Bobby Scott

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, as a group, these amendments would erode workers' rights, slow down elections, allow workers to freeload, or even prohibit employers from agreeing not to interfere with the election. I would hope that we would defeat these amendments, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation because there are many reasons to vote for the American Rescue Plan. If you want to ensure that schools can reopen safely and make up for lost time in the classroom, vote for the bill. If you want to provide relief for institutions of higher education and their students, vote for the bill. If you want to save our childcare system from collapse, vote for the bill. If you want to protect workers against the virus and increase their wages, vote for this bill. If you want to maintain access to affordable healthcare for workers who have lost their jobs, vote for the bill. If you want to prevent more than a million retirees from losing their hard-earned pensions, vote for this bill. Finally, if you want to keep children and families from going hungry, prevent domestic and gender-based violence, and protect older Americans during this pandemic, you must vote for this bill. The American people need to know that help is on the way. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of H.R. 447, the Clerk be directed to make the correction I have placed at the desk.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

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.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the budget resolution. The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to inflict widespread harm across our communities. In addition to the thousands of people who are dying every day from this virus, millions of workers remain unemployed, students are falling further behind, and an unprecedented number of American families are facing hunger and homelessness. Anyone who doubts the need for urgent and immediate COVID-19 relief is not paying attention to the multiple ongoing crises affecting people across the country. We will continue working with our Republican colleagues to find areas of agreement so that we can provide our constituents with the support they desperately need, but we can't put the label of bipartisanship ahead of the urgent needs of our communities. Our constituents don't want us to say that we could have provided relief checks in the amount of $1,400, but we needed to work with the Republicans, and now they are only $1,000. The upcoming COVID-19 rescue package must extend assistance for the unemployed Americans, protect all workers from COVID-19 infections, and support frontline workers who have cared for our loved ones and kept food on the table during the pandemic. The rescue package must also provide schools the necessary resources to open safely, to help institutions of higher education cope with severe financial strain, and to keep childcare providers afloat. We must also expand nutrition assistance to ensure that our children and families do not go hungry. Finally, the COVID-19 rescue package must help close the massive State and local budget shortfalls, which will inevitably force painful cuts to education and other public services if left unaddressed. Mr. Speaker, we are at a critical moment in the fight against COVID- 19. We have the responsibility to do everything in our power to meet the basic needs of the American people. This budget resolution gives Congress an additional tool to pass a COVID rescue package that will confront the pandemic and deliver the immediate relief that our constituents deserve. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 24, impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors. When we consider impeachment, the first question to consider is not ``what is an impeachable offense?'' but ``why is impeachment in the Constitution?'' If it is necessary to have an elected official removed from office, the normal process is to vote him out of office at his next election and have him leave when his term expires. But there are times when it is absolutely not feasible to wait until a term expires. That is why impeachment is in the Constitution. The Constitution says the President ``shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.'' When a President is committing treason, it is obviously not feasible to wait until the next election and the expiration of his term. If a President is seeking, taking or giving bribes, it is not feasible to wait. As for ``other high crimes or misdemeanors,'' the important word is ``other,'' because it suggests offenses that have the same effect on the nation as treason or bribery. The phrase ``high crimes and misdemeanors'' is intentionally vague, but the meaning is clear--behavior that creates a situation, as in cases of treason and bribery, where it is not feasible to wait until the next election and the expiration of the President's term. Impeachment is not in the Constitution primarily as a punishment, but as a mechanism to protect our democracy when it is not feasible to wait until January 20th. In that light, we evaluate the President's recent behavior. Shortly before noon on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, President Trump addressed thousands of his supporters, who specifically came to Washington at his urging. This event was called the ``March to Save America.'' The President's words and actions at this rally, and arguably the lies he spread weeks before, incited a violent insurrection. Soon after the President's speech, a violent mob overwhelmed the U.S. Capitol with the intent of disrupting the counting of the Electoral College votes--the final official step in the election of the next President of the United States. These individuals harbored delusions fostered by the President that, but for the grace of God, could have resulted in the death or injury of the Vice President and many members of Congress. During most of this insurrection, the absence of the National Guard and other military units was conspicuous, especially when compared to the overwhelming police and military presence last summer during racial justice protests in the