On the recordJuly 22, 2010
I rise today to urge this body to get our priorities straight. During this trying moment for struggling families all over America, as we work to get our economic ship righted, it is our kids and schools that should be at the top of our list. And moving forward with a more lasting agenda, this body must make good on our commitment to ensure that we leave more opportunity for our children than we ourselves have had. It starts with our commitment to education. We have a very American responsibility--to set the table for our kids' futures; to prepare them for the competitive world that awaits them; and to enrich their lives with a better education than the one that was offered to us. This is our central calling. As I have discussed many times before back in Colorado and here on the Senate floor, we must be willing to make the hard choices necessary to jumpstart our economy and put the country on a path that will return us to fiscal responsibility. This means recognizing how we got into this fiscal mess--by not paying for our priorities, not planning for future emergencies, taking on more than we can afford, and damaging, expensive bailouts. Yet we cannot fight our way out of this fiscal hole riding on the backs of our kids. It is wrong, and it is a disservice to them. I support legislation to preserve teacher jobs. And the full Senate must do the same. In so many areas, our children are taking the brunt of our economic downturn.
