American Jobs Act Will Create Jobs Today and In the Future
Secretary Duncan and White House advisor Melody Barnes visit a classroom in Milwaukee (Official Department of Education Photo by Leslie Williams)
President Obama’s American Jobs Act will make immediate investments that will help today’s students compete in tomorrow’s economy.
The Jobs Act will provide $30 billion to support teachers’ jobs and another $30 billion to modernize and renovate schools. Both are essential ingredients to the President’s plan to create and preserve jobs to move the economy forward. But they also will ensure children get the preparation needed to compete for jobs in the knowledge economy of the 21st Century.
When the Education and the Economy bus tour stopped in Milwaukee on Friday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Director of the Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes emphasized the critical role that the Jobs Act will play in creating jobs today and in the future.
In a town hall at the School of Career and Technical Education, Barnes pointed out that the average Milwaukee public school was built 70 years ago. The Jobs Act will provide $169 million for Milwaukee to modernize and renovate their buildings, ensuring they have thefacilities to prepare students to compete for careers tomorrow.
“We can teach students about science and technology, but if they can’t put their hands on, it doesn’t make sense to them,” Barnes said.
Secretary Duncan watches the President's speech aboard the back-to-school tour bus.
The funding for teachers will support 280,000 jobs across the country and 7,400 in Wisconsin alone. Without it, schools will have to make tough choices to increase class sizes or cut programs in the arts and other subjects essential to a well-rounded curriculum.
“None of that is good for our children across the country,” Secretary Duncan said at the event.
The President outlined the American Jobs Act in a speech to Congress on Thursday night.
“There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation,” the President said. “Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans. And everything in this bill will be paid for.”