Raising A Question of the Privileges of the House

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, while Republicans try to distract us with this resolution, our constituents are reaching out to us. What are they asking us? They are asking us to stop the Republican assault on our schools, our livelihoods, and our communities.

Another constituent who reached out to me is named Kris. He is a student at Common Ground High School. Common Ground High School is an innovative, educational, environmental, and community-building venture, combining a charter high school, an urban demonstration farm, and a community environmental education center.

Due to the funding freeze, Kris said essential programs at Common Ground, like the youth workforce development and community food relief, which also partners with CitySeed to help people afford food stamp purchases from the farm, have been shut down. They have been shut down because of this freeze, and 71 student workers have been laid off.

Students like Kris are reaching out not just because of their own future and their education has been affected but because they see how their community is hurt by these cuts, as well.

There are people today around this country, not only in my district, who are getting hurt thanks to Republican cuts. The funding freeze is not just killing the crops at Common Ground, but it is killing academic futures, new ideas for education, and opportunities for young people in this country. This is what Republicans are trying to do by distracting us with their censures.

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