Education and Labor Committee Will Work with Obama-Biden Administration to Rebuild and Strengthen the Middle Class

Yesterday's historic election of Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden as our next President and Vice President was a true victory for every child, student, worker and family in America. I congratulate Senators Obama and Biden, and I look forward to working closely with them to change the direction of our country and get our economy moving forward again.

During the past two years, the Education and Labor Committee has focused on strengthening our nation's middle class -- a priority that Senators Obama and Biden clearly share, as demonstrated by their careers and the focus of their historic campaign.

With our country facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and our global leadership at risk, this mission is more important than ever.

In the next Congress, this committee will be dedicated to working with the new Obama-Biden administration and members of both parties of Congress to rescue our economy by rebuilding and strengthening America's middle class. We must get started right away by passing a Main Street recovery plan that will get Americans back to work and provide immediate relief to families and workers struggling with long-term unemployment and depleted state budgets.

We will dedicate ourselves to improving our nation's schools and continue our efforts to make college more affordable and accessible, so that every student has the opportunity to succeed. We are committed to rebuilding our country's roads, bridges and schools, and to green retrofitting and other modern energy programs that will create millions of good-paying jobs and reestablish America's technological leadership.

We will fight to restore workers' rights, so that every American can benefit from economic opportunity. And we will make the preservation and strengthening of retirement savings a priority, so that all Americans can enjoy a secure retirement after a lifetime of hard work.

Today marks a new beginning. Together, we can rescue our economy, restore the promise of the American Dream, and ensure that, in a nation as great as ours, the interests of students, workers, families and retirees are at the heart of our nation's priorities."

More information on recent hearings on the economy and the committee's work over the past two years.

(Cross-posted at the EdLabor Journal.)

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election

Comments

[Adriana231]

Is the government propping of a failing industry the most appropriate thing to do. Perhaps breaking apart the gigantic corporations like Ford and GM needs to be the first solution to this problem... By breaking them apart and giving them money to retool, you will create more jobs, more competition and greater innovation in a stagnating industry.

This is why the anti-trust laws were created in the early 20th century--if the steel companies of that day had failed, they would have taken the entire economy with them.

NO corporation should be so large it can take the entire economy down if it fails...we seemed to have forgotten that since Reagan...

[letstakeawalk]

The first thing the Obama administration should do is release the $25 billion it promised to the US automakers for retooling their lines for hybrid and electric car production. Then, I hope Obama will use his influence with the UAW to help GM and Ford regain their strength. The automotive industry is a major player in the US economy, and the industry needs all the support the President can give.