Political Quotes

“I rise today to continue my call for this Congress to pass real school construction legislation without further delay. We have missed opportunity after missed opportunity, and it is time to stop playing partisan games and pass a meaningful bill to address this urgent priority. Madam Speaker, as a Congressman from the Second Congressional District of North Carolina, I represent an area of the country that has undergone tremendous growth in recent years. In communities throughout my county and my district, our schools are bursting at the seams. The same can be said for this country. Our local communities are struggling to provide resources to build new schools and to get our children out of trailers and to fix up rundown school buildings. Throughout my district, students in overflowing schools are being packed in trailers that are years old and long past their use. As an example, in Franklin County, 55 trailers; in Granville County, 16; Harnett County, 41; Johnston County, 98; Lee County, 40; Nash-Rocky Mount, 162; Sampson County/Clinton City schools, 76; Wilson, 34; and Wake County, a whooping 530. That would not be such an astounding number, except for the fact our State has passed a $1.8 billion bond issue and each county has borrowed money and worked as hard as they could. The problem is, we are the fourth fastest growing state for students in the country. Congress must act now to help get these children out of trailers.”