; Whereas the right to change occupations or career directions is fully as important as the right to choose an occupation or career direction; Whereas accurate, up-to-date information about educational and occupational opportunities is vital; Whereas helping individuals increase self-understanding of their abilities, interests, values, and goals is a vital foundation of the career development process; Whereas career professionals help to provide career development services to inspire and empower our citizens’ attention to where it is needed most: empowering the national economy through maximum individual productivity; Whereas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of September 2023, 6,400,000 workers are unemployed; Whereas career professionals help the United States worker meet the very real and immediate challenges of economic development, student achievement, and global competitiveness; Whereas career professionals are a vital resource for the livelihood of our Nation’s workforce and are underutilized relative to their potential need and value; Whereas a Harris Interactive Poll, conducted in partnership with the National Career Development Association, examined the perceptions of today’s workforce on the effectiveness of career counselors, the need for expanded workforce training opportunities, and the hardships implicit in selecting, changing, or getting a job in the current economic climate, and the feedback is very clear; and Whereas the 2021 Harris Interactive Poll results revealed that— (1) only 13 percent of adults report that they had worked with a career specialist such as a school or private counselor, but 85 percent of Americans find professional career development assistance valuable; and (2) 58 percent of Americans regret not having worked with a career services professional in the past: Now, therefore, be it