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Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
Remarks to the
Hospital League - 1199 Training and Upgrading Fund
Graduation
Ceremony
July 18, 2001
Thank you for that warm welcome.
And I particularly want to thank Deborah King, Bruce McIver and all the
staff that make up this program - one of the largest training organizations in
the country. Your work reflects the best of what we can do together to raise up
a ready, willing, and able healthcare workforce. Thank you.
Graduates, parents, friends and family, thank you for inviting me to be
a part of this special occasion. And congratulations to all of the graduates -
I can hardly imagine how much dedication and commitment it took to complete the
Employment, Training, and Job Security Program. You have a lot to be proud
of.
I'm excited to be here today - as I know all of you are - and I want to
take just a few minutes to reflect on the meaning of your celebration today,
and the world of challenge awaiting you tomorrow.
Two weeks ago, I joined President Bush at Ellis Island for a ceremony to
naturalize new American citizens. Ellis Island has been called America's front
door to freedom. Over twelve million soon-to-be Americans passed through Ellis
Island on their way to a new life. Each of them was drawn here by a sense of
hope, and a belief in the possibility of a better day.
What relevance do their stories have to your graduation today? Simply
this: Just as their passage to America, guided by dreams of a better life, was
a challenging but momentous transition, so too is your graduation today a
stepping stone to a life of greater opportunities. And for all of you, as for
America's immigrants, your watchword must be courage and perseverance as you
meet the challenges that lie ahead.
Pursuing a dream is never easy. Courage and sacrifice, triumph and
tragedy, are as much a reality for today's dreamers as they were for
yesteryear's immigrants. The same sense of determination and hope for a better
future that has carried each of you through the challenges of school will be
needed to guide you through the workplace challenges that lie ahead.
The opportunities that drew millions of immigrants to our shores still
make this the greatest country in the world. This is still a nation of new
beginnings, and new opportunities - for immigrants, and for ambitious young
women and men like all of you.
My friends, today is a day of new beginnings for you and your families.
And we celebrate with you.
We are blessed to live in a time of unparalleled progress. The 20th
century opened with a twelve second flight over Kittyhawk and exited with NASA
landing a probe on Mars. It began with the sounds of the first overseas
telephone call, and ended with sixty million people surfing the World Wide Web.
One hundred years ago, polio ravaged children and dumbfounded doctors. Since
then, we've found cures for polio, whooping cough, and countless other diseases
- and even placed a mechanical heart into a patient just a few weeks ago.
Today, we are living longer, healthier lives. Americans are more
educated, and far more prosperous. We enjoy conveniences and novelties that
once could only be imagined by the wealthiest among us.
Now we stand one step over the threshold of a new millennium. And the
question is, what does the future hold for America and her people? Each of you
in this room will play a large role in shaping the answer to that question.
The grand works of human progress may mark the timelines of history, but
it is the small, but significant - often unnoticed, but always noble - acts of
personal courage, kindness, commitment and compassion that make this a great
nation.
Who are America's heroes? They're all around us, in this room, and on
the streets of every American city and town.
The construction worker who rises before the sun, and puts in a hard day
of work in exchange for his pay - and puts some of that money aside for his
children's education.
A mother who puts in a long day at work, and still has the time and
energy to spend a few minutes at bedtime reading to her children.
A caring nurse who finds the time to offer an encouraging word to a
suffering patient, leaving behind a room filled with smiles, instead of just
sorrow.
These are not random acts of kindness. They are habits of the heart - a
term the great historian Alexis de Tocqueville used in the mid-1800s to
describe Americans' good works. From his observations of our nation's
character, he concluded that, "America is great because America is good."
I ask you to not use the blessing of your education simply to do well
for yourselves, but also to do good, to borrow de Tocqueville's term. I know
this program will help make you successful; I hope it has also made you good
citizens.
The simple, often unheralded acts of neighbor caring for neighbor are
the way we build stronger communities, and a stronger nation. These are the
actions that turn the wheel of human progress.
Some Americans believe that there must be a price for progress - that
getting ahead meant leaving some behind. I don't believe that is the case - but
I do believe we need to work together to open the doors of opportunity even
wider to every American. Because, ultimately, our progress is only partial if
some are left behind.
This is a difficult challenge - and it's one we take seriously at the
Department of Labor.
The economy that has been a miracle for millions has also been a mystery
to many. As I travel the country, I see many successes - but I also see some
uncertain eyes and worried faces. My job is to give hope to those who lack
confidence today.
The changing economy presents new challenges. Americans want to work,
yet many of the jobs created by the New Economy go begging because employers
cannot find qualified workers. Too many Americans, I'm afraid, are unprepared
to meet the challenges of the high tech economy.
But there are solutions. And this program is one of them. The Hospital
League program says to students that everyone has potential, and everyone
deserves a chance, a fresh start on life. It equips students to move into
advanced careers.
It recognizes that employers and employees, labor and business can work
together to find the common ground for the common good - without lowering
standards, or giving up on our core principles.
As the League's mission statement reads, "We are committed to turning
potential crisis into an opportunity, demonstrating that despite cost
pressures, positive outcomes are attainable for workers and the industry."
You have done just that. Your project's Labor Management initiative
facilitates teamwork between workers and management that finds ways to deliver
high-quality, cost-effective patient care, while improving workers' job
security and satisfaction.
As I travel around the nation, I visit workplace training sites as often
as possible - places where people are receiving some extra help to get ahead.
And, not surprisingly, many of those who have received a helping hand feel
obliged to extend that same helping hand to others around them who need it.
They recognize the blessing of a new opportunity, and the privilege of passing
it on.
Similar successes are happening right here. Through federal grants,
we're training healthcare workers in Medicaid-impacted hospitals to prepare for
a changing environment. We're helping train minorities and immigrants for
nursing careers. And we provided funds to cross-train home care workers so they
can increase their earning power.
The economic horizon is uncertain - but one thing we know for sure:
America's workers will always need skills, and our mission at the Department of
Labor is to help them learn how to adapt to economic changes and acquire the
skills they need to succeed.
President Bush believes we should leave no stone unturned in our effort
to ensure that every American has the opportunity to succeed. That is why he is
working to reform America's schools, because a sound education is the key to
opening every door of opportunity.
And that's also why he's working very hard to pass a Patients' Bill of
Rights that empowers doctors and other medical professionals to make the right
decision for their patients - without having to worry about lawyers looking
over their shoulders.
The president understands that any reforms must preserve the integrity
of America's health care system - the finest in the world - while extending
better health care to those who need it most, and protecting the relationship
between patients and doctors.
This Administration has an optimistic vision for America's future; a
belief that America's best days are yet to come. To turn this vision into
reality, we need people who look forward to a better tomorrow, while still
keeping an eye out for those who may be left behind.
Standing at Ellis Island the other day, I was reminded of my childhood
dreams of a better life in this land. I owe my life to this nation and its
people - for welcoming me into America's neighborhoods and schools, her places
of work and worship.
Americans are like no other people. And, like so many immigrants, I am
forever grateful that this nation allowed an eight-year old immigrant clinging
to her mother's hand to make something of herself.
I know this program is helping each of you to do the same.
Congratulations. We are proud of you all.
Thank you very much. God bless you all, and best of luck in the coming
days.
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