Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions
Floor Speech
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Mr. REED. Mr. President, among the many challenges to improving educational outcomes for students and recruiting and retaining educators for our public schools is the condition of school facilities. A 2020 Government Accountability Office, GAO, report found that over half, 54 percent, of school districts nationwide need to update or replace multiple systems in their schools, such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, HVAC, or plumbing.
Now is the time to invest in school infrastructure. Doing so will improve the resilience of our schools, bolster student learning, reduce carbon emissions, and create jobs. That is why I am proud to partner with Representative Bobby Scott, ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, in introducing the Rebuild America's Schools Act. I would like to thank my Senate colleagues who are joining in this effort, including Senators Van Hollen, Kaine, Booker, Alsobrooks, Cortez Masto, Whitehouse, Merkley, Hirono, Smith, Shaheen, Durbin, Blumenthal, Heinrich, Padilla, Whitehouse, Markey, and Lujan.
Public schools play a vital role in every community across the Nation. They play a central role in our democracy--educating the next generation, serving as polling places for our elections, hosting community meetings and events, and so much more. When there is a natural disaster or an emergency, people often gather at their public schools for shelter, information, and resources. Public schools are public infrastructure, and we should invest in them just as we invest in roads and bridges.
Safe, healthy, modern, well-equipped schools are also essential for advancing student achievement and ensuring that the next generation is prepared to meet the economic, social, environmental, and global challenges our Nation faces. Yet, too many of the approximately 56 million children and adults who learn and work in our public schools spend their days in facilities that fail to make the grade. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave school infrastructure a D-plus on its latest report card.
Nearly 40 percent of public school were built before 1970 and contain hazardous construction materials such as asbestos, lead, and PCBs. An analysis from the Center for Climate Integrity found that more than 13,700 public schools that did not need air-conditioning in 1970 need it today. These essential retrofits are estimated to cost $40 billion. The 2025 State of Our Schools Report, a joint publication of the 21st Century School Fund, Inc., the National Council on School Facilities, and the International Well Building Institute, identified a nearly $90 billion annual shortfall in school facilities investment. States and local communities cannot bridge this gap alone, especially when many struggle to simply keep teachers and staff on the payroll. And we know the budget shortfalls hit low-income and minority communities the hardest. The GAO noted that capital construction expenditures, on average, were about $300 less per student in high-poverty districts compared to low-poverty districts. With inflation, interest rates, and extreme weather events on the rise, the gap between what is needed to maintain safe and modern schools and what communities can afford will only grow.
Addressing this need is the right thing to do for our students, and it will also create good jobs and grow the economy. According to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, every $1 billion spent on construction generates 17,785 jobs.
The Rebuild America's Schools Act will create a Federal-State partnership for school infrastructure. It will provide, over 10 years, a total of $130 billion in direct grants and school construction bonds to help fill the annual gap in school facility capital needs, while creating nearly 2 million jobs.
Specifically, the Rebuild America's Schools Act will provide $100 billion in formula funds to States for local competitive grants for school repair, renovation, and construction. States will focus assistance on communities with the greatest financial need, encourage green construction practices, and expand access to high-speed broadband to ensure that all students have access to digital learning. Our legislation would also provide $30 billion for qualified school infrastructure bonds, QSIBs, $10 billion each year from fiscal year 2027 through fiscal year 2029 and restore the qualified zone academy bonds, QZABs, that were eliminated in the Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The legislation also eases the matching requirements and expands the authority and eligible purposes of QZABs to allow local education agencies to construct, rehabilitate, retrofit, or repair school facilities. The Rebuild America's Schools Act also supports American workers by ensuring that projects use American-made iron, steel, and manufactured products and meet labor standards.
I would like to thank the broad coalition of educators, community organizations, unions, civil rights advocates, and employers that have provided feedback and support for this legislation, including the 21st Century Schools Fund, AFT: Education, Healthcare, Public Services, American Library Association, BlueGreen Alliance, Build America's School Infrastructure Coalition, BASIC, Children and Nature Network, American Institute of Architects, AIA, American School Superintendents Association, AASA, Council of Great City Schools, Craven County Schools, Green Schoolyards America, Greenbank Associates, Healthy Schools Campaign, Heart of America, International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, SMART, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, Kentucky School Plant Management Association, National Council on School Facilities, National Education Association, National School Plan Management Association, North American Association for Environmental Education, Rentokil Terminix, Safe Traces, the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, UndauntedK12, and U.S. Green Building Council.
We have no time to waste in fixing our deteriorating school infrastructure. I urge our colleagues to support the Rebuild America's Schools Act and press for its passage.
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