Chairman Scott Urges Yes Vote on Moving Forward Act
Infrastructure Package Invests $130 Billion to Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools
WASHINGTON – Chairman Scott delivered the following remarks during the floor debate of H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, which includes the Reopen and Rebuild America’s School Act.
“Today, I rise in support of H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act.
“I want to focus on the fact that this infrastructure package includes our nation’s schools. For decades, underserved students and educators have spent nearly every day in school facilities with outdated air filtration, air conditioning, and roofing systems that endanger their health.
“A Government Accountability Office report just this year confirmed that more than half of school districts need to repair unsafe and outdated systems in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning in most of their school buildings.
“These issues are not about comfort. They are about equal access to education.
“Speaker, we all want to reopen our schools as soon as possible. But we cannot take this step when the Centers for Disease Control guidance requires functioning ventilation systems to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“The Reopen and Rebuild America’s School Act provisions in the infrastructure package offer the solutions our schools need. This legislation will invest construction funds, targeted at high-poverty school facilities that put the health of students and staff most at risk. Of course, the schools will also benefit from the improvements in broadband that are also found in the bill. The school provisions in this bill will create more than two million good-paying jobs over the next five years at a time when we face historic unemployment rates.
“The Moving Forward Act is critical for our nation’s economic recovery and it is critical for our efforts to achieve equity in education.
“Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass this bill so that all students have access to safe and high-quality schools, during the pandemic and for years to come.
“Finally, I ask unanimous consent to submit for the record a letter from the Rebuild America’s Schools Coalition to Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy in support of this legislation and the Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act.
“I yield back the balance of my time.”
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