On the recordJanuary 12, 2017
I want to thank my colleague for coming and taking the time and speaking on behalf of public education and students everywhere. We talked about it before, and I am happy to announce that we will be working as part of the House Public Education Caucus and looking very closely at those issues that are being brought forth and those plans that are being offered. I know if you look at my district in my State of New Jersey, you see some of the finest public schools in the country. At the same time, just 12 miles away, you see some of the most challenging. I know in my district that, if Elizabeth DeVos would take a look at what is happening in my district, she would see schoolteachers anxious to teach but have textbooks in what is considered advanced placement classes that don't even have the cover on the top of the book that those children are using. I know this because I have seen it for myself. So higher education is, indeed, that issue, that opportunity, that difference between living a life of poverty and being able to educate yourself and prepare yourself for a future that we must stand up for, and we will. I thank the gentleman for the time that he has given us.
