On the recordJune 22, 2017
I thank my colleague from Illinois for yielding me the time. Certainly, we are in the House today and sending a very clear message that career and technical skills matter, and I rise in support of this bill. For a 4-year college, that pathway is certainly great for some, but not all. Technical training helped shape my life from community college to the construction site and, yes, here to Congress. Career and technical education, or CTE, is often overlooked, and it shouldn't be. We need electricians and computer programmers just as much as we need doctors and engineers. In my State of New Jersey, 9 out of 10 of the fastest growing occupations don't require a 4-year degree, but they do require a certificate or on-the-job training. This is an important reauthorization bill that will go a long way to providing students with opportunities to build skills that they need for those fast-growing, high-paying jobs. I want to thank the sponsors for including my provision that will allow high schools to give more information on that career path in technical education. Don Borden, who is the president of Camden County College in my State, says that we have an ``understanding of the types of educational programs we need to provide for our students,'' and that ``will lead to meaningful employment.'' This is about employment and careers, to train the students on available curriculum, on available jobs. I urge support of this jobs bill. {time} 1430
