Tom Harkin

No Child Left Behind ought to mean that we are not leaving them behind in their health either.

That would be like saying to any minority group 30 percent of you just don't count.

I come to this work with three deeply held beliefs.

Education is one of the most critical issues we have to address.

I believe that we must invest in education to ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed.

We have just got to somehow break this thing down and get these two together in how we focus education on these young kids.

We must understand that education begins at birth, and the preparation for education begins before birth.

When we fail to properly educate children, we, as educators, perpetuate poverty, and we perpetuate social failure.

I believe that education is a key factor in securing a sound economic future for our country.

The President-elect views education as both a moral obligation and an economic imperative.

Confirming the President's nominees is one of the most important constitutional duties of the Senate.

Quality education is also the civil rights issue of our generation.

We have to build on the successes of No Child Left Behind.

Congress and the Department of Education need to work together to make sure that every school has the tools and the flexibility needed.

Education has been a bipartisan issue, and we need to keep it that way.

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.

I have a nephew who is severely paraplegic.

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

I commend you for the example that you have sent out for so many young women, including my two daughters.

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.

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.

Working men and women in this country are facing tougher economic times than we've seen in our lifetimes.

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