Katie Porter: “I appreciate many Members of this body that are looking for ways to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, but I'm extremely…”

“I appreciate many Members of this body that are looking for ways to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, but I'm extremely disappointed that they've chosen this project. I must say that I'm afraid some of my colleagues haven't really done their homework. And I appreciate my friend and colleague from Nevada, Congresswoman Berkley, for stating some of the obvious. This particular program is what we need in America. And there is even a Web page today that shows this as an example of what's wrong with America. I want to stand here today and say this is what's right with America. We need to encourage public/private partnerships. Here is an individual that has adopted a charter school, a strong platform with the Republican Party, charter schools. It is a public charter school that he has adopted and writes a check for close to $3 million a year to keep it operating. Quite frankly, Mr. Chairman, I'm embarrassed. This is what's right about America, not what's wrong about America. This particular school is serving a population that needs our help and assistance. We admit here day after day that we're not funding special needs kids enough, and we are not. This is another example of how we can help this very important population. And again, as my colleague said from Nevada, this is an example of an individual that is giving of his time, of his life to support our community, close to $60 million a year.”