Chris Coons: “I come to the floor today to talk about the vital importance of the connection between the arts, education, and…”

“I come to the floor today to talk about the vital importance of the connection between the arts, education, and progress. I am from a little town in Delaware named Hockessin. Hockessin was not much when I grew up there. We had about 1,500 people, some dairy farms and mushroom farms. Over the last 40 years, it has gradually developed. A not much widely noted big day happened back in 1994 in Hockessin, DE, when one of America's greatest jazz performers, Cab Calloway, passed away in the little town of Hockessin, DE. Cab Calloway gave his name to a remarkable performing arts school. This is a school that 25 years ago was created dedicated to the idea that if you want to elevate learning, if you want to strengthen education, you should make sure you have a robust range of opportunities to engage with the arts. I thought I would use that as an example today to talk for a few minutes about why what we do here can be important across our whole country and why a connection between the arts and education can make a lasting difference for families all across our country. Back in 1965, when I was just 2 years old, a group of Senators, Republican and Democratic, came together to create two things--the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. These two federally funded national programs are absolutely critical educational, economic, and cultural drivers that have impacted thousands of communities across the United States.…”