Chris Coons: “Something important, something unusual, something worth noting happened this week, happened yesterday in this Chamber…”

“Something important, something unusual, something worth noting happened this week, happened yesterday in this Chamber that I don't want to let pass without a few moments of comment. Yesterday a broad bipartisan majority of this Senate came together to pass the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. First, I congratulate Senators Murray, Isakson, Harkin, and Alexander who led so capably on this bill. Senators Murray, a Democrat of Washington, and Isakson, a Republican of Georgia, spent years working through the details, policy, and language, and months making sure that they got this bill to a point where the Senate and the House in a bipartisan, bicameral way could adopt legislation. What is this about? It is about something simple, important, and powerful: investing in America's workforce so we can compete with anyone around the world in the 21st century. This is an area I have focused on a lot here in the Senate which I believe is critical to our Nation, our competitiveness, to strengthening our middle class, and to growing good jobs. In manufacturing, it is a core challenge for us to ensure that our workers have the training employers are looking for, and that our manufacturing companies are globally competitive. Manufacturing is important to America, to our future, to our middle class, to our communities, and to our families because it pays well, it drives innovation, it contributes greatly to other sectors in our economy and in communities.…”