Ron Kind: “Mr. Chairman, I, along with other members on the committee, have worked hard to try to work in a bipartisan fashion in…”

“Mr. Chairman, I, along with other members on the committee, have worked hard to try to work in a bipartisan fashion in the committee to produce bills that we feel comfortable that both sides of the aisle can support. Unfortunately, I cannot say that that is true with this legislation before us today. I think it is a significant step in the wrong direction in regards to the workforce investment legislation to where we need to go. Just last month, Mr. Chairman, the Department of Labor revised their unemployment rate to 6 percent. We lost approximately 48,000 jobs in the last month alone, which is approximately the size of my hometown, La Crosse, Wisconsin. Over the last 2 years we have lost 2.7 million jobs in this economy, and I think the American people are going to have to ask at some point whether this administration is capable of producing one new job during the 4 years in which they are in charge.”