[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 136 (Friday, July 31, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4204-H4205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MARKING ANNIVERSARY OF STRENGTHENING CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FOR 
                          THE 21ST CENTURY ACT

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, I had the 
pleasure of standing in the Oval Office with President Trump as he 
signed my bill, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for 
the 21st Century Act into law.
  I was proud to see this bill become law, but I was even more proud to 
see it pass with such overwhelming bipartisan support. Not a single 
Member of Congress in either Chamber voted against it.
  The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century 
Act is the first major overhaul to the Carl D. Perkins Career and 
Technical Education Act since 2006.
  COVID-19 has underscored just how much the Nation depends on a 
skilled and trained workforce. That is why I am pleased to cosponsor 
the Skills Renewal Act. This legislation will support individuals who 
have become unemployed as a result of the pandemic with a $4,000 skills 
training credit and will support career and technical education 
opportunities such as apprenticeships and certificate programs.
  Career and technical education invests in America's most valuable 
resource, our people, and provides the tools necessary to pursue high-
skill, high-wage, family-sustaining careers.

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