Rubén Hinojosa: “we will never be able to close the achievement gap in education with the funding levels we see in this appropriations…”

“we will never be able to close the achievement gap in education with the funding levels we see in this appropriations bill. I applaud the efforts of the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Committee and Subcommittee. They truly have done the best they could with the funds they were allotted. Sadly, the majority and the administration have decided to allocate our federal resources elsewhere. They have chosen to squander the national surplus on tax breaks for the very wealthy. These tax breaks have been so important to them, that they have been willing to drive the nation into unprecedented debt to pay for them. Meanwhile, Hispanic children are told that there is not enough money for their education. The Census Bureau just confirmed that Hispanics are the largest minority group in America. Hispanics are also fueling the growth of America's workforce, accounting for one of every three new workers hired and are projected to be one of every two new workers by 2025. Yet, Hispanics continue to have the lowest levels of education attainment of any group in the country. If we do not invest in advanced education and training for this emerging population, we put our Nation's economic foundation at risk. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, where I chair the Education Task Force, focuses on a group of Federal education programs that are critical to the Hispanic community.”