Political Quotes

“I rise today to express some serious concern over the use of workforce investment funds to offset 2001 supplemental appropriations. While I do support additional appropriations for the purposes outlined in the underlying bill, dramatically reducing funding for State and local workforce development programs to pay for it does not seem prudent. Again, I recognize the pressures placed on the appropriators, but I would have expected that the Members responsible for oversight of such programs would have been consulted as to the impact of such cuts on the program's ability to fulfill its purpose. The programs authorized by the Workforce Investment Act were agreed to through a strong bipartisan process, led by Senators DeWine, Kennedy, Jeffords, Wellstone, and myself. I fear, given the apparent willingness to cut funding for the act, that we did too good of a job in 1998 when Workforce Investment Act was enacted.”