On the recordFebruary 6, 2017
as I noted, Democrats have been here on the Senate floor for the past 24 hours straight, talking about the importance of public education, sharing stories from parents and students and teachers in our home States, highlighting all of the reasons for Senators to stand with us and stand with their constituents, stand with other Republicans who are doing the right thing, and urging them to say no to Betsy DeVos and her plans to privatize public school and destroy public education in America. But I come to the floor today to make one final push before this vote, to make the case one last time, because we are so, so close and because this is so important and also because we have a real shot right now to show people across the country that the Senate can actually listen to them, that their voices matter, and that their Senators put them and their kids and their families and their futures above loyalty to a party or a President. I have talked about my frustration with the fact that Republican leaders did everything they could to jam this nominee through the Senate. They cut corners and rushed into a hearing before her ethics paperwork was in. They blocked Democrats from asking more than 5 minutes of questions, forcing a vote before all of our questions were answered about her tangled finances and her potential conflicts of interest, and rushed straight from the committee vote to the shortest possible floor debate they could manage.…
