Issues of the Day
Floor Speech
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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from California for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Marcus Smith, who is the president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports and the owner of the North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Marcus and his family have helped lead the charge to restore the 75- year-old racetrack so that countless racing enthusiasts can experience and celebrate the history of stock car racing.
The entire Wilkes County community is buzzing with anticipation over the upcoming NASCAR All-Star Race which will be hosted at the North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 21.
Thanks to the dedication of Marcus and his family in seeing this project through to fruition, a piece of North Carolina's history is back in the spotlight for the entire country to see.
This is no small feat, Mr. Speaker.
Congratulations to Marcus Smith and the Smith family on this monumental accomplishment. Recognizing Terri Parsons
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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Terri Parsons, an exemplary North Carolinian and someone who has played an important role in restoring a piece of our State's rich history.
Thanks to Terri's staunch advocacy and support, the North Wilkesboro Speedway will be hosting the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race on May 21.
Benny Parson, Terri's late husband and a NASCAR Hall of Famer was very fond of the North Wilkesboro Speedway. His dying wish was to have NASCAR return to Wilkes County and to this historic location.
Mr. Speaker, his wish has come true.
Terri has made the Wilkes County community and all of North Carolina incredibly proud through her continued work. I congratulate Terri on this magnificent accomplishment. Freedom Must Be Handed Down to Our Children
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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, the National Assessment of Educational Progress recently revealed that history and civics scores among students hit record lows. The scores are staggering.
Eighty-seven percent of eighth graders have a basic or below basic knowledge of American history while only 2 out of 10 of those students are proficient in civics.
For a decade, we have watched these scores decline. The culprit isn't a singular event but a culture shift where an ideology-charged curriculum is rapidly replacing a core understanding of our Nation's history and our role in it.
Our past matters--the good and the bad. Our civic responsibility matters. It is the duty every one of us holds. The moment we neglect these truths from textbooks or classroom discussions is the day America is no longer free.
Ronald Reagan said that freedom is never more than one generation from extinction. We did not pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
There are no easy solutions to address this problem.
We stand at a crossroads where there are two competing visions for America: one is predicated on tearing down the pillars that built America, and one is based on the principles of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
I stand firmly with the vision of the latter.
Unfortunately, the Biden administration stands with the vision of the former.
They recently proposed to hijack the Federal American history and civics grant program to redirect those efforts toward the left's indoctrination agenda.
We must stand against this radical vision. America is more than a nation. It represents freedom--an ideal that countless generations protected and often died for.
These abysmal test scores reflect what happens when we allow ideologically charged indoctrination to trump basic instruction in our Nation's history.
We can and must do better. We owe it to those who came before us, we owe it to those who will come after us, and we owe it to every person around the world who looks at America as that shining city on a hill--a beacon of freedom for all.
Let us not take our great Republic for granted.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Kiley for yielding.
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