[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5062]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   LOCAL TAXPAYER RELIEF ACT OF 2011

  (Ms. HIRONO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, before I talk about the bipartisan Local 
Taxpayer Relief Act, to reauthorize Impact Aid, before I go to that, I, 
too, would like to add my condolences to the family of John Adler.
  John and I used to do yoga and tai-chi together--he much more often 
than I--at 6:30 in the morning. I got to know him and to really admire 
him for the commitment that he had to be of service. And the times that 
I would miss our tai-chi sessions, he would say, ``We missed you, 
Mazie.''
  We miss you, John.


                               Impact Aid

  Most public school funding comes from local property taxes. However, 
in areas with Federal property, Indian lands, or military bases, school 
districts cannot collect these needed revenues. Without relief, 
taxpayers in these federally impacted areas would need to pay more to 
support the same level of education as other districts.
  The bipartisan bill that I am introducing today would make sure that 
these districts would have the kind of Federal support through Impact 
Aid that they need to ensure that all of our students, our children, 
have the kind of good education they deserve. Impact Aid supports over 
12 million children in more than 1,300 school districts in every single 
State, D.C. and the U.S. territories.
  I want to acknowledge the work of the National Association of 
Federally Impacted Schools, NAFIS, who worked tirelessly to bring this 
bill to the floor. The Impact Aid Coalition includes 105 Members of 
Congress.
  I thank my principal cosponsor Congresswoman Kristi Noem of South 
Dakota for her partnership, and I urge all my colleagues to support the 
bill.

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