Rep. Guthrie: Democratic opponent’s opinion piece was ‘dead wrong’
By BRETT GUTHRIE
U.S. Representative, Ky-2
U.S. REP. BRETT GUTHRIE
Thursday, July 17, 2014, 4:10 p.m. — An opinion piece recently appeared in the Nelson County Gazette regarding the passage of The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, a bill that Congress has been working on for some time that finally passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. The opinion piece, however, was based on “facts” that were dead wrong. I would like to set the record straight on what the bill does, as it is due to be signed in to law in the next few days.
First, this is an issue I care deeply about. My background in manufacturing gives me a window into the kinds of skills workers need to compete in our economy. Further, I talk to a lot of plant managers who tell me they need to hire people but the available workers don’t have the right skills to fill today’s jobs.
The federal government has quite a few worker training programs designed to help with this, but they needed be reauthorized and updated. My goal in this process was to streamline the bureaucracy, which had gotten too big, while ensuring workers get the training they need to compete for today’s jobs. I am happy to report that we accomplished that mission. We shrunk government and will continue to empower working families.
The opinion piece that ran in the Nelson County Gazette incorrectly identified a different bill (the SKILLS Act) as my legislation. A simple Google search shows that proposal was introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, and is substantially different from the bill I introduced in the 111th Congress (the Workforce Investment Improvement Act), which ultimately became the core of the bill that passed a few days ago.
The legislation I introduced in 2009 was a thoughtful plan to reauthorize our nation’s workforce programs by eliminating duplication and waste, removing barriers to job training, emphasizing adult literacy, and generally streamlining the bureaucracy. The core tenets of my original bill formed the basis of the final bill that will soon be signed in to law. This process shows that we can find common ground on key issues when people from both parties work together. We did that on this bill and came up with a final product that will better serve American workers.
I am proud to have been part of a bipartisan group of legislators who worked together to reauthorize our federal government’s worker training programs, which fills the gap between the jobs that are open and the skills needed to fill them. I was disappointed to read that someone turned this good, bipartisan bill into an election year rant, but that’s what you get from folks who care more about politics than problem solving.
The legislation I helped passed is one of several bills that I’ve been working on lately. I wrote the bill that reauthorized the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that was signed in to law; I have a bill with over 150 bipartisan cosponsors to help further Alzheimer’s research; and I am working on legislation to help alleviate the problems some college students run into with student loan debt. I am also working on issues related to human trafficking, a serious problem that affects far too many families.
I appreciate the opportunity to serve the people of Kentucky in Congress, and I pledge to continue to work in a bipartisan manner to find solutions that help grow our economy, protect life, and leave a better world behind for the next generation of Americans. Thank you for reading.
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Cong. Brett Guthrie is from Bowling Green, KY and was first elected to the U.S. House in 2008. He sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and on the Committee for Education and the Workforce. He is running for reelection in November.
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