Let's work to rebuild Wisconsin's economy
The challenges of the Milwaukee area are a strong reflection of the biggest challenge facing Wisconsin and America. The only question is whether elected officials, in both Madison and Washington, will meet the challenge of working across party lines to build an economy that raises incomes for everyone, not just the wealthy and fortunate few.
In Wisconsin, the economy is lagging behind other states, start-up activity ranks at the bottom, household incomes are falling and communities across our state are experiencing job loss and layoffs. These facts aren't merely "hype by some in the media" as Gov. Scott Walker has suggested. They are real problems facing working families struggling to get ahead.
I believe we can address these problems and meet the challenge of building an economy that works for everyone if both parties work together on solutions.
Investments in education always have created a strong path to the middle class. That is why we need to prioritize STEM education, career and technical education and offer stronger support for workforce readiness programs.
As a co-chair of the bipartisan CTE Caucus, I have been proud to work across party lines to introduce a number of reforms that recognize we need to do a better job of supporting CTE students and ensuring that they are better trained for postsecondary education and better equipped for the high-skilled jobs of the future. This is a real opportunity for common ground because there is a growing belief among both parties that CTE is one of the most effective vehicles for responding to labor market changes and the workforce readiness needs of business and industry.
We also need to answer the call of students and families in desperate need of action to address the student loan debt crisis and make higher education more affordable. Throughout Wisconsin, students are choosing to invest in their futures and pursue higher education. This should be an investment that builds a path to the middle class and a path to prosperity. But increasingly, this pursuit is creating a path to indebtedness.
Student loan debt exceeds $1 trillion and is holding us back. It doesn't have to be this way, and we must work together to change things. Despite obstruction from the Republican majority, I will continue my fight to pass legislation I have co-sponsored that would allow struggling borrowers to refinance their student loans and take advantage of lower interest rates — the same way people refinance a mortgage, a car loan or business debt.
I also will continue to work on advancing reforms I have introduced, including the Working Student Act, that will allow students who must work while in college to complete their degrees more quickly and with less debt; and the America's College Promise Act, which creates a new partnership between the federal government and states to help them waive resident tuition in two years of community and technical college programs for eligible students, while promoting key reforms to accelerate student success.
There also is strong support in Wisconsin for bipartisan legislation I have introduced to help schools strengthen their engineering programs and meet the growing demands of 21st century manufacturing. My Manufacturing Universities Act would provide incentives to better align educational offerings with the needs of modern manufacturers and bolster universities' efforts to focus on manufacturing engineering and curricula specifically related to targeted industries.
The Milwaukee 7 region is home to a number of public-private partnerships leading the way to strengthen our Made in Wisconsin manufacturing economy and transform Milwaukee into the world hub for water research, education and economic development.
I'm proud to have been a champion for these efforts, but we need a stronger bipartisan commitment at the state level to support the assets Wisconsin has in science, research and innovation.
Our economy simply can't afford to have political division stand in the way of robust investments in these assets when we desperately need stronger growth in advanced manufacturing, small business start-ups and an innovative economy that is built to last and ready to compete with the rest of the world and win.
Together, we can live up to our state motto, Forward, and help move Wisconsin and America forward. We have so much work to do. But we will only meet the challenge, and get the job done, if we work together.
