[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14793-14794]
[From the U.S. 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

[[Page 14794]]

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 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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