Dear Friends,
Last month, the House passed H.R. 2353, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act. This bipartisan vote is a fine example of Congress doing our part to help our young people better prepare for their futures and assist mid-life adults who need to change their occupation. I hear from employers in Arkansas regularly about the issues they have filling important and well-paying jobs at their companies due to the ‘skills gap,’ which accounts for nearly six million unfilled jobs in the United States. Our challenge in Congress is alerting people that these good jobs exist and promoting policies that offer American workers and students different types of training to match our diverse job market.
As the Co-Chair of the Congressional Skilled American Workforce Caucus, I have a great partner in Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), as we try to promote the skilled trades as a viable path toward success for all of our students. Last year, Rep. Lawrence came to Little Rock to participate in a skilled work force tour and one of my Community Empowerment Initiative (CEI) roundtables in central Arkansas.
The CEI is another area where I am working in a bipartisan manner to address some of our Nation's most difficult issues, like tackling poverty and lowering crime rates. One of the best ideas born from CEI has been the Shift Back to Society Act. This bill, H.R. 799, would help those who have been incarcerated transition back into society and find meaningful employment. The bill would establish a pilot program to provide grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to implement educational programs for eligible offenders and help them successfully transition back into their communities.
In Arkansas, Arkansas Baptist College, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) has partnered with the Department of Community Correction to provide an entrepreneurship program for prison inmates during the last six months of their sentence.
The program serves as a transition phase for inmates to gain academic and spiritual development and encourages them to continue in their education at the school after their release.
Arkansas's Second Congressional District is made up of both rural and urban areas. Working on issues like skilled workforce development and CEI addresses the important challenges that underserved parts of our community face. Our government has to do a better job of helping all of our citizens achieve success, and I look forward to continue working with local leaders and congressional colleagues on these critical matters.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill |
