Jahana Hayes

But our homeless shelter assigns anyone who comes according to their identity, their sexual orientation at birth.

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

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.

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

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

I guess I am yielding back to myself.

But specifically about this -- I don't mean to cut you off. I just don't want all my time to run out.

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

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

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

Our Nation's children deserve no less.

Youth homelessness is a pervasive issue that demands our attention.

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.

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

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.

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.

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?

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

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