WASHINGTON – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) announced his support of the bipartisan Impact Aid Infrastructure Partnership Act, that would provide a total of $1 billion over four years for Impact Aid Construction Grants to address the significant backlog of facility needs at federally impacted school districts.
“Investing in our schools is investing in the future of Arizona. Schools throughout the state rely on Impact Aid and need additional funding for long overdue repairs at their facilities,” said Senator Gallego. “By securing this critical funding for construction and modernization, we ensure that every child has a safe, innovative, and inspiring place to learn while building a brighter future.”
Arizona receives over $200 million in Impact Aid funding per year, exceeding the allocation of other states due to the number of military bases and tribal reservations in the state. Given the high number of beneficiaries in the state, Arizona schools would directly benefit from the funding increases proposed in this bill.
The Impact Aid Infrastructure Partnership Act would:
- Authorize $250,000,000 annually for four years for Impact Aid Construction Grants, ensuring federally impacted school districts have the resources needed to provide every student with a quality education and safe learning environment
- Within the funding, 25% would be made available via formula funding to all eligible school districts. The Department of Education would disseminate the remaining 75% as competitive grants with priority for those school districts with acute emergencies in their facilities.
- Offers federal support for public school districts where federal activity has reduced the available tax base.
The federal Impact Aid program offers federal support for public school districts where federal activity has reduced the available tax base. As federal lands are tax exempt, including military installations, Indian treaty, trust, or Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and federal properties and facilities, federally impacted school districts have significantly less tax revenue and bonding capacity to meet their needs. Currently, Impact Aid supports over 1,100 school districts, totaling more than 10 million students.
The Impact Aid Infrastructure Partnership Act is endorsed by National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS); National Indian Impacted Schools Association (NIISA); Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA); and Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition (BASIC).
The full text of the legislation is available HERE.