Political Quotes

“I may have one additional speaker if the gentlelady makes it in time, but let me close on this note: Mr. Speaker, at this time of year, we have largely a Norman Rockwell picture of American families gathered around the Christmas tables, with their turkeys and their gifts, and their Christmas trees are lit. That is the story of millions of American families, but it's not the story of many as well. I've seen those families firsthand. I see them two doors down from my house in East Austin when they line up on a Saturday morning, in need of help, at the Olivet Baptist Helping Hand. I saw it last Saturday at the recreation center in southeast Austin, in Dove Springs, where parents were lined up for blocks to get their children one toy for Christmas. I've also seen it across the south and west sides of San Antonio--good families, hardworking people caught up in the worst recession since the Great Depression. They face great challenges, and our safety net in this country remains in tatters. My concern is that this bill today does so little to address that tattered safety net, which is increasingly more hole than net. We see the statistics of homelessness for these families: 38 percent growth over 3 years of the recession. We see it in threadbare cupboards and church pantries and in food centers across the country. Yesterday we saw in a report in The New York Times that in 37 States families are worse off in terms of child care. At this time, Mr.…”