Patty Murray: “I can tell you that even though we covered a host of topics, including economic development, civil rights and…”

“I can tell you that even though we covered a host of topics, including economic development, civil rights and healthcare, the No. 1 topic people talked about was education. I was astounded to listen as leaders in the community, elected school board members, and city council members told me that when they were growing up, very few people, if any, looked at them and said: ``You know, you can be a success. You can pass first grade.'' Or that, ``You can go on to college, and you can become something in this country.'' If we adopt this amendment, we will tell a generation of young students: We need you. We need you to be the next generation of engineers. We need you to be the next generation of teachers. We need you to be the next generation of C.E.O.s. Today we are missing out on an entire young population, and what they can give back to this country someday in leadership, in economics, in paying taxes, and in being successful members of the community. This amendment will help knock down the barriers facing Hispanic students, and we must adopt it. Perhaps the most disturbing thing is that the underlying Labor-HHS bill we are debating cuts funding for critical Hispanic programs.”