Political Quotes

“I come to the floor today to support strongly the confirmation of Catherine Lhamon to serve as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education. She is extremely qualified for this role. In fact, she has served in it before. In 2013, Ms. Lhamon was confirmed to the same role by voice vote. During her past tenure, she demonstrated her commitment to students across the country as she worked to combat sexual assault on college campuses, protect transgender students, reduce the use of seclusion and restraint, reduce disparities in school discipline based on a student's race or disability, and enforce civil rights laws to protect students. Unfortunately, the previous administration took major steps backwards when it came to supporting and protecting students--for example, by significantly reducing efforts to enforce civil rights protections and rescinding important policies to address campus sexual assault. Now, as we know, the pandemic has also done serious damage and worsened deep-seated inequities for students whose families earn low incomes, students of color, English learners, and students with disabilities. We have a lot of work ahead to fix this and help our schools rebuild stronger and fairer, which is why I am especially glad to see Secretary Cardona and President Biden working so hard to right the wrongs of the last administration and support our schools through this pandemic. I know Ms.…”