Barbara Boxer: “let me tell you about Sacramento START. The children in Sacramento START are showing a 75 percent increase in their…”

“let me tell you about Sacramento START. The children in Sacramento START are showing a 75 percent increase in their grades because they are getting help with their homework, tutoring and mentoring, and they feel good about their lives when they go to Sacramento START. The homework of these children has improved--by 85 percent in quality and completion. Why would we not step in to support these important programs? The President has suggested in his budget that we do so, in a much larger way. This is a small, small measure here, cutting out one-tenth of 1 percent of the Government travel budget and putting it into programs such as Sacramento START, such as a program like we have in the Tenderloin district in San Francisco, such as LA's Best, and give our kids something to say yes to. Here is the closing photograph, because to me it says it all. This is a beautiful photograph from a program in the Tenderloin district in San Francisco. These are kids after school, loving what they have there in that after-school program, enjoying their life, being kept busy learning, and it shows on their faces. I hope we will have an overwhelming vote for this. I hope we will break down this terrible partisanship that is dominating today and cast a vote for our kids, cut our Government travel, go home and feel a little bit better about what we are doing here.”