On the recordFebruary 6, 2017
I know the night is going on. I just want to take a moment to express my appreciation to all the staff members and Senators who remain here on the floor. A lot of folks who work here, from the gentleman typing very quickly, all the way to a lot of the folks working, I just want to express my gratitude for the long night, particularly to the pages. It is their second week here, and they suddenly are being forced to grapple with not just school but the long nights of the Senate. I really do respect them and am grateful for their, how should I say, endurance tonight as well. I rise today, as many of my colleagues have, to speak to the nomination of Betsy DeVos and to speak specifically in opposition to her nomination to serve as Secretary of Education. I have listened to as many of my colleagues' words as I can. I want to say that particularly those on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee have and will and continue to expand upon many of the concerning elements of Mrs. DeVos's record, concerns that I share about her lack of support for critical accountability measures, her lack of familiarity with many of the basic financial aid policies and programs which are so essential for people to have access to higher education, her inability to say that guns should not be in school, and her seeming lack of understanding of many of the fundamental yet critical education policy perspectives that I think are necessary for a job of this magnitude.…
