Senator Manchin believes a strong education from birth throughout life is the building block for success for every child and the foundation for our country’s long-term economic strength. There are currently more than 10,500 homeless students living in West Virginia. Senator Manchin is working to ensure that our children have a safe, stable and comfortable place to sleep at night because it is essential to their wellbeing and education. For those students and many others, our schools are more than just classrooms, teachers and textbooks. They’re the heart of the community and a home away from home. They’re a place where nutritional meals are served and healthcare services are provided by trusted school nurses. As a country we need to do more at every level to ensure that all of our children receive a high-quality, well-rounded education that prepares them for college and a career.

Senator Manchin believes there are five promises we should make to every child:

1. Every child must have a unconditionally loving, caring adult in their life;
2. Every child must have a safe place to call home;
3. Every child must have a healthy start and access to a nutritious diet;
4. Every child should be taught a livable skill so they can make their own way through life;
5. Every child should grow to be a loving, caring adult and give back to society.

Senator Manchin believes higher education is the key to opportunity and the best way to keep the United States competitive in the global marketplace. For many of our nation’s students, though, student debt has been overly burdensome and made it harder these students to meet their career goals. Senator Manchin has worked and will continue to work on bipartisan legislation that will simplify loan repayments for students and families so they can focus on getting the best education they can and being a productive member of society.