[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 171 (Wednesday, November 30, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H6374-H6375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BRIDGES TO HOPE

  (Mr. WESTERMAN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I believe the number one way to move 
people from poverty to self-reliance is not a government program. If we 
want to make a difference in the lives of the impoverished, we must 
help them find a pathway to employment.
  In my hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas, a nonprofit has taken this 
mission to heart. Cooperative Christian Ministries and Clinic works 
with disadvantaged residents to give them skills that will give them a 
step up in the workforce. The ministry's program, Bridges to Hope, has 
worked with local employers in Hot Springs to put its graduates to 
work, and it is seeing great success. According to a report by the 
local Sentinel-Record newspaper, Oaklawn Race Track has employed four 
graduates, all of whom have had a 100 percent success rate, according 
to Oaklawn General Manager Eric Jackson.
  The first Bridges to Hope class graduated only 90 days ago, but its 
success is already resounding as residents in

[[Page H6375]]

the Fourth Congressional District of Arkansas are finding satisfaction 
and self-reliance through employment.
  I thank Bridges of Hope for its work in my hometown, and I hope to 
see its efforts not only grow, but also be replicated, because there is 
a better way to fight poverty and it is still the best anti-poverty 
program of all time--a job.

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