Brad Ashford: “I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time. I would like to commend my colleague Congressman Fortenberry for his…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time. I would like to commend my colleague Congressman Fortenberry for his work on this issue and his words, which are right on. I would like to thank as well the chairman for his words, which accurately describe the history of Boys Town. Let me also thank the ranking member for her comments that so accurately reflect what Boys Town means to our community and to the entire country. I grew up around Boys Town. I grew up playing sports at Boys Town. The high school that I went to, Boys Town was in our conference; and we spent many very difficult nights playing basketball against the Boys Town basketball team which, quite frankly, was better than we were on most every occasion. In my years in the legislature that lasted until last year, I had the opportunity to work with a colleague of mine, Senator Bob Krist from Omaha, who spearheaded significant juvenile justice reform in our State. The child welfare system in Nebraska was in deep trouble; and Senator Krist, along with Father Boes, who is the acclaimed and incredibly competent leader at Boys Town, we passed significant juvenile justice legislation that helps families throughout the State of Nebraska, that deals with brain development, that deals with wraparound services, family services, as was so aptly described by my colleague Congressman Fortenberry. Mr.…”