On the recordFebruary 5, 2021
As I have listened to the debate back and forth, I feel like it hasn't covered much of what is so exciting about this bill. When I was the chief workforce officer of the State of Michigan, it was during the implosion of the auto industry and then the Great Recession. Michigan had the highest unemployment rate of any State for 49 consecutive months. It was in that difficult circumstance that I had to try to help Michigan workers train and get new skills for new opportunities. There was a Senator from Illinois around that time; his name was Barack Obama. And he got a piece of legislation passed that said that States could use half a percent of their SAFETEA-LU money, their money for highway construction, to help train the workforce of the future, more women, more people of color, more poor people. So, I worked with the apprenticeship directors of the highway industry, with people advocating for more opportunities for people of color, and we created pre-apprenticeship programs that helped new people get apprenticeships and a road to the middle class in this country by building our roads. Mr. Speaker, the point is, we had to do that on our own. The registered apprenticeship system didn't offer us guidance. It certainly didn't offer us funding. This bill does so much to modernize and open up our apprenticeship system. It facilitates pre-apprenticeship programs. It facilitates youth apprenticeship programs.…
