Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7240 to reauthorize the Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act, or the READ Act. I thank my good friend, Chairwoman Karen Bass, for leading this bipartisan legislation and Chairman Meeks and the Speaker for moving it to the floor. Our dear friend and a great leader, Chairwoman Nita Lowey, who preceded me as chair of the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, led the charge to pass the READ Act in 2017. I saw her over this weekend, and she was so excited that this bill was coming to the floor. The READ Act coordinates and amplifies U.S. efforts to support basic education abroad. Over 58 million children still cannot go to school around the world, more than half are girls, and COVID-19 disrupted learning for hundreds of millions of kids, creating huge challenges for meeting the sustainable development goal of providing a quality education for all kids by 2030. I was proud to include in the fiscal year 2023 House SFOPS appropriations bill $985 million for international basic education, $35 million above last year's enacted level and $291.6 million above the President's budget request. The READ Act authorization will ensure that these resources will deliver the most value for kids around the world. ____________________”