John Chenoweth: “I can say that I felt a great deal of personal umbrage when we were accused of using these children for our own…”

“I can say that I felt a great deal of personal umbrage when we were accused of using these children for our own political ends. I can confirm the depth of feeling and emotion, as a grandmother, that many Americans must feel when they meet these children, when they hold them on their lap, when they hold them in their arms, when they rock them to sleep, when they sit and work with them and try to read stories to them, and when they delight in the fact that they realize the child has comprehended, because suddenly their face lights up and they laugh and they squeal. No, these are very personal things to us. And the fact is that the gentleman from California not only accused us of using these children, but he also said that everything had been adequately cared for because we have mandated it. Well, that is just the point. This body for years and years and years, Mr. Chairman, has been mandating unfunded mandates, mandating on the States and local units of government.”