School-Related Crumbling Foundations Bill Passes Fed Committee

WASHINGTON, DC — A federal legislative committee on Tuesday passed a bill that would privide relief for schools affected by crumbling foundations.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02), a senior member of the House Education and Labor Committee, said the Rebuild America’s Schools Act (H.R. 865), contains provisions (authored by Courtney) to provide relief for schools facing structural damage amid the crumbling concrete foundations crisis.

The Committee-passed legislation includes a Courtney amendment that adds repairs to crumbling foundations due to pyrrhotite as an "allowable use of funds that can be dispersed to eradicate severe health and safety threats" to schools.

The bill contains a new title (authored by Courtney) to create "a new grant program for schools to repair or replace their foundation or any affected structures deteriorating due to pyrrhotite." The amendment was included as Title V in the final version of the bill, which was reported out of the House Education and Labor Committee by a vote of 26-20, and will now proceed to the full House of Representatives for further consideration.

"I am very pleased that the Education and Labor Committee today reported out a school infrastructure bill which includes a section I authored to help local municipalities with the cost of repairing or reconstructing school buildings that have been impacted by crumbling foundations due to the presence of pyrrhotite," Courtney said. "We know that Birch Grove Primary School in Tolland, CT has already discovered pyrrhotite in the concrete foundation of the school. I’m a strong supporter of the overall bill to rebuild America’s public school buildings, and the Committee’s recognition that help federal assistance is needed to address the issue of crumbling foundations in schools is a great victory for these communities that have been so seriously harmed by the crumbling foundations crisis."

Courtney’s amendment is included in Title V of the Rebuild America’s Schools Act, and would not reduce federal funding to other schools and local education organizations already receiving funding through the main provisions of the bill. Courtney’s amendment was written in response to notification that crumbling foundations have affected schools and municipal buildings, in addition to residential homes and condominiums.

On Feb. 25, 2019, U.S. Rep. John Larson (CT-01) wrote to House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott to express support for the provisions Courtney authored in the bill. Click here to read more.

On Feb. 14, Courtney issued a release highlighting the passage of two additional amendments he introduced aimed at providing relief to homeowners harmed amid the crumbling foundations crisis.

Click here to access a section by section overview of the Rebuilding America’s Schools Act.

To view the full text of the bill, click here.

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