On the recordNovember 13, 2013
I am here today to discuss the most important issue facing Hoosiers--and all Americans--and that is getting a good job. Good jobs allow us to provide for our loved ones, educate our children, and ultimately retire with dignity. Good jobs are also critical for strong communities and a vibrant economy. That is why I am proud to be part of the group of Senators working on Manufacturing Jobs for America. It is an effort to refocus the Senate on helping businesses create jobs and helping communities pursue economic development in the area of manufacturing. This effort is aimed at building bipartisan support for modernizing the manufacturing sector, increasing access to capital, strengthening our workforce, and creating the conditions necessary for American manufacturers to grow and create jobs. I have two bills as a part of this effort, the Skills Gap Strategy Act and the AMERICA Works Act. Both of them are focused on closing the skills gap. There are an estimated 600,000 manufacturing jobs that are unfilled across our country in part because employers cannot find workers with the skills they need to fill these open jobs. We need to match up unemployed or underemployed Americans with the training and education programs employers need so we can get more Americans into these good-paying, skilled jobs. Last month my friend, Senator Dean Heller, and I introduced the Skills Gap Strategy Act.…
