Today, a substitute amendment offered by Congressman Dave
Loebsack of Iowa and Congressman Dale Kildee of Michigan during committee
mark-up of the 21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, H.R.
3021, was accepted by the members of the House Education and Labor
Committee. The Loebsack-Kildee Amendment
revised the base bill, and allows for new federal investments in green school
construction.
“The environment in
which our students learn and educators teach can have an immense impact on the
quality of education our children receive,” said Congressman Loebsack. “Moreover, improving and modernizing our
schools using green technology will create new jobs and help improve student
health, learning ability, and productivity.
I am proud to have worked with Mr. Kildee to make certain a significant
federal investment is made to improve, repair and rebuild our nation’s
crumbling schools.”
Congressman Loebsack has been leading an effort in the House
of Representatives to not only make necessary investments in repairing and
rebuilding our nation’s public schools, but he is working to ensure renewable
and energy efficient technologies are used in these projects. As a result, many of the provisions included
in the Loebsack-Kildee Amendment originated from Congressman Loebsack’s two
previously introduced bills on school construction and repair, the Grants for
Renewable and Energy Efficiency Needs School Improvement Act (GREEN School
Improvement Act), H.R. 5401, and the Public School Repair and Renovation Act of
2007, H.R. 3902.
The Lobesack-Kildee Amendment revised the 21st Century
High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, H.R. 3021, to allow for school
facility improvements, increased job creation, reduced emissions, and most
importantly improved student performance by:
Providing
schools with access to funding for modernization, renovation and repair
projects
- Authorizes $6.4 billion
for school construction projects for fiscal year 2009, and ensures that
school districts will quickly receive funds for school modernization,
renovation, and repair projects that improve the teaching and learning
climate, health and safety, and energy efficiency.
Encouraging
energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources in schools
- Requires that funds be used for projects that meet
one of three widely recognized green building standards: Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design; Energy Star; or Collaborative for High Performance Schools
– or equivalent state or local standards.
A growing number of studies indicate that schools using
renewable energy technology improve student health, learning ability and
productivity. Additionally, it has been
proven that placing green technology into schools can greatly reduce harmful
emissions, lower energy costs, and have an extremely positive impact on local
economies.
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