Political Quotes

“this is the amendment we are waiting for. This is a bipartisan amendment. This is so bipartisan that we have already agreed to a voice vote, so listen carefully. Yes, thank you for that. Prepandemic, our public schools had identified about 1.5 million kids who experience homelessness. That is 2.7 percent of all public school students. So think about what that means. That was prepandemic. We know that number is higher now. Our amendment is pretty simple here. We reallocate less than 1 percent of the funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund to ensure that homeless youth and kids have the resources they need to get into and succeed in school. In Alaska and around the country, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn have increased the strain on our families and the need for services. Too many of the kids have left their homes, been pushed out of their homes, sometimes many of them to escape a dangerous situation. They are dealing with the challenges of virtual learning. These kids are worrying about where to sleep at night, how they are going to eat dinner, if they are going to be safe. This amendment ensures that these kids, no matter the trauma and the challenges they face outside of the classroom, will have a safe place to sleep and access to the wraparound services that they need.…”