This is a very important discussion, one of which is quite topical in my district, in Pennsylvania.

I have spent much time visiting career and technical schools throughout my district, including career and tech centers in Lebanon County, Carbon County, and Schuylkill County.

No worker should be forced to subsidize, as a condition of employment, the political schemes and candidates of a private organization of which they disapprove.

It is neither fair nor constitutional to force employees into paying dues to a private organization upon pain of discharge.

Perpetually encrusting a labor union onto a workplace with no showing of current employee support does not lead to workplace stability.

No worker should be forced to be represented by a private organization and its officials who perform poorly in the workplace.

No worker in America should be threatened with discharge from his or her workplace for refusing to pay dues and fees to a private organization he or she may despise.

tuition fees at our institutions of higher education are rising well over the inflation rate

I certainly look forward to working with our colleagues and coming up with some solutions for the people.

The plan participants that we have here, the workers, the Mr. Morgan's of the world, certainly deserve none of the blame for this grossly underfunded pension plan problem that exists.

Yet they are the ones facing the dire consequences which is an unacceptable outcome.