Political Quotes

“today I am introducing the No Financial Aid for Sex Offenders Act for 2003. It is a national embarrassment that we are handing out taxpayer dollars for pedophiles and rapists to take college courses while hardworking young people from poor and middle class families are left to flip hamburgers and mow lawns to pay for college. In 1972, Congress created the Pell grant program to help children from low- and moderate-income families go to college. In 1994, Congress prohibited State and Federal prisoners from getting these Pell grants. This past year, 54 violent sexual predators in Florida obtained over $200,000 in Pell grants at taxpayer expense. They got a free ride by exploiting a loophole, that is, they were involuntarily confined in something called a civil commitment center as opposed to being called a prison. This legislation closes that loophole and ensures that this money will be used as intended, by needy law-abiding college students. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation, H.R. 3385.”