nation's capital. The facts are not in dispute. According to Rep. Liz Cheney, the third highest ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, ``The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President . . . There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.'' Last weekend, the Washington Post published audio recordings revealing a conversation in which the President encourages and attempts to pressure Georgia election officials to ``find'' over 11,780 votes to reverse the certified results of the November 3rd election. This hour long recording further supports previous reports of the President actively attempting to overturn the will of the voters in other states he clearly and fairly lost. Additionally, the President has used presidential powers to pardon numerous criminals, many of whom were convicted of offenses that could have been part of coverups to protect the President himself. He should not continue to hold this power while insurrectionists are being arrested and charged across the country. And it is also being reported that he is actively considering additional questionable pardons, including for himself and his immediate family. Notwithstanding his oath to faithfully execute the laws, the President is doing nothing to address the COVID-19 pandemic, even though more than 125,000 deaths have occurred since the election. There has been a complete abdication of responsibility demonstrated by his failure to develop a testing and contact tracing strategy, his refusal to encourage the use of masks to stop the spread of this deadly virus, and now a complete mismanagement of vaccine distribution. Furthermore, his execution of the laws has been compromised by the wholesale resignations of senior federal officials across the executive branch. The President has gone to extraordinary lengths to disrupt the transition from his administration to President-elect Biden, undermining our national security. Our nation is facing economic distress, a raging pandemic, the disastrous consequences of climate change, a reckoning with racial injustice, and a historic cyber intrusion. While our country is facing these challenges, the President has chosen to jeopardize our national security by refusing the incoming administration customary intelligence briefings, refusing to concede the election, and falsely claiming election fraud ultimately disrupting the peaceful transition of power and undermining the incoming administration's ability to manage these crises. And there have been ongoing violations of the Constitution's emoluments clause, as foreign governments have paid money to Trump businesses since his inauguration four years ago. Each of these behaviors alone would constitute impeachable offenses, so the analysis moves to whether or not any or all of them create the crisis envisioned in the impeachment clause where it is not feasible to wait until January 20th to have him removed from office. I believe the evidence is overwhelming and that we have no choice but to act expeditiously to impeach. The attack on the Capitol clearly puts us in a situation where it is not feasible to wait until the President's term expires at noon on January 20, 2021. He has shown no remorse for the loss of life and the blatant attack he incited on one of the greatest symbols of our democracy. There has also been no credible explanation why the Capitol Police were left stranded without the support of the National Guard or other law enforcement agencies nor any credible explanation why the Attorney General nor the Director of the F.B.I. have attended any public briefings on what happened on January 6, 2021 or what is being done to make sure that it does not happen again under the President's leadership. And when a person is found unfit to control a Twitter account, it is hard to imagine how he is fit to control the nuclear codes. He is also not fit to control the security of the Capitol for the upcoming inauguration or from other attacks at the Capitol that, according to some public reports, are being planned. Tragically, tens of thousands of people will continue to die unnecessarily because of his incompetence and inaction in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. This self-serving use of the presidential pardon power cannot continue, and if he is removed from office, a process can be put in place to seamlessly transition powers to the Biden Administration without gaps in National Security. For these reasons it is imperative that he be removed from office now. Once impeached, it is true that he may not be convicted in the Senate. In fact, an impeachment trial may never take place. But the fact that a quick trial and conviction could take place should deter problematic behavior by the President during his last few days in office. For example, if Majority Leader McConnell received a distressed call from the Secretary of Defense explaining that the President had issued a bizarre military order, Leader McConnell could quickly summon the Chief Justice, reconvene the Senate and vote to remove the President within hours of the call. Knowing that this could take place would hopefully deter the President from issuing such an order or granting inappropriate pardons. The President will be encouraged to resign, and the Vice President and a majority of the cabinet secretaries could activate the 25th amendment. But all the House of Representatives can control is impeachment. The House has an obligation to do just that. Our action should not be guided by politics or grievance, but should reflect the fact that the future of our Democracy is our first priority. Madam Speaker, we do not want to look up on January 20th and see that security at the inauguration was mismanaged with disastrous results; or witness a blanket pardon to all of those involved in the insurrection; or suffer as tens of thousands die unnecessarily due to the President's continued mismanagement of the pandemic; or witness any other disastrous situation resulting from the abusive use of presidential powers. And if any of that happens because he was not impeached by the House and convicted and removed by the Senate, we cannot say we did not see it coming.