Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1866) to provide the Secretary of Education with waiver authority for the reallocation rules and authority to extend the deadline by which funds have to be reallocated in the campus-based aid programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 due to Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, and Hurricane Maria, to provide equitable services to children and teachers in private schools, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 1866.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1866, the Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017.

Mr. Speaker, September has been a difficult month for many students and families in areas such as Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico, and even my State of Georgia, just to name a few.

We have all seen the truly saddening images of families who have been impacted by the likes of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and now we must come together as a nation to help our fellow Americans recover from these life-changing storms.

These storms have left many Americans with questions on how to continue living their daily lives as they try to return to a sense of normalcy, and students are no exception. Hundreds of thousands of students have been impacted by these storms, and the Federal Government must be ready to address the needs of students, as well as their institutions of learning, so that their education may continue.

The Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017 allows the Department of Education, as well as other Federal entities, to use the emergency tools at their disposal to immediately assist students impacted by the storms of this past month without the need of additional appropriations from Congress.

First, the bill equips the Department of Education with temporary authority to waive certain rules governing campus-based aid programs for those institutions impacted by recent hurricanes.

Second, the legislation ensures students and teachers at private schools receive services under the Project SERV grant program. This program helps school districts and institutions of higher education reestablish a safe learning environment after a violent or traumatic crisis. The program has issued grants to school districts, State educational agencies, and institutions of higher education after natural disasters, including Superstorm Sandy. These funds have helped reopen schools or, in some cases, provided resources to operate a school at an alternative site while the original site is being repaired.

Mr. Speaker, Congress has the power to use its resources to help students and families return to a sense of normalcy after these terrible storms, and we should do everything within our authority to help students remain on a pathway to success even in the aftermath of these storms.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support S. 1866, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to add that this legislation does not call for additional appropriations on the part of Congress and provides the Department of Education with limited authority to act until it has sufficiently assisted the students and families of these impacted regions.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation for the people impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of S. 1866, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I would like to address a bill that was actually recommended to me by the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Senator Alexander. I appreciate his bringing this matter to my attention. I will explain what it does in a moment.

Basically, it deals with the educational impact of hurricanes on our population, whether they be in Texas, whether they be in Florida, or whether they be in Puerto Rico. I think it is important, as the Presiding Officer knows in his having been to Puerto Rico recently, that we deal with all of these hurricanes and their aftermaths in a similar and combined and joint fashion.

This legislation is called the Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017, and it has three vital hurricane relief- related purposes.

First, it provides the Secretary of Education with the authority to waive Federal matching requirements for two campus-based aid programs under the Higher Education Act. First is the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program. Second is the Federal Work-Study Program. Notably, in my State, 18 campuses of higher education will be eligible for the waiver of Federal matching requirements. If not passed before September 30, which is on Saturday, if I am not mistaken, these matching funds will no longer be available. So this is a rare window of opportunity for us. As I said, this waiver of authority and relief was also done following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Sandy, I believe.

No. 2, the bill requires the Secretary to reallocate any remaining supplemental educational opportunity grant or Federal work study funds from the 2016 and 2017 award years to colleges and universities located in hurricane-impacted areas. Currently, this second amount totals $17.5 million, and if it is not used by the end of September, like these matching funds, it will no longer be available. These funds provide financial aid to students who have been harmed by the hurricanes at those schools.

Finally, the third thing this bill will do is restore the equitable distribution to all schools in the Project School Emergency Response to Violence Program.

These grants go to schools to assist recovery following a crisis. They can be used for a wide variety of activities, including mental health assessments, emergency transportation needs, and increased costs for teacher overtime. My State alone can be expected to submit applications for this funding next week, and over 14,000 campuses would be eligible. Obviously, given the limited funds, not all of them will receive the maximum they could, but the point is, this is a widely needed and important source of funds for those 14,000 campuses in Texas alone. Previously, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut all received these funds after Katrina and Sandy.

