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Democrats’ Job Killing Bill: What They’re Saying

Tomorrow, the House will vote on H.R. 8294, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020. At the expense of job creators and workers, H.R. 8294 doubles down on a flawed 80-year-old system, mandates union giveaways, and limits employers’ abilities to create apprenticeship programs that meet the unique needs of their workers.
 
H.R. 8294 will close potential pathways to work hurting our nation’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Don’t just take our word for it, here’s what affected stakeholders are saying:
 
“Any effort to modernize the current registered apprenticeship should support the safety and health of construction apprentices and provide them the flexibility to progress at their own speed while obtaining nationally recognized, portable and stackable credentials. ABC believes this bill fails to address the critical needs of our nation’s construction industry and would fail to expand apprenticeship opportunities for millions of Americans…” Associated Builders and Contractors
 
“This bill would also require a one-size-fits-all approach to apprenticeship that would stifle the Department’s ability to promote innovation in the apprenticeship system and ensure that as many Americans as possible have access to high-quality work-based learning opportunities...”The White House
 
“Fundamentally the amendment would limit the grants to union training programs and therefore favor them with U.S. taxpayer dollars…Using the power of the federal purse to discriminate against a U.S. DOL registered apprenticeship program for the sole reason that they are not partnered with a labor or joint labor-management organization is unfair…” Associated General Contractors of America
 
“All high-quality apprenticeship programs should be eligible to receive Title II funding if they so choose regardless of whether or not they have a relationship with a union. To include Levin Amendment No. 29 in the final bill would be a prime example of Congress picking winners and losers by promoting one business model over another…” Independent Electrical Contractors
 
“If enacted, this bill would inhibit the ability of the Department to fulfill its mission in providing more Americans access to apprenticeships…H.R. 8294 includes an excessive number of requirements that are overly prescriptive, unworkable, and may have unintended consequences…” Department of Labor
 
“H.R. 8294 would expand the size of the federal bureaucracy, increase spending without offsets, and prohibit innovative apprenticeship programs provided by the private sector from being grant eligible…”National Taxpayers Union
 
“The bill contains no mention of the administration’s industry-recognized apprenticeship initiative, and it’s unclear that a more flexible, parallel track of this kind could exist in the universe created by the legislation…” Opportunity America
 
“Heritage Action opposes this proposal…as our economy rapidly evolves to suit the needs of the pandemic era and the 21st century in general, we should empower employers to innovate and develop their own apprenticeship programs, not hamstring them…” Heritage Foundation
 
“This legislation would remove the authority for President Trump’s Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program (IRAP) rule, preventing a successful strategy for expanding apprenticeship opportunities for workers…” Republican Study Committee  
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