Deborah Koff Ross: “The gentleman is so right. And I was sitting there in a meeting in my office today listening to a group pleading with me…”

“The gentleman is so right. And I was sitting there in a meeting in my office today listening to a group pleading with me to vote against this budget, which I am, pleading with me to vote against this budget because it cuts programs that give 3- and 4-year-olds a fighting chance to be ready when they enter kindergarten that can help us be able to give them a chance at success in life. We live in a free country. We get to choose what we eat and where we worship and whom we marry. Some people do that several times. And one of the few things in life we do not get to choose is who our parents are. Some children, both black and white, get really lucky. Some do not. And I think as a Nation we have a duty and obligation to be there for all young people. And if we can get to these young people at age 3 and 4 and get them ready for kindergarten, then we can have an impact on their lives and turn them into a productive citizen instead of spending $20,000 a year paying for them to sit idly and wastefully behind bars. Yet these programs, these preschool programs, are being cut in this budget. And one of the women that was in my office today talking to me about it, she said, I was one of those in one of these programs. They came to my home and they taught me how to teach my child, and I started teaching my child, and my child started making the honor roll.…”