109 HR 5354 IH: To authorize the Secretary of Education to extend the U.S. House of Representatives 2006-05-11 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5354 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 11, 2006 Mr. Boustany (for himself, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Poe, Mr. Alexander, and Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Education to extend the period during which a State educational agency or local educational agency may obligate temporary emergency impact aid for elementary and secondary school students displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Hurricane Relief Extension Act of 2006.

2.

Extension of period for obligation of temporary emergency impact aid for displaced students

Notwithstanding sections 107(f) and 110 of title IV (commonly known as the Hurricane Education Recovery Act) of Division B of the Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006 (Public Law 109–148; 119 Stat. 2680), the Secretary of Education may extend the period during which a State educational agency or local educational agency may obligate funds received under section 107 of that title, except that such funds shall be used only for expenses incurred during the 2005–2006 school year, as required by section 107 of that title.

3.

Sense of Congress

(a)

Findings

The Congress finds as follows: (1)According to the Department of Education, more than 370,000 students were unable to attend school in the weeks following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (2)According to the Department of Education, 158,000 students remained displaced as of October 1, 2005, and are eligible for impact aid. (3)The unprecedented nature of this crisis and the massive dislocation of students prompted the Congress in 2005 to approve the Hurricane Education Recovery Act to provide money to reopen schools in the Gulf Coast region and an additional $645 million for impact aid. (4)The Congress included stringent time lines in the Hurricane Education Recovery Act to ensure the money would quickly be sent to the local educational agencies to help the schools in need. (5)The Department of Education accelerated the application process in order to quickly release education-related relief. (6)A significant portion of the recovery aid, both restart and impact aid, has yet to reach damaged schools and local educational agencies. (b)

Sense of Congress

The Congress urges State educational agencies to expeditiously distribute education relief funds received under title IV (commonly known as the Hurricane Education Recovery Act) of Division B of the Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006 (Public Law 109–148; 119 Stat. 2680)) to impacted schools and institutions.