Barbara Boxer: “I think sometimes we go through the motions and we do not connect the dollar amounts to the children. We have just…”

“I think sometimes we go through the motions and we do not connect the dollar amounts to the children. We have just deprived 300,000 children in every one of our States of afterschool care, after being told by law enforcement that it helps solve crime problems, after being told by parents that it makes their children happy, after learning from study after study that the kids do better. I think it is very sad, indeed, for the children of America to know they will not have this afterschool opportunity that will keep them on the right track when we are giving billions of dollars to the children of Iraq and billions of dollars to the children of Afghanistan. Lord knows, I want to help them, too. But how about the children of America who were promised in No Child Left Behind that they would get afterschool care? This program has been flat-lined for 3 years in a row. It is a sad day, and I hope we will reverse ourselves at a future date.”