Tom Harkin: “I rise in support of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. I would like to commend Senator Simon for his work on this…”

“I rise in support of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. I would like to commend Senator Simon for his work on this bill and thank him for working with me on several issues related to the legislation. Most American employers feel recent high school graduates are not adequately prepared for the current workplace. Further, a recent study found that 90 million Americans are functionally illiterate--that means they do not possess the higher literacy skills needed for the more challenging and technologically related jobs of the future. It is clear that we need to do a better job preparing all students for work. At the present time, the United States is the only industrialized Nation that does not have a comprehensive school to work transition program. This legislation before us remedies this situation by establishing a national system to assure an effective transition from school to work. The future of our country depends on our ability to compete in the international marketplace and this legislation is vital to ensuring our place in the world. There is tremendous diversity across the United States and one program will not effectively meet the needs of all students and communities. Therefore, this legislation allows individual States and communities to tailor programs to meet their specific needs and situations. This is especially important to meet the unique needs of rural areas.”