Colleagues, Congress needs to act or we will forgo our opportunity to use all three categories of these funds since, as I said, the time expires next Saturday.

When so many people in my home State of Texas and States such as Louisiana and Florida and places such as Puerto Rico are dealing with the aftermath of devastating hurricanes, we cannot allow this opportunity to go to waste.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1866, introduced earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, H. Con. Res. 71, the fiscal year 2018 congressional budget resolution, included an instruction to the chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget to file enforceable levels in the Senate in the event the budget was agreed to without the need to appoint a committee of conference on the measure. On Thursday, October 19, 2017, the Senate passed the budget by a vote of 51-48. On Thursday, October 26, 2017, the House of Representatives passed the budget without any changes on a vote of 216-212. As such, today I wish to submit the required filing found in the resolution.

Specifically, section 4113 of the fiscal year 2018 congressional budget resolution requires the chairman to file: No. 1, an allocation for fiscal year 2018 for the Committee on Appropriations; No. 2, an allocation for all committees other than the Committee on Appropriations for the fiscal year 2018, fiscal year 2018 to 2022, and fiscal year 2018 to 2027 periods; and No. 3, a list of accounts eligible to receive advance appropriations.

The figures included in this filing are consistent with the spending limits set forth in the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the levels included in H. Con. Res. 71, as adjusted to include the budgetary effects of legislation that were enacted after the baseline for the resolution was constructed but before passage of the resolution by the House of Representatives, pursuant to section 4205 of the resolution.

Adjustments for the budgetary effects of the following enacted legislation were included: Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanction Act, H.R. 3364; VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017, S. 114; Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, H.R. 3218; FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017, H.R. 2430; Granting the consent and approval of Congress for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia to enter into a compact relating to the establishment of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, H.J. Res. 76; Emergency Aid to American Survivors of Hurricanes Irma and Jose Overseas Act, H.R. 3732; Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2017, H.R. 3819; Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017, H.R. 3823; Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017, S. 1866; Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017, H.R. 601; and Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirement Act of 2017, H.R. 2266.

For purposes of enforcing the Senate's pay-as-you-go rule, which is now found in section 4106 of this resolution, I am resetting the Senate's scorecard to zero for all fiscal years.

All years in the accompanying tables are fiscal years.

I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables be printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1866, but I also stand concerned about the humanitarian crisis going on in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the wake of Hurricane Maria and also the other hurricanes that have been in the area.

More than 3.4 million people reside in Puerto Rico alone--U.S. citizens who are in need of full support of the Federal Government. This is more than the population of Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota, and Alaska combined--U.S. citizens, yet they have no voting Members of Congress.

U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands serve in our military. In fact, Puerto Ricans serve in our military at a rate twice the general U.S. population, and they are hurting. They are fighting to survive, and they are in desperate need of food, clean water, medical supplies, and security.

Hurricane Maria essentially wiped out ports, roads, electricity, communications, water supply, crops, and many homes. Today, 97 percent of Puerto Rico's residents are still without power, and 40 percent do not have access to clean drinking water. So Americans in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are now homeless, displaced, and without food, water, fuel, and medication.

Congress and this administration have an obligation to act swiftly and to act boldly to ease the suffering of our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. This bill, the Hurricane Relief Act, is well-intentioned and a good starting point.

But make no mistake, the limited flexibility offered to those affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in this bill will be helpful, but the bill does not go far enough to provide the kind of relief that is needed in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

These Americans do not have voting representation in Congress that allows their representatives to most effectively advocate on their behalf. Therefore, it is incumbent on all of us to stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow citizens and provide them with the support that they desperately need.

This is a life-and-death situation, and any further delay for aid will lead to unnecessary tragedy. So I urge this body to bring a full emergency supplemental bill to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to a vote. The citizens affected by the hurricane are running out of time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that we pass the bill, but, after we pass it, get right to work on a full relief bill for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.