I believe that we must invest in education to ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed.

I come to this work with three deeply held beliefs.

We must understand that education begins at birth, and the preparation for education begins before birth.

We have just got to somehow break this thing down and get these two together in how we focus education on these young kids.

When we fail to properly educate children, we, as educators, perpetuate poverty, and we perpetuate social failure.

We are in the business of educating kids and not letting them play on monkey bars.

No Child Left Behind ought to mean that we are not leaving them behind in their health either.

Education is one of the most critical issues we have to address.

You have a big job ahead of you. I don't think there is any Secretary whose decisions, whose statements, public posture has more effect on the American people intimately than yours.

The Secretary of Education, along with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, they have the task of defining America, who we are and what we are as a people and how we progress and what kind of society we are going to be.

I look forward to working with you and to, hopefully, making the Department of Labor a true department of labor.

Sixty-three percent of people with disabilities are unemployed. That is shocking.

Working men and women in this country are facing tougher economic times than we've seen in our lifetimes.

We're now the second highest in new unemployment claims, and paid $60 million in claims last month--compared to $27 million in December 2007.

I'm glad we could get this hearing in early, because we need someone to hit the ground running at the Department of Labor from day one.

The trouble is, workers never saw their share during the last economic boom but they are getting more than their share of the bust.

I commend you for the example that you have sent out for so many young women, including my two daughters.

I don't mean to prolong this. We're anxious to get on with the administration and get you in as Secretary of Labor.