Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, as our Nation's economy continues to improve, we still need to have a serious discussion about jobs in this country. As Congress will soon debate whether to extend unemployment benefits for needy Americans, we must remember that there are young people that are graduating from high schools in our country that are not ready to take jobs that are in high demand. For instance, from an article I read in The Wall Street Journal last year, an estimated 600,000 skilled middle class manufacturing jobs went unfilled in this country. That is absolutely unacceptable. Much of that can be attributed to kids who are simply unprepared. Mr. Speaker, improved education must be included if we are serious about rebuilding the middle class in this country. And if we are really serious about looking out for the middle class, we have to do something about raising the minimum wage in this country. Any serious discussion about raising the standard of living in our country without addressing these two areas of education and raising the low minimum wage that we have is simply not addressing the issue seriously. Mr. Speaker, I am trying to address these issues by having a job fair in my district on Friday, January 24, in Fort Worth at the Resource Connection. It is efforts like these and many others that will help get the middle class back on track in this country. ____________________”