Political Quotes

“In 1937, a freshman Member of Congress who held my seat, Representative William Fitzgerald, from Norwich, Connecticut, led the effort to pass the first National Apprenticeship Act. After being signed into law by President Roosevelt, this remained largely untouched for 83 years, yet the registered apprenticeship system it created has buoyed the Nation through decades of tumultuous change in our economy and its workforce. The Fitzgerald Act is simple. It instructs the Secretary of Labor to bring together employers and workers, and using national standards, develop apprenticeship programs and work with State agencies to carry out certifications all across the country. With that elegant framework, the registered apprenticeship program has expanded to 1,200 recognized occupations, enrolling thousands of new apprentices each year. Upon completion of a registered apprenticeship, workers can expect to earn an average of $70,000 per year. All this was achieved with a tiny Federal investment. Today, we take an historic step to build on its success with the first-ever reauthorization of the Fitzgerald Act to size up and grow its proven model. H.R. 447 creates a dedicated source of funding to State apprenticeship offices that will connect more employers to trainees and launches competitive grants to start apprentices in new sectors of the economy and, thus, recruit underserved populations.…”