Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise today to fight for kids, parents and guardians, and educators in San Diego and across the country. All parents and guardians want for their kids is for them to grow up safe, healthy, and happy, and have the tools needed to confidently and successfully go out into the world. Obviously, they should be involved in their kids' education and shaping their minds and lives, but H.R. 5 is not the solution. I think we can all agree that educators can be some of the most influential people in our kids' lives. They have the power to inspire lifelong learning. They can help foster creativity and curiosity and teach children new information and perspectives, but H.R. 5 fails to value educators. It fails to acknowledge or even address that teachers are overworked and underpaid, fueling the burnout that has created a nationwide teacher shortage that was exponentially worsened by the pandemic. H.R. 5 fails to address school safety. There have been 322 school shootings this year alone. Just yesterday, there was a shooting at a Denver high school. By failing to act on gun violence in schools, we are allowing an entire generation to grow up with so much trauma: The trauma of school shooting drills, of growing up watching school shootings on the news, wearing bulletproof backpacks to school and knowing that one day it could save your life. However, H.R. 5 does not even attempt to proactively end the gun violence epidemic at schools.…”