Nita Lowey: “Today all over America our schools are inadequate, overcrowded and literally falling down. In Miami students learn to…”

“Today all over America our schools are inadequate, overcrowded and literally falling down. In Miami students learn to read and write in temporary trailers. Here in our Nation's capital, schools have been closed for violating the fire code. In New York City, students dodge falling plaster and attend class in hallways and cafeterias. It is really extraordinary to me after having visited so many of the schools in the metropolitan region of New York that in the United States of America youngsters go to school with plastic actually holding up the ceiling. This, in the most prosperous and advanced Nation in the world. It just does not make any sense. A 1996 GAO report confirmed the worst. Record numbers of school buildings across America are in disrepair. One-third of all schools serving 14 million students need extensive repairs. About 60 percent of schools need to have roofs, walls or floors fixed. With school enrollment skyrocketing, this problem will only get worse. It is time for the Federal Government to act. This is a local problem that demands a national response. Our school modernization bond proposal will allocate $19.4 billion for zero interest bonds to fix old schools and build new ones all across the Nation. This is absolutely an essential idea that is creating a partnership between the Federal, State and local governments. The Federal Government should not assume the total responsibility, but we have an obligation to build that partnership.”