Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao

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Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao
10^th Annual Conference of the Committee of 100
Thursday, April 26, 2001

It is wonderful to see so many friends here this evening.

I am especially humbled to be invited to address all of you at the 10^th Annual Conference of the Committee of 100.

Ten years ago, who would have imagined that we would eventually see the appointment of not just one Asian-Pacific American to a presidential Cabinet, but two?

Who would have imagined that in ten years, I would have the privilege of recommending for nomination the first Asian-Pacific American ever to head the Women’s Bureau at the Department of Labor, Shinae Chun?

Throughout government and politics, Asian-Pacific Americans are playing a more public and influential role than ever before.

And most of the credit for that goes to individuals and organizations—such as this one—that that had the courage to get involved.

Where we find ourselves today is the result of individuals and organizations that saw it as their patriotic duty to the nation they love to enter the public arena, to serve, to speak out, to help make a difference for our country.

It didn’t happen by chance. Many people, including many in this room, made significant sacrifices. Many took big risks. Some encountered barriers and discouragement. But none of us gave up—and today, our community is seeing the rewards of that perseverance.

It’s an exciting time, not just to be an Asian-Pacific American, but to be an American. The world is changing before our eyes.

The economy is changing, and despite the recent ups and downs in the market, I think that in the long-term, it’s changing for the better. Washington is changing.

We have a new president, a new Administration, and with that inevitably comes a bracing sense of new possibilities.

Regardless of how you voted in the last election, one campaign promise that President George W. Bush made that I think every American greeted with a sense of relief and gratitude was a pledge to change the tone in Washington.

I can say without qualification that President Bush is keeping his end of the bargain, and in so doing, he is encouraging others to do the same.

He has often said that we can disagree without being disagreeable. We can debate issues without attacking each other’s motives or ethics. And in doing so, we establish the essential basis of trust upon which to seek common ground.

The president’s focus on changing the tone is about a lot more than just restoring civility to public life, as worthy as that is. It is about renewing the effectiveness of our national government—paralyzed for too long by partisan bickering and mistrust.

And it is already starting to bear fruit. For example, we are no longer fighting about whether to cut taxes, but rather how much to cut taxes—and in fact, we’re relatively close to agreement on that question, as well.

The old rhetoric of class warfare about “tax cuts for the rich” is giving way to a more reasonable debate about economic benefits and budget constraints.

People are also recognizing that the president’s agenda is about a lot more than cutting taxes for taxes’ sake.

He believes we should end the marriage tax penalty, because we ought to be encouraging families, rather then penalizing them.

He believes we should end the estate tax—also known as the “death tax”—because we ought to encourage people to save and build up their small businesses and family farms, instead of confiscating the fruit of their labors when they try to pass it on to the next generation.

And most fundamentally, the president believes the average American taxpayer deserves a break, because—as he has frequently emphasized to all of us who serve in his Cabinet—it’s their money, it’s their paycheck, it’s not ours to spend as we please.

The president knows that not everybody agrees with his point of view, but to him, that’s all right.

The point of changing the tone is to have an honest discussion about those disagreements, so that we can ultimately find common ground.

As one past president once said, it’s not about choosing between “left” and “right,” it’s about finding the way up—the way forward for America.

The same can be said about President Bush’s bold plan to reform American education.

A lot of people have made the observation that our community, Asian-Pacific Americans, cares especially about education.

I disagree—I think everyone cares about education, regardless of who they are.

Every child, every parent, every teacher, every employer, every community.

The only difference is that today, who you are can determine what kind of education you can get.

And that’s wrong.

President Bush wants to make sure that every child has the chance to get a high-quality education, regardless of who they are or where they live.

A week ago, our schools got a report card, called the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The news wasn’t good.

We are in a national education recession—a recession that will inevitably spill over from our schoolrooms to the workrooms if we don’t stop it.

In the last eight years, fourth grade reading skills have not improved even slightly: Only 32 percent of fourth-graders are currently proficient in reading. That leaves two-thirds of all fourth-graders lacking the most basic job skill there is.

President Bush has challenged America to reverse this deepening educational recession. To end social promotion in schools, to establish yearly testing of math and reading skills for younger students, and to create a system of accountability in public education, where we demand results in return for the funding we provide to schools.

Some will say we can’t afford to make such drastic changes.

But I can tell you, from my vantage point as Secretary of Labor, that we can’t afford not to make them.

In countless ways, both large and small, the 21^st century economy is not the same one we grew up with. We are now in what is called an “information” economy, driven more by knowledge than by traditional activities like manufacturing.

This new economy presents extraordinary opportunities for those who are prepared to take advantage of them: thousands of good-paying, stimulating jobs—in relatively safe working conditions—with limitless potential for advancement.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that many of these new jobs go begging because employers can’t find the skilled workers to fill them. Meanwhile, thousands of workers desperately want to fill those jobs, but need training to be able to do so.

Today’s elementary school students are tomorrow’s workforce—and we will not be able to sustain the economic growth we have seen in this country over the last decade if we do not address the educational and workforce development challenges that confront us.

There’s another issue I am very concerned about as Secretary of Labor:

In the coming years, the “baby boomer” generation will begin to retire, causing our workforce to shrink. At the same time, the number of retirees drawing on entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare will reach record heights.

If we don’t prepare for this impending worker shortage, the economy, the federal budget, and taxpaying families will pay a huge price.

Labor costs will go through the roof, while payroll taxes will skyrocket to keep our federal retirement programs solvent.

The job that President Bush appointed me to do as his Secretary of Labor is to anticipate these changes and plan for them—to start closing the skills gap today, and find ways to alleviate labor shortages in the future.

To help accomplish this, I have created a new Office of the 21^st Century Workforce at the Department, to bring focus and drive to the mission.

And on June 20^th, we will hold a special Summit on the 21^st Century Workforce, where leaders from business, labor unions, government and academia will address the structural changes that are affecting our workforce and our economy.

We want to find out how businesses are closing the skills gap in their own workplaces. We want to see how unions are identifying and training new groups of workers to meet our country’s voracious demand for labor.

And we want to highlight the new pressures and expectations that today’s workers have—and find ways to address them.

As I said earlier, it’s an exciting time to be in Washington. There are great challenges—but with them come great opportunities to make a difference.

And more than ever before, the community that’s represented in this room tonight has the chance to make an impact—to help our country at a promising moment in its history.

For that reason, I want to say to all of you that this is not the time to lose faith.

It’s not the time to pull back or waver in our courage.

Many of you have shared your concerns with me over the recent international tensions—between our country and China—and how these tensions could create a backlash against Asian-Pacific Americans here at home.

And in fact, there have been some recent instances where the loyalty and patriotism of Asian-Pacific Americans has been called into question, even ridiculed.

At one time, the media could be counted on as a watchdog against these kinds of unfair characterizations. Yet sadly, the media has recently been equally complicit in promoting a false, harmful view of our community and our values.

But my purpose tonight is not to criticize or complain.

My reason for raising this is just to say: Don’t be afraid.

It took great courage and commitment and patriotism to get where we are today, and it will take more of those qualities, in greater measure, to stay the course.

We are Americans. We pay our taxes here. We create jobs here. We raise our families here. This is our country. This is our home.

We are here because we know that America is fundamentally the most decent, tolerant, freedom-loving country in the world. It is a country whose best years always lie ahead.

This is our country. Our community, represented by the people in this room tonight, has the opportunity to make a difference, more than ever before, in building America’s prosperity, strength and peace.

Thank you.

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