I spent 7 years, along with Pat Schroeder on the House side... was my cosponsor.

What we can't do is drag this out when we just saw half a million more jobs lost. You know, the American people are struggling.

The purpose of the Department of Labor shall be to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of wage earners of the United States.

For the sake of our economy and our people, this is the moment to act, and to act without delay.

I can think of no one who will take on the task of jump starting our economy and bolstering the middle class with more energy, creativity, and integrity than Congresswoman Hilda Solis.

I believe that the President-elect feels strongly that American workers should have a choice to join or not to join a union.

Clearly the situation is dire. It is deteriorating, and it demands urgent and immediate action.

These challenges require extraordinary actions.

For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs, and our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that at some point we may not be able to reverse.

This plan must begin today, a plan I'm confident will save or create at least three million jobs over the next few years.

It is true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or long-term growth. But at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe.