Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the Macomb and Oakland County students who participated in my inaugural Ninth District MLK Jr. Day Youth Conference. These students brought their whole brilliant, vulnerable, and idealistic selves to the table to zero in on what Dr. King's life is really about: transforming society to be more just.

COVID-19 has exposed deep inequalities in every facet of life, especially for Black Americans, who are nearly two times as likely as White Americans to die of COVID-19. Imagine what we could do to end these disparities if we honor Dr. King by emulating his work.

Having watched these students sponge up lessons on the true premise of MLK Day--achieving social justice--and make plans to fight for change in their own lives and communities, I am energized and hopeful that we can boldly champion justice and equality in Congress. I can think of no better way of marking Black History Month than that.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 85, I call up the bill (H.R. 447) to amend the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly referred to as the ``National Apprenticeship Act'') and expand the national apprenticeship system to include apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships, and pre-apprenticeship registered under such Act, to promote the furtherance of labor standards necessary to safeguard the welfare of apprentices, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 447, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 447, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant and lasting hardship for our Nation's workers. Millions of people are still without work, and at least 7 million of the jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic will not come back. During this historic economic downturn, we must use every tool we have to help workers find jobs and prepare them for high- quality jobs and employment opportunities of the future.

The most successful of these tools that we have, without question, is our registered apprenticeship system. Each year, hundreds of thousands of workers count on registered apprenticeships to learn in-demand skills, earn wages that grow along with those skills, and receive nationally recognized credentials that lead to rewarding careers. Registered apprenticeships are so successful that 94 percent of apprentices are employed upon completion and they earn an average starting wage of more than $70,000 a year.

Yet Congress has not reauthorized the National Apprenticeship Act since it was first passed as part of the New Deal in 1937. Simply put, we have left our Nation's very best workforce development initiative underresourced at a time when we need it most.

In response, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 invests $3.5 billion in our national apprenticeship system; ensures consistency and quality across apprenticeship programs; increases opportunities for diverse groups of workers who have not traditionally been included in the apprenticeship system; and expands registered apprenticeships in emerging sectors, such as healthcare, manufacturing, finance, and technology.

This investment alone will create an additional 1 million apprenticeship opportunities--I am so excited to say that--and it will yield more than $10 billion in benefits to taxpayers through higher tax revenue and decreased spending on social safety net programs. There is no better policy, Mr. Speaker, than helping people get great training for great jobs.

Construction trades and their industry partners have long proven that the registered apprenticeship model works. That is why trade groups, industry associations, labor unions, and other stakeholders supported both Democrats and Republicans in overwhelmingly voting for this bill last November. Now we must come together again to pass the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 so that workers across the country and across industries can benefit from registered apprenticeship opportunities.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not recognize Representative Pocan of Wisconsin, who sponsored the Leveraging Effective Apprenticeships to Rebuild National Skills Act, or the LEARNS Act; and Representative Bonamici of Oregon, who authored the PARTNERS Act; and former Representative, our dear colleague, Susan Davis of California, who shepherded this bill in the 116th Congress, for all of their significant contributions to this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Jerry Nadler for the courtesy of providing for discharge of the portion of the bill within the jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, February 1, 2021.

Hon. Bobby Scott,

Chairman, House Committee on Education and Labor, Washington,

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Norcross), who is a member of the Committee on Education and Labor and a person whose life embodies the value of apprenticeships not just to our industries, but to our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from New Jersey.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici), a hardworking member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney), a member of the Committee on Education and Labor, and a scholar of the history of apprenticeship in this body.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Trone), a colleague who knows a little bit about how to help business in this country.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to discussing with my colleague a program that allows workers to unionize in the United States as freely as they do in Europe, and we achieve the same level of unionization those countries with larger numbers of apprenticeships have.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams), a member of the Committee on Education and Labor and the chairwoman of the Subcommittee for Workforce Protections.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath), a member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of the time remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan), a member of the Committee on Education and Labor and my esteemed colleague.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan), another colleague with direct experience of the value of registered apprenticeships to our companies and our workers, and a member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi), co-chair of the Labor Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Wild), a dynamic member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, I would just point out that the grants in Title II do not have mandatory partners. They require partners to the extent practicable in a given situation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Mrvan), a member of the Committee on Education and Labor, and a new champion

for workers in this House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jones), another new and valued member on the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Manning), another new member of the Committee on Education and Labor and a native Michigander.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), who has been fighting for workers and small businesses in this House for decades.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), a champion of the economic development of workers and of businesses at the local, State, and national level.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, as I have listened to the debate back and forth, I feel like it hasn't covered much of what is so exciting about this bill.

When I was the chief workforce officer of the State of Michigan, it was during the implosion of the auto industry and then the Great Recession. Michigan had the highest unemployment rate of any State for 49 consecutive months. It was in that difficult circumstance that I had to try to help Michigan workers train and get new skills for new opportunities.

There was a Senator from Illinois around that time; his name was Barack Obama. And he got a piece of legislation passed that said that States could use half a percent of their SAFETEA-LU money, their money for highway construction, to help train the workforce of the future, more women, more people of color, more poor people.

So, I worked with the apprenticeship directors of the highway industry, with people advocating for more opportunities for people of color, and we created pre-apprenticeship programs that helped new people get apprenticeships and a road to the middle class in this country by building our roads.

Mr. Speaker, the point is, we had to do that on our own. The registered apprenticeship system didn't offer us guidance. It certainly didn't offer us funding. This bill does so much to modernize and open up our apprenticeship system.

It facilitates pre-apprenticeship programs. It facilitates youth apprenticeship programs. It specifically encourages innovation and the birthing of new apprenticeship programs in a wide array of new industries. Mr. Speaker, despite the rhetoric, it is quite bipartisan.

Mr. Speaker, I thank some Representatives who have done a lot to help bring this bill to fruition, including Representatives Norcross, Brian Fitzpatrick, Suzanne Bonamici, David McKinley, and Don Bacon, all of whom have provided critical leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 85, I rise to offer amendments en bloc No. 1.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of en bloc amendment

No. 1, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

These amendments will add ``ethnicity'' alongside race and gender to the definition of ``nontraditional apprenticeship population'';

Expand outreach to title I schools and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs to promote awareness of apprenticeship opportunities;

Clarify State plans' inclusion of nontraditional apprenticeship industries and occupations;

Add childcare to the range of transition assistance options included for formerly incarcerated people in apprenticeships;

Add ``media and entertainment'' and ``early childhood, elementary, and secondary education'' to the list of nontraditional apprenticeship industries eligible for support;

Make Job Corps Centers eligible for funding to run apprenticeship programs;

Ensure that States facilitate the exchange of best practices between grant participants;

And clarify the type of national, regional, and industry intermediaries eligible for intermediary grants.

Mr. Speaker, these amendments make meaningful improvements to the bill, and I ask my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this en bloc.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Delaware (Ms. Blunt Rochester).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crow).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. Bush), my new colleague.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), my esteemed colleague.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from North Carolina for continuing to educate me on the process of the House as I learn.

I am reminded by Representative Bush's amendment of my experience attending graduations from pre-apprenticeship programs and seeing whole families turn out, seeing people turn out with their children to celebrate the graduation from a pre-apprenticeship program that allows people, returning citizens, people with disabilities, people who have been excluded from economic opportunity before, to get into an apprenticeship that can transform their lives, that can rocket them into a middle-class life with a great wage and great benefits.

Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support these en bloc amendments, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 85, I rise to offer amendments en bloc No. 2.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of amendments en bloc No. 2. These amendments will add the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the Department of Justice as an agency the Office of Apprenticeship shall coordinate with to ensure alignment of apprenticeship programs and mentorship programs for individuals who are exiting the juvenile justice system.

They will add agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, computer science, environmental protection and conservation, and hospitality and tourism to the list of nontraditional apprenticeship industries and occupations supported by this bill.

They will add opportunities to partner with veterans service organizations throughout the bill, increase flexibility and innovation by allowing demonstration projects in the national apprenticeship system, and direct the Office of Apprenticeship to cooperate with the Department of Justice and State departments of corrections to promote access to apprenticeship programs for individuals in correctional institutions and to assist returning citizens to transition into apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this bloc of amendments, the majority of which are bipartisan, that will strengthen this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Kilmer).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas).

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

Madam Speaker, I would just like to point out something that I also think has not been emphasized enough in this discussion, which is how cost-effective this bill is--these amendments only make it more so--and how it will improve the fiscal situation of the United States.

We will have more tax revenue when more workers earn more money and get more good jobs. We will have less people who need public assistance. This bill not only provides tremendous opportunities for American workers to earn and learn and avoid debt while they are getting their credentials to get great jobs, but also really it is a very prudent and wise investment on behalf of the American taxpayers.

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

Madam Speaker, pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 85, I rise to offer amendments en bloc No. 3.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of amendments en bloc No. 3.

