WU: OREGON SCHOOLS ONE STEP CLOSER TO GETTING MILLIONS FOR REPAIRS Community colleges, Pell Grants, student loans also funded
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today Congressman David Wu announced that Oregon public schools are one step closer to getting millions of dollars for much-needed facility modernization, renovation, and repair. The U.S. House of Representatives just passed H.R. 3221, The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which provides substantial funding for education. The bill includes $36.2 million for grants to help Oregon school districts make a variety of upgrades such as replacing roofs and lead pipes, removing mold and asbestos, improving energy use, and upgrading classroom technology.
This funding is based on a bill that passed the House this spring: the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act, also known as the Green Schools legislation.
Congressman Wu successfully included five Oregon-focused amendments in the Green Schools bill, all of which were incorporated into the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. Because of Congressman Wu’s amendments, the grant funding available through the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act can be used for the following purposes that benefit Oregon students:
1) Storm water runoff systems, which provide an environmentally friendly way of managing Oregon’s plentiful rainfall, 2) Seismic upgrades, which are necessary to ensure that students will be safe in the event of an earthquake in Oregon or along the West Coast, 3) Energy generation from woody biomass, a renewable energy source that is abundant in Oregon, 4) Energy generation from waste-to-energy, a green energy source currently being researched by scientists at Oregon State University, and 5) Energy generation from solar-thermal systems, which will allow Oregonians to generate heat by harnessing solar rays.
Funds will be distributed to states and school districts according to a previously established formula. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act funds a substantial portion of the allocation that Oregon expected to receive under the Green Schools bill, providing $36.2 million for Oregon schools over two years. The estimated funds that each school district would receive per year are listed in the chart below.
“Every Oregon student deserves to learn in a safe, healthy school environment,” says Congressman Wu. “The funding we approved today will make our schools not just safer, but more environmentally friendly, creating clean energy jobs, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and lowering energy costs for taxpayers. Too many Oregon students and teachers returned to rundown buildings and technologically out-of-date classrooms when they went back to school this fall. We can’t move quickly enough to get this money into our communities.”
In addition to providing funding for K-12 public school facilities, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act also makes a substantial investment in higher education. Following up on President Barack Obama’s historic commitment to community colleges, the legislation helps ensure that community college students learn in up-to-date classrooms by providing nearly $33.7 million to repair or construct school facilities. New and renovated facilities will benefit the over 67,000 students who are enrolled in Oregon community colleges.
“Community colleges are an essential foundation of our higher education system,” says Wu. “As we emerge from this economic downturn, we are smart to invest in training and retraining community college students to fill essential jobs in fields like health care and green technology. This commitment to our community colleges will pay dividends for years to come.”
Students also will directly benefit from this legislation because the federal government is increasing both the size and number of Pell Grants, as well as reforming the way student loan programs operate.
Over the next ten years, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will invest more than $440 million in Pell Grant scholarships for Oregon students, with $72 million of that for students in the 1st Congressional District. These funds will increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $6,900 and make more students eligible for an award. Pell Grants are a major way that students are able to afford higher education, with more than 15,500 students in the 1st Congressional District eligible for this funding in the 2010-2011 school year.
All of the funding provided by the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act comes at no cost to taxpayers because the legislation transforms the way federal student loans are provided to students, saving $87 billion over ten years. In the past, many student loans from private lenders were subsidized by the federally guaranteed student loan program. Beginning July 1, 2010, all new federal student loans will be provided directly from the government, a change that saves taxpayers enough money to fund all of the other programs in the bill and guarantees students access to low-cost federal college loans.
“All Americans deserve access to affordable, high-quality higher education,” Wu says. “We are saving taxpayers billions of dollars by reforming our student loan system and taking the opportunity to reinvest those funds in helping students succeed. This legislation is a crucial step toward rebuilding the American economy, making sure young people have the ability to attend college or get career training, and ensuring that our work force remains the most highly skilled, cutting-edge, and effective in the world.”
H.R. 3221 passed the House by a vote of 253-171 and will now go to the Senate for consideration.
Please note that the below chart lists the Congressional Research Service estimate of the funds that Oregon school districts would receive each year for two years upon passage of this legislation. Highlighted districts are within Congressman Wu’s 1st Congressional District.
