To promote a 21st century energy and manufacturing workforce.

Mr. Speaker, I must begin by commending Chairman Walden; Chairman Upton; Ranking Member Pallone; our friend and colleague from the great State of Colorado, Congresswoman DeGette; and the committee staff and all for working with my office to bring the 21st century workforce legislation to the House floor today.

I must also publicly acknowledge the leadership of my colleague Mr. Hudson of North Carolina and his staff, who played an instrumental and very important role in helping us to get to this point.

Mr. Speaker, the 21st century workforce bill represents hope and represents opportunity for many of our fellow citizens who feel as though they have been locked out of the American Dream. Mr. Speaker, this workforce bill also provides an example of how Congress should function and work on behalf of the American people.

This legislation enjoys the overwhelming support of Members of Congress who represent various constituencies from diverse regions of our Nation and who come with different and varying political persuasions. However, Mr. Speaker, we were able to put aside our political differences, our regional differences, and our cultural differences and focus our efforts on bringing forth a jobs bill that would benefit all communities and help lift up the American economy for all its people.

Mr. Speaker, this bill directs the Secretary of Energy to prioritize the training of underrepresented groups, including minorities, women, and veterans, as well as displaced and unemployed energy and manufacturing workers. This bill directs the Secretary of Energy to take into full recognition the hurt and the pain of the White middle class, of the White working class,

the African-American, the Black working class, and the Brown working class in order to increase the number of skilled candidates trained to work in the related fields that were brought to bear by the energy renaissance in our Nation.

This bill will strengthen and more fully engage Department of Energy programs and national laboratories in order to carry out the Department's workforce development initiatives. This legislation will help to develop a skilled labor force trained to work in a wide array of sectors, including renewables, energy efficiency, oil and gas, coal, nuclear, utility, pipeline, and alternative fuels, as well as energy- intensive and advanced manufacturing industries.

Mr. Speaker, as we know, the energy and manufacturing industries are two of the most critical and fastest growing sectors both domestically as well as internationally. The potential of these two industries can help bolster the American economy and are also vital to the growing number of people seeking middle class status--not just a change of lifestyle, but seeking more money. They are satisfied with their lifestyle; they just need more income.

It is important, Mr. Speaker, that we equip our citizens with the skills needed to meet this growing demand so that we can tap into these tremendous opportunities, and this bill, Mr. Speaker, will help us accomplish that goal.

Mr. Speaker, this 21st century workforce legislation addresses an issue that is neither partisan nor bipartisan, but, rather, it is nonpartisan. It is a nonpartisan issue that benefits communities, benefits industry, and benefits the overall American economy.

This bill brings together government agencies, including the national labs, the energy and manufacturing industries, unions, schools, community colleges and universities, among others, and promotes cooperation and collaboration to ensure that we are tapping into a wealth of underutilized talent and are training and preparing workers for the energy and manufacturing jobs of the present and also of the future.

Mr. Speaker, one of the challenges that many of my constituents--and constituents all across the land--have brought to my attention pertains to individuals participating in training programs that, in many cases, don't even lead to finding a job.

With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, this bill will help industry, schools, and community-based workforce organizations to identify candidates for enrollment into training and apprenticeship programs. The objective will be to ensure that the skills learned are immediately transferable to good-paying jobs and good-paying careers within the energy and manufacturing sectors regionally, nationally, and, indeed, internationally.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is important because it matches up the needs of industry with a willing and able workforce and, in the process, helps start new cycles of hope and opportunity for groups who have, in many cases, been overlooked and underserved: the White working class, the Black working class, and the Brown working class.

This legislation can help to open new pathways to jobs, careers, and entrepreneurial opportunities for women, minorities, our veterans, and all the different working classes that comprise the American workforce while also helping to move our overall economy forward.

Mr. Speaker, at a time when African-American and Latino unemployment rates are too high, when coal miners throughout the Rust Belt and beyond are finding themselves without work, when too many female heads of household cannot find adequate employment to take care of their families, and when veterans returning from defending our country still cannot find a job, it is a travesty--Mr. Speaker, a travesty--that eager employers still cannot locate the trained workers that they so desperately need.

This is common sense, Mr. Speaker, and this is a commonsense jobs bill that will help match up trained and qualified candidates with good-paying jobs and careers that will help lift up communities, strengthen the energy and manufacturing industries, and bolster the entire American economy as a whole.

With its focus not only on underserved communities such as minorities, women, and veterans, but also displaced and unemployed coal miners and other out-of-work energy workers, I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that when this legislation ultimately becomes law, it will go a long way in helping not only communities that look like the one I represent on the south side of Chicago, but look like communities all across the Nation, including communities in West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and New Mexico--all across this country, every community and every district throughout this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 338) to promote a 21st century energy and manufacturing workforce.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material in the Record on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased that we are considering this legislation, H.R. 338, a bill to promote a 21st century energy and manufacturing workforce, introduced by my friend and great colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush), and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson).

