,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dcfi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #ag1      
#bjai,mr4 ,walker 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,balderson1 ,mr4 ,spano1 ,mrs4 ,rodgers 
of ,washington1 ,mr4 ,wright1 ,mr4      
,rutherford1 ,mr4 ,meuser1 and ,mr4     
,crawford7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,education and ,labor1 and
 in addition to the ,committees on the  
,judiciary1 ,armed ,services1 and       
,veterans' ,affairs1 for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to expand access to         
apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships 
among certain populations1 and for other
 purposes4  #a4 ,findings ,congress     
finds the following3 7#a7 ,nationwide1  
there are over #ehe1jjj apprentices     
currently obtaining the skills they need
 to succeed1 while earning the wages    

they need to build financial security4  
7#b7 ,on ,june #ae1 #bjag1 ,president   
,trump signed an ,executive order to    
double ,federal spending on the         
,apprenticeship ,,usa program to #bjj   
million a year1 with the money allocated
 from existing job training programs4   
7#c7 ,businesses from across the country
 signed the ,pledge to ,american        
,workers1 committing to provide         
#c1hjj1jjj workers with apprenticeship  
opportunities4  7#d7 ,nationally1 #ia   
percent of ,united ,states apprentices  
are employed after completing their     
programs1 with an average starting wage 
above #fj1jjj4  7#e7 ,the ,strengthening
 ,career and ,technical ,education for  
the #bast ,century ,act was signed into 
law in ,july #bjah to promote access to 
workplace development programs such as  
apprenticeship programs4  7#f7 ,on      
,december #ba1 #bjah1 the ,first ,step  
,act of #bjah was signed into law1 a    
landmark criminal justice reform to     
promote hope and opportunity for        

incarcerated individuals4  7#g7 ,former 
inmates often face a significant        
inability to enter the workforce due to 
a lack of relevant training1 negatively 
impacting their family and future       
generations4  7#h7 ,sixty percent of the
 #fej1jjj inmates released every year   
are unemployed one year after they are  
released4  7#i7 ,congress must continue 
its work to expand all forms of         
apprenticeship opportunities to ensure  
all ,american workers have access to the
 necessary workforce development tools4 
#b4 ,expanding access to apprenticeships
  7a7 ,promotion of all forms of        
apprenticeships and pre-,apprenticeships
 to certain populations ,the ,secretary 
of ,defense1 the ,secretary of ,labor1  
the ,secretary of ,education1 and the   
,attorney ,general1 shall1 in           
consultation with each other and        
consistent with applicable law1 promote 
all forms of apprenticeships and        
pre-apprenticeships for--  7#a7 high    
school students and participants in the 

,job ,corps of the ,department of       
,labor2  7#b7 persons currently or      
formerly incarcerated2  7#c7 persons not
 currently attending high school or an  
accredited post-secondary educational   
institution2 and  7#d7 for members of   
armed services and veterans4  7b7       
,promotion of apprenticeships and       
pre-,apprenticeships to certain         
industries ,the ,secretary of ,commerce 
and the ,secretary of ,labor shall      
promote apprenticeships to business     
leaders across critical industry        
sectors1 including manufacturing1       
infrastructure1 cybersecurity1 health   
care1 and construction4  7c7            
,apprenticeship defined ,for the        
purposes of this ,act1 the term         
8apprenticeship0 means an arrangement   
that includes a paid-work component and 
an educational or instructional         
component1 wherein an individual obtains
 workplace-relevant knowledge and       
skills4