21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. Al GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Miller for his outstanding work in Congress and thank Mr. Chandler for sponsoring this piece of legislation.
Mr. Chairman, the cost of energy is increasing. This bill will help us by saving energy. It will help us in the years to come by reducing the amount of energy that we will use. Unemployment is at 8.9 percent. This bill will put people to work in a crucial and critical area, the area of construction, because the bill is all about construction and reconstruction of some of our facilities, and more, of course.
This bill is one that we all agree is needed. The need for it is undeniable. The question becomes, then, are we going to make our children a priority. That is really the question that I ask Members to consider. Will we make our children a priority?
Yes, there are times when we cannot afford to do things, but there are also times when we cannot afford not to do things. This is one of those things that we cannot afford not to do. And there are times when you have done everything that you can, you have not done enough. When you have done all that you can do, you have not done enough. On occasions when you have done all that you can do and you haven't done enough, you have a duty to do all that you can. This bill does all that we can do at this time to help this generation compete in the global economy.
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Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I spoke on the floor earlier today in support of H.R. 2187: The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act and the amendment that I cosponsored with Mr. Bright (AL), Ms. Kosmas (FL) and Mr. Cuellar (TX).
Because my time on the floor was limited, I was unable to explain my reasons for supporting this legislation in detail. Since this legislation will have a profound and positive impact on school districts and school children in my district, I would like to take this opportunity to cover the details regarding its merits.
Our schools should be safe and healthy learning environments for our children. H.R. 2187 gives us a chance to upgrade our school buildings and boost student achievement while creating good local jobs in new, clean energy industries.
In particular, this bill provides $6.4 billion in Federal funds for school modernization projects that will make schools safer, more energy-efficient, and up-to-date technologically. According to estimates from the House Education and Labor Committee, Texas schools will receive approximately $605 million and school districts in my congressional district, TX-09, would receive approximately $66 million in total. Houston Independent School District (HISD) is estimated to receive $54,109,000; Alief ISD will receive $8,482,000; Fort Bend ISD will receive $3,262,000; and Stafford MSD will receive $155,000. Title II of this bill also authorizes separate funds--$600 million over 6 years--for schools that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Schools in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama trying to recover from the devastation caused by these two hurricanes would be eligible to apply for funding under this section.
In addition, since this funding does not extend to schools impacted by Hurricane Ike in 2008, I am cosponsoring an amendment along with Representatives Bobby Bright, Suzanne Kosmas and Henry Cuellar that will set aside 5 percent of the $6.4 billion (or about $320 million) for schools impacted by, natural disasters other than Katrina and Rita and for schools experiencing significant economic distress. This amendment will allow schools in my district that were devastated or destroyed by Hurricane Ike in 2008 to be eligible to receive funding for new construction, modernization and repairs. For example, Houston Independent School District (HISD) had damages that cost $30-$60 million. In fact, while 14 of HISD's schools are designated as ``shelters of last resort'' by the City of Houston, none of HISD's facilities are designed to sustain winds in a storm above Category 2. To ensure safety in future natural disasters, facility upgrades are needed to shore up roofs and replace windows that can withstand Category 3+ winds. Generators are needed, as well, in the event of power outages. Federal funding is especially needed in light of the fact that 80 percent of students in HISD schools are economically disadvantaged. Additional reports indicate that over 40 buildings within the Alief Independent School District (Alief ISD) experienced some level of damage from Hurricane Ike and eight facilities endured significant damage totaling $5.8 million in costs.
All told, schools in my district and in districts across the Nation that have experienced natural disasters and significant economic distress will benefit from our amendment to this legislation. More importantly, it is the children and teachers in these adversely affected communities that will benefit the most once funding from this amendment is used to fix their schools.
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