Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to oppose the previous question and to offer an amendment to help our schools safely reopen their doors for in-person learning. Madam Speaker, millions of children around the Nation have been out of the classroom for the better part of a year. This has taken a serious toll not only on their learning and social development but also on their working parents, who have been forced to juggle home-schooling their children and working full-time jobs. The data is in, and it makes abundantly clear that at-home learning is not a sufficient substitute for in-person education. One recent study found that children began to fall significantly behind in math. The study concluded that it would take students in grades 5 and 6 at least 12 weeks, on average, to catch up to where they were expected to be. Madam Speaker, the science is in, and it, too, makes abundantly clear that schools can reopen safely if the right precautions are taken. Commonsense social-distancing measures significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19 in schools and make the classroom a safe place for our students and our teachers. The CDC Director said last month that the science shows our schools can reopen safely even before every teacher is vaccinated. Madam Speaker, this is what the science tells us. Yet, despite these facts, too many children in my district and around the country are still not in the classroom.…”