Todd Russell Platts: “I want to sincerely thank you for your presence here today and taking a tremendous personal tragedy and working to make…”

I am the lead Republican with Mr. Donnelly on the America Works Act, which is to then promote the--what has been discussed here to some degree already--the nationally recognized, very portable skill credentials.

I do not support vouchers that take money out of the public school system, first of all because we promised 40 percent of special ed, 1975, and we are funding less than 20 percent of that commitment.

Congress, we are not going to let Medicare provider reimbursements drop 25 percent or more now, or I would contend, ever, because of what it would mean to seniors getting access.

My concern is that the president's budget proposal is trying to reinvent the wheel at the expense of proven and critically needed Perkins programs.