The House has taken another stab at steering federal funds to school construction. The chamber on Sept. 17 approved a measure that would authorize more than $6.5 billion for public-school and community-college projects. The provision is part of a bill that would expand the federal college-loan program and curtail private lending in that sector. The focus now moves to the Senate, where the fate of the construction proposal is uncertain.
The measure would authorize $2.02 billion annually for fiscal 2010 and 2011 to modernize, renovate or repair K-12 public schools. Another $2.5 billion would be available for new construction or modernization of community colleges, starting in fiscal 2011.