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E&W Blog

Democrats’ Job Destroying Bill: What They’re Saying

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 5, 2021
Today, the House will vote on H.R. 447, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021. At a time when workers are desperately seeking to reenter the workforce, H.R. 447 will limit employers’ abilities to create apprenticeship programs that meet the unique needs of workers and encourages union giveaways.

Democrats’ approach to apprenticeships doubles down on burdens that prevent more workers from accessing earn-and learn opportunities. Don’t just take our word for it, here’s what affected stakeholders are saying:

“IEC must voice its opposition to H.R. 447 due to its ratio restrictions and restricting Title II grants to only those that partner with a labor organization… H.R. 447 falls short of fairly addressing workforce shortages for all those that participate in the registered apprenticeship program…” –Independent Electrical Contractors

“Unfortunately, this bill would not achieve its goal of expanding apprenticeship opportunities and disadvantages many construction businesses throughout the country…this bill does not address the critical needs of our nation’s construction industry and would not only fail to expand apprenticeship opportunities for millions of Americans but would substantially restrict the apprenticeship opportunities currently available…” –Associated Builders and Contractors

“…We remain deeply concerned that the bill includes ambiguous language requiring eligible entities seeking access to robust new grant funding to partner with a labor or joint labor-management organization “to the extent practicable…” –National Association of Home Builders

“…the ability to fully capitalize on opportunities under Title II of the bill would be put into jeopardy and many registered apprenticeship programs would be ineligible to qualify…Using the power of the federal purse to discriminate against any U.S. DOL registered apprenticeship program for the sole reason that they are not partnered with a labor or joint labor-management organization is contrary to the stated goals of the legislation…” –Associated General Contractors of America

"This legislation contains two provisions that give a special competitive advantage to union leaders...Rather than using this apprenticeship bill to pay favors to politically-connected union bosses, Congress should be acting to protect the rights of all workers...” –National Right to Work Committee

"...we fail to understand the rationale for the bill’s deliberately ambiguous language about what entities will be eligible for Title II grants and whether or not such entities will be required to 'partner with a labor or joint labor management organization'...this ambiguous provision of the bill would exclude entire swaths of the economy from federal incentives and assistance that could help spur the growth of apprenticeship programs...” –Jobs and Careers Coalition

“…H.R. 447 would expand the size of government through a top down, one-size-fits-all approach by the federal government though more red tape… H.R. 447 excludes the Department of Labor’s Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Program (IRAP) rule from being grant-eligible…” –National Taxpayers Union

“…[H.R. 447] unwisely doubles down on the one-size-fits-all federal registered apprenticeship system while doing nothing to support Industry Recognized-Apprenticeship Programs. 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
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