Patty Murray

My concern is that the program that goes out to the States, so it sounds good when you say it to us, I just want to know how it's going to be implemented?

I look forward to further conversations with you on that.

The only way this works is when you do it in collaboration.

Now this administration often has stressed to us the importance to implementing reforms that we know and can prove are effective.

I am proud that our work together to pass a strong Recovery package is beginning to help States like Washington keep more teachers in their jobs.

I share that goal, and as a long-time advocate for job training and education programs, it's great to have a strong partner in the White House on that.

I think that's a promising idea.

I think we have to bridge that gap and as I told you, I will be shortly introducing legislation, again, to bring together all the players.

So our work on the Recovery package to support our schools is very important.

I was very pleased to see that you and the President are preparing to tackle or more appropriately, put a full-court press on a lot of the large issues facing us in education today.

I share President Obama's goals, and as a long-time advocate for job training and education programs for our workers, I am glad to have a strong partner in the White House.

I am pleased that your budget proposal has some significant increases in Pell grants, teacher quality, State grants, school leadership for principals, and literacy efforts.

I think the community colleges play a huge role in this, sort of, trajectory of education continuum.

Thank you Chairman Harkin and Senator Cochran for holding today's hearing to discuss the need to invest in education and prepare our young people to succeed in school and beyond.

We've got to move forward toward a clean energy economy and this will help keep us on that path.

My position is really clear, and the administration is going to have to expect it to remain consistent, because that's what I want for these budgets.

I believe that this administration is committed to making working families a priority once again in this country.

I appreciate that the Economic Recovery package has money for this, but if we don't have long-term, sustained requests for beyond the timeframe of the Economic Recovery package, we're going to be in a very bad place.

America's working families are facing some of the toughest economic challenges in a generation.

I agree that it's much needed and, you know, in the right direction.

We are going to have to figure out how to do that in the future.

I believe that adult education and literacy is a very important component of the workforce system.

The formula has actually now impacted some States in a negative way.

I was disappointed to see that the President's budget didn't contain the second half of the funding required to retrofit the Coast Guard Icebreaker Polar Star.

I'm very concerned that if the United States doesn't have the proper tools and doesn't have a presence, we are going to be behind a lot of people very quickly.