[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 153 (Thursday, November 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2394-E2395]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HURRICANE REGULATORY RELIEF ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 16, 2005

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 
3975, the Hurricane Regulatory Relief Act of 2005. As many of you know, 
a key component of the Gulf Coast hurricane relief and recovery effort 
is flexibility and adaptability. Entire communities have been uprooted 
by these unprecedented natural disasters, and bureaucratic red tape 
must not stand in the way of efforts to rebuild the region. H.R. 3975 
bill emphasizes much-needed regulatory relief to help the students, 
schools, workers, families, and communities affected by the hurricanes. 
The bill seeks to achieve this goal by prioritizing educational 
services for displaced students over bureaucratic hurdles. To this end, 
for one year, the bill would ease requirements for elementary and 
secondary schools, including:
  Maintenance of effort and supplement not supplant funding 
requirements. Easing these requirements would ensure states and schools 
can serve students effectively with the resources available. In 
addition, the bill would allow non-federal match requirements to be 
waived or modified for affected states.
  Deadlines for special education evaluations and reporting 
requirements. By extending--but not waiving--these deadlines, states 
and schools would have the flexibility they need to ensure the affected 
students will have access to the services they need. In addition, the 
bill expands opportunities for quality teachers to serve displaced 
students. For example, for

[[Page E2395]]

one year, the bill would allow teachers that met the ``highly 
qualified'' standard in an affected state to be considered ``highly 
qualified'' in other states that are serving large numbers of displaced 
students where they may temporarily be teaching. In addition, the bill 
would expand the new individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
Paperwork Reduction Pilot Program to states affected by the hurricanes. 
This will further erase burdensome paperwork requirements on special 
education teachers.
  Among other positive aspects, the bill also strengthens financial aid 
opportunities for affected students by expand outreach efforts to 
ensure disadvantaged students and families have access to information 
about financial aid that may be available as they pursue higher 
education. It requires colleges and universities to adjust financial 
aid award calculations through the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), 
taking into account changes in families' financial circumstances caused 
by the hurricanes. Further more, the bill would encourage institutions 
of higher education to ease the process for displaced students to 
transfer the academic credits they have earned and continue their 
studies as the region rebuilds.

  In closing let me note that I strongly, support the idea of 
prioritizing children who have been impacted by the recent hurricanes. 
To this end I have been working on a proposal that seeks to achieve the 
goal of taking care of our children. It goes without saying that 
children respond differently to disasters, depending on their 
understanding and maturity, but it's easy to see how an event like 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita could leave a child feeling a good deal of 
anxiety. Kids who lived in the track of the hurricanes felt firsthand 
the threat of danger to themselves and those they care about. Now that 
the danger has passed, it's important to comfort them and reassure them 
that they're safe. It's also important to be open and honest with them 
in discussing unseen consequences of the hurricane for the family.
  My proposal would prioritize children by requiring that the children 
who lost 1 or both parents or a guardian as a result of Hurricane 
Katrina and Rita should be provided with all necessary assistance, 
services, and benefits and urging Federal, State or local agencies 
responsible for providing such assistance, services and benefits to 
move expeditiously in providing such assistance, services and benefits 
to those children.
  In addition, her proposal would further prioritize children by 
requiring that the children who lost 1 or both parents or a guardian as 
a result of Hurricane Katrina and Rita should be provided with such 
immediate assistance, services, and benefits for which they are 
eligible and which are necessary for their well-being, including:
  (1) foster care assistance;
  (2) adoption assistance;
  (3) medical, nutritional, mental and psychological care;
  (4) educational services; and
  (5) such additional care or services as may be necessary.

                          ____________________