Tax Scam and Teacher Walkouts

Floor Speech

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, across our country, following West Virginia's lead, teachers in Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Arizona are demanding change and showing the power of unified action.

Teachers and school support staff have a simple request: a fair wage, funding to replace decades-old textbooks, and updating the buildings in which our children are educated.

For decades, Republican-led States made dramatic cuts to schools, harming students, and undervaluing our teachers, while doling out huge tax breaks for the rich and big corporations. Yet, as we see these teachers take a stand, Republicans keep trying to sell their trickle- down tax scam.

Remember, the latest GOP tax scam gave away 83 percent to the top 1 percent.

From 1996 to 2015, teacher pay, adjusted for inflation, fell by $30 per week. And reports state that some Oklahoma teachers work three, four, five, and even six jobs to pay the bills.

Cutting taxes for the rich doesn't give teachers and hardworking people a leg up; it deprives already cash-strapped communities of much- needed resources.

We can't short education. Liberty depends on it. I stand in solidarity with these teachers and many in Ohio and across our country who are fighting to ensure workers get a fair shake.

Change is on the horizon, and lawmakers better take heed.

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