The Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 would consolidate and eliminate dozens of ineffective or duplicative programs, enhance the role of job creators in workforce development decisions, and improve accountability over the use of taxpayer dollars.

Enacted under President George W. Bush's administration with the promise to focus on individual student achievement and overall school performance, No Child Left Behind was heralded as groundbreaking. And in some ways, it was.

The Interest Rate Reduction Act takes a first step toward providing critical stability by eliminating the threat of an immediate interest rate increase, while making clear the need to move toward a long-term solution that serves the best interests of taxpayers and borrowers.

Let's get one thing straight: No one wants Stafford loan interest rates to increase.

I had a very liberal family.

Employers and business leaders need people who can think for themselves - who can take initiative and be the solution to problems.

I started working myself from about 14, really, so I wasn't a burden on my family. I did a paper round and a milk round. When I was 15 or 16, I worked in a supermarket on Saturdays stacking shelves, and then every summer I temped, right through university until my working days started.

Women are, in my view, natural peacemakers. As givers and nurturers of life, through their focus on human relationships and their engagement with the demanding work of raising children and protecting family life, they develop a deep sense of empathy that cuts through to underlying human realities.