Congresswoman Lee & 67 Members of Congress Call for Computer Science for All Funding
Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lee and 67 other Members of Congress sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee of Labor, Health and Human Service, Education and Related Agencies. The letter called on the subcommittee to fund the President’s Computer Science for All Initiative. The President’s Initiative is designed to provide every American student with access to the computer science skills they need to succeed in our 21st century economy.
“Computer science skills are becoming more and more vital for success, both at work and in life. Every student should have the opportunity to gain these skills that they need to succeed in the innovation economy,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “We simply cannot delay this important Initiative, the future of our children and our economy are at stake.”
As a member of the education funding subcommittee, Congresswoman Lee has long advocated for greater investments in computer science and technology training, especially for women and students of color that are rarely represented in the tech industry. As a co-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, Congresswoman Lee helped launched the CBC’s TECH 2020 Initiative, which she also co-chairs. The goal of the TECH 2020 Initiative is to increase the number of African American and other people of color working in the tech sector. On average, African Americans represent just five percent of the workforce at tech companies. As part of this Initiative, Congresswoman Lee organized a Congressional delegation to Silicon Valley where Members of the CBC met with corporate leaders to discuss this issue and win commitments for greater efforts to increase diversity and inclusion within their companies.
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Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees, the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip, former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and co-chair of the Progressive Caucus. She serves as chair of the Democrat Whip Task Force on Poverty, Income Inequality and Opportunity.