When only half of the Latino students who enter ninth grade graduate with a high school diploma, it just points out the kind of devastation and distress that we feel in the communities.

Latinos are our nation's fastest growing and largest minority group of children.

This is a vital issue for the Nation, a vital issue for the Latino community.

The dropout crisis has a devastating impact on the Latino community.

Congress must work toward policies that address the dropout crisis for Latinos.

I am proud to have the support of preeminent conservation groups, as well as the leading national parks advocacy groups.

I think the issue of outreach and how it is done and the importance of that is important and the insular areas and territories to be included in the overall scope of the legislation as vital, and necessary and fair.

Today the Subcommittee will hear testimony on legislation I introduced two weeks ago, along with Chairman Rahall, to help repair and restore our nation's public lands while employing and training thousands of young Americans and promoting…

Thank you very much. Let me call the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands to order on a hearing on the Public Lands Service Corps Act of 2009.

Much remains to be done on public lands.

Unfortunately, we still face those challenges and more: years of inadequate funding have put these agencies further behind on vital maintenance work while infrastructure continues to crumble.

Green-collar jobs are here and growing and exist in many of the states of this committee's members.