David Durenberger: “I rise to offer my full support for the conference agreement on the School-to-Work Opportunities Act that will be voted…”

“I rise to offer my full support for the conference agreement on the School-to-Work Opportunities Act that will be voted on later today. The School-to-Work Opportunities Act provides seed money and technical assistance to States and communities in order to encourage and facilitate locally developed, locally operated, and locally administered school-to-work transition programs. It builds on existing programs and removes existing barriers that States, communities, employers, and educators now face in teaching job skills. It will help U.S. companies attract the skilled workers they need to thrive in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. And it brings together employers, educators, government, and labor-- in a true partnership--to prepare our Nation's young people for higher-skill, higher-wage jobs. I want to thank my colleagues Senator Hatfield, Senator Jeffords, and Senator Bond who, through their cosponsorship, helped make this a bipartisan initiative. I also want to commend the distinguished chairman of the Labor Committee, Senator Kennedy, and my colleague from Illinois, Senator Simon, for their leadership on this issue, and for working with me and my staff through conference to make sure that the input I received from the people of Minnesota was incorporated into this final conference agreement.”