These amendments will ensure the availability of user-friendly materials, including materials in diverse languages, as part of the outreach required by this bill.

They will add a representative of the Federal Communications Commission as an ex officio member of the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships.

They will strengthen States' efforts to ensure that low-income individuals have equal access to apprenticeships.

They will clarify the inclusion of renewable energy in the list of nontraditional apprenticeship industries and occupations supported in this bill.

They will promote access to grants made under this bill for minority- , veteran-, and women-owned businesses.

They will increase support for apprenticeship hubs and workforce development organizations that support nontraditional populations and dislocated workers.

They will increase the ability of pre-apprenticeship programs to offer stipends to participants.

And they will encourage employers to participate in apprenticeship programs that target individuals with language barriers.

Again, Madam Speaker, just reading the list of these wonderful amendments offered by our colleagues shows the spirit of innovation and outreach that this bill represents. I urge you to support this bloc of amendments that will strengthen the bill.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Strickland).

Madam Speaker, the tired rhetoric about big labor, big labor, big labor, the organizations that workers create and pay for themselves to advocate their interests; yes, there is a lot of support for this bill from the labor movement.

This bill is also endorsed by our mayors, by the National League of Cities. It is also endorsed by our community colleges, their national associations. It is also endorsed by multiple industry associations, including associations representing areas that don't have a lot of apprenticeships that hope to have more. And it is endorsed by many equity organizations such as the National Urban League.

I also want to point out something else. No company or group of companies has to register their program. They are perfectly free, in this land of the free, to set up a training program, to pay for it themselves, to partner with labor organizations or colleges, to

even use the word apprenticeship. Nobody has to register their apprenticeship. They are free to do whatever they want.

This is about the Federal Government developing and nurturing training programs that we can proudly say meet high standards to give real opportunities to preserve these kinds of statistics we are talking about: People who complete an apprenticeship earning an average of $70,000 a year; 94 percent of people who complete apprenticeships getting good jobs.

Also, some of my colleagues keep saying that all registered apprenticeships are controlled by the Federal Government. That is simply not true. Half of the States have State apprenticeship agencies, including the great State of North Carolina.

In this bill, we codify their important and autonomous role and, for the first time ever, we provide annual funding because States have been so successful at expanding apprenticeships through Department of Labor grants.

Again, for the first time, we streamline the registration process and create an in-the-box apprenticeship program to make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to get in this game.

Madam Speaker, this bill is such a wonderful improvement on an already wonderful job training program. I urge everyone to support these en bloc amendments, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

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

This amendment changes the word ``and'' to ``or,'' as my colleague from Arkansas pointed out, and it may seem like a small change. But, instead, it inadvertently could take away the employers' seat at the table for apprenticeship grant partnerships. Let me explain why.

Although my Republican colleague likely introduced this amendment to ensure that apprenticeship grantees do not have to partner with labor unions, the unintended consequence of this amendment is that it also ensures that applicants would not have to partner with an industry or sector partnership at the expense of only partnering with a union.

Those in support of this amendment may not realize that nothing about this amendment prevents partnerships with labor organizations as industry or sector partnerships, as defined in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, or WIOA, require three key stakeholders: Representatives of multiple businesses or employers, including small and medium-sized employers, labor representatives, and education or training programs.

Any way you slice it, this amendment does not actually meet the Republican goal of attacking labor unions but, instead, attacks small and medium-sized employers that could be part of these grant programs.

At a time when small and medium-sized businesses across this country are struggling to get back on their feet, thanks to the mismanagement of this pandemic by the Trump administration, the last thing we need to do is take away their ability to benefit fully from the apprenticeship grants that are part of this bill.

I would urge my colleague to withdraw this shortsighted amendment and ensure that we are doing everything we can to help small and medium- sized businesses and education partners have a seat at the table for these apprenticeship grants. And if he does not, I would urge my colleagues to support small businesses and vote ``no'' on this amendment.

And finally, let me just say that I think my colleague eloquently explained the situation where the practicable language was written for. If

there aren't any unions around you are not going to be able to partner with unions, and so it is really not a problem.

So this amendment doesn't do what it is intended to do. It is harmful, and I urge people to oppose it.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, let me just explain a little more for folks at home who may not be obviously reading all of the details of this, the many pages of this bill, what we are talking about.

This is about who is eligible to apply for grants, certain grants under this bill; and it says that to be eligible to apply for a grant under this title an eligible entity shall demonstrate a partnership with two or more of the following, and then it lists quite a number of different groups that they can partner with, State and local workforce development boards, education training providers, State apprenticeship agencies, Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations, industry partnerships, Governors, labor organizations, community-based organizations, two or more, two or more.

