[applause] good morning, thank you for joining us. Weve here to talk about the forgotten child. Ach much has been made of the forgotten man and woman and this is particularly on education. Ladies and gentlemen, everyone lived through the pandemic and screen time is school time, but i can tell you i never met a single mother in this entire country who has said, you know what my daughter needs more of, her phone. You know what would really help my son learn, staring at a computer all day. And so, people bought into that from march to june of 2020 at the beginning of the height of the pandemic. At the beginning. And then we all had a pretty good summer. All of a sudden, we were told in many states, in many jurisdictions that kids are going to start online again. For the Second School year. And the net effects of that, the consequences of that, we still do not know in full. What we do know is about two million kids left the Public School system across the country. What we do know is that three million plus women, including me, left the work force because the kids were going to be Home Learning and we also know looking at polls from generation z particularly, they are admitting the lost learning has cost them. Theyre having a difficult time forming and retaining relationships with some adults, some peers and the Mental Health and emotional challenges also must be a part of our focus. Today were here about solutions because the School Choice, Charter School, freedom scholarships movement is having a moment, an extended moment. Two democratic pollsters in just the last week or two have admitted in their polling that for the first time in decades, its pretty much a tie between the two parties and the question, which party do you trust more on the issue of education . Ive been around a long time and for years, if not decades, that between the democrats and republicans plus 20, 18, 22, many times for the democrats. But people are now paying attention and if the focus is the child, theyre saying, great, that we have all of these tax credits and opportunity scholarships and School Choice and Charter School opportunities across this country. Were here today to talk about some of those solutions, and were here with two amazing, amazing leaders in our u. S. Congress, but really in this country. We have senator ted cruz who yes. [cheers and applause] its hard to believe, but you got elected 10 years ago this mall and even before that and since then has been a tremendous, tremendous proponent of school of choice and educational freedom and i want to talk to you more about the 529 expansion that you led in the senate and tax jobs act. And before you do that, you went to great schools, ivy league schools, but i think it bears telling everybody that his American Dream story is everybodys American Dream story. His father came here with 100 sewn in his underwear, washed dishes and got his degree in mathematics in texas. His mother was one of the Ground Breaking women in the shell companies, also in mathematics and then we have congressman byron donalds. [cheers and applause] also a proponent of School Choice and educational freedom, but a product of it, if i may as well. Hardworking, single mom who raised him in brooklyn, new york, went to florida for schooling and said there since and he and erica have three sons and of course, ted and heidi three daughters and between the three of us we have nine School Aged Children and im telling you this because the center for the american child im the chair at afpi, that we focus on the kinds of solutions we see now and that we dont just take this moment to talk about masking up seven year olds and critical race theory, both of which are important to talk about and i know those who follow the science tells us to mask up a sevenyearold. Cant tell us whats in a sevenmonthold sonogram. Follow the science. Lets not move lose in moment and i would say to you, ive never heard in 30 years of doing this, ive never heard a persuasive memorable reason why basically one Political Party is against everything i just described. Theyre against getting kid the dignity and the humanity of equality, affordable education thats worthy of them. If we cant provide every child with the equality of opportunity, looking past where they live, who their parents are, where they work, what their station of life is, they all deserve an equality of opportunity and 60 years after some bigoted democratic governors were standing in the schoolhouse door refusing to allow kids of color in the schools, we have bigoted people cross this country refusing to let kids out of the failing schools to go access those Educational Opportunities that they deserve. Were here to change that. So with that, well turn it over applause they gave me notes, i tried to use them, but i see what happens when our vicepresident Kamala Harris tries to use notes, so im so afraid to use them. I really am. Just afraid. So here is a guy im confident youre going to do better than kamala. So last year, senator cruz, you reintroduced the student empowerment act and expand the 529 College Saving program for k through 12. I think that was one of the parts of the tax cuts and jobs act that did not get enough attention. Tell everybody what it means and what we all need to know how that fits into the School Choice, Charter Schools, pro child movement. Well, good morning, everyone. Its great to be with you. [applause] let me just start by echoing what kelly ann just said. I think School Choice is the singlemost important domestic issue in this country. I think it is applause i think it is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. And you think about all the challenges we have, the policy challenges whether youre dealing with crime, poverty, welfare or Health Care Issues