Schools Need More Aid to Safely Reopen

Statement

Examining the obstacles schools are facing to reopening safely amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and how Congress can help was the focus of a hearing I called Thursday as chair of the subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education. School leaders, parents, and pediatricians, who testified, encouraged Congress to send schools more money so students can return to learning safely. In fact, the House has already done just that with the Heroes Act passed in May. The HEROES Act provides $81 million for Marianas schools. Funding can cover teacher and staff pay, distance learning technology, sanitation of schools, transportation, and health services. The White House, which threatened to defund schools that do not reopen, blocked experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from testifying at my subcommittee's hearing.

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