To permit certain school districts in Illinois to be reconstituted for purposes of determining assistance under the Impact Aid program.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce The Government Reservation Accelerated Development for Education Aid Act, GRADE-A, H.R. 701, a bill to ensure the Federal government fully funds the Impact Aid program.

In 1950, President Harry Truman established the Impact Aid program to meet the revenue shortfalls in school districts and communities that occur in districts with federally owned land, which are exempt from State and local property taxes. Public schools are required by law to accept all children from military families, Native American reservations or other Federal establishments. This puts a severe financial burden on school districts that educate a significant number of federally connected children, diminishing the overall quality of education, and increasing the funding burden on local taxpayers.

For years Impact Aid was fully funded and offered some of the strongest direct assistance to military families across the Nation. Unfortunately, over the last decade we have fallen behind on this commitment. GRADE-A has garnered bipartisan support and offers the opportunity to reverse this negative trend.

Earlier this Congress I introduced H.R. 12, in order to ensure that students in my district continue to receive the resources needed to succeed. I introduced this bill to help North Chicago continue to qualify as ``heavily impacted'' and therefore, receive maximum funding, and to ensure that Glenview and Highland Park receive fair compensation.

I believe that it is crucial for schools outside of my district that are affected by the presence of the Federal government to receive support from the Impact Aid program as well. This funding is necessary to maintain school quality, protect surrounding communities from financial burden and to fulfill an obligation to our men and women serving overseas, by caring for their families at home.