For the 119th Congress, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) will chair the House Committee on Education and Workforce. He takes over for Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) who has been the top Republican on the committee since 2017.
Walberg was first elected to Congress in 2006. After losing his 2008 reelection, he returned to Congress after the 2010 mid-term elections and represents Michigan’s 5th district. Prior to his time in office, Walberg served as a pastor in Michigan and Indiana and the president of the Warren Reuther Center for Education and Community Impact.
As chair, Walberg has indicated that he would use his leadership position to focus on expanding Pell Grant access for short-term training programs, increasing apprenticeships and addressing college affordability. In the 118th Congress, Walberg was a co-sponsor of the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act. ACTE posted about the bill when it was introduced in December 2023.
After winning the gavel, Walberg said in a statement, “We have a unique opportunity to make substantive reforms to empower parents, incentivize workforce training, improve government efficiency, and unburden American innovators and job creators.”
Walberg has also indicated that we would focus on providing alternatives to college. In a December interview, Walberg said, “We’ve wrung our hands for too long about boys not going on to college. There are probably several reasons for that, but we also know that there are plenty of boys — and girls — who, given the opportunity to see what’s out there, can make [other] choices.”
As the new Congress begins, ACTE will work with Walberg and the other members of the committee to continue to advocate for CTE and our longtime priorities. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Jimmy Koch ([email protected]).
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