National Truck Driver Appreciation Week

Floor Speech

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Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize America's 3.5 million truckers during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

Truckers are the unsung heroes of our supply chain. Each year they drive over 320 billion miles--the equivalent of nearly 13 million trips around the globe--to deliver 11.5 billion tons of freight.

Every one of those miles represents a stocked store shelf, a package placed on a household doorstep, materials delivered to a manufacturer, and equipment conveyed to a construction site.

I am proud of America's dedicated truckers, including the 66,830 professional drivers in North Carolina. Today, 23 North Carolinians from the trucking industry are on Capitol Hill sharing their stories.

Additionally, a North Carolina driver with over 2 million accident- free miles is demonstrating a simulator to staffers and my colleagues to share the perspectives of truckers.

I look forward to thanking these individuals in person for the work they do. Bowman Middle School

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Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I recently had the pleasure of visiting Bowman Middle School in Mitchell County to view the school's International Space Station, ISS, contact project.

Thanks to the diligent work of Dan Hopson, a STEM teacher at the school who has a penchant for securing these kinds of opportunities, this project was able to come to fruition. Students were able to ask a variety of questions in real time via ham radio to Warren Hoburg, a NASA astronaut who successfully traveled to the ISS on March 3 of this year.

This impressive event was one that these students will surely remember as they continue their educational journeys. Hopefully, some will be inspired to engage in careers in STEM areas.

Congratulations to Dan Hopson, Principal extraordinaire Amber Young, and the dedicated staff at Bowman Middle School who made this event and this learning opportunity such a success.

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