Hudson's bill passes House

A bill that aims to connect people with job training programs and cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson passed the U.S. House this week.

Hudson cosponsored the bill with Rep. Bobby Rush, a Democrat from Illinois. It directs the U.S. Secretary of Energy to work with industry to find modern-day skills needed by employers. The secretary would then encourage state education agencies to equip students with the skills, according to the bill.

In response to his bill’s passage in the House, Hudson said he hopes to continue work with Democrats to put North Carolinians back to work.

“America’s energy revolution has created a record number of high-skilled, good-paying jobs, but too often folks are not equipped to take advantage of these opportunities,” Hudson said in an emailed statement. “Today’s bipartisan bill will close the skills gap by strengthening job-training programs and empowering workers to get and keep 21st century energy and manufacturing jobs.”