Political Quotes

“I rise today to demand answers, answers from the Department of Education and the Office of Management and Budget. Today, it is July 22, and the Trump administration continues to withhold more than $5 billion in critical K-12 and adult education funding that should have been released by the July 1 deadline. More than 150 Democratic Members of the House of Representatives joined a group of 42 Senators, including 10 Republican Senators, in calling on Secretary McMahon and Director Vought to release the funds by July 15. That date has obviously passed, but we have received no answers. Although the administration did release the 21st Century Community Learning Center grants yesterday, they are a small percentage of the outstanding funding, and there is still no word on any of the other grants. School districts across the country are scrambling to make decisions, but they have unclear information and severely constrained budgets. Many districts have already been forced to lay off educators and staff who will not be paid without the Federal funding. For many students across the country, the new school year starts in a few weeks, and schools are now in an all-out crisis. As one administrator told me, it is a 'five-alarm fire.' Funds authorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act are not a luxury. They are part of what closes opportunity gaps.”