[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 58 (Thursday, April 22, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H2823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        DO NOT LAY OFF TEACHERS

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I agree with my friends on the other side 
of the aisle, we must create jobs. And we are working intensely to do 
that. My recollection is that during the Clinton administration, we 
created some 22 million-plus jobs. In the Obama administration we are 
increasing our hold on not losing jobs and increasing jobs.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in arguing two points: one, we must 
invest in the private sector, but our banking industry must invest in 
small businesses to allow them to hire individuals; and two, we must 
not lose America's teachers. That is the public sector. But who can 
afford to lose 300,000 teachers? We must call that an emergency and 
begin to work on the idea of saving the Nation's teachers.
  To the Nation's teachers, stand up for your job because you are 
standing up for the education of our children. Who can afford to lose 
the best and the brightest? We lose that when we begin to lay off 
teachers. We should end any thought about laying off America's 
teachers.

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