Rick Allen: “I thank the gentlewoman for her work in organizing this Special Order this evening. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for her work in organizing this Special Order this evening. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the importance of workforce development in America. Over the past 1\1/2\ years, this Congress has been working diligently to turn this economy around and get Americans across the country back to work. After passing the most comprehensive tax overhaul in 30 years and rolling back Obama-era rules and regulations, our economy is beginning to thrive, and the need for a developed and established workforce is more crucial right now than ever before. The simple fact is our workforce is aging and there are not enough people who currently have the skills to take the positions of retirees nor the thousands of private sector jobs being created every day in this new economy. And with over 6 million jobs available in this country as we speak, we have to ensure that our young people today are equipped for the job market of tomorrow. In fact, I enjoy meeting with young people and talking about this era in which, when they are educated, they have the greatest opportunity of any generation that I am aware of to find a job in an upward economy in just about every field that they desire. As someone who has worked in the construction industry for my entire career, I know firsthand how difficult it is to find skilled workers.…”