[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 149 (Tuesday, November 16, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7478-H7479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CELEBRATING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF IMPACT AID

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 1641) celebrating September 30, 2010, as the 60th 
Anniversary of Impact Aid.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1641

       Whereas September 30, 2010, marks the 60th anniversary of 
     the date on which President Harry S. Truman signed Public Law 
     81-874, which enacted the Impact Aid program into law;
       Whereas the Impact Aid Program is considered by the 
     community it serves as the ``original'' Federal elementary 
     and secondary education program, and is administered by the 
     Secretary of Education;
       Whereas Impact Aid is designed to reimburse local 
     educational agencies for the loss of traditional revenue due 
     to the presence of tax-exempt property or Federal activity;
       Whereas Impact Aid payments are allocated directly to local 
     educational agencies in lieu of lost local tax dollars to 
     assist with the basic educational needs of the students and 
     schools;
       Whereas nearly 1,000,000 children of our men and women in 
     uniform, children residing on Indian lands, children in low-
     rent public housing, and children of civilians working or 
     living on Federal land are ``federally connected children'' 
     who are served by local educational agencies that are 
     eligible for Impact Aid payments in 2010;
       Whereas in 1951, 1,183 local educational agencies were 
     eligible for a total Impact Aid payment of $29,080,788, and 
     in 2010, 1,484 local educational agencies enrolling over 
     11,000,000 students will receive $1,276,183,000;
       Whereas the original Impact Aid statute (Public Law 81-874) 
     was the vehicle used by Congress in 1965 to pass the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
       Whereas Congress has continued to show its support for 
     Impact Aid by reauthorizing the program 15 times during the 
     period between 1950 and 2001;
       Whereas the House Impact Aid Coalition was established in 
     1995 and the Senate Impact Aid Coalition was established in 
     1996 to formalize and energize the broad, bipartisan support 
     for the Impact Aid Program; and
       Whereas the Federal obligation upon which the Impact Aid 
     Program is based today is no different than it was 60 years 
     ago: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes and celebrates the 60th anniversary of the 
     enactment of the Impact Aid program (Public Law 81-874), the 
     original Federal elementary and secondary education program, 
     as ``Impact Aid Recognition Day'';
       (2) recognizes the importance of the Impact Aid program 
     (which is currently in title VIII of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.)) in 
     ensuring that federally connected children (including 
     children of members of the Armed Forces, children residing on 
     Indian lands, children in low-rent public housing, and 
     children of civilians working or living on Federal land) 
     receive a high-quality public education; and
       (3) recommends that federally connected schools and the 
     communities they serve recognize Impact Aid Recognition Day 
     and carry out appropriate activities centered on the Federal 
     Government's obligation to federally connected children and 
     the need for continuing funding.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Langevin). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hirono) and the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Hawaii.


                             General Leave

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which 
Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on House 
Resolution 1641 into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. HIRONO. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am the sponsor of House Resolution 1641, celebrating 
September 30, 2010, as the 60th anniversary of the Impact Aid program. 
Hawaii schools received $55.5 million in Federal Impact Aid for fiscal 
years 2008 and 2009, the most recent years for which data is available.
  The majority of public school funding in America comes from local 
property taxes. Unfortunately, in school districts where the Federal 
Government controls part of the land, districts cannot collect revenue 
in local property taxes. Hawaii, for example, hosts many large U.S. 
military bases where thousands of our brave men and women and their 
families live and work. These bases do not generate property tax 
revenue to help educate Hawaii's military children and all of our 
children in Hawaii's schools. In Hawaii, as in other States, our 
national parks, Federal prisons, Indian lands, and low-rent public 
housing also decrease the property tax revenue available for schools.

                              {time}  1720

  Left uncorrected, our children in federally impacted areas would have 
less funding for education than their peers in areas with no Federal 
impact. This is patently unfair.
  In 1950, Congress recognized the need to address this inequity and 
created Impact Aid, the original civil rights education law. Impact Aid 
reimburses the school districts for the costs of hosting Federal 
property and educating federally connected children.
  Today, just as in 1950, we recognize the Federal obligation to 
support high-quality education for all children. No matter what type of 
land you live on, and especially if your family serves our Nation, all 
our children deserve a high-quality education.
  Our Impact Aid community crosses all partisan and geographic divides. 
We have the military community, Indian land school districts, urban and 
rural communities, Democratic and Republican districts, districts large 
and

[[Page H7479]]