And then it says these words: To the extent practicable--a qualified intermediary; and to the extent practicable, it shall be part of an industry or sector partnership and partner with a labor or joint labor- management organization.

That is all it says. And the idea of changing that ``and'' to ``or'' would fundamentally change it. It would reduce the level of collaboration, and it would possibly eliminate the industry or sector partnership from the grant application or a labor organization.

But since WIOA requires the labor organizations, it is not going to do what they think it does. It is a bad idea. It is not well crafted. I urge my colleagues to oppose it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Madam Speaker, first, I include in the Record a letter from the Manufacturing Institute in support of the bill.

Manufacturing Institute,

February 2, 2021.

Hon. Bobby Scott,

Chairman of Ed & Labor Committee,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Hon Brian Fitzpatrick,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Scott and Representative Fitzpatrick: On

behalf of The Manufacturing Institute (MI), the workforce

development and education partner of the National Association

of Manufacturers, I am writing to express our support of H.R.

477, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021.

Manufacturers' top challenge continues to be the ability to

attract and retain a qualified workforce, as noted in the

NAM's Quarterly Manufacturers Outlook Survey. At the end of

2020, there were nearly 500,000 open jobs in manufacturing.

The current health crisis in our country has left millions

without jobs and exacerbated the need for individuals to

receive training for the careers that are available now and

in the future.

Registered Apprenticeship programs are one tool that can be

utilized to support the

business community in closing the skills gap and helping

individuals enter a rewarding career. The National

Apprenticeship Act of 2021, in addition to Congresswoman

Slotkin's (D-Ml-8) amendment, addresses many of the

challenges that manufacturers have long experienced in the

Registered Apprenticeship system by streamlining the

registration and approval process and providing a more direct

means of support for the companies and education partners

that wish to create or expand Registered Apprenticeship

programs.

The National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 improves an

established model of training and work-based learning that

can help to close the skills gap that manufacturers face. We

appreciate the bi-partisan agreement that has been reached on

this bill and we support its passage.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Carolyn Lee,

Executive Director.

Madam Speaker, this amendment undermines the core premises behind the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, which would create 1 million more registered apprenticeship, pre- apprenticeship, and youth apprenticeship opportunities over the next 5 years.

Registered apprenticeships represent a proven earn-and-learn program. Ninety-four percent of those who complete their apprenticeships are employed upon completion, and they have an average starting salary of $70,000.

This substitute amendment is nothing less than an attack on the successful registered apprenticeship system. It makes deep cuts to funding in H.R. 447, which will result in sparse growth in new registered apprenticeships, while diverting scarce funds to untested and unproven programs run by third parties.

Instead, it gives the Secretary of Labor and State apprenticeship agencies open-ended authority to waive the quality and accountability standards in this act. Authorizing funding for a program without guardrails is not an approach Congress should be taking when working with the executive branch of either party.

Allow me to address the specifics of the substitute amendment.

First, it allows the Secretary of Labor to divert funds for unproven and untested programs, like the Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs, or IRAPs, created under the Trump administration. Unlike registered apprenticeships, there has been no evaluation of unregistered programs like IRAPs--none. When DOL proposed the creation of IRAPs, it received over 300,000 comments in opposition.

Congress should not be opening the spigots of taxpayer money for programs that lack broad public support, especially when there is no evidence that programs that do not meet registered apprenticeship standards are effective at all. This is an irresponsible use of taxpayer money.

Democrats are, in fact, leading on innovation. For example, an amendment offered by the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas), which was included in the en bloc amendments, allows the Secretary of Labor to fund innovation in apprenticeships by allowing demonstration projects in nontraditional sectors, subject to the recommendation of the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships appointed by the Secretary. These projects could even help with the COVID-19 response.

Second, the substitute amendment slashes funding for apprenticeship grants from $3.5 billion to $1.1 billion over the next 5 years. It cuts State apprenticeship formula grants from $475 million to $385 million over 5 years. States have asked us for funding certainty so they can scale up their apprenticeship efforts and have been documented to be an engine of success for the growth of apprenticeships.

This cut is a 77 percent reduction in total funding, resulting in only 219,000 new apprenticeship opportunities. This is an easy choice: 219,000 apprenticeship opportunities versus nearly 1 million apprenticeship opportunities that the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 provides.

We all agree that apprenticeships are a pathway to the middle class, so why would we want to eliminate the rungs of opportunity for hundreds of thousands of apprentices?

