Senate Celebrates 70th Anniversary of Impact Aid

Washington, D.C.--The U.S. Senate unanimously agreed to a Senate Resolution celebrating the 70^th anniversary of the Impact Aid Program, which President Harry Truman signed into law in 1950.  The Resolution, introduced by U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), along with Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and a bipartisan coalition of 28 additional Senators, recognizes the importance of the Impact Aid program in delivering resources for federally impacted school districts to provide high-quality education and access to opportunities children need to reach their full potential. 

“Impact Aid is a crucial program that provides needed funding to school districts in Idaho,” said Crapo.  “The Senate’s unanimous support of this resolution signals the importance this program has across the country as it helps schools negatively impacted by federal presence continue to provide the best learning environment possible.” 

Read the full text of the resolution HERE and below. 

Whereas September 30, 2020, marks the 70th anniversary of the date on which

President Harry S Truman signed the Act of September 30, 1950 (commonly known as the “Impact Aid Act”) (64 Stat. 1100; chapter 1124), which established the Impact Aid program;

Whereas the community served by the Impact Aid program considers the Impact

Aid program to be the “original” Federal elementary and secondary education program;

Whereas the Impact Aid program is administered by the Secretary of Education;

Whereas the Impact Aid program reimburses local educational agencies for the

loss of revenue and other costs associated with the presence of tax-exempt Federal property within the boundaries of those local educational agencies;

Whereas payments under the Impact Aid program are dispersed directly to local

educational agencies, which allocate those payments based on local context and needs to provide a quality education to the students served by those local educational agencies;

Whereas, in 2020, nearly 880,000 children, including of individuals in the

uniformed services (as defined in section 1010 of title 37, United States Code), children residing on Indian lands, children in low-rent public housing, and children of civilians working or living on Federal land, are “federally connected children” who are served by local educational agencies that are eligible for basic support payments under the Impact Aid program;

Whereas there are 4,800,000 acres of federally owned land within the

boundaries of local educational agencies for which those local educational agencies are eligible to receive Federal property payments under the Impact Aid program;

Whereas, in fiscal year 2020, $1,486,112,000 will be provided under the Impact

Aid program to more than 1,100 local educational agencies that together enroll more than 10,000,000 students;

Whereas, in 1965, Congress passed the Elementary and Secondary Education

Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C 6301 et seq.), which amended the Act of September 30, 1950 (commonly known as the “Impact Aid Act”) (64 Stat. 1100; chapter 1124);

Whereas, in 1994, Congress passed the Improving America’s Schools Act of

1994 (Public Law 103-382; 108 Stat. 3518), which repealed the Act of September 30, 1950 (commonly known as the “Impact Aid Act”) (64 Stat. 1100; chapter 1124), and codified the Impact Aid program in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.);

Whereas Congress has continued to demonstrate support for the Impact Aid

program by reauthorizing the program 16 times between 1950 and 2020;

Whereas, to formalize and energize the broad, bipartisan support for the Impact

Aid program, the Senate Impact Aid Coalition was established in 1996 and the House Impact Aid Coalition was established in 1995; and

Whereas the Federal obligation on which the Impact Aid program is based is the

same in September 2020 as it was when the Impact Aid program was established 70 years before, in September 1950: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate —

(1)  designates September 30, 2020, as “Impact Aid Recognition Day” to recognize the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Impact Aid program; and

(2)  recognizes the importance of—

(A)  the Impact Aid program under title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.); and

(B)  the objective of that program to ensure that all children educated in federally impacted school districts receive a high-quality education and have access to the opportunities needed to reach their full potential. 

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