[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3144]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF IMPROVING COMPACT-IMPACT ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 2011

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to re-introduce a bill to 
expand the Federal Impact Aid Program to reimburse schools for the 
costs of educating students from the Freely Associated States (FAS), 
residing in the United States, including the territories. This 
legislation was H.R. 4695 in the 111th Congress and it enjoyed 
bipartisan support. Impact Aid was originally authorized by the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965 to compensate local 
school districts for the costs of educating federally connected 
children. Examples of these kinds of students include those whose 
parents live on military bases, live on Indian lands, or are the 
children of accredited foreign diplomats. However, the Impact Aid 
Program does not compensate local schools for the costs incurred by 
educating students from the FAS.
  The United States entered into the Compacts of Free Association with 
the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of 
Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau and under the Compacts, citizens 
of these countries can enter the United States without a visa. Thus, 
children whose parents are citizens of the FAS are in schools in the 
states and territories under a special immigration category and are 
federally connected just as children of military families are similarly 
federally connected. This legislation would provide a means for the 
federal government to provide assistance to impacted local education 
authorities.
  Mr. Speaker, the economic downturn has forced many local school 
districts to cut education budgets. This is a longstanding issue for 
affected jurisdictions and they need this to be redressed now more than 
ever. I will continue to make this, and all unreimbursed compact-impact 
funds, a priority in the 112th Congress. I would like to thank Mr. 
Faleomavaega, Mr. Sablan, Mr. Pierluisi, Mr. Honda, and Ms. Hanabusa 
for their support as original co-sponsors. I will work with these 
cosponsors to pass this bill.

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