I have always said that we need a VA Secretary who will be honest about what our veterans need and have the backbone to stand up and ask for it.

We want it not to be business as usual. We want to not hear just about a bureaucracy, but about a people organization.

I think we all agree with that and look forward to seeing you implement a real change of culture and heart.

If we can use this time to get significant funding in there to reduce the size of those sites, it will be cost effective in the future.

I wish it was in someone else's, but it is not. And I am responsible, as we all are, for making sure we fund that.

We have a moral and a legal obligation--I wish we did not, but we do--to clean up those sites.

But would you support increasing the Hanford funding? It may need as much as $2 billion over the next 4 years to meet that cleanup schedule.

Obviously, from a scientific perspective, this outcome would be unacceptable to us in the State of Washington and, I think, to the whole Northwest and probably to the entire country if they were more informed about this problem.

In this time of economic turmoil, I can think of no better way to improve our economy and maintain that competitive edge for the coming decades than investment in skills for our students today to make sure they can secure good jobs…

Making sure that we empower our local communities to provide a pathway for all of our students to the careers of tomorrow is extremely important.

It is tremendously important that we have somebody at the head of this agency who is really going to tackle a lot of issues to get this country back on track.

The mantra of the last 8 years has been No Child Left Behind. I would like to see that changed so that every child has the skill we need.

We have to be smart and pragmatic and thoughtful in trying to remove those barriers.

As we discuss the best way to stimulate our economy, I believe three points are clear.

For years I've said that if we don't invest in the growth and development of America's workers, our families, our communities, and our Nation will suffer in the long run.

But I'm encouraged that the Department of Labor will soon have a leader who will restore public confidence, in its ability to serve workers well.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling this hearing to quickly move forward on the confirmation of Representative Solis as the next Secretary of Labor.

Ensuring a smooth and timely transition for this critical Cabinet position sends an important message to America's workers that they are absolutely essential to our economic recovery efforts.