Political Quotes

“Today, I rise in support of H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, and I focus on the fact that this infrastructure package includes our Nation's schools. For decades, underserved students and educators have spent nearly every day in school facilities with outdated air filtration, air- conditioning, and roofing systems that endanger their health. A GAO report just this year confirmed that more than half the school districts need to repair unsafe and outdated systems in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning in most of their school buildings. These issues are not about comfort. They are about equal access to education. Mr. Speaker, we all want to reopen our schools as soon as possible, but we cannot take this step when the Centers for Disease Control guidance requires functioning ventilation systems to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Reopen and Rebuild America's Schools Act provisions and infrastructure package offer the solutions our schools need. This legislation will invest construction funds targeted at high-poverty school facilities that put the health of our students and staff most at risk. Of course, the schools will also benefit from the improvements in broadband that are also found in the bill. The school provisions in this bill will create more than 2 million good-paying jobs over the next 5 years at a time when we face historic unemployment rates.…”