[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5354 Referred in Senate (RFS)]


109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5354


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 23, 2006

     Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 22, 2006.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.