small. Today Impact Aid payments support over 11 million children in 
nearly 1,500 school districts.
  The need for Federal Impact Aid is especially important now, as 
Hawaii and school districts nationwide continue to recover from the 
greatest recession since the 1930s. Impact Aid funds come with few 
strings attached and help districts support a wide range of vital 
services, including teacher salaries, tutoring, after-school programs, 
textbooks, utilities, and other local needs.
  Today we celebrate Impact Aid for advancing educational equity and 
recognize that we still have much to do to give all our children a 
truly world-class education.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1641, which 
celebrates September 30 as the 60th anniversary of Impact Aid.
  The Impact Aid program, now Title VIII of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965, supports local school districts with 
concentrations of children who reside on military bases, Indian lands, 
low-rent housing units, and other Federal properties.
  Signed into law in 1950, the program is an invaluable resource for 
local school districts across the United States that have lands within 
their boundaries that are owned by the Federal Government or have been 
removed from the local tax rolls by the Federal Government. These 
school districts face special challenges. They must provide a quality 
education to the children living on the Indian and other Federal lands 
and meet Federal education requirements, while sometimes operating with 
less local revenue than is available to other school districts, because 
the Federal property is exempt from local property taxes.
  Under the program, most Impact Aid funds are considered general aid 
to school districts. Most school districts use the funds to pay the 
salaries of teachers and teachers' aides; purchase textbooks, computers 
and other equipment; fund after-school programs and remedial tutoring; 
fund advanced placement classes and special enrichment programs. It is 
the only Federal program that is administered locally in order to meet 
the needs of students in the classroom.
  In 2010, nearly $1.3 billion will be provided to 1,484 school 
districts, enrolling more than 1 million federally connected children--
children of our men and women in uniform, children residing on Indian 
lands, children in low-rent housing, and children of civilians working 
or living on Federal land. The funding will benefit more than 11 
million students who are enrolled in these school districts.
  Mr. Speaker, for the last 60 years, the Impact Aid program has played 
an important role in ensuring that all students have access and receive 
a high-quality public education. I urge my colleagues to support House 
Resolution 1641.
  Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House 
Resolution 1641, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Impact Aid 
Education Program. The Federal obligation upon which the Impact Aid 
Program was founded is no different today than it was at the program's 
inception. Originally authorized in 1950, and for the last 60 years, 
Impact Aid has successfully assisted local governments and communities 
with the substantial and continuing financial burden resulting from 
federal land ownership.
  This year alone, in 1,484 school districts across the country, 15 
million children have benefited from the necessary supplemental funding 
Impact Aid provides. Whether it is the Nespellum, Wellpinit, Inchelium, 
Medical Lake or one of the many other school districts in my district, 
the Impact Aid program transcends all bounds and benefits a diverse and 
equally needy group of children.
  Impact Aid is a contract between the Federal government and the local 
communities, and we must hold up our end of the deal. As states and 
communities across the county tighten their budgets, it is now more 
important than ever, that the Federal government fulfill its 
contractually obligated responsibility to communities on time, every 
time. On this 60th Anniversary, we have an opportunity to renew our 
commitment to Impact Aid and renew our drive to reduce the bureaucratic 
paralysis plaguing an otherwise successful program.
  Programs, like Impact Aid, where the Federal government provides the 
necessary support and empowers local communities to provide invaluable 
services, without burdensome one-size fits all regulation, should not 
only be applauded, but imitated. That is why I urge all of my 
colleagues to join me in supporting House Resolution 1641, celebrating 
the 60th anniversary of the Impact Aid Education Program.
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, since my first day in Congress, Impact Aid 
has always been one of my top priorities. My congressional district in 
the State of Washington is one of the most heavily impacted by large 
and vital military installations, including Joint Base Lewis-McChord, 
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport and 
Submarine Base Bangor, which are either in or near the Sixth 
Congressional District. Our region proudly hosts thousands of active 
duty military personnel and their families, who represent a huge 
economic force in the Pacific Northwest as they contribute 
substantially to our nation's security. In addition, Washington is also 
home to 27 federally recognized Native American tribes, many of which I 
am proud to represent in Congress.
  With the many advantages of these large federal installations comes 
the loss of a substantial amount of land from the local tax base, 
however. Nevertheless, local school districts are still required to 
provide an education to children who live on these bases and other 
federally-connected, tax-exempt properties. Nationwide, this adds up to 
more than 1 million children, imposing more than $1 billion in 
additional costs to these districts. This is the reason Congress 
created the Impact Aid program 60 years ago.
  Although the case in favor of federal Impact Aid payments is clear 
and compelling, it has frequently been a target for reductions as we 
have debated the federal budget in Congress. Over the years, cuts to 
Impact Aid funding have been included in the Presidential budgets 
submitted to Congress, and occasionally in budget Resolutions 
considered in the House and Senate.
  To defend this vital program in the House of Representatives, I 
joined with a dozen of my Republican and Democratic colleagues in 1995, 
led by my good friends Chet Edwards and Jim Saxton, to form the House 
Impact Aid Coalition. Together, we have worked hard to support this 
program through a number of tough budget years, and I am proud that 
this program continues to be an important source of funding for nearly 
1,500 local education agencies across the country.
  At the same time we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the 
creation of the Impact Aid program, we are beginning another period in 
which constrained federal budgets will likely threaten to erode the 
progress we have made, and so the work of our coalition to build 
support for Impact Aid will be more important than ever. I regret that 
the Impact Aid Coalition will be losing some of its great champions--
Chairman Edwards, Ike Skelton, Earl Pomeroy, and Patrick Kennedy--all 
of whom have worked hard for this cause. But in the 112th Congress I am 
proud that we will still have more than 100 Members who are committed 
to preserving this program that means so much to children of military 
families as well as Native American kids.
  So on the occasion of this 60th anniversary of the Impact Aid 
Program, I join my colleagues in reflecting on the success we've had in 
preserving this program, and I look forward to working with my 
colleagues in the years ahead to strengthen it.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. I have no requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. HIRONO. With that, I urge my colleagues to support the resolution 
and continue to support Impact Aid, which truly represents equal 
educational opportunities for our millions of children across our 
country. Happy 60th anniversary, Impact Aid.
  I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hirono) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1641.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________