Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Archived Speech — Caution: Information may be out of date.
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.
Archived Speech — Caution: Information may be out of date.
