It's wonderful to be back in the Rio Grande Valley and the Port of Brownsville, where so much exciting news is being made, it seems like on a daily basis.
I want to thank all the industry and education partners for joining us and talking about the importance of creating the workforce for the good, well-paying jobs that are being created, it seems like every day, every week here in Brownsville.
As we heard today, South Texas has become a hub for manufacturing, energy, defense and space companies. I was at, I want to say Boca Chica but it's now Starbase with Secretary Hegseth as part of his tour. And again, every time I go to Starbase and see what SpaceX has done… I think they are part of the Artemis II (program) that went into space and will be splash landing with the astronauts here. They are doing amazing, amazing work.
A TEEX instructor explains the electric relay control learning system to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. (Photo credit: City of Brownsville)
But none of this happens without a skilled workforce, and that's why we're here today, to talk about that. And, fortunately, working together with the President and my colleagues in Congress, we were able to pass an extension and expansion of the Pell Grant program.
And for people who are not familiar with that, that's the basic federal way that we help people get into college or community college. But now it's been expanded to trade. So if you want to become an electrician or diesel mechanic or work on heating and air conditioning or welding, you can learn those trades. And it won't surprise any of us to know that if you're trained in any one of those skills, you can make a good living, a very good living, in fact.
And so we secured $10.5 billion in overall Pell Grant funding, which safeguards access to financial aid for the next generation of students and those who work here today.
So, I look forward to continuing to see the great things that are happening here in Cameron County and Brownsville, that you continue to upscale your workforce and ensure that companies like SpaceX, Carpowership, Saronic and others can continue to thrive.
And I'm hoping for some good news on the Saronic front. We’ll see. I understand that there are a number of places they are looking at. But that would be a home run.
There are so many good things happening here. This makes me very happy to be with you, and thanks for the hard work and industry of all the people here today that made it possible.
All we did in Washington, on behalf of behalf of Texas, is to make sure that some of the outstanding opportunities provided here to make a good living for themselves and provide for their families and their communities, to build a better life.
