[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1927]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           CONSTITUENT IDEAS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Carnahan) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, I proposed a simple 
challenge to my constituents back home in St. Louis. I said: Tell me 
your ideas for creating more jobs and economic opportunity in 2012, and 
I'll compile them and not only take them back to Washington but work to 
turn your ideas into action.
  I want to thank the over 600 Missourians I heard from, each offering 
many of their own commonsense solutions to help our economy continue to 
grow.
  I want to share their message on the floor of the U.S. House of 
Representatives today. Their message was a clear consensus that we need 
to invest in our infrastructure, make things here in the U.S., bring 
manufacturing jobs back from overseas, educate and train our workforce 
for 21st century opportunities, and work together for the good of the 
country instead of pulling our country apart at the seams.
  My constituents in St. Louis are deeply concerned that our 
communities will be left behind in this new global economy if we don't 
act now, right now, without delay.
  As Joseph C. expressed best:

       Missouri is a great State, but I'm afraid it will be left 
     behind, and manufacturing jobs will go elsewhere.

  Chris K., from St. Louis, sent me an email saying:

       What would help my personal economic situation and those of 
     many others would be a greater investment in our Nation's 
     infrastructure.

  Joseph P., from St. Louis, commented:

       Investing in our infrastructure and educational systems 
     will not only create jobs but will also result in long-term 
     economic benefits for the entire Nation.

  Karen M. said:

       We need to realize how important good carpenters, plumbers, 
     electricians, bricklayers, secretaries, and caregivers are in 
     the long scheme of things. We need to encourage and applaud 
     these jobs.

  As Kevin N. put it:

       We need to invest in infrastructure for communications and 
     transportation because public infrastructure is the greatest 
     catalyst for economic development.

  To create jobs, Diane M. said:

       I have long thought that the unions and small businesses 
     that require special skills should provide apprentice 
     programs to students, which would give hope and possibility 
     through real skills to thousands of students who would not be 
     exposed to these trades otherwise.

  And Christine A. echoed this sentiment by saying:

       I believe it could be helpful to increase job training 
     opportunities in our high schools.

  We need to pull together to create economic opportunities across this 
country and for the good of the country. Marilyn B. wrote to me:

       Personally, I'm really frustrated with both sides of the 
     aisle not being willing to work together for the good of all.

  As a Member of Congress, I pledge to work with my colleagues to see 
that these great ideas from America's heartland are developed further. 
By working together and reaching across the aisle, I'm confident we can 
grow jobs and economic opportunity across this country.

                              {time}  1130

  I look forward to using these commonsense ideas to build a blueprint 
for putting our economy back on track, to turn these great ideas into 
action.

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