Dan Kildee: “I thank my friend from Colorado for yielding. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the underlying bill eliminates the 21st…”

“I thank my friend from Colorado for yielding. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the underlying bill eliminates the 21st Century Community Learning Centers that are so critical to providing an outlet, a positive outlet, to young people in communities across this country for all that youthful energy that kids carry around with them. Afterschool programs make a difference. They especially make a difference in the lives of young people who live in communities, like many that I represent, that are facing enormous financial pressures just meeting the requirements of providing daily instruction and can't support, without additional help, the kind of afterschool experiences that this program has supported. Why fix what is not broken? These programs really work. I know something about this. I come from Flint, Michigan. In fact, I served on the board of education in my hometown in Flint. I was elected 38 years ago. I was 18 years old. Flint is an important community in discovering the value of afterschool programming because long ago, many decades ago, auto pioneer Charles Stewart Mott and a visionary by the name of Frank Manley developed a community education concept which opened the doors to schools and provided enrichment activities so that young people could have those positive choices.…”