12 2 STA T .5 1 37CON C UR R E NT RESO L UT I ONS —M A Y 2 , 2 0 0 8(2)reaf f i r ms i t se ndu rin g su p p o rt for I srae l as Israel pur - sues pea c e w it h its neigh b ors
( 3 ) reaffirms its support for Israel ’ s right to defend itself against threats to its securit y and e x istence; ( 4 ) commends the people of Israel for their remar k able achie v ements in building a new state and a pluralistic , demo- cratic society in the face of terrorism, as well as hostility, ostracism, and belligerence from many of their neighbors; ( 5 ) reaffirms the bonds of friendship and cooperation which have existed between the U nited S tates and Israel for the past 60 years, and commits to strengthening those bonds; and (6) extends the warmest congratulations and best wishes to the State of Israel and the Israeli people for a peaceful, prosperous, and successful future .A greed to April 24, 200 8 . NATIO NA LCH IL D CA REW ORTH Y WA G E DAY —SUP PORT W hereas approximately 63 percent of the N ation’s children under 5 are in nonparental care during part or all of the day while their parents work; Whereas the early care and education industry employs more than 2,300,000 workers; Whereas the average salary of early care and education workers is $1 8,180 per year, and only 1⁄3 have health insurance and even fewer have a pension plan; Whereas the q uality of early care and education programs is directly linked to the quality of early childhood educators; Whereas the turnover rate of early childhood program staff is roughly 30 percent per year, and low wages and lack of benefits, among other factors, make it difficult to retain high quality educators who have the consistent, caring relationships with young children that are important to children’s development; Whereas the compensation of early childhood program staff should be commensurate with the importance of the j ob of helping the young children of the Nation develop their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills, and to help them be ready for school; Whereas providing adequate compensation to early childhood pro- gram staff should be a priority, and resources may be allocated to improve the compensation of early childhood educators to ensure that quality care and education are accessible for all families; Whereas additional training and education for the early care and education workforce is critical to ensuring high-quality early learning environments; Whereas child care workers should receive compensation commen- surate with such training and experience; and Whereas the C enter for the Child Care Workforce, a project of the American F ederation of T eachers E ducational Foundation, May2, 2 0 0 8[H.Con . Res . 1 12 ]
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