[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 19, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1944-S1945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBAL SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION

  Mr. FRANKEN. Madam President, I rise today to discuss tribal school 
construction funding--an issue that is central to the academic 
wellbeing and intellectual development of tribal children across the 
country.
  It goes without saying that all kids need clean, safe places to 
study.
  And making sure that every child gets a good education, in a safe, 
clean environment will benefit our economy and our society as a whole. 
Unfortunately, many Indian kids attending

[[Page S1945]]

schools run by the Bureau of Indian Education are forced to study in 
aging facilities that should be replaced.
  As Senators, we have responsibilities to all children in our States 
to ensure that they all have access to safe and clean school buildings. 
The Federal Government has a particular responsibility to the tribes 
that includes taking care of tribal schools. That is why I offered an 
amendment to the continuing resolution with Senators Tom Udall, Tim 
Johnson, Klobuchar, Heitkamp, and Heinrich, to secure funding for 
tribal school buildings that need to be replaced.
  In these times of tight budgets, everyone is making sacrifices. 
Programs across the Federal Government are forced to make difficult 
cuts and to do more with less. School construction is one small but 
vital program that I believe should continue to be funded. I was 
disappointed that the administration's fiscal year 2013 budget did not 
include funding for Indian school replacement construction.
  I ask the Senator if it would be fair to say that the absence of 
funding for tribal school construction replacement in this CR should 
not be seen as a lack of support for this activity in future 
appropriations bills?
  Mr. REED. Yes, that is correct.
  Mr. FRANKEN. The continuing resolution we are now considering is 
needed to get us through the last 6 months of this fiscal year. It is 
my hope that as we return to a more regular appropriations process for 
fiscal year 2014, we can refocus on this important priority to support 
Indian school construction. I ask the Senator, would he be willing to 
work with me and our colleagues on that?
  Mr. REED. Yes, I will welcome the opportunity to work with the 
Senator and our colleagues here in the Senate on priority needs within 
the Interior bill, including American Indian and Alaska Native health 
and education issues, to the extent possible given the overall budget 
constraints we face.
  Mr. FRANKEN. I thank the Senator for committing to work with us.

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