphasis on economically developing countries, the bill summary says.

The bill has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.