Funding for Impact Aid Should Never be Threatened

Floor Speech

Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent Texas' 25th District, home to Fort Hood, the Army's premier installation to train and deploy heavy forces, and one of the largest military installations in the world and the largest in America.

Fort Hood ranks highest in terms of future capability and can support and sustain more than 50,000 soldiers and their families. The communities surrounding Fort Hood provide outstanding support and resources to these men and women, especially to the school districts, which are responsible for educating the children of our troops and for the education of our kids in the future. For example, 50 percent of all students in Killeen's Independent School District are military kids. That is over 20,000 students, and they are still growing. Nearby, in Copperas Cove Independent School District, well over 8,000 students have a parent in the military.

This is why funding for Impact Aid should never be threatened, not even at a time when Washington is at a stalemate. These students should have access to the best and the brightest educational opportunities our Nation can provide. Our men and women in uniform should not have to worry about their children's education when they are facing potential deployment.

Mr. Speaker, being a part of a military family is not easy. It requires more sacrifice than most of us can fathom. I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both Chambers of Congress to make good on our commitment to provide for our military and their families as we move forward.

In God we trust.

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