Weingarten urges Congress to invest in education

Oct 30, 2008 5:33 PM

AFT/UFT President Randi Weingarten urged Congress on Oct. 29 to invest in jobs, education and healthcare as part of the federal response to current economic difficulties.

Testifying on Capitol Hill at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on economic recovery, job creation and investment in America, Weingarten said, “The simple fact is this: Education and the economy are intertwined. Neither is strong when the other is weak.”

“Difficult times demand bold action. The boldest action that you can take now is the simplest: Invest in the foundations of our country’s strength—jobs, education and healthcare,” Weingarten added.

Weingarten laid out AFT members’ most immediate priorities for a federal economic recovery plan that will stop the irreparable damage to our nation’s citizens, including our children: to get people back to work, to provide fiscal relief to the states and localities, and to invest in infrastructure, including school construction.

Read Weingarten’s testimony before the House Committee on Ways and Means.