National Apprenticeship Act of 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, Mr. Bobby Scott, for yielding. He has done such an extraordinary job through the years in the minority and in the majority watching out for workers and creating jobs and security for our workers.

I rise in strong support of this legislation.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Speaker, we saw deep divisions within our country, divisions that we must heal.

Part of that division, I believe, comes from a broad lack of faith in government to deliver on what the American people need to get ahead in our economy.

Americans, in my view, want their elected officials to focus on reaching consensus on broadly popular initiatives that expand opportunity and connect people with good careers.

This legislation, Mr. Speaker, that we are considering today, falls within the scope of the Make It In America plan that I have been proud to lead since 2010.

That plan seeks to make our workers and businesses more competitive by legislating in the three key areas of education and skills training, infrastructure, and entrepreneurship. It is based on bipartisan ideas that most Americans support.

One of those ideas is reauthorizing enhancing the National Apprenticeship Act for the 21st century in order to help more of our people reach for the opportunities that enable them to make it in America.

This bill would have been, Mr. Speaker, and should have been, bipartisan, were it not for the Trump administration's insistence on including unaccredited and unproven apprenticeship programs that do not have adequate worker protections or quality standards.

That is a shame. And I hope we can revisit this effort and make it truly bipartisan once President-elect Biden has taken office.

At a moment when our economy is in crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans are out of work and looking for new ways to get back into the workforce.

They recognize that this moment presents an opportunity to gain new skills and move up in their careers, as Mr. Scott has pointed out.

That is why, Mr. Speaker, congressional support for apprenticeship programs is so important.

According to the Labor Department, 94 percent of participants in registered apprenticeships are employed upon completion with an average salary of $70,000.

This bill would permanently authorize the Labor Department's office of apprenticeship and direct it to promote new partnerships among labor, industry, and educational institutions to create new apprenticeship tracks.

It will also codify standards, Mr. Speaker, for registered apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships, and preapprenticeship programs.

This legislation would invest more than $3 billion in the National Apprenticeship System, an investment that will pay off geometrically to our country and to our families and to our workers. That will be spent over the next 5 years in order to create nearly one million additional apprenticeship opportunities by 2025.

For those worried about the cost of this legislation, here is another figure to consider: The $10.6 billion in increased tax revenues and decreased spending on public assistance programs and unemployment insurance that will be saved. Let me reiterate that. $10.6 billion in increased tax revenue as a result of the success of the apprenticeship program.

At the same time, this bill includes measures to promote greater diversity among those accessing apprenticeship programs. This is critical at a moment when the pandemic has led women's workforce participation to fall to a level unseen since 1988.

Right now, only 10 percent of apprenticeships are held by women.

By promoting greater diversity of access, we can increase that percentage dramatically and help millions of women jump-start their return to the workforce while helping them get ahead in their careers. Good for them, good for their families, good for America.

I want to thank Representative Susan Davis of California for her leadership over the years and for sponsoring this bill. She has been a champion for workers and apprenticeship opportunities for decades. She will be leaving the Congress, and she will be sorely missed. She will be leaving voluntarily, I may add. But she will be sorely missed, because, not only in the civilian sector but on the defense side, she has looked at personnel and how to enhance work opportunities, worker skills, and their success.

I also thank Chairman Scott of the Education and Labor Committee for his work moving this bill through committee.

I also want to thank the ranking member because I believe that, in fact, what she said is she is interested in apprenticeship programs, and I am hopeful that Mr. Scott and Ms. Foxx and others on both sides of the aisle continue to work to expand apprenticeship opportunities. We do not want to constrict opportunities; we want to expand them.

In spite of the Trump Administration's attempts to sabotage it, I hope this legislation will pass with the kind of strong bipartisan support it deserves.

I urge all my colleagues to join me in voting for a bill that will give all of our people faith that Washington is united in our determination to help them get through this crisis and build back better in the future.

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina.

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