One of the things in my hometown in Waterbury, Connecticut, we have the largest homeless youth population in my community.

Is there any way that we can assure that youth are getting the services that they need and not going to the streets instead of going to a shelter?

I have heard a lot of things today that really has got me thinking about some things back at home.

Congress has a responsibility to ensure all children and youth have access to stable housing.

Connecticut has a vibrant agricultural industry. We are small, but we are mighty.

I hope that all of us here can work together to realize these priorities and take long overdue steps to ensure that no child in this country endures the trauma and uncertainty of youth homelessness.

I look forward to working with each of my colleagues to pass the bipartisan reauthorization of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act we so urgently need.

We need a reauthorization that meets the needs of young adults by extending the length of time youth can stay in Basic Center programs.

Trade deals like NAFTA and the new USMCA have made this easier and more frequent.

In Connecticut, 5 percent of children in the child welfare system aged out without ever finding a forever home.

And they don't have time for us to sit around and play these partisan games. These are programs that people depend on, and not as a handout, but sometimes people just need them as a step up to get themselves started.

that is where something is fundamentally wrong and unconscionable.

And it is unconscionable that Members of Congress can't come together to fix a program, again, for the American people and the people that truly need it.

Nobody is taking advantage of that. When you really look at it, that is what it means.

I think we maybe need to reevaluate our measure, you know, and do more capstone projects and internships and getting students out into the world.

I value public education and the work that we have done and the investment that we make in children every day and I have no guilt about that.

I appreciate your honesty on the answer.

The importance of the dairy industry cannot be understated.

So my question is, what exactly has been the role of the Department in this new reform?

I have some very personal experience as far as dealing with students after a disaster in my first years of teaching.

I saw the phenomenon that flourished after Hurricane Katrina, and that was charter schools, where regulations were loosened.

Just to leave you with something. As you continue to talk about how you prepare for storms, I can tell you that one of the main challenges that I saw was access to student records.

So there is no attempt to promote it further in Puerto Rico or replace the public system with a charter-specific system?

Can I ask you, were any of your WIC staff consulted at FNS headquarters when you had the decision to realign the regions?

800,000 people will be affected--