or substance abuse. We know that education is anticedent of them all. If kids get an education, the chances of going down the road of crime, poverty, the Health Care Challenges and addition, all of them plummet if kid get a good education and we also know if kid dont get a good education, the chances of every one of those challenges occurring rise dramatically. School choice is something in our country, the rich and the middle class have always had school of choice. Its an issue, kellyanne said a minute ago, i dont know any other issue like this, where altar all the arguments. If the school had 50 dropout rate and of the students that remained there, only 30 of them graduated at grade level reading, if you had drug dealers walking the halls and little girls getting sexually assaulted in the bathrooms, bethesda Public Schools would be empty. Why . Because the parents have the means. Theyre not going to leave their kids in a school like that so theyre going to do one of two things, theyre going to pay for tuition and send them to private school or theyre going to move and and the inner city with a single mom who trapped. Thats the schools theyre facing and generations and generations of kids are left behind, theyre being abandoned. And its a situation where the reason why the Democrat Party opposes School Choice, its simple and it is corrupt. They are bought and paid for by Teacher Union bosses. [applause] the polling nationally is overwhelming. Consistently 70 or more of americans support cool school of choice. Consistently 70 to 80 of africanamericans support school of choice. And consistently 70 to 80 of hispanic support the school of choice. And todays democrats are bull connor, theyre standing there saying, we dont care that these children dont get an education. They say the answer is always more money. Look, the d. C. Public schools spend over 20,000 a student. Its not money. Thats not the solution. So, i think we have an opportunity to fight on this issue that is powerful and profound and the pandemic, millions of parents saw what was being taught and were utterly horrified. You know, you guys dont know what is woman is, what the hell is wrong with you . It is an opportunity and we also saw tens of millions of kids have the school shut down for months after months and in many instances over a year. Its horrific, its indefensible. Those children i can tell you when we had the shutdowns going on heidi and i, we both were at home. I took our younger daughter and heidi got our older daughter and i had the much easier draw. Two parents on Computers Working with them to do school and it was hard. I dont know how a single mom with three, four kids did it. And for too many of them, they didnt do it because they couldnt. They were trying it put food on the table and those kids just ended up not going to school for a year or more and those children are going to have that burden, theyre going to be held back by that for the rest of their lives because of the idiot politicians and youre asking about 529, its the most single thing im proudest of during my time in the snalt. Its the 2017 tax cut and the amendment to expand college 529 savings plans to 12 through k. And you can save, parents and grandparents for college expenses, my amendment said, fine, lets allow parents to do the same thing for k through 12. We voted on it about midnight on a friday night and there were 52 republicans in the senate so were down on the floor of the senate, and we lost one republican, then we lost a second. Susan collins voted no, Lisa Murkowski voted no. At that point the Senate Floor Staff picked up the phone and called the vicepresident s residence because it was past midnight. He was at home. And they said, mr. Vicepresident , looks like we need your vote, so mike pens got in the car and started headed to capitol hill. As were standing down there, im standing along with tim scott, dear friend of mine. The two of us are lobbying our colleagues, trying to get folks to vote for the bill, joe manchin walks up and votes aye and theres an audible gasp in the well of the senate. So the Senate Floor Staff pick up the phone and call the vicepresident s residence. Well, weve got manchin it doesnt look like we need you. Manchin goes to his desk and sits down and a sea of democrats descend upon him. Chuck schumer descends upon him and i think they actually began beating him with sticks. [laughter] and five minutes later, manchin walks forward and sheepishly changes his vote to a no. So the Senate Floor Staff picks up the phone, calls the vicepresident s office, mr. Vicepresident , we need your vote again, he turned the motorcade around, a second time and takes about 20 minutes to get to the naval observatory, the vicepresident s residence to the capitol, 20 minutes later almost 1 00 in the morning. The vicepresident ascended the dia sachlt and ayes50 and nay, 50. And affirmative and adopted and with that we passed the singlemost far reaching federal bill thats passed into law. [applause]. It stunned the democrats. They didnt think that would happen. One of the things that we managed to do the next week, Lamar Alexander was sitting on the floor and he said, ted, i cant believe what happened last week. Youve got a bunch of republicans who never support School Choice to all vote with you and i think we have a moment where on the republican side were uniting our side. And the democrats are so fundamentally indefensible that this is an issue that is winning. This is an issue thats winning in every state. This is an issue that is winning and its an issue where, look, the democrats put themselves out as the defenders of minorities, the defenders of the africanamericans and hispanics. Right now, both hispanics and africanamericans are moving right dramatically in