Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition of the National Apprenticeship Act. As the co-chair of the Skilled Workforce Caucus with my friend from Michigan, Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, I have had the opportunity to see firsthand, professional training programs in my home State of Arkansas and in Michigan. And, I want to thank my Democratic colleagues for their sincere effort to prioritize work training programs, however their efforts are flawed. I have heard my colleagues in the Democratic majority say they want our legislation to reflect America and I share that goal. I agree that we need legislation that reflects the where people work in our economy. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 12.1 percent of Americans are employed by unions. Frankly, this legislation does not reflect our country's workforce because it preferences one business model over another. Rather than encouraging entities and businesses to be empowered to make training choices that are best for their industry, we are instead picking winners and losers. As we move towards recovery from the COVID crisis, we need as wide of an approach to training programs as possible, and this bill is not the answer. Republicans, including myself have offered several amendments that will make a bad bill better. Please support my amendment change to this legislation. In that regard, I ask for unanimous consent to submit letters of support for my amendment.…”