Op-eds

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump will deliver the annual State of the Union address. In his first two years in office, the president has already helped to facilitate the strongest economy we have seen in decades. Unemployment is at a record low, job growth is booming, and the American people have more money in their pocket thanks to tax cuts that doubled the average family's standard deduction and nearly doubled the child tax credit.

While the first two years have resulted in a record 4 million jobs created, including nearly 400,000 manufacturing jobs, I will be looking for the president to address how we in Congress can work together with him to expand opportunity for even more Americans. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act resulted not only in lower taxes for the average middle-class Americans, but it created opportunity. Just last week, the Labor Department reported more than 300,000 new jobs added to the workforce. Wages are up for a sixth straight month and more people than ever are in the workforce. It is my hope the president will propose additional areas where we can cut regulation, cut taxes and grow our economy so these successes continue.

An area of focus during my first term is workforce education and training. Through my recent appointment to the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment, I want to work with President Trump to improve opportunity for Americans already in or joining the workforce. Manufacturing jobs like the 400,000 created in the last two years require more skill than ever before and a bold approach to expanded workforce education, such as a focus on apprenticeships, is necessary for Americans to gain the proper skills to land these good-paying jobs.

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