Patty Murray

But when our men and women transition from the battlefield to the civilian world, they often find that their skills are not understood by civilian employers.

We are now ramping up and we have a number of folks coming home. It will impact next year's budget. It certainly will impact budgets in the out years, so we need to have an honest figure on that.

Well, it is a big challenge, but I am really glad that you are going to take that on because I think there are a lot of opportunities left simply because the two groups--veterans and the people who employ veterans, our private…

I think we can all agree that our veterans are best served when the VA and Congress work as partners.

Thank you for your leadership in sponsoring S.635. We look forward to working with you and your staff to advance this important bill.

Thank you for your leadership in sponsoring S.635, which would designate a segment of Illabot Creek in Skagit County as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Salmon are a way of life in Washington state and their protection is critical to our heritage, our culture, and our economy.

Thank you very much to all of our witnesses today. This hearing has provided invaluable insight as we move forward on reauthorizing WIA.

I think that the innovation comes through those very strong partnerships, and there are resources out there.

We also want to be sure that we encourage innovation and risk-taking because nobody knows best.

We must invest in our workforce to keep America safe, secure and productive.

We all want to see stronger evaluation and greater accountability.

Thank you and thank you for that endorsement. I worked very hard to get that into the economic recovery package.

I appreciate both of you, in your testimony, speaking to the need for strong partnerships as we work to make sure that our workers of today have the skills they need.

We need to think more strategically about how we align our training needs with our larger economic goals.

I will leave the record open, for any members who want to submit a statement to the record.

America's working families deserve nothing less.

Earlier this week, we learned that nearly 330,000 people are unemployed and looking for work in Washington State.

I do have some additional questions for all of our panelists.

For the last 11 years, WIA often has not had the level of evaluation and reporting that it should.

With a new Administration and Congress, we now have an opportunity for a successful reauthorization of this important law.

We have a lot of work to do. There are a lot of Veterans who have skills they earned in the military that do not count towards traditional business credentials.

Helping workers and employers access the information and services needed to be competitive is a win for everyone.

I believe, now more than ever, that building a competitive and skilled workforce is the issue that will make or break us as a nation.

We thank this Committee for the opportunity to submit testimony for the record.