[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 47 (Monday, April 4, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E625-E626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INTRODUCTION OF THE LOCAL TAXPAYER RELIEF ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 4, 2011

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to introduce the Local Taxpayer 
Relief Act of 2011, a bill to reauthorize the Impact Aid program.
  The majority of public school funding in America comes from local 
property taxes. However, in areas with military bases, Indian lands, 
national parks, federal low-rent housing, or other federal property, 
local school districts cannot collect needed revenue.
  Without relief: taxpayers in these federally impacted areas would 
need to pay more in local taxes to support the same level of education 
as 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 federal K-12 education law. Impact Aid 
helps local taxpayers by reimbursing school districts for the costs of 
hosting federal property and educating federally connected children. 
Today, Impact Aid supports over 12 million children in more than 1,300 
school districts in all 50 states, DC, and U.S. territories.
  In Hawaii, we have Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine bases where our 
brave men and women in uniform are stationed. Thousands of military-
dependent children are students in Hawaii schools, but our state cannot 
collect local taxes from these bases. 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.
  Impact Aid is especially important now, as school districts 
nationwide continue to recover from the greatest recession since the 
Great Depression. Impact Aid funds come with few strings attached, 
helping districts support a wide range of vital services.

[[Page E626]]

  Impact Aid is currently Title 8 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act, ESEA, also known as No Child Left Behind. As we work to 
reauthorize ESEA in the House Education and Workforce Committee this 
year, I am optimistic that we can improve Impact Aid in a bipartisan 
way.
  My bill increases efficiency, eliminates subjectivity, and seeks 
funding equity. This bill has strong bipartisan support. The National 
Association of Federally Impacted Schools, NAFIS, worked tirelessly to 
develop this bill with the broad input of these impacted districts. The 
Impact Aid Coalition includes 105 Members of Congress.
  The bill includes the following major improvements: maintains 
stability for school districts with military bases going through 
housing renovation and privatization; allows for an updated ``current 
year count'' when districts see a major influx of students due to troop 
deployment or other federal action; and expedites the U.S. Department 
of Education's payments, which currently run up to four years behind.
  I thank my principal co-sponsor Congresswoman Kristi Noem of South 
Dakota for her partnership. I urge my colleagues to support this bill 
to provide relief to local taxpayers and ensure that all our children 
receive the education they deserve.

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