Press Release
June 4, 2008
Susan Davis Supports "Green" Schools Bill
$6.4 billion to be provided for modernization and energy efficiency
WASHINGTON – With many school buildings crumbling and the threat of global warming, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA) voted to help renovate public schools and help them go “green.” Davis is an original cosponsor of the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act (H.R. 3021) approved by the House by a vote of 250 to 164.
The bill provides funding to states and school districts to help ensure that school facilities and learning environments are safe, healthy, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and technologically advanced. Under the bill, schools in Davis’s congressional district would be eligible for $28.9 million in funding for physical improvement projects. Overall, California could receive $677 million.
“The federal government simply cannot continue to neglect the condition of our nation’s schools,” said Rep. Davis, a member of the House Education and Labor Committee. “This bill will provide critical funding to help make our schools safer, healthier and ‘green’ to reduce their carbon footprint to help combat global warming.”
Congress provided $1.2 billion in funding for emergency school repairs in 2001, and provided additional resources for schools devastated by Hurricane Katrina and Rita. However, there has not been any direct funding for general school construction over the last eight years. As a result, schools have been forced to rely mostly on state and local funding for any repair or renovation projects.
According to recent estimates, America’s public schools are hundreds of billions of dollars short of the funding needed to bring them into good condition.
Overall, H.R. 3021 would authorize $6.4 billion for school renovation and modernization projects for fiscal year 2009, and would ensure that school districts quickly receive funds for projects that improve schools’ teaching and learning climates, health and safety, and energy efficiency. To further encourage energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources in schools, the bill would require that the majority of funds for school improvement projects meet widely recognized green building standards and would provide states with funds to help schools track their facilities’ needs, energy use, and carbon footprints, among other things.
Davis is also a cosponsor of legislation (H.R. 539) to encourage commercial buildings to become more energy efficient. She recently voted to extend tax credits for the investment in and production of renewable energy. The Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act (H.R. 6049) was approved by the House in May.