21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. TONKO. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 2187, which would provide school districts that serve low-income communities with much-needed money for green school modernization, renovation and repair projects. I particularly want to thank Chairman Miller, Subcommittee Chair Kildee, and our sponsors that have introduced the legislation, both Mr. Chandler and Mr. Loebsack, for their outstanding support here on behalf of our students across the country.

These new funds will allow schools to make badly needed repairs to their buildings at a time when State governments are cutting back on education aid. This will help schools to not only become more energy efficient, but also, importantly, more healthy.

Thirty-two million children in our country attend schools which are reportedly having environment problems with their facilities that affect students' health and their learning. These funds will allow our schools to make their buildings healthier by allowing them to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, to mitigate indoor air quality problems, address mold infestations, replace old furnaces and pollution-emitting equipment, and deal with water contamination problems, amongst a host of other things.

Healthy and high-performance schools reduce indoor environmental hazards and are indeed energy efficient. I was proud to have worked with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to develop New York State's high-performance school guidelines, some of the best in the country; and I am pleased that this bill now will provide States with funds to develop similar measures.

Every child deserves a safe, clean and healthy environment in which to learn, and this bill is a major step in achieving that goal.

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