Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolution

Floor Speech

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Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, during the last year we have all experienced the impacts of the coronavirus on everyday life. The coronavirus has shuttered businesses, closed schools, cancelled events, and overwhelmed hospitals and other health care facilities. It has fundamentally changed how we live our lives.

I can think of few better examples of where this has been the case than in our K-12 schools. Hawaii public school students, parents, and teachers have told me about how they have been impacted by the coronavirus. I have learned about the challenges they have faced with school closures, and heard about how they have adjusted to distance and hybrid learning--two terms that were pretty unfamiliar just a year ago. They are ready to return to the classroom.

But they need to return safely. That's why Congress recently provided an additional $130 billion for K-12 schools--to make sure that when they do reopen, they have the necessary resources to provide healthy and safe learning environments for students. If nothing else, the coronavirus has demonstrated how important these environments are for student success.

Unfortunately, however, we know that even before the coronavirus many students lacked access to these environments--including students in federally impacted school districts.

In many ways it comes down to school facilities. A recent survey identified $4.2 billion in school facility needs in federally impacted schools. These were basic health and safety needs to address issues like lead and mold remediation; electrical, HV AC, and plumbing upgrades; leaky roofs; expired boilers; outdated technology; and others--hardly conditions where students can be expected to succeed.

We need to make bold investments. We need to make them now.

That's why I am reintroducing the Impact Aid Infrastructure Act (or ``IAIA'') for the 117th Congress. IAIA provides $1 billion in supplemental funding for Impact Aid Construction Grants in FY2022. Specifically, the bill provides funding for competitive and formula grants that would help our federally impacted schools build, renovate, repair, and otherwise improve their facilities.

With these funds, federally impacted schools that are severely disadvantaged when it comes to raising revenue to finance projects would receive much-needed assistance.

We can certainly do more for these districts, but this investment is a start.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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