To amend title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide financial assistance to local educational agencies that educate alien children admitted to the United States as citizens of one of the Freely Associated States.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce H.R. 4695, a bill to expand the Federal Impact Aid program to reimburse schools for the costs of educating students

from the Freely Associated States, FAS, residing in the United States, including the territories. Impact Aid was originally authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965 to compensate local school districts for the costs of educating federally connected children. Examples of these kinds of students include those whose parents live on military bases, live on Indian lands, or are the children of accredited foreign diplomats. However, the Impact Aid program does not compensate local schools for the costs incurred by educating students from the FAS.

The United States entered into the Compacts of Free Association with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau and under the Compacts, citizens of these countries can enter the United States without a visa. Thus, children whose parents are citizens of the FAS are in schools in the States and territories under a special immigration category and are federally connected just as children of military families are similarly federally connected. This legislation would provide a means for the Federal Government to provide assistance to impacted local education authorities.

Madam Speaker, the economic downturn has forced many local school districts to cut education budgets. This is a longstanding issue for affected jurisdictions and they need this to be redressed now more than ever. I would like to thank Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Honda, Mr. Sablan, and Mr. Pierluisi for joining with me as original cosponsors. I will work with these cosponsors to pass this bill during the 111th Congress.