[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 79 (Thursday, May 21, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S5824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN:
  S. 1121. A bill to amend part D of title V of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants for the repair, 
renovation, and construction of elementary and secondary schools, 
including early learning facilities at the elementary schools; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the School 
Building Fairness Act of 2009. I offer this legislation to meet the 
urgent need for Federal support to repair crumbling schools in 
disadvantaged and rural school districts.
  This bill would authorize up to $6 billion annually to fund a new 
program of Federal grants to States for the repair, renovation, and 
construction of public schools. States would award the grants 
competitively, with priority given to high-poverty and rural school 
districts, as well as school districts that plan to make their 
facilities more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. 
Districts receiving this federal funding would then be required to 
provide a local match.
  I know this approach to school construction and repair can work 
because this bill is modeled on the success of the Iowa Demonstration 
and Construction Grant Program in my home State. Over the last decade, 
I have secured $121 million in Federal funds that more than 300 school 
districts across Iowa have used for school construction and repair. 
This modest Federal investment has leveraged more than $600 million in 
additional local funding.
  In addition to improving the learning environment for students, the 
School Building Fairness Act will provide a stimulus to the economy by 
creating jobs in thousands of communities all across the country for 
workers in the construction industry, as well as architects and 
engineers.
  It will also spur school districts to make their facilities more 
environmentally friendly and energy-efficient. According to the 2006 
report ``Greening America's Schools: Costs and Benefits,'' green 
schools use an average of 33 percent less energy than conventionally 
built schools, and generate financial savings of about $70 per square 
foot.
  Safe, modern, healthy school buildings are essential to creating an 
environment where students can reach their academic potential. Yet too 
many students in the U.S., particularly those most at risk of being 
left behind, attend school in facilities that are old, overcrowded and 
run-down.
  We all agree that school infrastructure requires constant 
maintenance. Unfortunately, far too many schools have been forced to 
neglect ongoing issues, most likely due to lack of funds, which can 
lead to health and safety problems for students, educators and staff. 
The most recent Infrastructure Report Card issued by the American 
Society of Civil Engineers gives public schools a D grade. Now, I do 
not know many parents who would find D grades acceptable for their 
children. So why on Earth would we stand by while the state of the 
buildings in which our children learn are assigned such a grade?
  Despite the declining condition of many public schools, federal grant 
funding is generally not available to leverage local spending. In 
fiscal year 2001, in the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
Education Appropriations Subcommittee, which I then chaired, I was able 
to secure $1.2 billion for school repair and renovation. I continue to 
hear nothing but positive feedback from educators across the country 
about that funding.
  But that one-time investment amounted to nothing more than a drop in 
the bucket compared to the estimated national need. At the beginning of 
this decade, the National Center for Education Statistics estimated 
that the nation's K-12 public schools needed $127 billion in repairs 
and upgrades. A 2008 analysis by the American Federation of Teachers 
found that the Nation's school infrastructure needs total an estimated 
$254.6 billion.
  This bill is called the School Building Fairness Act because, as I 
said, States will give preference in awarding grants to high-poverty 
and rural districts. Currently, spending on school facilities is almost 
twice as high in affluent districts as in disadvantaged districts. This 
is one of those ``savage inequalities'' that Jonathan Kozol writes 
about--inequalities that largely explain the learning gap between 
affluent and poor children.
  Something is seriously wrong when children go to modern, gleaming 
shopping malls and sports arenas, but attend public schools with 
crumbling walls and leaking roofs. This sends exactly the wrong message 
to children about our priorities as adults.
  With the School Building Fairness Act, we have a chance to get our 
priorities right, and to provide a desperately needed boost to school 
districts all across America.
  I hope that my colleagues will join me to help create safe, modern, 
and healthy school environments so all of our children can grow to be 
the leaders of tomorrow.
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