Political Quotes

“I am here today to talk about the policy failures of this body. Mr. Speaker, when we look at Baltimore, let me tell you why it is not a shock to me. It is because when you disinvest in education, when you provide no places for kids to play and no summer jobs, Baltimore happens. When you refuse to provide resources for job training for decent housing and you have a lack of resources to the communities of highest need, Baltimore happens. The budget we are working on this week continues to prove that the majority of people in this House care little about the plight of the poor and underserved communities. There is a lack of concern for education. I sit on the Education Committee as we are talking about reauthorizing ESEA, and the majority passed out of committee the ability to block grant all title I funding. So now children who are poor, disabled, or minority will be at the mercy of their State to determine what kind of education they get. Ohio has one way to do it; Indiana has another way to do it. It all depends on what your ZIP Code is anymore as to what your educational attainment may be. They, further, have reduced Federal funding for education every year of their plan. I work in a body where the majority wants to block grant Medicaid. So State by State they will determine who qualifies, who is sick enough to qualify. I work in a body where there is no value placed on our greatest asset, which is our people.…”