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her long career helping working men and women throughout the Nation. I rise in support of this historic legislation. Under this bill, we were able to secure expansion of Pell grants to make it easier for students to access aid by streamlining the free application for Federal student aid. We were able to eliminate the ban on Pell grants for incarcerated students. We were able to discharge debts for many historically Black colleges and universities. And we were able to invest $82 billion in schools and colleges. I am particularly proud that we were able to provide an end to the legal prohibition of the use of Federal funds in transportation to promote school integration. That is right. It is still illegal until this bill passes. Finally, I want to praise the inclusion in this legislation of the fact that we are finally ending surprise medical bills and the problems along those lines. Mr. Speaker, I hope we will pass the bill and do a lot for students and workers.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, The House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 133, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, includes many important provisions. Among them is Section 203 of Title II, Division BB, based on H.R. 7539, the Strengthening Behavioral Health Parity Act--an important step forward in improving the effective enforcement of mental health parity laws that govern group and individual health plans and coverage. I am pleased to see this legislation advance as part of our continuing efforts to ensure the promise of parity is realized for all. As Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, which has legislative jurisdiction over employee health benefit plans (including provisions of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act or ERISA) as well as oversight jurisdiction over the United States Department of Labor, I would like to provide additional clarification for the record regarding the interactions between this legislation and existing enforcement and compliance efforts by the Secretary of Labor. First, no provision of Section 203 in any way restricts, alters, or otherwise interferes with the existing enforcement and oversight authority of the Secretary of Labor, including the Secretary's authority to investigate, audit, and seek equitable or other relief to enforce any requirements of federal law. The requirement that the Secretary examine the comparative analyses of at least 20 plans annually serves as a floor, not a ceiling, on the Department's enforcement actions, and the Department remains authorized to continue to utilize its broad authority under Sections 502, 504, 506 of ERISA and other laws to enforce all requirements of this bill, Part 7 of ERISA, and any other requirements of federal law. Second, no provision of Section 203 in any way restricts, alters, or otherwise interferes with the rights of group health plan participants to bring an action to enforce their rights under Section 502 of ERISA, nor does it impact judicial review of any statutory violations. This bill also should not be interpreted to create any additional presumption in favor of health plans and issuers during judicial review of nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) determinations, and the Secretary remains authorized to seek equitable or other relief, including relief regarding the re-adjudication of claims. All provisions should be interpreted to ensure the broadest access to relief for plan participants.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise in support of S. 461, as amended, the HBCU PARTNERS Act. Since their inception, HBCUs have been engines of social mobility and a cornerstone of secondary education for underserved students, particularly Black students from low-income backgrounds. Today, HBCUs account for no more than 3 percent of all colleges and universities in the country, yet these institutions, as we have heard, produce nearly 20 percent of all Black undergraduates, half of all Black professionals, and one-third of all Black STEM degree earners. Despite this outsized role in expanding access to higher education, HBCUs continue to be underresourced compared to other institutions of higher learning. This historic lack of support is being further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as HBCUs disproportionately suffer from dramatically lower enrollment and State funding. Mr. Speaker, there is simply no better time to support these critical institutions than by passing this legislation before us today. The HBCUs PARTNERS Act would ensure that our Federal agencies actively work with HBCUs to advance their critical mission of opening the door to higher education for students across the country. This bipartisan bill demonstrates that regardless of political affiliation, we can all agree that during this dark hour in our higher education system, our Nation's HBCUs are an investment worth making. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams), the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Walker), and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker), and the entire bipartisan HBCU Caucus for their work on this bill. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I am the only speaker, so I will be closing when I speak. