September 27, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 157 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H8075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1145
                    THE SHORTAGE OF SKILLED WORKERS

  (Mr. VAN DREW asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. VAN DREW. Madam Speaker, I am here today to bring attention to 
the American Workforce Empowerment Act which I worked on with my friend 
from Minnesota, Congressman   Jim Hagedorn.
  This is a bipartisan solution--and I hope everybody heard the word 
bipartisan--to address the growing shortage of skilled workers to fill 
job openings in the technical and skilled trades.
  Small businesses are in need of machinists, welders, truck drivers, 
and an array of other qualified trades and labor-intensive professions. 
We should do everything we can to incentivize technical skills training 
and apprenticeships for those who like to work with their hands and see 
the product of their hard work.
  The bipartisan American Workforce Empowerment Act expands these 
programs eligible for payment by 529 savings plans, and by making 
registered apprenticeships eligible, we can more easily and readily 
close the wide gap of good-paying positions that have gone unfilled in 
our robust economy.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 4469. We need 
to expand our workforce, and this is a great way to do it.

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