I'm the Ranking Member on the Senate HELP Committee, that means that if we were in the majority I'd be the chairman.

So outside speakers help, then?

I think that there's a great future for education and I'm really impressed with the young people that I see in Washington.

we fix No Child Left Behind, which is, of course, to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

I almost got tears in my eyes when I think back, one of the people that had a career academy we're talking about, they had one that was a building trade.

I'll be anxious to see those statistics as they come a little bit further.

I have had a couple of people come to Washington from Wyoming and testify and they've been able to point that out real well.

When we talk about education, one of the things that is frustrating to legislators is, how do we tell people that we're getting something for the money that we put out there.

I remember when I was in junior high, the Russians shot up Sputnik, and we found out we were behind.

Good. I'm glad to hear about the participation on the tree, too.

Of course, one of the things I want to dwell on a little bit is the difference between rural and urban.

I rise today to join my colleagues in marking the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. As the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, I am particularly proud of…

We put a lot of emphasis on preschool, too, because that does make a difference.

I appreciate that. I do know that blame game, as we try to focus in on where the real problem is, it's always in somebody else's yard, one way, up or down.

If they focus on a national, rigorous curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics. Help us with an assessment that we've never had before, that we can compare apples to apples.

Of course, the way that I most often get information is when Diana and I come back to the State pretty much every weekend and go around and talk to real people, not the ones inside the Beltway.

The purpose of the hearing, is for me to hear from more witnesses from rural areas.

We want more students to complete through K-12, and we talk about post-secondary in a very broad term.

I want to thank you for calling the hearing on this important issue of rare and neglected diseases, focusing on rare pediatric diseases.

I am here today to pay respects to Senator Byrd, whose desk is now adorned with a black cloth and flowers. I know we will all long remember Monday as the day we received some very sad news, for on that day, as the morning began, we each…

I thank the Senator from Delaware for those comments in his weekly update on Federal employees and the great job they are doing. In the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, we know quite a few of them who are doing outstanding…

I'm not sure if you've seen Senator Gillibrand's bill, but under sections 3001 and 3006, NIOSH would send funds to New York providers for monitoring and treatment.

Could we do better? Each year we could do better, and that's what we strive for.

How are those numbers holding? Are they increasing?

And so, we know they're being helped under one program, possibly, but we don't know if it's being tied in with all of the services that they need.