Legislative Affairs

Yesterday, ASBO International sent a letter to Congress endorsing Senator Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) amendment to S. 2848, the “Water Resources Development Act” along with AASA—The School Superintendents Association, the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA), the National Rural Education Association (NREA), and the NREA Advocacy Coalition.

The “Get Lead Out of Schools” amendment (final title/number TBD; see attachment) would require water utilities to add schools to the list of buildings they are already testing and introduce a grant program to reimburse schools for any costs incurred in addressing any lead-related issues that exist. While we and the other signatories do not take a position on the larger S. 2848 bill, we do support Sen. Booker’s proposal. As the attached advocacy letter notes, “Since water utilities are already testing homes throughout the community they serve, this amendment would have minimal impact” on them while providing a crucial service to schools and students.

If you are interested in learning more, please see the advocacy letter and text of Sen. Booker’s amendment in this post. Also, please feel free to use ASBO International’s Legislative Action Center to look up and contact your officials about this issue if you would like to join us and support this amendment.

Senator Cory Booker's (D-NJ) "Get Lead Out of Schools" amendment to S. 2848, the "Water Resources Development Act" was successfully added to the bill as SA 5407. ASBO International supports the amendment (but takes no position on S. 2848), which would require water utilities to add schools to the list of buildings they are already testing for lead in drinking water. The amendment would also introduce a grant program to reimburse schools for any costs incurred in addressing any lead-related issues.

S. 2848 passed the Senate on September 15 with SA 5407 included, on a 95 to 3 vote. The bill was referred to the House on September 19. The House is expected to vote on their version of the bill this week, but faces a steeper climb to pass. Democrat representatives oppose the House bill because it excludes a provision to provide financial aid for Flint, MI to assist with its lead and water crisis (which the Senate bill had). If the House version does pass, it will need to be reconciled with the Senate version in conference. Please stay tuned for further updates.

Yesterday, ASBO International sent a letter to Congress endorsing Senator Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) amendment to S. 2848, the “Water Resources Development Act” along with AASA—The School Superintendents Association, the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA), the National Rural Education Association (NREA), and the NREA Advocacy Coalition.

The “Get Lead Out of Schools” amendment (final title/number TBD; see attachment) would require water utilities to add schools to the list of buildings they are already testing and introduce a grant program to reimburse schools for any costs incurred in addressing any lead-related issues that exist. While we and the other signatories do not take a position on the larger S. 2848 bill, we do support Sen. Booker’s proposal. As the attached advocacy letter notes, “Since water utilities are already testing homes throughout the community they serve, this amendment would have minimal impact” on them while providing a crucial service to schools and students.

If you are interested in learning more, please see the advocacy letter and text of Sen. Booker’s amendment in this post. Also, please feel free to use ASBO International’s Legislative Action Center to look up and contact your officials about this issue if you would like to join us and support this amendment.

In September, ASBO International supported an amendment to S. 2848, the "Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA)," which would create a grant program to reimburse schools for costs incurred while addressing lead-in-water contamination issues and create a national lead exposure registry. The WRDA has been held up by Congress for months, particularly because of disagreements over funding Flint, MI to address its own lead-in-water crisis. However, it looks like Congress has found a "band-aid" solution.

Over the weekend, the president signed a budget bill that Congress passed to fund the government through April 28, 2017. The short-term budget includes some of the WRDA's language, which allocates $170 million to address infrastructure and health needs for communities affected by contaminated drinking water. Funding was made available for "grants for infrastructure improvements, lead poisoning prevention care for mothers and children, and the creation of a lead exposure registry." Specifically, it provides:

• $100 million for the EPA's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF),
• $20 million for low-cost loans under the EPA's Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program Account (WIFIPA),
• $20 million for the Water and Waste Act of 2016 to create a lead exposure registry (our amendment; learn more here, see Title II),
• $15 million for childhood lead poisoning prevention programs under the Public Health Service Act, and
• $15 million for the Healthy Start Initiative under the Public Health Service Act.

While this funding will be helpful to the communities facing lead-in-water public health issues, the topic will likely arise again in the 115th Congress. Although this is a small legislative success, ASBO International will continue advocating for federal support to provide students with safe and healthy schools and communities to live and learn in.

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ASBO USA
asbousa@asbointl.org

Original Message:
Sent: 09-27-2016 15:27
From: ASBO USA
Subject: S.2848 Amendment: Get Lead Out of Schools

Senator Cory Booker's (D-NJ) "Get Lead Out of Schools" amendment to S. 2848, the "Water Resources Development Act" was successfully added to the bill as SA 5407. ASBO International supports the amendment (but takes no position on S. 2848), which would require water utilities to add schools to the list of buildings they are already testing for lead in drinking water. The amendment would also introduce a grant program to reimburse schools for any costs incurred in addressing any lead-related issues.

S. 2848 passed the Senate on September 15 with SA 5407 included, on a 95 to 3 vote. The bill was referred to the House on September 19. The House is expected to vote on their version of the bill this week, but faces a steeper climb to pass. Democrat representatives oppose the House bill because it excludes a provision to provide financial aid for Flint, MI to assist with its lead and water crisis (which the Senate bill had). If the House version does pass, it will need to be reconciled with the Senate version in conference. Please stay tuned for further updates.

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ASBO USA
asbousa@asbointl.org
Reston, VA
United States

Original Message:
Sent: 09-07-2016 10:39
From: ASBO USA
Subject: S.2848 Amendment: Get Lead Out of Schools

Yesterday, ASBO International sent a letter to Congress endorsing Senator Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) amendment to S. 2848, the “Water Resources Development Act” along with AASA—The School Superintendents Association, the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA), the National Rural Education Association (NREA), and the NREA Advocacy Coalition.

The “Get Lead Out of Schools” amendment (final title/number TBD; see attachment) would require water utilities to add schools to the list of buildings they are already testing and introduce a grant program to reimburse schools for any costs incurred in addressing any lead-related issues that exist. While we and the other signatories do not take a position on the larger S. 2848 bill, we do support Sen. Booker’s proposal. As the attached advocacy letter notes, “Since water utilities are already testing homes throughout the community they serve, this amendment would have minimal impact” on them while providing a crucial service to schools and students.

If you are interested in learning more, please see the advocacy letter and text of Sen. Booker’s amendment in this post. Also, please feel free to use ASBO International’s Legislative Action Center to look up and contact your officials about this issue if you would like to join us and support this amendment.

------------------------------
ASBO USA
asbousa@asbointl.org
Reston, VA
United States
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