Alex Padilla: “I rise in opposition to the harmful CRA resolution that would cause tens of millions of hard-working Americans to see…”

“I rise in opposition to the harmful CRA resolution that would cause tens of millions of hard-working Americans to see their monthly budgets get even further squeezed, making it harder to pay their bills or afford basic necessities. I rise to defend one of the largest efforts to close the racial wealth gap in our Nation's history. As we debate student debt relief, it would be remarkably tone deaf for this body to spend an entire debate on the life-changing student debt forgiveness plan without acknowledging who it is that is at the decision-making table and who is not. Most people consider this body, the U.S. Senate, as being deliberative. Many Members take pride in this being the most deliberative body in the world. While we may be deliberative, we are clearly far from diverse--at least far from reflecting the diversity of our great Nation. Most Members of this body are decades removed from when they earned their undergraduate degrees. And many are at least years, if not, years and years removed from even having to sit down to plan how they would pay for their kids' college education. So before we even get into the merits of President Biden's plan to uplift millions of hard-working Americans, I urge my colleagues to step outside the Senate for a moment.…”