Heidi Alexander: “while the Senator from Washington is on the floor, I think it is appropriate to note and congratulate her for her work…”

“while the Senator from Washington is on the floor, I think it is appropriate to note and congratulate her for her work on the Workforce Investment Act. She and Senator Isakson of Georgia led the effort of Senator Harkin, me, and others in the Senate. Senator Scott of South Carolina was the principal sponsor of the House-passed SKILLS Act. Senator Enzi of Wyoming had worked for a long time--and as the Republican leader said, that bill is being signed today by the President of the United States. It goes directly to the issue that most Americans care about. It is too hard to find a job. What this process showed was that Republicans and Democrats were able to take the nearly $10 billion that we currently spend on job training to give Governors the flexibility to help people develop skills and match job seekers with good jobs in their communities. I remember our former Democratic Governor from Tennessee told me that when he came into office, he threw up his hands when he found out about the $145 million that came to Tennessee through the Workforce Investment Act because it was too complicated. Senator Murray, Senator Isakson, and others have worked together with Chairman Kline in the House, and they produced a law that will be signed today. The Senate is far from functioning the way it ought to. There is too much talent in the Senate and too many pressing problems in the country for us to be anywhere close to satisfied with the result we are getting.…”