E&W Blog

America’s workforce needs an upgrade.

The pandemic brought the American economy to a standstill and many Democrat mandates compounded the problem. Businesses, workers, and taxpayers suffered as a result. Years later, employers still cannot hire enough skilled workers to fill in-demand jobs. 

For our economy to boom and continue leading the globe, we must make significant efforts to bolster our career and technical education (CTE) pipeline and modernize the American workforce.

Unfortunately, the Biden-Harris administration worked to limit access to CTE training programs instead of expanding it. In December 2024, the Biden-Harris Department of Education imposed last-minute requirements on CTE providers. While seemingly benign, the data reporting requirements would have been so massive that CTE program quality would have declined as administrative burdens increased.

For the American economy to thrive, we must cut through bureaucracy—not add to it. Americans need more opportunities to pursue CTE learning opportunities and set themselves on the path to success. That’s why President Trump signed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act into law in 2018: to empower community leaders to expand access to CTE programs and align programs with in-demand careers—all while reducing the role of unelected federal bureaucrats. This month, the Trump administration reversed a set of Biden-Harris requirements that would mire key CTE programs in red tape.

Committee Republicans have long been committed to improving the CTE workforce pipeline. In the 115th Congress, the Committee spearheaded efforts to pass the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, sending it to President Trump’s desk to become law. Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) was also a co-sponsor of H.R. 6585, the Bipartisan Workforce PELL Act, in 2023, which helps students move into short-term training programs to get in-demand jobs.

The American workforce is poised to rebuild our economy into the best in the world—but it needs the tools to do so. That’s why Committee Republicans and President Trump are making CTE a priority this February: to help Americans, and our economy, thrive.