Political Quotes

“The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act is an important step in educating students and preparing them for the workforce. It increases opportunities for historically underserved students. It strengthens alignment between CTE programs and stakeholders. It includes the amendment I worked on with Representative Stefanik to encourage CTE programs to integrate arts and design skills. This bill will support more programs that respond to local workforce demands and teach advanced skills and creative thinking, like the one I just visited at Portland Community College. Employers, including Intel, support the school's new STEAM Lab, where students are pursuing certificates and degrees in fields like microelectronics technology. The Federal Government does have an important enforcement role, and I am disappointed that the bill weakens the Department of Education's ability to hold States accountable for improving low-quality CTE programs. But despite that concern, this bill is worthy of support. I thank Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member Scott, Representative Thompson, and Representative Krishnamoorthi for their bipartisan work, and I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.”