Bob Menendez: “today the Republican leadership, the party that wants to be known as the education party and that has gone to great…”

“today the Republican leadership, the party that wants to be known as the education party and that has gone to great lengths to win Hispanic votes, has proposed a welfare reform bill that proves their rhetoric does not match their reality. Instead of providing and expanding educational opportunities for all, the Republicans deny poor people the opportunity to get an education, to get a better job, and to get their family out of poverty permanently. Instead of providing an equal opportunity for permanent residents who are here legally and who have worked hard, paid taxes, served in the Armed Forces of the United States in many cases, are veterans of our country, and who have fueled the economic boom of the last decade, Republicans refuse to give them the helping hand they need to get back on their feet. The current recession has not bypassed Hispanics, but the Republican welfare plan does. It is ironic to me that less than a week before Republicans planned to pour millions of dollars into new Spanish-language infomercials to woo Hispanic voters, they refused to invest any money in helping poor Hispanic families get the education and training they need to lift themselves out of poverty. What family value refuses to invest the money needed to provide child care to those families who are making every effort to work, but still cannot afford the cost of child care?”