[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 48 (Thursday, April 28, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                THE EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 28, 1994

  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, every Member of this body is aware of the 
need to revitalize America's public school systems. American students 
are outranked annually in the areas of math and science by their 
European and Asian counterparts. Across the country, students' 
educational development is hindered for reasons such as fear of 
violence or pressure to experiment with drugs. If students to not have 
a safe learning environment, their development will be limited. 
Congress already has taken action to ensure that these fears do not 
continue to prevent any child from learning. By setting national 
education standards, this body took the lead in improving public school 
systems and the performance of students. I am proud to say I played an 
integral part in the passage of both the ``Improving America's 
Schools'' and the ``Goals 2000'' bills which address these problems. 
While these reform bills take significant steps toward helping local 
school districts overcome their problems, more still needs to be done.
  Students lack adequate, environmentally safe school buildings. In 
some urban areas, schools are closed due to asbestos and dirty, rust-
filled bathrooms that continually leak and are practically unusable. In 
other schools, water fountains have been removed because the water 
contained an unhealthy amount of lead. A recent study by the Education 
Writers Association found that 25 percent of our nation's schools are 
shoddy places for learning. In addition, the study found that 61 
percent of America's schools are inadequate facilities and are in need 
of major repairs; 42 percent are environmentally hazardous; 25 percent 
are overcrowded; and 13 percent are structurally unsound. Another study 
performed by the Council of Great City Schools found that the city I 
represent, New York, needs $1 billion both to repair old buildings and 
to construct new ones.
  Unfortunately, State and Federal funding for education infrastructure 
development is harder and harder to secure. In fact, over 20 States 
provide little or no funding for school facility projects, and only 10 
percent of Federal dollars have been contributed to this endeavor (and 
only in school districts negatively affected by Federal activities).
  That is why I am introducing the Education Infrastructure Act of 
1994, the companion to S. 2034 introduced by Senator Carol Moseley-
Braun. This bill requires the Secretary of Education to directly 
allocate $600 million to local school districts for the repair, 
renovation, alteration and construction of public elementary and 
secondary school libraries, media centers, and facilities used for 
academic or vocational instruction.
  The Secretary would target these funds to local school districts 
which serve large numbers or percentages of economically disadvantaged 
students and which can demonstrate urgent repair, renovation, 
alteration, and construction needs. Priority would be given to those 
districts having the oldest facilities, the highest number of 
facilities with health and safety hazards, and highest rates of 
unemployment. School districts would use the money to inspect their 
facilities, repair facilities that pose a health or safety risk to 
students, upgrade their facilities to accommodate new instructional 
technology, install school security and communications systems, and to 
build new schools.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill forces the Federal Government to accept its 
fair share of responsibility to maintain the public school system 
infrastructure. I hope my colleagues will favorably consider this 
legislation. We've already invested billions of dollars to ensure that 
our children receive high quality education in crime-free, drug-free 
schools, now let's finish the job of protecting our children from 
unnecessary hazards by investing in the upkeep of our Nation's public 
education infrastructure.

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