were asking for. Like a reset button. You know in some of the recent data to the corporate system for 40% less likely to complete high school in Connecticut 150,000 Black, Latino children live in households that are below 200% of the poverty level. As a result of COVID-19 pandemic, as many as 25 million adults and 10 million children are food. There's so many examples across Connecticut where we've tried to address this and we're going to continue to address this. We know that education can really lift up. Students of poverty. I know firsthand that education can be the great equalizer, and I think all of us know examples of that in the past year we've seen examples of the Department of Education. Our job is to really support and provide resources and our opinions on how this can work. One of the things I'm most proud of in Connecticut, most recently is the work we've done with our agency, right, where we come together and we put our paddles aside and say let's come together. Let's help help address the inequities that are happening in our state, working together, and that's something that all of us have participated in together. And I job now with American rescue plan to get our learning in person, quickly. That's why I'm so thrilled because I've been invited by President Harris, get they get. They're committed to lifting students and children and families out of poverty, and providing them educational opportunities that they need to thrive. But my honor to introduce the Vice President and
the entire state of Connecticut for allowing him to serve
as our
Secretary of Education. I definitely knew that it was safe, along with the senators and others have, really, on every state, they're very progressive about what you have done, and very courageous and innovative about what you're doing.
And I speak on behalf of myself and the president and we are very excited about Secretary Clinton is going to do, especially at this moment in time. So, thank you Mr. Secretary,
Governor, thank
you for the warm welcome. And for all the work you've done and graduations on all the success you have had my buddies, the two senators, Senator Blumenthal, we have spent a lot of time together working on many issues in Washington DC, it's so great to be with you and again I want to thank the State of Connecticut for sending you off to the United States Senate, because we truly are national leaders, in addition to being leaders like the state and the Commissioner, thank you. I've heard so much about your work and reading about your work and looking forward to that conversation. And essentially we are having this conversation,
being very clear
about the challenges or the crises that we are facing as a country, that in many ways have been accelerated by the pandemic. But I do believe the pandemic really has been an accelerator in also highlighting and making very clear in fact practice
limitations.
And the thought ones in our systems. And this is a moment then as we look at where we are. It is a moment to leapfrog over what might have otherwise been incremental change to actually fast forward and address some of the long standing issues affecting our children and grandchildren I and we all descended from a very instrumental in getting the American left. And one of the components of that now that we are most excited about and will have
generational impact
is lifting half of Americans out of poverty. We are particularly also excited about what we are doing in
terms of a substantial investment in childcare, understanding that this is an issue that is yes about our children. It is also about their parents, it's about working people it is about our economy. The connection between childcare, and all these other services are so
direct. And you,
understanding that our
educators, everyone in the educational ecosystem including parents and students deserve to have that infusion of resources to address the harm and damage from the pandemic and history recent history of inadequately funding our public schools. And so this is some of the work that we are excited about and here in Connecticut. You also have a leader in Rosa DeLauro but we'll see later, who I will think in this venue also has been a champion for years and years and years on many issues including the child tax credit. And the reason that because of the work she had done all of you have done, I'm very excited to be here in Connecticut. You know when I think about the importance of a place like this. I think of it in the context of how I grew up. So, I grew up let two daughters of a mother who had an incredible passion to do the work that she did as a cancer researcher, my mother had two goals in her life, to raise her two daughters, and then breast cancer. And often, she would work very late, and sometimes on weekends. And when she did, we would walk two houses down to Mrs Regina Shelton, who was a second mother. And in fact, Miss Shelton, ran with it with her daycare center, and we live on top of the apartment of fear, and she was a second mother to us, she took care
of us she nurtured us she left. That was a great blessing, so that
my mother could do the work that eventually she did demystifying certain discoveries on a show. He could not have done that work without Michelle.
And that is all working here.
They need that kind of support to go on there and pursue their passion, whatever it may be. Not to mention, be able to provide for their family and it's essentially. So that's the lens through which I think about
what we are doing.
And then in the context of what we must do to not only support our parents, but support the infrastructure around them. So, as we each present, I would ask that in particular here in Connecticut and to the educators but everyone, let's talk a little bit about what you have seen over the course of the last year, in terms of the resources that have been available and those that have not been available and what you see as being some of the lingering effects that we need to address in Washington. I'm also interested in knowing how you are measuring, and how you are anticipating what we must address in terms of the mental
health impact
of this last year,
not to mention the mental health impact of poverty, because let us be clear property is trauma inducing. And so how we are thinking about the entire ecosystem around like alleviating poverty and addressing the effects of poverty on our children. And with that in return like baby secretary.
That's inspiring. We're gonna have a great conversation. What I'm going to do now is I'm going to transition kind of quick. We're gonna give about a minute for each person to just introduce themselves, we know who you are, we're family here, you are and why this is so important to you. Give us a perspective like President, what's your lens. In a minute or less. for window, we're gonna start with the governor, Senator Blumenthal Senator Murphy, please your mind. Identify president.
