Donna Shalala Country Quotations

Higher education is one of few areas where this country competes with the rest of the world and wins. The best of American higher education outstrips any in the world. Look where the rest of the world goes for higher education, for graduate degrees. They come here.

We have to mainstream everybody. No matter what their circumstances when they were growing up. Part of that is knowing that after they're finished with school, everybody in this country gets up and goes to work.

We can't wait for everybody in this country to get good health insurance, ... When you really want to close a health care gap and you do not have a single health care system, you go to every part of the country and have everybody pull in the same direction.

Africa, Asia, every country in the world, they were all in denial. The health ministers kept assuring us they had everything under control. (Gayle) kept pushing . . . to get programs, strengthen the private sector, the public sector. She just never gave up.

It's our responsibility as caring adults in this country to protect our children,