[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 74 (Thursday, May 14, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    21ST CENTURY GREEN HIGH-PERFORMING PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES ACT

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                               speech of

                           HON. BOB ETHERIDGE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 13, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2187) to 
     direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to State 
     educational agencies for the modernization, renovation, or 
     repair of public school facilities, and for other purposes:
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2187, the 
21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act. As the 
only former state schools chief serving in Congress, I know that one of 
the biggest challenges we face in North Carolina, and across the 
country, is the lack of adequate facilities for learning to take place. 
This bill will put the federal government in partnership with local 
school districts to improve our schools and make them safer, healthier, 
and more green places for our children. However, this bill is about 
more than building schools. In this time of economic crisis, our 
efforts should be focused on helping people in our communities. And 
this bill does that by focusing on three things: jobs, jobs, and jobs.
  First, the bill will create jobs in our communities in the short 
term. School construction and modernization projects enabled by this 
legislation will put people to work in construction, renovation, and 
planning. Across the country, hundreds of projects are ready to go 
immediately if given the green light with funding, and that means 
employment in 30 or 60 or 90 days from the time this bill gets funded.
  Second, the bill lays the foundation for the clean energy jobs we 
need in the future. The green building projects enabled by this 
legislation will provide a model for innovation in the future. We will 
put people to work improving energy efficiency and applying new sources 
of energy to our needs, creating high tech jobs and new industries that 
will apply American ingenuity and know-how. This will also reduce our 
dependence on foreign sources of energy.
  Third, the bill invests in the next generation so that they are 
prepared for the jobs of the 21st Century. There really is no 
substitute for bricks and mortar when it comes to quality schools and 
to meeting the educational goals of our communities. Funding in this 
bill will move our kids out of trailers, from facilities that put our 
children's health and safety at risk, into quality classrooms where 
they can focus on learning. And it will free up local funds to be used 
to improve classroom education.
  This bill is about jobs today, jobs tomorrow, and jobs for the 
future. It addresses our most important priorities in unemployment, 
energy, and education. It is a good bill, and I urge my colleagues to 
join me in supporting it.

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