Tina Smith: “I rise in support of my colleague Senator Thune's request to pass the Impact Aid Coronavirus Relief Act, H.R. 8472, by…”

“I rise in support of my colleague Senator Thune's request to pass the Impact Aid Coronavirus Relief Act, H.R. 8472, by unanimous consent. As we continue to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, we need to support schools so that students can keep learning. In Congress, we have a special obligation to federally impacted schools. As my colleague Senator Thune has said, these are schools that are located in districts with a significant amount of nontaxable land, which puts them at a significant disadvantage for raising education revenue. And we make this right by providing direct Federal payments which are crucial for their operation. What this bill does--what our bill does--is to provide a commonsense change. It allows school districts to use student counts from the previous academic year when they submit their impact aid applications. In light of the challenges of doing a safe and active count in the midst of this coronavirus pandemic, this only makes sense. I thank my colleague from North Dakota, Senator Thune. I have been so glad to work with him to support school districts that rely on Impact Aid Programs and to promote financial stability for these school districts during the pandemic. I hope we can pass this bill today and get it signed into law. I yield.”