[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1010]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1010]]
     INTRODUCTION OF THE FEDERALLY IMPACTED SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT ACT

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                           HON. J.D. HAYWORTH

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 18, 1999

  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, today I introduced the Federally Impacted 
School Improvement Act with my good friend from North Dakota, 
Congressman Earl Pomeroy. This bipartisan legislation seeks to address 
the urgent school construction needs on federal lands, an issue I have 
championed since I was first elected to Congress.
  As you know, Mr. Speaker, the federal government has jurisdiction 
over schools in three cases--Indian reservations and military 
installations, which are funded through the Impact Aid program, and the 
federal enclave of the District of Columbia. Unfortunately, the federal 
government has failed to live up to its obligations to federally 
impacted schools, especially in Indian country.
  Nearly one in four of my constituents are Native American and 
approximately 50 percent of the land mass in my district is tribal 
land. On several occasions, I have had the opportunity to visit my 
Native American constituents. Virtually everywhere I go, I find one 
common problem on the reservations: the schools are antiquated, 
overcrowded, and in dire need of repair or reconstruction.
  The Federally Impacted School Improvement Act begins to address this 
desperate situation by authorizing $50 million to be spent on repair, 
renovation, and construction in our federally impacted school 
districts. As you may know, Impact Aid school construction is currently 
funded through Section 8007. This program received a paltry $7 million 
in fiscal year 1999, which could have built the equivalent of one 
school. There is certainly a need for more than one new school in my 
district alone. In fact, I testified before the House Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education in 1998 about the importance 
of school construction funding for federally impacted schools and 
included documentation of nearly $180 million in needed school 
construction funding in just five of my 23 federally impacted school 
districts. This problem is not isolated to my district. Almost every 
federally impacted school district faces similar problems.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation represents a start in improving the 
schools on military and Indian lands. But this is only a beginning. We 
need to show our commitment to our military and Native Americans, who 
have long been neglected by the federal government. We must live up to 
our obligations to educate children on federal land. I urge my 
colleagues to support the Federal Impacted School Improvement Act.

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