Political Quotes

“Madam President, on March 6, 2021, almost a year to the day after communities across America--and Alaska--shut down in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, this body was voting on the third COVID relief bill, the American Rescue Plan. Unfortunately, this was a wholly partisan exercise. Rather than advancing a bipartisan consensus effort, one side unilaterally pushed forward the largest spending package Congress had ever advanced, which I was not able to support. However, in the midst of that bogged down, partisan exercise, there was a bright spot of cross-aisle collaboration that brought together Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. In fact, it was one of only three amendments that passed with unanimous support during a contentious process where over 40 votes were taken. I am speaking of my amendment with Senators Manchin, Portman, Sinema, Collins, and Sullivan to designate $800 million of the K12 education funds in the bill to be used for identifying, supporting, and educating children and youth experiencing homelessness. I offered this amendment because the first two COVID relief packages did not include any dedicated funding to support this vulnerable population, who were arguably the most negatively impacted by school closures. At that time, 2,578 Alaskan children and youth were identified as experiencing homelessness. That number grew to 3,554 in the next school year. Unfortunately, we are on pace to break records this school year.…”