[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 52 (Thursday, March 29, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H1743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     VOICE OF TEXAS, KARINA GARDUNO

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, I visited Hargrave High 
School in Huffman, Texas. Students at this school come from 
hardworking, rural, lower-middle class families. I met with 400 
seniors, and almost every one of them had a job. I was impressed by 
their intelligent questions about government and the state of this 
country.
  One student, Karina Garduno, asked me this:
  Why should those of us that work hard have to sacrifice our tax 
dollars for free handouts to potheads and others that are too lazy to 
work? This has nothing to do with being black, brown or white, because 
I'm Hispanic. They should be made to try harder to find work and submit 
to drug testing to qualify for this money.
  Mr. Speaker, Karina and several other students remember the concept 
many people have forgotten--personal responsibility. The American Dream 
means that if you work hard, you can do anything in this country. And 
it's the individual, not the Federal Government, who controls our 
future. Young people must know that hard work still pays off because it 
is the American way.
  And that's just the way it is.

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