Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman, my good friend, the former and I hope future chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee, for yielding. Why are my friends on the other side of the aisle trying to punish those who show basic decency? The so-called Schools Not Shelters Act targets one thing--compassion. Let me tell you a story. In September 2011, my community faced a sudden weather emergency with flooding. The combination of blocked culverts and relentless rainfall created a flood that swept through a very vulnerable mobile home community called Holly Acres in Woodbridge, Virginia. The damage to Holly Acres was swift and severe. Sixty percent of the homes in that community were left wholly condemned and uninhabitable. People were put out of their homes immediately. Thankfully, our local emergency personnel sprung into action. They conducted swift water rescues to save the lives of women and children who lived in this predominantly Hispanic community, largely undocumented, and evacuated them to our local high school for shelter. Immediately, my team and I descended on the scene. The instincts from my experience in local government kicked in. We coordinated provisions of toys, of which there were none, and clothes. All they had were the wet clothes on their bodies. They couldn't access warm clothes on their own.…”