There is no magic bullet anywhere along the line.

How we progress as a country and how we are going to maintain our standard of living, our way of life, and provide for equality of opportunity for all our kids really comes down to what kind of education system we have.

Thank you very much.

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

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.

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

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

One of the great injustices in our society has been the fact that so many Americans dealing with a mental illness don't have the same insurance coverage that people who happen to suffer from other kinds of illnesses have.

I have a nephew who is severely paraplegic.

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

I hope, Congresswoman, that you will take a look at these proposed rules and come up with rules that basically would disclose all of these fees so that people know what it means.

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.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) are currently implementing legislation that Senator Kennedy and I worked on to help make sure…