Political Quotes

“I want to thank the committee for working with me during markup to address my concerns, especially the bill's impact on our Nation's afterschool programs. Supporting kids who attend afterschool programs has been a bipartisan effort. My amendment simply requires school districts that use title I money for afterschool, before school, or summer school activities to report and describe those activities in their local plans. I am confident the data collected from this reporting will further demonstrate the importance of afterschool programs to our Nation's kids. We already know afterschool programs help keep kids safe, improve academic performance, and help working families across America. The benefits of these programs span all aspects of our communities. Students participating in afterschool programs have shown improvement in homework completion. There is also improvement in class participation and in attendance. This all leads to better grades, better behavior, and lower rates of drug use and violence. Where I am from in Pennsylvania, gangs have become a problem in some of our areas. When I was mayor of Hazleton, I saw it on our own streets. Afterschool programs offer a safe environment for kids to further their academic learning, rather than seeking out and joining gangs. For example, I am proud that SHINE, the Schools & Homes In Education afterschool program is expanding from Carbon County into Luzerne County in my district.…”