National Apprenticeship Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 447, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, which I introduced with Congressman Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

Registered Apprenticeships are this nation's most successful federally funded workforce development initiative.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of workers count on Registered Apprenticeships to learn in-demand skills, earn wages that grow along with those skills, and receive nationally recognized credentials that lead to rewarding careers.

Registered Apprenticeships are so successful that 94 percent of apprentices are employed upon completion and earn an average starting wage of more than $70,000 a year.

Investing in Registered Apprenticeships not only benefits workers; it also strengthens our economy and helps employers build pipelines of talented and dedicated workers.

Increased funding for high-quality workforce development programs is precisely what we need to help workers get back on their feet during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Millions of people are still without work, and at least 7 million of the jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic may never come back.

Yet, Congress has not reauthorized the National Apprenticeship Act since it was first passed in 1937.

Simply put, we have left our nation's best workforce development initiative under-resourced at a time when we need it most.

In response, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021:

invests $3.5 billion in our national apprenticeship system;

ensures consistency and quality across apprenticeship programs;

increases opportunities for diverse groups of workers who have not traditionally been included in the apprenticeship system; and,

expands Registered Apprenticeships in emerging sectors, such as health care, manufacturing, finance, and technology.

This investment, alone, will create an additional 1 million apprenticeship opportunities. And it will yield more than $10 billion in benefits to taxpayers through higher tax revenue and decreased spending on social safety net programs.

Construction trades and their industry partners have long proven that the Registered Apprenticeship model works. In my district, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard's Apprentice Program and the Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School have been operating successfully for more than a century. We should expand this model so that more workers and employers can experience the benefits.

That is why, last Congress, Committee Democrats and Republicans held four bipartisan hearings and conducted months of intensive negotiations to produce a bipartisan proposal that expands access to high-quality apprenticeships. Last November, the House passed this legislation in a bipartisan vote of 246 to 140.

Now, we have the chance to, once again, come together and pass the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 so that workers across the country, and across industries, can benefit from Registered Apprenticeship opportunities. Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not recognize Representative Pocan of Wisconsin who sponsored the Leveraging Effective Apprenticeships to Rebuild National Skills Act or the LEARNS Act, Representative Bonamici of Oregon who authored the PARTNERS Act, and former Representative Susan Davis of California who shepherded this bill in the 116th Congress, for their significant contributions to this legislation.

I urge support for this legislation.

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