Nomination of Miguel A. Cardona

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I rise today to voice my strong support for Dr. Cardona's nomination to serve as Secretary of Education.

Across the country, students, parents, and educators are in crisis. Every day without an experienced leader at the Department of Education is a day that we are losing precious ground. Back in my home State of Washington, I heard from a mother in Yakima whose children shared one iPhone to learn. I heard from a father of a high school freshman in Spokane, worried about the social and psychological toll the pandemic is taking on his son. I heard from students at the Lummi Nation, trying to focus on remote classes while in multigenerational households on a shared, spotty broadband.

I know there are so many similar stories from people in my State and across the country about how this pandemic is making life harder, the ways it has set back students from where they would be in a typical year, denied them access to critical school resources, deepened longstanding inequities, and so much more.

From early education to higher education, we need to make sure students and their families have the support they need to not only get a high-quality education but to make sure every student can try.

Democrats want to get students safely back in the classrooms for in- person learning as soon as possible. So I am glad the Biden administration put forward clear, science-based, public health guidance schools have long needed. There is no one solution that will ensure safety on its own as our country ramps up vaccine distribution.

Congress has to do its part and pass the American Rescue Plan to provide vital funding for schools--to secure adequate PPE, to reduce class sizes to increase social distancing, to improve ventilation and contract tracing, and to take all the steps they need to do so that they can safely reopen for in-person learning or provide high-quality distance learning if it is not safe in their community to return to the classroom and so that they can assess and address the damage this pandemic has done, especially the way it has deepened inequities that have hurt students of color, students of families with low incomes, students with disabilities, LGBTQ students, women, English learners, students experiencing homelessness, and so much more.

At this moment of crisis, Dr. Cardona is exactly the leader we need at the Department of Education to tackle these challenges. During his confirmation hearing in the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, he demonstrated beyond a doubt that he has experience, principles, and the perspective that we need in this critical role. That is why Dr. Cardona was voted out of our committee by an overwhelming 17-to-5 margin with broad bipartisan support.

Dr. Cardona will come to the Department as a proven leader who will work with students, parents, caregivers, educators, school administrators, and State, local, and Tribal officials. Just as importantly, he will come to the Department as a former elementary school teacher, an adjunct professor, a principal, assistant superintendent, and former English learner himself who knows we have a responsibility to make sure every single student has access to high- quality public education.

At our hearing, he made clear he will fight against longstanding inequities and for every student, including those who have not had a champion at the Department for the last 4 years. He spoke about his commitment to accomplishing President Biden's goal of safely reopening the majority of our K-8 schools for in-person learning within his first 100 days in office.

He showed he understands the challenge the Department is facing is larger than just seeing schools and students and parents and educators safely through this pandemic. It is making sure we come back stronger and fairer. Accomplishing that means ensuring childcare and early education is available and affordable for every family; ensuring every student can get a high-quality public education no matter where they live or how much money they or their families have; rooting out longstanding inequities from our education system by tackling racism, sexism, ableism, and bigotry head-on; and ensuring that higher education is accessible, affordable, accountable, and safe for every single student.

We have a lot of work to do for our schools and students. We have an excellent candidate to get it done, and we have no time to waste. I urge all of our colleagues who have heard from a parent who wants to get their child back in the classroom safely--I am sure everyone has-- to join us and vote to confirm Dr. Cardona as Secretary of Education.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source