Date: 2009-05-13
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

I thank my friend. the gentleman from Colorado . for the time. I yield myself such time as I may consume. . The condition of our public schools is increasingly becomiig a troubling issue. Parents. students. and teachers feel that many schools are Increasingly overcrowded. unsafe. and obsolete. detracting from student performance. The deteriorating conditions in many schools has forced school systems throughout the Nation to spend progressively more of their budgets on school renovations and construction projects instead of on students and teachers. Today. the House of Representatives is set to consider H.R. 2187. the 21st Century Green HighPerforming Public School Facilities Act. This bill will direct the Secretary of Education to make grants and lowinterest loans to local educational agencies for the construction. moderiization. or repair of public educational facilities. These funds will help school systems pay for renovations and construction projects so that they can dedicate more of their budgets to improving the education of our Nations students. It also requires the funds to be used only for projects that meet certain. green standards. such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. known as LEED. Energy Star. or an equivalent State or local stahdard. One of the central tenets of the majority partys campaign both in 2006 and In 2008 was that they would run Congres* in a more open and bipartisan manner. For example. the distinguished Speaker said. We promise the American people that we would have the most honest and open governmentand we will. -However. that promise has yet to come to fruition. as the majority has consistently blocked an open process through their control of the Rules Committee. A prime example of how they have consistently stymied openness and bipartisanship can be seen by looking at the virtual absolute lack of open rules that they have allowed since they took control of the House of Representatives in 2006. In nearly 2 / years. the major: Ity has allowed one open ruleand that was over 2 years ago. Instead of fulfilling their campaignpromise. the majority consistently closes the amendment process and keeps Members from -offering amendments to important legislation. Earlier this year. the majority rushed through some of the largest and most significant pieces of legislation through a closed rule process. including the nearly $800 billion socalled stimulus and the over $400 billion socalled omnibus appropriations bills. Now. Mr. Speaker. I bring up this lack of an open process and the continued use of the closed rule by the majority because later today the Rules Committee is expected to meet to consider yet another closed rule for fiscal year 2009. the War Supplemental Appropriation Act. That legislation will provide over $90 billion to fund the Department of Defense and related programs. Now it is time that the majority lives up to its campaign promise and allows an open debate process. Its not enough to allow amendments on gen- dane Central School District is planerally noncontroversial legislation like ning to replace their old HVAC system the one we bring to the floor today with a costeffective and renewable that authorizes over. $6 billion for geothermal power system. But these school construction. They should allow and other districts in the Hudson Valan open process. Mr. Speaker. on. for ley could use some help. example. the over $90 billion supple- As schools make repairs. hundreds of mental appropriations bill that we will thousands of jobs will be available to considr later this week. and on energy hardworking Americans. goodpaying and health care legislation expected to jobs that cannot be outsourced. I be taken" up in the coming weeks. I urge my colleagues to support this I reserve the balance of my time. rule and this legislation because it is