21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act

21ST CENTURY GREEN HIGH-PERFORMING PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES ACT -- (House of Representatives - June 04, 2008)

Mr. COURTNEY. Just to follow up on the chairman's remarks, it sounds like crocodile tears to hear people talking about underfunding IDEA and title I when last December we had a chance to override the President's veto of the education spending bill, which would have put a serious commitment by this Chamber towards those programs which, indeed, have been underfunded for far too long, but unfortunately, too many Members on the other side of the aisle upheld the President's veto and broke, again, the promises to local communities to pay for Federal mandates.

We have a national challenge facing this country, a national energy challenge, national education challenge, and that's what this national bill is focusing on.

In Connecticut, the Eastern Connecticut State University Institute for Sustainable Energy did an inventory of school buildings a couple of years ago. They found that 90 percent of the buildings were constructed before 1978, completely energy inefficient. If we could get to an Energy Star rating of 50, which is a very modest rating, we would save 40 percent, not 20 percent, but 40 percent energy costs, which is precious dollars for local communities that are distressed and don't have a property tax base to pay for that kind of investment.

This program is focused with a title I formula to needy school districts. We're not just taking dollars and throwing them up in the air across the United States of America. We are helping the communities that need the help and can't afford to invest in green technology.

We have districts in my part of Connecticut, Quaker Hill Elementary School, that are making that type of investment, but we need to help the districts that can't afford to do it.

That's why, with a title I-based formula, this legislation will accomplish that task. I urge the Chamber's full support.

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