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, this amendment undermines the core premise behind the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020, which is to create 1 million more registered apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, and youth apprenticeship opportunities over the next 5 years. Registered apprenticeships are a proven earn-and-learn program. Ninety-four percent of those who complete their apprenticeships are employed upon completion, with an average salary of $70,000. This amendment is nothing less than an attack on the successful registered apprenticeship program. It makes deep cuts in funding, which will result in sparse growth of the new registered apprenticeships, while diverting scarce funds to untested, unproven programs run by third parties. Instead, it gives the Secretary of Labor a blank check to implement unregistered apprenticeship programs that are untested and unaccountable. It does this in several ways. First, it allows the Secretary of Labor to divert funds to unproven, untested industry-recognized apprenticeship programs, or IRAPs. Unlike registered apprenticeships, there is no evaluation of IRAPs--none. When DOL proposed the creation of this untested program, it received over 300,000 comments in opposition. Many of those comments noted that the registered apprenticeship program provides valuable credentials which are nationally recognized. IRAPs provide neither. Furthermore, the Trump administration's own apprenticeship expansion task force recommended the DOL only conduct a pilot program for IRAPs to see if they could be effective and accountable. Let's be clear: The administration's own task force did not embrace a full-scale rollout of this untested idea, yet this substitute amendment opens the floodgates. Democrats do support innovation. An amendment offered by the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas) in the en bloc package allows the Secretary of Labor to fund innovation and apprenticeships. His amendment authorizes demonstration projects governing nontraditional sectors subject to the recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships appointed by the Secretary. These projects could even help COVID-19 responses. Second, the substitute amendment cuts funding for apprenticeship grants and cuts State apprenticeship formula grants. States have asked for funding certainty so that they can scale up their apprenticeship efforts and have been documented as the engine of success for apprenticeship growth. The major reform in this amendment is the fact that there is a 77 percent reduction in funding, resulting in only 219 new apprenticeship opportunities rather than the 1 million new opportunities that the National Apprenticeship Act provides. We all agree that apprenticeships are the pathway to the middle class, so why would we want to eliminate the rungs of opportunity for hundreds of thousands of potential apprentices? Third, this amendment eliminates an interagency agreement with the Department of Education to create stronger alignment between the education system and the national apprenticeship system. My colleagues on the other side often talk about wanting to create pathways for students to pursue alternatives to 4-year degrees, but this amendment eliminates the provisions in the National Apprenticeship Act that do just that. Some say we are creating a one-size-fits-all approach in this bill, but that isn't true either. We include new apprenticeship models, such as competency-based hybrid models, expand youth apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships, and that is something that employers have consistently requested. We open the doors to apprenticeships and industries where apprenticeship programs have never been utilized. This amendment is a step in the wrong direction. At a time when millions are losing their jobs permanently due to the pandemic, the economy is facing a deep recession, and we have other problems, the underlying bill is focused, without this amendment, on getting people back to work with the best skills possible. So I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment and pass the bill to create 1 million new, good apprenticeship opportunities. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, could you advise how much time is remaining on both sides.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan), who is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams), the chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, could you advise us how much time is remaining on both sides.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Hayes), a member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Mrs. Trahan), who is a member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath), who is a member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, while I am disappointed that some of my Republican colleagues now appear to be opposed to some parts of the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020, I still remain hopeful that we can come together to pass this critical legislation. All of us agree that Congress must prioritize investing in apprenticeship opportunities. That is why the committee members on both sides of the aisle spent months working in good faith toward a bipartisan proposal. The tried-and-true registered apprenticeship programs funded in this bill provide valuable credentials that are nationally recognized. We have heard about the new, untried program, the IRAP, industry- recognized apprenticeship programs. Unfortunately, those programs do not create valuable credentials and are not nationally recognized. Our work on this is even more important now, considering the significant work we have to do because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Speaker, as we often have a strong voice in support of apprenticeship programs, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 offers us a real opportunity to actually match our words with action. Mr. Speaker, I hope that today we can set our politics aside and make the investment in registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and youth apprenticeships that our economy needs and our workers deserve. