The good news is we have begun to make some progress. The bad news is that we have a long way to go, in my view.

You can't run a system as large as the VA if you do not know what your budget is going to be.

I think you can't bring them all back in overnight, but I think the goal must be that any person who wore the uniform of this country, regardless of income, should be able to come back into the VA.

We have a solemn obligation to make sure that every man and woman who has fought in that war, when they come home, they get all of the care and the benefits they have been promised.

I think that is a great investment and I hope we can expand that whole area.

I know you are going to be a great leader and the VA certainly needs the kind of leadership that you are going to be providing.

we have a moral obligation to our veterans to make sure we provide them the best care that we possibly can.

let us not forget those people who are still suffering from Gulf War Illness.

It is just incredible that in this age of computer technology that people submit claims, they don't hear for months and months, and it goes on and on.

The world has changed, and we have not recognized that anymore.

It would be a good idea to have some laboratory in a climate where the weather gets 20 below 0.

The Federal Government can play an extraordinary leadership role in moving toward energy efficiency.

I am certainly going to very strongly support your nomination, and I look forward to working with you.

Now I know that President-elect Obama has been very strong on this issue, as I am, and I am sure many other members of this committee are.

Millions of young people will leave school $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 in debt.

In America today, 18 percent of our children live in poverty. That is, by far, the highest rate of poverty for children of any major country on Earth.

We have a crisis in terms of the affordability and access to college in America today.

Would you agree that our goal should be that every parent in this country should be able to find access to high-quality, affordable childcare?

Well, thank you very much for that, I think, excellent answer.

We end up spending $50,000 a year keeping them in jail rather than investing in education, rather than investing in childcare.

We recognize the central challenges that we are facing.

I voted against it, too. And in retrospect, it was the right vote, because, among other things, it allowed employers to discriminate against old workers by shifting to cash-balance pension plans that, in fact, could result in cuts in…

Today, if an employee is engaged in a union-organizing campaign, that employee has a one-in-five chance of getting fired.

I think we have the opportunity here to vote for somebody who will be one of the great Secretaries of Labor.

I think in front of us we have somebody who has the makings to be a great Secretary of Labor.