By Andrew Ujifusa
Democrats are once again pitching a big plan to fix up America’s schools. But it follows several false starts in the last few years to address this issue inside the Beltway from both parties.
Under the Rebuild America’s Schools Act, unveiled by House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday in Washington, the federal government would provide $70 billion in direct funding for school repairs and rebuilding, along with $30 billion in tax-credit bonds. The bill would also create “a comprehensive national database on the condition of public school facilities,” according to a fact sheet put out by the Democrats.
The proposal, which was released by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., would also generate 1.9 million jobs, according to the Democrats, who cite an estimate from the left-leaning and labor-friendly Economic Policy Institute.