Mike Collins: “I appreciate the chair here, and I do want to follow up on that. I think the price of democracy has actually been paid…”

“I appreciate the chair here, and I do want to follow up on that. I think the price of democracy has actually been paid by the blood, sweat, death, and lives of those who have fought for this country for over 200-something years. That is the price of democracy. Those of us who have seen it in Iraq and other places, while serving there, understand that. It is not found in a 600-page bill being rushed to the floor, not going through markup. Let's at least be very honest about that. I appreciate the gentleman wanting to involve others in that. I appreciate wanting to make sure that we have young people's involvement. But we are also, frankly, as Members of this body, given a great opportunity. There is not a high school, elementary school, or middle school in this country that would turn us away. We can go anytime we are in our district workweeks and encourage those teachers who are trying every day to teach them reading, writing, and civic responsibility. That is what our jobs give us the ultimate privilege of doing. I appreciate the chairwoman of the committee saying that we are going to have vigorous outreach. She just said: Well, $25 million spread over the life of this bill is not that much. It is either a lot of outreach or it is a little bit of money or really, frankly, it is neither. It is just a feel-good to make sure that we are getting people involved, which we should be doing.…”