On the recordFebruary 26, 2021
Mr. Speaker, Americans are crying out tonight for targeted relief; and, instead, this bill sends money straight to Speaker Pelosi's pet project in California, the Bay Area Rapid Transit Silicon Valley phase 2. How insulting to the frontline workers who still have not received a COVID-19 vaccine, and to the mom trying to pay rent while her small business is in danger. And what about the ER docs and nurses treating kids rushed in for a mental health crisis? This is Washington pork spending at its worst, the kind the Speaker puts in for herself. My amendment tonight would take away the Speaker's $140 million subway carve-out and instead redirect that money to a truly essential cause: Supporting mental health programs for students. We have seen increasing rates of depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges among our kids, who have been trapped behind screens for a year now. If we adopt the motion to recommit tonight, we will instruct the Budget Committee to reconsider my amendment, which would put students over subways and reject this $140 million Speaker set-aside in favor of getting kids the mental health help they need right now, before it is too late. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record the text of my amendment immediately prior to the vote on the motion to recommit. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Iowa? There was no objection.





