On the recordJanuary 11, 2022
I want to say thank you to the gentleman from Pennsylvania for a few minutes here. I appreciate it. Madam Speaker, I rise to oppose the previous question and in support of the Reopen Schools Act. We are hearing today that, in terms of priorities here, what could be more important than schools and getting our schools open with the damage that has been done over the last couple years? During the early days of the pandemic many schools across the country were shuttered. But now some 2 years in, I believe we have the tools and resources to keep our schools open--something we all know is in the best interest of our kids. Since March of 2020, the Federal Government has provided $190 billion in pandemic aid to schools to upgrade their mitigation systems and get kids back in the classrooms safely. Unfortunately, last week the teachers union in Chicago decided to walk out on their students. The standoff has kept 340,000 students--the third largest school system in the United States--out of the classroom. Worryingly, we are now seeing other teachers unions across the country looking to follow their lead and pushing for a return to remote learning. So our colleague across the aisle here asked: What are we railing against? Aren't we in support of local control? Of course we are. But what we are seeing in the State of Wisconsin now is that the Department of Health Services, at the behest of the Governor, is pushing for more restrictions.…
