[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H12-H13]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SCHOOLS NEED CRITICAL INVESTMENTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Garcia) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to 
the critical investments we are making in our schools. Schools are the 
pillars of our communities. They are the places where our children 
learn and grow every day. Making sure that these spaces are safe for 
our Nation's children is one of our most important responsibilities.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, many of these facilities are not up to 
the task. School boards have been sounding the alarm for years about 
lead pipes, poor air quality, and now COVID-19 issues hurting our 
children's education. And for too long, help has not come.

                              {time}  1015

  But this month, during School Board Recognition Month, I am proud to 
be able to tell schools in my district and around the country that help 
is on the way.
  Thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed by this 
Chamber, we are bringing billions of dollars to make safe, healthy 
schools for our kids. That means billions of dollars to remove 
dangerous lead pipes

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from schools; millions of dollars to buy masks and protective equipment 
for teachers, staff, and students; and millions of rapid, accurate 
COVID tests so everyone can get tested and stay safe.
  We are also investing billions to improve air quality in schools 
across America.
  The impact of these investments cannot be overstated. We all know how 
dangerous lead contamination is for our kids. Lead poisoning can cause 
developmental problems, mental and physical health issues, and even 
death. No child should be poisoned by their own school water fountain--
not in Texas, not in America, not anywhere. That is why this law is 
investing $2.9 billion to replace lead pipes in Texas schools and make 
sure our children have clean, safe drinking water.
  It is for those same reasons, Mr. Speaker, that we are also putting 
tax dollars to work for cleaner air in schools. Poor air quality hurts 
students every day, making it harder to learn and contributing to 
illnesses like asthma.
  Recently, poor air circulation and filters have been driving up 
COVID-19 cases in schools. We can keep our kids safe in their schools 
by installing better filters that clean out the COVID virus before it 
travels between classrooms; we can keep our kids safe by providing them 
and their teachers with masks to help stop the spread; and we can keep 
our kids safe by making sure that if anyone does feel sick, they can 
immediately get a free COVID test.
  There are over 193,000 schoolchildren in my district. I am proud that 
the investments we are making will help each and every one of them. 
These are important measures we are taking right now to make schools 
safe and a great place to learn and grow for our students, for the 
teachers, the bus drivers, the cafeteria workers, and all those that 
keep our schools open and safe.
  Houston ISD alone has over 29,000 employees working hard every day 
for our kids. They have been on the front lines of this pandemic, 
helping our children stay on track, even as this disease has disrupted 
almost everything in their lives. It is absolutely vital that we bring 
these important tools for safe schools to them as well. Making sure 
that our educators and staff have rapid tests, masks, and vaccines will 
keep everyone in schools stay safe and healthy.
  But we must also finish the job and build back better, which will 
include billions for universal pre-K, which boosts our education 
system, and reinstate the child tax credit, which will lift children 
out of poverty.
  I am proud of the work of this Congress, and I am proud of the 
critical investments to my district, in our schools, in Texas, and 
across the country.
  We have made incredible progress this past year to help our 
educators, our students, and our communities bounce back from COVID-19. 
I am thankful for the hard work of President Biden and my colleagues in 
the House and the Senate. Thanks to our collective efforts, students, 
teachers, and faculty will have safe schools, clean water, and a 
brighter future.

                          ____________________