Political Quotes

“Mr. President, would the Senator yield 2 minutes? I thank the Senator from Iowa for his generosity spirit, and I rise in strong support of the bill. Since 1990 this important block grant has helped States provide vouchers to our low-income families to help them afford quality childcare programs. We all know how important that is. With over 70 percent of moms in today's workforce, it certainly is a critical issue for our children and their families and for our economy. I have been involved in this issue both when I was a young mom and now as an older grandmother. Childcare can be very expensive. The average low-income family spends over 32 percent of their income on childcare every month and about the same for their rent. They don't have much left over. It is very difficult. In California we have almost 6 million children whose parents are working, and in our State we were able to help over 100,000 children through this very important program. I commend the sponsors of this bill, the HELP Committee, for the great work they have done. I have a couple of amendments, and I will finish in just a moment. Senator Burr and I have proposed amendment No. 2809, which simply ensures that all childcare programs on Federal facilities, such as military bases, conduct the same comprehensive background checks the bill already requires of childcare providers on State land. So it is like a little bit of an oversight that was left out.…”