Political Quotes

“There are nearly 70 foster youth here today on Capitol Hill recognizing National Foster Care Month and to advocate for positive reforms that will better serve our Nation's kids. I applaud my friend from California, Congresswoman Bass, who, when she was speaker of the assembly, led the effort in California to extend the foster care age to 21 and is now leading the charge here in Congress to help strengthen the foster care system. Today, Joel, a 22-year-old student from Wilmington, California, who spent 3 years in the California foster care system, is spending the day with me to share his experience in foster care. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Joel was separated from his parents and found himself living on the streets of Los Angeles before being placed in a foster home. Joel didn't let these challenges keep him from completing high school at Banning High School and attending college at Cal Poly Pomona. Today, Joel is an inspiring young political science student and a testament to the importance of investing in foster youth programs. But we must do more. There are nearly 400,000 youth in the foster care system like Joel. These are all of our children, and we must take care of them. ____________________”