[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 17 (Thursday, February 2, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H383-H384]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PROMOTING STEM EDUCATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Dold) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DOLD. Mr. Speaker, during the President's State of the Union 
address in this Chamber just last week, he spoke of the importance of 
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, also known 
as STEM education. STEM education helps support U.S. manufacturing 
jobs, and it is something that I am a strong proponent of.
  The 10th District of Illinois, the district that I represent, is one 
of the largest manufacturing districts in our Nation. As I travel back 
home, I hear time and time again from manufacturers that they can't 
find qualified people able to step up and take the jobs that they have 
open right now at their manufacturing facilities.
  One way we can help put people back to work is by promoting STEM 
education. Those trained in the STEM field have the opportunity to gain 
good-paying jobs right here in our local communities. From high schools 
training our future workers to community colleges helping to train and 
retrain unemployed individuals, STEM education helps put people back to 
work and allows U.S. manufacturers to hire American workers.
  One example of a successful STEM education program back home is at 
Wheeling High School. Wheeling High School's Principal, Dr. Laz Lopez, 
took the initiative to start a STEM education program in order to 
empower his students to graduate and have a competitive edge against 
other students seeking employment. Just yesterday, Wheeling High School 
announced that they are now looking to expand that education to include 
a curriculum that has nanotechnology. This type of curriculum will give 
Wheeling High School students a greater competitive advantage when 
applying for jobs and pursuing degrees in science and technology.

[[Page H384]]

  Preparing our students for the 21st century workforce, I would argue, 
is absolutely critical. But it is also essential that we empower the 
unemployed to be retrained to pursue careers in the STEM field right 
back at home and across our country.
  Back home, I'm working with the College of Lake County, which is 
working hard to provide STEM education to adults who are interested in 
preparing themselves for new careers. The College of Lake County will 
be hosting a STEM education day on Saturday, February 25. This is to 
motivate our young people about the importance of STEM education, and 
to especially focus on young women to learn more about careers in the 
fields of science and technology.
  I am impressed with the work that the College of Lake County and 
other community colleges are doing to bridge the gap between industry 
and education. By teaming up with local employers, the College of Lake 
County is putting in place programs that can train the workforce and 
also help local manufacturers in need.
  In the weeks to come, I'll be hosting a manufacturing and education 
summit at ETA/Cuisenaire in Vernon Hills. The goal of this summit is to 
find ways in which local industry can invest in local education so that 
our region has the resources and trained workforce it needs to expand 
and to invest in the manufacturing sector of our economy.
  I will continue to work with Republicans, with Democrats on promoting 
this critical initiative of STEM education. This will not only help put 
people back to work, but will enable manufacturers to hire workers 
right here at home so that they can continue to grow and expand in our 
local communities.

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