Political Quotes

“The Workforce Investment Partnership Act restates the Senate's long commitment to vocational education, adult education, job training, and vocational rehabilitation. Yet it does more than just continue this tradition; it builds upon our experiences and moves us forward--improving our education and training programs. S. 1186 will provide better opportunities for America's citizens to get the skills they, as individuals, need to obtain work and that America's businesses need to retain their competitive edge in the global economy. S. 1186 is a commitment to meeting the challenges faced by America to produce the workforce that we need for the 21st century. It incorporates almost seventy categorical programs and builds an integrated workforce system as a replacement for the current group of fragmented or duplicative programs. The vocational education section is particularly significant in its emphasis on the inclusion of a strong academic component in vocational education assuring that students in vocational programs receive the strongest possible education and the broadest possible base on which to build careers. It requires the states to explain how duplication will be avoided, and how the activities of related programs will be coordinated. Finally it requires the establishment of rigorous performance measures of both state and local progress toward concrete goals.”