Promoting Technical Education

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, this weekend, while meeting with Kansas farmers during wheat harvest, I visited with a family where one spouse farmed full time and the other worked from home, an increasingly common arrangement, especially in the tough farm economy we have today. But at the moment, a reliable broadband connection is out of their reach.

To keep and grow these jobs in our rural areas, we must make smart infrastructure investments that connect our rural residents: investments that don't duplicate what private enterprise has done, and investments that will carry far into the future.

For most businesses, including agribusiness, broadband services allow companies to access the global electronic marketplace. For consumers, broadband allows people to connect via social media, to download apps and stream videos, and to manage everything from a bank account to a college application. Beyond just access to resources, building out broadband in rural areas increases the quality of life for most citizens and promotes job creation and economic development.

As you think about infrastructure and technology, Mr. Speaker, and as the Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade hears testimony on the topic this week, I encourage my colleagues to keep in mind the value of our small rural telecom providers that connect rural Americans with the rest of the world and make every effort to connect rural consumers and businesses with a wide array of services.

Mr. Speaker, the House will take up the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act. Education supported by career and technical education programs are vital to addressing gaps in workers' skills and employee needs. Employers across the Nation and in my district in Kansas continue to stress the need for well-trained workers, often citing the lack of workers as a key constraint for their own growth.

Luckily, there are great educational programs in my district. I am so proud that many community colleges and technical colleges offer 2-year degrees in technical education that lead to high-paying, steady jobs across Kansas.

About 30 FFA students recently visited me on Capitol Hill. They talked about their desire to enter a wide array of careers and trades.

Their pride in the work they are pursuing is contagious. H.R. 2353 seeks to align CTE programs and in-demand industries, while allowing local programs more flexibility to address the needs of local labor markets.
The bill further highlights the importance of employability skills to student access. Career and technical education is foundationally important to economic growth and innovation. These are the jobs that sustain our economy. We must always keep this curriculum at the top of our minds as we look to preparing our students for success and our economy for stability.

I look forward to voting in favor of H.R. 2353 and ask my colleagues to do the same.

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