Vicky Hartzler: “I appreciate so much Chairman Thompson's leadership on this to provide just a wonderful, wonderful program to help…”

“I appreciate so much Chairman Thompson's leadership on this to provide just a wonderful, wonderful program to help people have that onramp to opportunity. I also appreciate the chairman's heart because I know in the meetings and the opportunities I have had to have conversations with the gentleman how much he cares about people, and he has provided that care to many people. This is just a wonderful package. The chairman just mentioned that community colleges are going to be involved in this. I just had one of my community colleges in my office this afternoon. We were talking about this very proposal. They are so excited about this because they were emphasizing the point that so many of my colleagues here tonight have made in that the businesses and the manufacturers in my district and everywhere across this country cannot find enough skilled, able people who can fill these jobs that are out there. They were sharing that the salaries are really good--really good. As I visit with some of the manufacturers, they say a welder can start at $60,000 or a truck driver can start at $60,000 or $70,000. I was a teacher. I went into education, and I have a bachelor's degree and then went on to get a master's degree. When I was teaching, I never got near close to that. So there is so much opportunity out there. There is such a need.…”