July 31, 2020

Correa Amendment To Defend Community Schools & Protect Children From Coronavirus Passes House

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Lou Correa (CA-46) released the following statement regarding the passage of his amendment to protect children and our nation’s school from the coronavirus pandemic. The Trahan-Correa Amendment ensures that communities and their locally elected school boards retain control of their schools, and prevents the Administration from withholding federal funding from educational institutions that chose not to reopen this fall. The amendment was included in H.R. 7617, a spending bill that provides $1.3 trillion in funding to the federal government.

Rep. Correa said, “The coronavirus is forcing all of us to rethink our world, especially our schools. Parents are deeply concerned about their children’s health, as they should be. Whether a school reopens for in-classroom learning is an important decision that is best made by locally elected school board members and their communities and not politicians in Washington, DC. My amendment ensures local schools are not punished for putting the health and safety of their students and faculty first. I am grateful for my colleague, Rep. Trahan, for joining me in protecting schools and the federal funding they depend on.

“Each year Congress passes legislation to fund the many programs Americans depend on, and this year is no different.  This spending package pays for many critical programs including cancer research and the 2020 Census, and most of all, it protects our soldiers around the world. Today’s vote ensures the brave men and women protecting our freedom overseas have the tools they need to get the job done and come home safe.”

Background: The Trahan-Correa Amendment prevents federal funds from being withheld from schools in the event those schools that choose not to reopen this fall due to concerns about protecting children and faculty from the coronavirus pandemic. It is included in H.R. 7617, a minibus appropriation package.

H.R.7617 is the second minibus package of the FY 2021 Federal appropriations. The bill provides $1.3 trillion in funding for Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development.

In total, the package provides:

  • $658.8 billion in base defense funding;
  • $372 billion in base nondefense funding;
  • $68.4 billion for defense Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO);
  • $1.9 billion for nondefense program integrity initiatives;
  • $210 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations; and
  • $143 million for nondefense disaster relief activities.

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Rep. Lou Correa represents California’s 46th Congressional District. He serves as Chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, and as the Vice-Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. Read more here.