Political Quotes

“I rise today in support of a package that would provide critical relief to school districts across the Nation. The proposed amendment would provide $10 billion in additional support to local school districts to prevent imminent layoffs. It is estimated that this fund will help keep nearly 140,000 educators employed during the upcoming school year. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act has been credited with saving 300,000 education jobs and has mitigated that impact of the recession. As that funding comes to an end, however, massive job cuts once again threaten to stall economic recovery and damage our educational system. Thus far, almost 80 percent of school districts across the Nation have had to lay off educators. My home State of Maryland, which is No. 1 in education according to Education Week for the second year in a row, is not immune. One Maryland county has seen 800 jobs cut, 355 of those classroom positions. These job losses have an economic ripple effect. The Economic Policy Institute projects that every 100,000 education jobs lost causes an additional loss of 30,000 private sector jobs in local communities. This can take a devastating toll on families and on whole communities. As our children prepare to go back to school, let's think for a moment about what these job cuts will mean for them.”