Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I want to highlight a couple of amendments in the en bloc that I have some reservations about and that I think would benefit from additional discussion if this bill is taken up in the Senate. First, Moore amendment No. 15 creates a new reporting requirement on ``State agencies.'' I don't think new reporting requirements will achieve our goal of increasing employer engagement in the registered apprenticeship program when the underlying bill doubles down on the reasons employers choose not to participate in the first place. But I would at least encourage my Democrat friends to clarify if they mean for that reporting requirement to apply only to ``State apprenticeship agencies'' or if they truly want to empower the Department of Labor to demand reports of any and every State agency it chooses, regardless of that agency's involvement in apprenticeship programs. Second, Payne amendment No. 18 may well make it harder to engage small- and medium-sized employers by requiring grantees to have demonstrated expertise in engaging specific types of small- and medium- sized businesses. Madam Speaker, to be absolutely clear, I believe we should take reasonable steps to encourage grantees to partner with small businesses owned or controlled by women, minorities, or veterans. The underlying bill does this.…”