[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 140 (Thursday, September 15, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S5839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LORING JOB CORPS CENTER IN LIMESTONE, MAINE

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, on October 1, 1996, the first students 
arrived at the new Loring Job Corps Center in Limestone, ME. It is a 
pleasure to recognize this milestone 20th anniversary of this program, 
dedicated to helping disadvantaged young people develop the 
determination, abilities, and character to succeed.
  In the two decades since its founding, the Loring Job Corps Center 
has graduated more than 10,500 students. Whether they go on to the 
workforce, higher education, or the military, these graduates take with 
them the skills, self-confidence, and resolve to overcome the setbacks, 
obstacles, and failures that are part of life. The focus on community 
service at Loring helps to create the engaged citizens that are so 
important to Maine's future.
  In addition to providing training and education, Loring Job Corps has 
developed a nationally recognized premilitary program and is one of the 
highest military placement Job Corps centers in our Nation. This is a 
fitting tribute to the namesake of the former Air Force base on which 
the center is located: MAJ Charles Loring, a Maine native who was 
awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for heroism in the Korean war. 
Two years ago, the Loring Job Corps Center reaffirmed its respect for 
those who serve our Nation by rededicating its dining center, Dahlgren 
Hall, in memory of LT Edward Dahlgren, a World War II Medal of Honor 
recipient from nearby Perham, ME.
  Young people today face a great many challenges and threats to their 
well-being, and Job Corps students at Loring and throughout the Nation 
are no exception. It is essential that Congress continues to work with 
the Department of Labor to strengthen policies to better ensure the 
safety of the young men and women who enter the Job Corps to better 
their lives.
  The national Job Corps program was founded more than a half-century 
ago on the noble idea that, if given the opportunity, the support, and 
the training, America's at-risk young people could overcome any 
obstacles and achieve. For 20 years, Loring Job Corps graduates have 
turned that idea into reality. I congratulate the faculty, staff, and 
students for this accomplishment and offer my best wishes for continued 
success.
  Mr. KING. Mr. President, today I join my esteemed colleague, Senator 
Collins, in recognizing the 20th anniversary of Loring Jobs Corps 
Center in Limestone, ME. This center is a subsidiary of the Department 
of Labor's national Jobs Corps program, which provides vocational 
training, education, and opportunity to our Nation's at-risk youth. 
Over the past two decades, the Loring Jobs Corps has been an important 
part of that noble effort.
  Throughout our great Nation, young people face roadblocks to their 
personal and vocational success. Recognizing that every member of 
society has potential if given opportunity, Jobs Corps gives people the 
skills they need to overcome these problems and create better engaged 
members of society. Through their efforts, they have inspired self-
confidence and a sense of commitment to the community in the lives of 
their members. Through military service, higher education, or the 
workforce, graduates of the Jobs Corps have been able to make a 
difference in the world and been an inspiration for countless others.
  Since its opening in 1996, Loring Jobs Corps Center has been at the 
forefront of the effort to improve the lives of disadvantaged young 
people and provides them with the skills necessary to thrive in their 
communities. Through career training and education, Loring Jobs Corps 
has helped over 10,500 students to a brighter, fuller future and stands 
poised to help thousands more. A testament to the program's success, 
the Loring Center has even become one of the highest military placement 
Job Corps centers in the country.
  I like to think of Maine as one big small town. As such, we all have 
a responsibility to help disenfranchised youth in our communities, and 
the Loring Jobs Corps has gone above and beyond in accepting this 
responsibility. I thank the center for its consistent dedication to at-
risk youth, commend them for their long record of service, and wish 
them the best of success for years to come.

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