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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn was in Brownsville on Friday for a round table discussion with area industry and education leaders about continuing to develop the workforce necessary to accommodate the growing needs of local industry.
The event took place at the Texas A&M University Advanced Manufacturing Hub on S.H. 48 near the Port of Brownsville. Specifically, the focus was on anticipated benefits from the expansion of Pell Grant Eligibility to include Workforce Pell Grants from the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
Besides Cornyn, the round table included Brownsville Mayor John Cowen Jr., David Coatney, agency director/CEO for Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), Brownsville Navigation District Chairman Esteban “Steve” Guerra, Paco Sanchez, president of the Rio Grande Valley Partnership, and William Dietrich, Port of Brownsville director and CEO.
Also taking part were Jesus Rodriguez, president of Texas Southmost College, Adela Garza, TSC board chair, Marc Palazzo, NextDecade senior vice president of policy and corporate affairs, Tom Ramsey, chief commercial officer for America First Refining, and Rey Esquibel, plant manager for Rich Products Corporation.
In his opening remarks, Cornyn said the purpose of the gathering was “to talk about is jobs and to talk about what we’ve been doing in Washington to try to help create opportunities for people who want to be able to learn skills to perform these good, well-paying jobs that seem to be growing by leaps and bounds here in the Rio Grande Valley.”
Turning to Cowen, who was seated nearby, Cornyn said, “Mayor, every time I turn around, something new is happening in the Valley and right here in Brownsville, to be sure.”
The senator ticked off SpaceX, Rich Products, and NextDecade, which is well along in building Rio Grande LNG plant at the port.
“We know that the South Texas Valley has become a hub for manufacturing, energy, and space companies and everything that goes along with it,” Cornyn said.
He also cited the proposed America First Refining project at the port, noting it would be the first new refinery on the Gulf Coast in nearly 50 years.
“That’s a big deal and is projected to bring thousands of jobs to the Valley,” Cornyn said. “As the Valley’s economy continues to grow, we know that presents challenges. With all the great things that are happening, there’s going to continue to be demands, but there’s no demand that’s more important or more urgent than making sure we have a qualified workforce for all the great jobs.
“And that’s going to be important, as we all know, to encouraging more businesses to come here. That’s one of the things at the top of every company’s list, is can we find the qualified workforce? And so that means there needs to be educational opportunities, like Texas A&M helps provide here.”
Federal Pell Grants, traditionally used to help low-income students earn a four-year college degree or two-year certification, have been expanded to include trades, Cornyn noted.
Nearly every participant who spoke during the round table thanked Cornyn for his efforts promoting workforce development in the Valley
“All that I’ve done is to support your vision and the hard work that you do day in and day out to make it a reality,” he said in closing remarks. “And it gives me a lot of great satisfaction to see your success, because what that means is incredible opportunities for generations.”