Post by bot on Jul 23, 2017 19:14:24 GMT -5
Hoyer Remarks at American Federation of Teachers Rally To Oppose GOP Budget
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) joined a rally organized by the American Federation of Teachers today against the House GOP budget. Below is a transcript of his remarks:
“Thank you to Randi [Weingarten] who absolutely gets it, all the time, every day, every hour, and lets us hear about it… I want to thank everybody on this stage. Senator Casey, thank you for your leadership, he yielded to me so I could speak because we have to go vote soon. I want to thank my friend, President Saunders. What a great union AFSCME is. With AFT, we have two of the strongest unions in America here.
"The fact of the matter is, ladies and gentlemen... There are two issues of critical concern to the hundreds of millions of people that you are representing here. Yes, it may be 150 of us or 200, but 100 million people are counting on us, counting on your voice, counting on your hands, counting on your hearts… for temporarily, health care and education. Two critical functions of any society. You can call them a right or not but if you don’t have good education, you don’t get good health care, you don’t have a successful society.
“That’s why you’re here. And Randi mentioned, my wife [Judy Hoyer] was a teacher, she taught, she died 20 years ago. There are now 51 Judy Centers, full-service schools for 3 and 4 year old pre-kindergarten in our state of Maryland. And I want to, the most important people in any society, are its teachers. I don’t mean Lee, that your people aren’t very important. You represent some teachers, I bet. And Richard [Trumka] you represent everybody.
“But teachers are our most important people because if you don’t have teachers – who as Keith [Ellison] and Bobby Scott said, inspire, engage, and uplift and give people the opportunity to succeed – your society doesn’t succeed. So at its very core our teachers are critically important. And so what do our Republican friends want to do? Cut education. Not investing in education is not investing not only in our children, but not investing in our future, because they are our future.
"And you make sure our future will be secure. But it’s being put at risk, by TrumpCare, that cuts health care for people, that cuts out millions of people from protection when they get sick or their families get sick. And have some sense of security, that if I get sick, I can handle it. So I’m glad to be here, I’ve got to get right back and vote right now, but I’m glad to join Leader Pelosi and all of you.
“Look at this budget. I’ve been here 36 years, remember Randi said I’ve been here a long time, I’ve been here 36 years. This budget that is being marked up today in the House Budget Committee is the worst budget, the most irrational budget, the most harmful budget, that I have ever seen in the 36 years I’ve been here. We need to stand up, speak out, and we need to fight, yes need to fight, every hour, every day, every week, and every month until we win this battle. We will win this battle for the American people and for our families and for our children. God bless you and keep on keeping on.”