[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 24263-24264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF THE SCHOOL ENERGY CRISIS RELIEF ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 28, 2005

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the School Energy Crisis 
Relief Act to provide relief to school districts that have been hit 
hard by rising fuel costs. This bill is widely supported and has 
received endorsements from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, American 
Federation of Teachers, National School Boards Association and Council 
of Great City Schools. I would especially like to thank all 26 of my 
colleagues who have signed on as original cosponsors.
  We all know that gas prices were skyrocketing for months before the 
major hurricanes disrupted fuel production on the Gulf Coast. While 
some school districts anticipated rising energy costs and budgeted 
accordingly this year, many others will fall short of the funding 
needed to meet these costs. As a result, precious education dollars are 
being spent to fill the tanks of school buses and to heat classrooms. 
States with areas with wide-open spaces, including much of the West and 
Midwest, will be especially hard-hit. Schools in urban areas will bear 
the brunt of additional fuel costs in order to heat the Nation's 
oldest, and often least energy-efficient, school buildings.
  It's not hard to understand why school buses are gas-guzzlers. 
According to an article in the USA Today, a Fairfax County school 
district in Virginia which transports 110,000 students daily pays $2.19 
a gallon for diesel fuel. A typical school bus takes 65 gallons. That 
makes the price of a full tank $142, and it doesn't go far in a vehicle 
that gets 7 miles per gallon.
  The dramatic increase in gas prices therefore imposes a significant 
burden. For example, in my district, the Colton Joint Unified School 
District's buses rack up over a million miles a year. In September, the 
district paid $2.72 for a gallon of diesel fuel, which 2 years ago cost 
under a dollar. As a result, the district is spending at least $300,000 
more to fuel its buses than a couple years ago.
  Many school districts across the country are already operating on 
shoe-string budgets this year. These price hikes threaten to exhaust 
the budgets of those caught unprepared for higher fuel costs. Recent 
news reports indicate that some schools are implementing drastic 
measures to keep their fuel costs under control. In Kentucky, for 
instance, record gas prices have caused a number of schools to cut back 
to 4 days of classes a week. Last month, most of Georgia's schools 
cancelled classes for two days in an effort to conserve fuel.
  The School Energy Crisis Relief Act authorizes the Secretary of 
Energy to issue energy

[[Page 24264]]

assistance grants to help the poorest school districts across the 
Nation offset these unexpected and challenging costs. If we don't help 
school districts cover these energy costs, children won't just get left 
behind--they will be left at home! At a time when fuel price hikes are 
creating budget shortfalls for many school districts, America cannot 
afford to compromise our children's education.
  I urge my colleagues to support the School Energy Crisis Relief Act. 
This legislation will help schools remain open to educate students. We 
must provide relief to these school districts most in need now.

                          ____________________