[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 123 (Friday, August 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1312-E1313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  COMMENDING PINELLAS COUNTY JOB CORPS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GUS M. BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 31, 2014

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, Job Corps is the largest career technical 
training and education program for low-income students ages 16 through 
24. There are five centers in Florida--Pinellas County, Jacksonville, 
Miami, Gainesville, and Homestead.
  In Florida, approximately 27,000 students are trained annually. The 
contributions of Job Corps to these young men and women, the future of 
this community, cannot be overstated.
  That is the essence of this country--men and women who did not 
believe there was a ceiling on their capacity to achieve greatness; men 
and women who reached higher, and wanted to do better.
  Students who work to graduate from Job Corps are emulating and 
realizing those distinctly American values.
  We have fallen on hard times--a lot of Americans are out of work, and 
people in all walks of life are feeling the impacts of an economy still 
on the rebound.
  It is men and women like the graduates of Job Corps who will help 
bring this country back to greatness and economic prosperity. We are a 
nation of doers, and we are at our best when we are creating things and 
ideas.
  Hard work is a virtue that no one can take from anyone else. Each 
day, you decide what to give; you decide how hard you will work, how 
hard you will try.
  ``Pull yourself up by your bootstraps'' is a phrase often used with 
respect to doing a job.

[[Page E1313]]

It is not often so simple. To pull yourself up, you must be armed with 
the skills to do so; armed with the skills to succeed.
  By coming here, to the Job Corps, each and every one of those young 
men and women chose to get those skills. That in and of itself is 
commendable--they made the choice to work to better themselves. That 
choice sets Job Corps graduates apart, and they are all extraordinary.
  Today, I want to express its appreciation to the Pinellas County 
Center for their outstanding service in improving the lives of youth.

                          ____________________