[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 80 (Thursday, May 11, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H2256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                      PARENTS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak out against 
attacks on parents across our Nation.
  Parents and adult guardians play a critical role in children's lives 
as nurturers, providers, and confidants.
  However, how can they protect or provide for their children when 
their elected officials choose time and time again to disregard the 
will of the people, ignore legislation that could save lives, slash 
funding to critical programs for our children and families, and then 
defame them for being who they are.
  Let me tell you who they are. In the United States, there are over 
200,000 foster parents. Forty percent of married couples with children 
are stepcouples. Sixteen percent of children live in blended families. 
There are over 100,000 adoptions each year, and 4 million Americans are 
adopted. All of these statistics represent parents, and it is not up to 
any of us to define what a parent is.
  As a mother, I am appalled by the state of our country. MAGA 
Republican legislation confuses guidelines around abortion care, 
threatening the lives of mothers across the country.

  Our children aren't safe to go to the grocery store, school, houses 
of worship, or the mall. They can't turn around in a driveway or 
retrieve a basketball. Our children go hungry when the government 
decides to cruelly slash programs like SNAP and WIC that put food on 
our families' tables.
  This Sunday is Mother's Day, and I will be celebrating with my 
family, but the voice in the back of my head will ask me, what kind of 
world are they growing up in? This is not what our country is meant to 
look like.
  Every bio-parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, foster parent, or 
guardian who loves their child is a parent, and we are all scared about 
the world our children are set to inherit.

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