their voting and School Choice is a big part of it. [applause] and so i dont think we can be too aggressive on this issue. I can tell you, you and i have known each other 20plus years. When i first ran for the senate, i said at the time, i said listen, if when i die it says on my tombstone that ted played a meaningful part in bringing School Choice to every child in america, i will die a very happy man. I cannot think of a more important legacy and a bigger opportunity we have to transform the landscape in this country. Thank you, senator cruz. [applause] we hope thats not time soon and thank you for your leadership and ill give everyone a caller ahead of the president s a the late president , a staff dinner put on by the president and first lady in the west wing in the east room. So, maybe, i dont know how many maybe 25, 30 people and their guests and george and i were enjoying a whole year into Donald Trumps administration, enjoying dinner with the president and first lady, but the president was getting moment by moment updates on all of the amendments, on the vote itself and the next day i happened to fly with him to new york for a couple of events and the number one thing that both of us talked about at all of those events is what had happened in the dead of night on the 529 because it was such a Pivotal Moment and i think sometimes it got a little buried in the larger tax cut and jobs act, remarkable feat, but its really the piece that lives on and can be, i believe, sustained and progressed. So now, thank you. And well get back to you and other questions. Congressman donalds, my question centers on prioritization because what happens when youre having a very big robust moment of opportunity like this, is we can get our priorities maybe a little skewed and focusing on things that arent going to electrify and animate the country. And with parents voting having had a stay say where their children go to school and what is taught there. Your unique perspective of having been a state legislator in florida and a champion of educational freedom and now in the u. S. Congress as a fairly new member. Where should we be putting our time and treasure as goes educational freedom and students . Well, thats an easy question. First before we get there, good morning, everybody. Great to be with you. I didnt know that about the 529, so i didnt know that was you, so congratulations. [applause] again. I cant believe it never got any media coverage. Apparently i need to do better pr. Russia, russia, russia. Russia, russia, my gosh. When pcga was unleashed on the Business Community i was in my Financial Advisory practice. Were advising about the new changes in tax policy and one pager, a bullet point at the end of the page of my firm that talked about the expansion of 529s. So im reading it and i was like, they did what . Oh, washington does do something, thats pretty cool. So actually its an honor now its a bigger honor to sit next to you. Thanks a lot. It means a lot to families and clients of mine at the time, i can do that . And started expanding 529s specifically for that purpose and for people back in florida who use it, i thank you on their behalf. I think what should we focus on Going Forward . Everybody loves the sexy stuff. Crt, gender identity, School Board Members who are rude and dont want to listen to parents. Everyone wants to focus on Merrick Garland for obvious reasons, leave the Merrick Garland stuff to us, well deal with him. When we have control again well deal with him. Where we should be marshalling resources is the area where florida is going and arizona took the big leap to accomplish. If you give parents the ability to actually have purchasing power in education, it transforms the landscape, it transforms the environment because the School District is like any other business, they want market share. You know, apple unfortunately is the dominant market player in telecommunications. The reason why i say that because im a samsung guy. Im an android guy. [applause] there we go. Were here. Were here and were not leaving, but the reality is, that these superintendents and these principals are accustomed in some respects, they feel that the dominant market share belongs to them and there should be no questions. Because of that, there is no real push, no real need for them to innovate, to increase efficiency, to make it a better learning environment and teachers are ready to go every single day, im not talking past the point of superintendents and the teacher leads that are out there. The teachers who are selfmotivated and wanted to do the best for their kids and we have a lot of those in the environment. The problem is that because you do not have an economy of education, that there is no external pressure to have that excellence hit the classroom every single day. I like to i always, when i talk about this economy of education, thats where we need to go to, i compare it to telecommunications. Could you imagine if the government gave you your cell phone . I know there are some elected officials who probably want to give you a cell phone we had a former president who wanted to to that, but if that was the case you would still be using the motor rolla star tac. Does anybody know that, that was the thing with the orange buttons, hit the three or four times to get the right letter. If the government responsible for telecommunications, we would be on the motorola star tac. And because the companies are on it, you have purchasing power, cell phone bill and 20 the 24 month buy down and lease deal or pay for your phone outright, you make a decision what phone you want and what service you want and because of that, every single year, apple, samsung, lg, et cetera, are all bringing you new versions of the same phone. Maybe they mad