[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 26, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E97-E98]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE GOVERNMENT RESERVATION ACCELERATED DEVELOPMENT FOR EDUCATION ACT 
                               (GRADE-A)

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 26, 2005

  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill to fully fund 
the Impact Aid program. Earlier today, along with twenty-seven bi-
partisan co-sponsors I introduced the Government Reservation 
Accelerated Development for Education Act or GRADE-A bill.
  This bill is intended to fulfill an obligation the Federal Government 
made in 1950 when Congress established the Impact Aid program. Impact 
Aid was created because Congress recognized the obligation of the 
federal government to assist school districts and communities that 
experience a loss in their local property tax base due to the presence 
of the federal government. Between 1950 and 1969, the Impact Aid 
program was fully funded by Congress. Since that time, the funding 
level has not kept pace with the amount required to cover the federal 
government's tax obligation.
  Overseas, the Department of Defense runs many schools for the 
dependents of U.S. service personnel. Many people ask why the 
Department does not run such schools within the United States. The 
answer is that the children of military personnel already suffer enough

[[Page E98]]

with their parents on long deployments overseas. We should not 
segregate military kids from schools when stationed here in their own 
country. Military kids also tend to be high achievers with parents that 
on average are model citizens. They tend to pull up the academic and 
athletic achievements of the schools they attend.

  With thousands of servicemen and women risking everything overseas, I 
can think of no better way to set their minds at ease then by taking 
care of their families back home. This support should begin with 
assuring our soldiers that their children are receiving a quality 
education. There are 15 million school children in this Nation who are 
eligible for Impact Aid. Enrolled in one of the 1,300 eligible school 
districts, these children depend on their schools to provide them with 
an education and their parents depend on the schools to act as a 
community of support while they are deployed.
  In my district, 36 percent of all students attending North Chicago's 
School District 187 are ``Impact Aid'' children. Currently, there is no 
guarantee that North Chicago will receive the maximum amount that 
Impact Aid has promised to provide for its students. We must guarantee 
our servicemen and women a quality education for their families.
  But an even more pressing issue occurs at two other school districts 
in my district. About one in twenty students in School District 225 
(Glenview), as well as School Districts 112 and 113 (Highwood/Highland 
Park), are Impact Aid children. Due to the current funding formulas, 
District 225 only receives $110,000, and Districts 112/113 $100,000. 
The money they receive is 90 percent short of the cost of educating 
these children. This shortfall creates a strain on the school districts 
overall.
  The quickest way to take a soldier or sailor's mind off their mission 
is to have them worrying about their children's education. Kids from 
military families come from some of the hardest working, most patriotic 
families, but the schools they attend sometimes face short funding. 
This is because of the way we fund our Nation's schools. Impact Aid 
honors our commitment to military. It guarantees that those families 
who serve to protect our freedom are in turn protected by the federal 
government.
  We should support the Impact Aid program because it is the right 
thing to do to make sure schools near military bases are adequately 
funded. We should also support this program because it is important to 
the future of our country's defense. The United States established the 
all-volunteer military thirty years ago. After decades of experience, 
we now know that the children of military personnel are the most likely 
to join the military. This means that the Impact Aid program is not 
only helping families now on active duty but also educating young men 
and women who are the most likely to become the future backbone of the 
armed forces.
  This bill was the first piece of legislation that I introduced in the 
107th Congress. We attracted above 20 co-sponsors. In the 108th 
Congress, we attracted above 40 co-sponsors. Clearly the time is coming 
when this bill must become law.
  Our constitution commands that the first job of the federal 
government is to ``provide for the common defense.'' As we improve the 
pay and benefits of men and women in uniform, we must also support 
their kids and the local schools they attend. This may take many years 
to accomplish but the time is now to support schools that educate the 
children whose parents wear our Nation's uniform. Let us recognize our 
duty to America's children and to our military.

                          ____________________