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“20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LORING JOB CORPS CENTER IN LIMESTONE, MAINE” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S5839 on Sept. 15, 2016.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LORING JOB CORPS CENTER IN LIMESTONE, MAINE
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, on October 1, 1996, the first students arrived at the new Loring Job Corps Center in Limestone, ME. It is a pleasure to recognize this milestone 20th anniversary of this program, dedicated to helping disadvantaged young people develop the determination, abilities, and character to succeed.
In the two decades since its founding, the Loring Job Corps Center has graduated more than 10,500 students. Whether they go on to the workforce, higher education, or the military, these graduates take with them the skills, self-confidence, and resolve to overcome the setbacks, obstacles, and failures that are part of life. The focus on community service at Loring helps to create the engaged citizens that are so important to Maine's future.
In addition to providing training and education, Loring Job Corps has developed a nationally recognized premilitary program and is one of the highest military placement Job Corps centers in our Nation. This is a fitting tribute to the namesake of the former Air Force base on which the center is located: MAJ Charles Loring, a Maine native who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for heroism in the Korean war. Two years ago, the Loring Job Corps Center reaffirmed its respect for those who serve our Nation by rededicating its dining center, Dahlgren Hall, in memory of LT Edward Dahlgren, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient from nearby Perham, ME.
Young people today face a great many challenges and threats to their well-being, and Job Corps students at Loring and throughout the Nation are no exception. It is essential that Congress continues to work with the Department of Labor to strengthen policies to better ensure the safety of the young men and women who enter the Job Corps to better their lives.
The national Job Corps program was founded more than a half-century ago on the noble idea that, if given the opportunity, the support, and the training, America's at-risk young people could overcome any obstacles and achieve. For 20 years, Loring Job Corps graduates have turned that idea into reality. I congratulate the faculty, staff, and students for this accomplishment and offer my best wishes for continued success.
Mr. KING. Mr. President, today I join my esteemed colleague, Senator Collins, in recognizing the 20th anniversary of Loring Jobs Corps Center in Limestone, ME. This center is a subsidiary of the Department of Labor's national Jobs Corps program, which provides vocational training, education, and opportunity to our Nation's at-risk youth. Over the past two decades, the Loring Jobs Corps has been an important part of that noble effort.
Throughout our great Nation, young people face roadblocks to their personal and vocational success. Recognizing that every member of society has potential if given opportunity, Jobs Corps gives people the skills they need to overcome these problems and create better engaged members of society. Through their efforts, they have inspired self-
confidence and a sense of commitment to the community in the lives of their members. Through military service, higher education, or the workforce, graduates of the Jobs Corps have been able to make a difference in the world and been an inspiration for countless others.
Since its opening in 1996, Loring Jobs Corps Center has been at the forefront of the effort to improve the lives of disadvantaged young people and provides them with the skills necessary to thrive in their communities. Through career training and education, Loring Jobs Corps has helped over 10,500 students to a brighter, fuller future and stands poised to help thousands more. A testament to the program's success, the Loring Center has even become one of the highest military placement Job Corps centers in the country.
I like to think of Maine as one big small town. As such, we all have a responsibility to help disenfranchised youth in our communities, and the Loring Jobs Corps has gone above and beyond in accepting this responsibility. I thank the center for its consistent dedication to at-
risk youth, commend them for their long record of service, and wish them the best of success for years to come.
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