This bipartisan bill takes steps to help make training for energy manufacturing jobs available to women and minorities as well as veterans.

By way of background, the bill was unanimously approved by the House last Congress by a voice vote. It was also included in the energy bill conference negotiations. But, unfortunately, even though the bill received overwhelming support in both the House and the Senate, it didn't make it to the President's desk before time ran out.

The U.S. has undergone an energy renaissance, driven by newly discovered resources, technological innovation, and a skilled workforce. Millions and millions of new jobs had been created, and many more are opening up, but we have got to continue to invest in our workers in order to maintain global leadership and maximize the economic potential of our energy abundance.

This bill, H.R. 338, takes important steps in the right direction by requiring that the Department of Energy modernize and improve coordination among the numerous workforce development programs and activities that expand the Department's programs, offices, labs, and technology centers.

This bipartisan bill places an emphasis on maximizing the Department's existing resources and increasing the diversity of our energy and manufacturing workforce by increasing opportunities for women, minorities, and veterans.

It also improves reemployment opportunities for out-of-work and dislocated workers, which, for example, would provide welcome relief to workers discouraged by sharp downturns in the coal industry.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation before us today is a good government bill that is going to increase benefits for American workers. I would encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say I have watched these two gentlemen, Mr. Rush and Mr. Hudson, work together, something that our committee does a lot on lots of different issues, from oversight to energy, to healthcare, to telecommunications.

Mr. Rush has had an outstanding career. The gentleman's district is close to mine. He and I have been in each other's districts quite a bit over the last number of years. This bill is a legacy to Mr. Rush. The gentleman has cared with real passion about energy jobs and making sure that we have the expertise and the technical training knowing that we want to compete with the rest of the world. I commend the gentleman again for working with Mr. Hudson--a brilliant star on our side of the aisle--to get this bill done.

We look forward to the President's signing it into law, and we are looking

forward to having the Senate move similar bipartisan legislation so we can get the job done. That is what it is all about.

So I want to thank the gentleman for his tireless commitment to getting this issue done.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill again.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 338, a bipartisan jobs bill to promote a 21st century energy and manufacturing workforce.

By and large, we all share the same goals of creating more jobs and building a healthy economy; but, as we have seen too often in Washington, progress can get caught up in partisan gridlock. I am focused on cutting through the partisanship and the noise and finding commonsense solutions to the problems our country faces. H.R. 338 is a prime example of that.

Much like the bipartisan Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act that I was honored to help get signed into law several years ago, H.R. 338 strengthens job training programs--specifically in the energy and manufacturing industries--to invest in our workforce. This legislation will help connect individuals with job training programs while also making current programs more efficient, and it takes important steps to increase opportunities for women, veterans, and minorities.

As I have traveled across my district, I have seen firsthand just how effective local, high-skilled job training programs can be:

In Kannapolis, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College has partnered with A.L. Brown High School on a welding program that will open doors for so many students;

At both Stanly Community College and Sandhills Community College, the advanced manufacturing programs are the critical training grounds for high-skilled manufacturing workers;

At Fayetteville Tech, veterans get the support and the skills they need to find meaningful employment outside of the Armed Forces.

I want to thank Chairman Upton, Chairman Walden, and Ranking Member Pallone for their support. I want to thank Ranking Member Bobby Rush for his leadership and for working with me in a bipartisan manner for a cause that is important to all of us, that is, to help people get back to work.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and to continue to stay focused on America's priorities: jobs and the economy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 338, to Promote a 21st Century Energy and Manufacturing Workforce Future Act.

For years, many of the industries I represent have complained of workforce shortages.

In East Houston and Harris County, if we were able to recruit every union electrician in the country, we would still have a shortage.

The same is probably true for pipefitters, welders, etc.

The economy in our part of the country is rapidly expanding thanks to the development of the Eagleford shale and the Permian Basin.

We must ensure that this economic prosperity is shared across all of our community.

In Texas, workforce diversity has to be a reality.

I am pleased that Representative Rush has crafted this legislation and I am proud to be an original co-sponsor.

I am also proud to support workforce development opportunities for Hispanics, African-Americans, and women in the energy field.

The industry needs skilled workers and we need to create opportunity for everyone, including many of those I represent in and around the area.

The bill will encourage the Department of Energy to conduct outreach to these communities to ensure they have access to the knowledge, skills and abilities required to fill high paying jobs in the energy field.

Thanks to efforts by ExxonMobil and the Texas Gulf Coast Community College Consortium, we are already addressing the workforce needs of our industries but more needs to be done and this bill will help us achieve these goals.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased we are considering this bill sponsored by my friend and colleague, the ranking member of the Energy Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Rush.

I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush).

Mr. Speaker, my home State of Colorado has an economy strongly based in the energy industry. Of course, my district, which is primarily an urban district, has many, many workers who could be working in this industry, so I want to commend both of these gentlemen for sponsoring this legislation.

It is a good bill. We need to get it across the finish line. Hopefully, because we are doing it early in this Congress, we can get that done. Please vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.