Political Quotes

“The amendment we have at the desk--and it is cosponsored by many on my side of the aisle--would allow 370,000 children the opportunity to get into afterschool programs. This is a program that works. I understand both sides agree that it works. The difference is that we on this side want to be a little more bold. We want to really say that if education is a priority, and if our children are a priority, we ought to go up to the President's requested level of $600 million for this program. The bill goes up to $400 million. That leaves out 370,000 children. Think of the impact for those children. It doesn't only impact them where they are safe after school. It impacts their parents, their grandparents, their communities, and their neighborhoods. It is a very simple amendment. We use a technique used all through the bill, which is forward funding. We don't touch Social Security or anything else. We simply forward fund it because the school year starts later, and that kind of funding would work.”