Bob Casey

Fifty percent of our citizens in Philadelphia do not have the literacy skills needed.

I don't think that we are really moving in the right direction by not having them at the table as part of the solution.

But you agree it is a problem?

I think part of what we are dealing with here is there has been a fundamental change in what is required at work.

The main point they make is 'I need this skill level' or 'Five of us business leaders need this skill level coming through the pipeline, and we are not getting it.'

I don't see literacy being addressed in the WIA Act as something that can be used to really impact this pipeline.

I would like to put Ex-Im Bank on steroids because I think it does so much good work for American companies.

But what I am concerned about is turning a page that we have never permitted in our history, which is having an oppressive regime anywhere in the world tell us how we are going to ultimately engage in our democracy programs.

Yesterday, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a Cuban prodemocracy human rights activist and political prisoner... died following a hunger strike protesting the Castro regime's brutal abuses.

If we abandon these countries once we are in there and engaged, there is a very real possibility that we will pay a higher price in the end.

We are hopeful that it will serve both as a practical starting point for improving the efficiency of U.S. and global efforts in this area and as a rallying point for those who agree that food security should play a much larger role in our…

The Kerry-Lugar foreign assistance reform bill has strong support in the aid community and is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 24 Senators.

If we are to avoid inefficient experimentation, USAID must have a decisionmaking role and the capacity to evaluate programs and disseminate information about best practices and methods.

I know that in the Senate as well as in the House, we are going to be debating extending so-called safety-net provisions.

We have to focus on institution building in Afghanistan, not only on good governance.

I think your government should really insist on is education, and especially education for women at every level.

For the record, the testimony of all the witnesses will be made a part of the record.

What do you think has to happen there to rectify that?

Thank you very much. I want to, first of all, thank Senator Boxer for gathering us together today.

I believe the failure and success is shared. It's shared responsibility, and we have to be very, very serious on that issue.

I wanted to start with just a brief commentary or notation of an article from the New York Times Magazine this past summer.

I want to thank Senator Boxer for her work and her leadership as chairing more than one committee.

Supporting women and girls in Afghanistan is not only in our national interest; it is the right thing to do.

Well, I know we're over our time a little bit, but I do want to thank you for the time and the commitment that you've demonstrated on these issues for a long, long time.

One of the frustrations that we have around this town is we have hearings and we spotlight an issue... and then, unless we get back to it 6 months later or a year from now, we don't--there's not enough accountability or monitoring.