00:00Thank you. We know that the Trump administration just cut a 60-year program called Job Corps
00:09that provided young people with stable housing and career training. This is why I joined several
00:16of my Michigan colleagues in a letter to the Trump administration demanding that they reverse
00:20this reckless decision to abruptly shut down Job Corps centers across the nation. This action is
00:27yet another example of the cruel actions taken to dismantle programs for our families. Many of them
00:34depend on this. They are lifelines for our families. In Michigan alone, Mr. Speaker, Job Corps has three
00:40centers with more than 700 students in Flint and Grand Rapids, including 200 young people in the
00:47city of Detroit. Everyone deserves the ability to shape their own future with access to career
00:53training and hands-on experience. The sense of stability and direction Job Corps provides for
00:58our youth was invaluable. Now the sudden closure of these centers has left students devastated. I wish
01:06my colleagues would see the images, the images of the young people dragging their black trash bags
01:13through the parking lot with nowhere to go. It's heartbreaking for these students who have worked so hard to join the workforce to have
01:25the rug pulled from right underneath them with only hours of notice. It's disgraceful that our government would turn its
01:33back on them like this. There's one young person in my district in the city of Detroit whose mother has cancer. She's trying to seek treatment and trying to
01:43live. So her son depends on Job Corps for housing and for future career opportunities. But yet again, here we are cutting these vital programs that many people across the country
01:55support no matter political affiliation. I want them to know that they deserve better, that not all of us in this chamber will turn our
02:03backs on them, and that we're going to fight together to restore the funding. And I will continue to call out these inhumane and lawless actions. It is very
02:11important for the American people to know, this Congress, this chamber authorized the funding for Job Corps. And the President of the United States does not have the authority to snap his fingers and cut the funding. So again, continue to speak up about your impact of having Job Corps cut. And again, we're going to work together to try to restore it.
02:30Mr. Speaker, last week was the 60th birthday of Head Start, which is the lifeline, a life changing experience for many of our families. It has
02:41anchors all across the country, and communities and have helped for decades our young, our young children. I do want to bring a story from my district of Alex, a public school speech
02:53therapist in Dearborn Heights. She said quote, several students of mine are directly impacted by threats to Head Start funding. Students that had tending Head Start are
03:02entitled to receive necessary special education services. As a parent of a two year old daughter, I also know that there are opportunities for her to start her
03:11education in the welcoming community that Head Start provides. This year alone, nearly 750,000 infants, toddlers and preschoolers will receive
03:19Head Start services supporting early childhood learning, development and health. These centers rely on us and making sure we keep that federal
03:29funding to provide the care for our children. And again, I know earlier this year, we all were thrown into a panic when the Trump
03:36administration recklessly decided to cut off the federal funding. So I led a letter with 23 of my colleagues in the
03:42Congressional Mamas Caucus to President Trump demanding that he take immediate action to restore the Head Start funding. Many of them, again, months and weeks
03:51without receiving funding. Our fight isn't over though. Head Start is essential to countless communities in every state and every corner of our nation. And the threat to
04:01Head Start is real. So colleagues must work together to try to protect it. As the chair of the Congressional Mamas Caucus, I will
04:08continue to lead efforts in Congress to defend these critical programs for generations to come.
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