[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 109 (Thursday, July 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1286]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE REHABILITATION OF HISTORIC SCHOOLS ACT

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                         HON. MICHAEL R. TURNER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 19, 2012

  Mr. TURNER of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, today, my colleague, Congressman 
Russ Carnahan, and I, as co-chairs of the Historic Preservation Caucus, 
introduced the Rehabilitation of Historic Schools Act, which would 
incentivize private investment to help rehabilitate our country's older 
K-12 public school buildings.
  It is imperative that we improve our educational facilities to help 
our children learn and compete in today's economy. According to the 
Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, 28 
percent of all public K-12 schools were built before 1950. In addition, 
a study by the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the quality of 
our nation's public school facilities a ``D'' rating. As state and 
local governments continue to feel pressure in this difficult economy, 
Congress must remove red tape that hinders private investment in our 
public schools.
  Established by Congress over thirty years ago, the Historic Tax 
Credit, HTC, has helped create 2.2 million jobs, incentivized nearly 
$100 billion in private investment, and renovated more than 38,000 
buildings, while helping to revitalize our communities and protect our 
country's cultural heritage. In 2011, the HTC leveraged more than $4 
billion in private investment and helped create nearly 56,000 jobs to 
rehabilitate 937 projects.
  Unfortunately, under current law, a restriction on the prior use of a 
property limits the ability of local governments to partner with 
private developers to rehabilitate older public schools through the use 
of the HTC. This bipartisan and bicameral bill would remove this 
barrier, incentivizing the renovation of older K-12 public schools, 
improving the learning environment for our nation's youth and helping 
spur local job creation.
  Our communities must have the ability to provide our children with 
the premier, 21st Century education they deserve. By allowing this 
incentivized private investment, school districts can rehabilitate 
their facilities at lower costs and dedicate more funding to educating 
their students.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to co-sponsor this important 
bill.

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