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis) for her steadfast leadership on this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters from the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, the National Electrical Contractors Association, and Third Way in support of the legislation. We write to urge the strong support and swift passage of H.R. 8294, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020. This bill would protect and expand union apprenticeship opportunities and codify the Office of Apprenticeship, helping to strengthen Registered Apprenticeships and protect the more than 359,000 men and women of the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA), and union members everywhere, from unscrupulous contractors looking to cut corners. It is no secret that the safest, most highly-skilled, and most cost-effective workers come from Registered Apprenticeships like that of the United Association. We are immensely proud of the robust investments--more than $275 million annually--that the UA makes in training and apprenticeship programs to ensure our members are the most highly-trained and most highly-skilled craftspeople in the world. On the jobsite, that translates to not only fewer accidents and injuries, but more projects of the highest standard completed on time and on budget. H.R. 8294 makes crucial changes to the Registered Apprenticeship program and sets firm standards for pre- apprenticeship programs, which have exponentially grown over the last several years; no longer can exploitative contractors prop up pre-apprenticeship programs without having clear and defined pathways into a Registered Apprenticeship program. Further, H.R. 8294 adds statutory protections and enshrines the Office of Apprenticeship into law, which will result in established funding streams that ensure the necessary oversight of the program and expand technical assistance to help Registered Apprenticeship opportunities reach new sectors. In addition, this bill strengthens the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship, meaning practitioners of Registered Apprenticeships in both industry and labor are given a voice to offer recommendations to further strengthen the program. Our members clearly understand the ramifications of any proposed changes to our apprenticeship programs and standards. That is why this bill to reauthorize the National Apprenticeship Act and codify protections and funding sources for Registered Apprenticeships is critical for our members. We urge you to support this bill and ensure that the Building Trades Registered Apprenticeships remain the Gold Standard of the construction industry. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions. The entire UA stands ready to assist in any way possible. Best, Russ Breckenridge, United Association of Union Plumbers & Pipefitters, Legislative and Political Affairs. Calla Brown, United Association of Union Plumbers & Pipefitters, Legislative and Political Affairs. National Electrical Contractors Association, November 17, 2020. Dear Representative: On behalf of the nearly 4,000-member companies of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the $171 billion industry that brings power. light, and communication technology to communities across the U.S. I write to you in strong support of H.R. 8294, the ``National Apprenticeship Act of 2020,'' which would work to strengthen the time-tested apprenticeship model that has sustained the level of excellence our contractors exhibit. For over 70 years, our electrical industry apprenticeship program, a joint labor/management venture between NECA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, has allowed participants the opportunity to learn a skilled trade in the electrical industry while receiving fair wages, health care, and retirement benefits. With the combination of both on the job training (8,000 hours), classroom learning (900 hours), and remote virtual labs, our apprenticeship model offers the highest quality instruction at minimal cost to the apprentice or the Federal Government while producing the nation's finest electricians. Even with this model firmly in place, more must be done. As our nation continues to grapple with the effects of the ongoing pandemic, our contractors find themselves in continuous need of more skilled workers to help rebuild this nation. NECA believes this legislation is a step in the right direction towards fulfilling this need. H.R. 8294 would work to bring greater funding to proven program models, expand the standards approval process, and bridge the gaps between apprenticeship programs and the secondary/postsecondary education system. We at NECA look forward to monitoring the floor debate on this topic and encourage your support for H.R. 8294, the ``National Apprenticeship Act of 2020.'' Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Marco A. Giamberardino, Vice President, Government and Public Affairs. Third Way, Washington, DC, November 19, 2020. Hon. Bobby Scott, House Committee on Education and Labor, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Scott: We are pleased to see that the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 is receiving a vote this week on the House floor. With millions of Americans out of work due to the COVID--0919 pandemic, it is vital that policymakers work toward an inclusive economic recovery. That's why we encourage House lawmakers to pass the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020, which would provide a much-needed revamp of the nation's registered apprenticeship system. Apprenticeships can play a key role in our economic recovery and help people regain their footing in the job market. Through your leadership, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 would take important steps to bolster apprenticeships across the country. It would broaden economic opportunity by expanding apprenticeships to women, people of color, and people facing barriers to employment. The legislation would help small and medium-sized businesses create apprenticeship programs. Further, it would modernize our nation's apprenticeship system by expanding apprenticeships in growing fields like information technology, advanced manufacturing, and health care. The bill would also expand apprenticeships in part by relying on intermediaries, or apprenticeship hubs, which would bring together employers, education providers, unions, and other organizations in each state that will work in concert to expand apprenticeships. This is an approach Third Way has long advocated for, and we're thrilled that it's a key part of this legislation. Through the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020, this country can promote apprenticeships as a key tool in our economic recovery and ensure everyone has pathways to in- demand, good-paying careers. We thank you, Chairwoman Susan Davis, and House Education and Labor Committee Democrats for their leadership on this legislation and urge Members to support it. Sincerely, Gabriel Horwitz, Senior Vice President, Third Way.