Tom Harkin

We have more to do to make sure that students with disabilities are graduating with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed.

I wish we would have done this 25 years ago.

I think finally the American people, and, certainly, the business community has been behind this forever.

I think there has been tremendous change for the better in our schools in America because of your leadership.

Today, our Nation is failing to live up to that core American idea for all of our citizens.

We can and we must do better, and do better together.

This stands in stark contrast with the approach of Chairman Ryan's budget.

The Ryan budget charts a different course than that established by the 2014 omnibus appropriations bill.

Your budget's proposed $1.3 billion increase is one of the largest of any Federal agency, second only to Veterans Affairs.

Yesterday marked the 25th year that workers, family members, and safety advocates have come together to honor and remember those that have been killed on the job and advocate for safer workplaces.

It is imperative to the public health that these regulations be finalized and strengthened.

We appreciate the work Senator Harkin, Senator Murray and others did to make sure the needs of MSHS children were addressed.

I hope the stories and the experiences I have shared will be instructive as the committee considers legislation, like the Strong Start for America's Children Act.

We are faced here, as we in business occasionally are, with a transformational investment opportunity.

Without such Federal support I fear our progress, despite the valiant effort of cash-strapped States, will be far too slow to achieve the improvement in scale we need.

But more importantly, I am the person you pay later. I am the person you pay later if you do not invest in early childhood education.

But failing to invest in children when they are very young means a higher cost to society, and business, down the road.

I believe the Federal Government has a crucial role to play in jump starting effort and funding at the State and local levels to scale programs that work.

I have been a strong supporter of the Bureau of International Labor Affairs' (ILAB) efforts to protect labor rights and combat the worst forms of child labor around the world.

I encourage you to really pursue this.

You mentioned that the budget provides for $14 million to identify and combat misclassification.

I just say, have your people look at that, because they have a lot of good background information on this.

I would encourage you, Mr. Secretary, and your staff, to reach out to an organization called Farm Safety for Just Kids.

I have advocated for a long time just get rid of the darn thing, get it over with, and move on.

I hope that we can continue on with that budget, rather than the budget set forth by the Budget Committee in the House, which would cut nondefense discretionary spending by $43 billion, or 9 percent, in fiscal year 2016.