Political Quotes

“I voted against this bill, and I want to explain my concerns. I agree that we need to do a better job meeting the needs of our students who are not college bound. Fifty percent of our young people do not go on to college, yet our public resources are devoted almost exclusively to those who do. In the meantime, 70 percent of the jobs in the United States do not require a college education. I, too, think we need to improve the school-to-work transition, particularly in those areas where skills require constant modification and updating as technology becomes available. However, I am not convinced that this bill is the way to do it. I believe we should focus our efforts more on consolidating the innumerable existing programs into one coherent system, rather than implementing yet another new program. Many of my colleagues have argued that this is not a new program and that consolidation of existing programs is one of this bill's objectives. However, it seems to me indicative of the Congress' need to create a new program first, then assess later. I fear this will become another stand-alone program alongside our other job training programs that need consolidating themselves. We are, in effect, supplementing, rather than supplanting what needs fixing. I see very little in this legislation to satisfy me otherwise. We spend more than $24 billion each year on 154 employment and training programs.”