Providing for Consideration of H.R. Colorado Wilderness Act of and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Equality Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the previous question. If the previous question is defeated, Republicans will amend this rule to immediately consider H.R. 682, the Reopen Schools Act, which I am proud to cosponsor.

As a father of two small children, their overall health and well- being is my top priority; not just my children, but all of America's children. And as I have looked around this Chamber, I see lots of Members on both sides of the aisle who I know to be great parents and grandparents, and I know they want the best for their children, too.

I am also a doctor, and I am co-chair of our Doctors Caucus. Throughout this pandemic, we have heard calls from Members, and now from President Joe Biden, that we need to trust the science.

As a doctor, I wholeheartedly agree--and the science is clear-- students and teachers can go back to in-person learning safely. I know this because my own children have been fortunate enough to go back to school in person all of this school year safely.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has stressed the importance of students returning to school for their overall health and well-being, and the CDC research is clear that transmission in schools is extremely low.

Last week, I joined Congresswoman Hinson, Whip Scalise, and Ranking Member Foxx on a call with parents from all across the country who want their children to be able to go back to school. It was a bipartisan event. To them, this wasn't a partisan issue. The parents on the call were from across the entire political spectrum: Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.

We heard heartbreaking stories from them about some of their children falling into depression, losing their reading comprehension, and struggling to focus.

Kids are attempting or committing suicide at an alarming rate. In one county in Nevada, the suicide rate doubled from the previous year. Hospitals across the country are seeing unprecedented increases in children suicide attempts and mental health admissions.

Yes, there is some risk to returning, but nothing in life is zero risk. The consequences of staying closed are far too grave and our children are suffering both socially and academically because of it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Reopen Schools Act because we have given schools the funding needed to reopen safely. However, some schools, seemingly under pressure from powerful teachers' unions, refuse to return to in-person learning.

Congress has provided more than $54 billion in State COVID relief grants for education to help reopen schools. We didn't, however, require the schools to actually reopen if they were to access the money, and that was a mistake.

Congresswoman Hinson's bill will address that issue by conditioning those funds on States producing a reopening plan to get students back to school as quickly as possible.

There are at least 3 months left in most school years around the country. We can't just let schools put off returning to in-person learning until next fall or later. We need to do what is best for our students, our children, our grandchildren, our nieces and nephews. We need to reopen the schools now.

We can't, for example, expect sixth-grade teachers to teach fourth graders.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to defeat the previous question. I thank Congresswoman Hinson for her leadership on this bill.

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