Political Quotes

“I thank Ranking Member Davis for yielding. I want to give a big thanks to my friend and colleague, Representative Karen Bass of California. She is a true champion for our foster youth. I was happy to participate in her Foster Youth Shadow Day last month, which gave me the opportunity to meet with a constituent of mine that directly benefits from the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. I strongly urge all of my colleagues to host a foster child next year. I also want to voice my strong support for Representative Bass' bill, H.R. 2847, the Improving Services for Older Youth in Foster Care Act. The current Chafee Foster Care Independence Program plays an important role in our larger foster care system, and the services it provides should be extended to cover older youth up to the age of 23. I was able to hear firsthand from my foster youth shadow, Khadejah Moore, about the struggles that foster youth face when they age out of the system. These young adults are thrown into the real world with little to no support system. It is an incredibly frightening time for these young youth. But if we can extend the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program and also allow youth more time to use education vouchers, they have a better chance of having the opportunity to graduate college and successfully enter the workforce. This is an important, commonsense bill, and I want to thank both Representative Bass and Representative Faso for introducing this legislation.…”