Third, this amendment eliminates the interagency agreement with the Department of Education to create stronger alignment between the education system and the national apprenticeship system. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle often talk about wanting to create pathways for students to pursue alternatives to a 4-year degree, but this amendment eliminates provisions of the National Apprenticeship Act that do that in a way that is sought by our institutions of higher education.

As I mentioned earlier, our community colleges strongly support the act as it is. Some say we are creating a one-size-fits-all approach with this bill, but that isn't true either. We include new apprenticeship models, such as competency-based and hybrid options, and expand youth apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships, something employers have consistently requested.

This amendment is a step in the wrong direction. At a time when at least 7 million people have permanently lost their jobs due to the mishandling of the pandemic, and when the economy is facing a deep recession, the underlying bill is focused on getting people back to work with the best skills possible.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I first met John Sweeney when I was 22 and his staff offered me a job helping nursing home workers organize with SEIU in my home state of Michigan. The union was hiring a novice, front-line organizer, but I was ushered into the office of the president of the national union to meet the man himself. He was modest and unassuming that day, and he never changed, even as he doubled the size of SEIU, even as he became the consensus choice to lead the only insurgent takeover of the AFL-CIO in its history, even as he helped transform its policies to focus on organizing, support immigrant workers and much more. John Sweeney never saw himself as being above any of the workers he came to represent, and he fought for them with unquestioned integrity and an openness to innovation and change possible only with true humility. I ended up spending five years organizing with SEIU, then returning years later to help his campaign to take over the AFL-CIO, and then working 11 years under his leadership there. Throughout that time, I trusted President Sweeney completely-he gave me big assignments and the leeway to make them my own. He drew the best out of me by letting me know he had faith in me. He tolerated mistakes, but not lapsed ethics.

One story that captures John well is that when I was creating Union Summer, a program to put 1,000 young people onto the front lines of union organizing and bargaining campaigns in the summer of 1996, shortly after he became AFL-CIO president, he insisted on making the `Summeristas' as we called them employees of the AFL-CIO, even though they were essentially doing a three-week summer camp. He knew it would be much more expensive and a lot more work, but he insisted on taking full responsibility for every one of them.

John put the interest of other people and the labor movement above his own, every time. I loved John Sweeney in an uncomplicated way that feels hard to describe and that I hope remains possible in our troubled world. He was an honest leader, a great soul, doing his best to keep faith with his God and lift up his fellow human beings. Godspeed, John Sweeney.

Madam Speaker, for 2 months, Donald Trump used the biggest megaphone in the world to organize a campaign of outright lies to overturn a free and fair election. On January 6, he summoned and incited a mob of domestic terrorists to fight like hell and sent them to ransack this Capitol in order to prevent us from formalizing his election loss. It was a grotesque orgy of deadly white supremacism, anti-Semitism, and strongman rule.

Today, we will do our duty and vote to remove the author of this horrifying chapter and banish him from public service.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, according to the Anti-Defamation League, domestic extremists killed at least 50 people in the United States in 2018, a sharp increase from

the 37 extremist-related murders documented in 2017. Indeed, that is a 26 percent jump in 1 year.

Given the disturbing rise of plots and incidents of domestic terrorism nationwide, I am pleased with the provision in this bill requiring that a joint report on domestic terrorism be submitted to Congress each year by the DNI, the FBI Director, and the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis.

My amendment requires that this comprehensive report on domestic terrorism be made available on the public websites not just of the National Counterterrorism Center but also of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security.

The amendment also specifies that the report should be made publicly available no later than 30 days after submission to the appropriate congressional committees. We can't let something this important be delayed over and over again.

We need to ensure that this report is accessible not just to promote transparency but also to help policymakers nationwide recognize the scope of the threat that domestic terrorism poses and to encourage academic research necessary to understand the scourge of domestic terrorism better so that we might bring it to an end once and for all. I am talking about policymakers on the local and the State level as well as the Federal level.

Madam Chair, I thank, in particular, Chairman Schiff and his staff for their leadership on this bill and for working with me on this and other provisions.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a great leader of workers throughout North America and, indeed, the world, Leo Gerard, who retired this afternoon as the president of the United Steelworkers.

Leo rose through the ranks and was a dynamic leader of the steelworkers for 40 years, and he was president for the last 18 years. He led on so many issues.

He was a fierce negotiator for his members, but he was also a leader for all workers. For example, he brought the environmental movement and the labor movement together to tackle tough issues about keeping our water and air clean for everyone and for future generations, while protecting our jobs.

But one thing I think stands out. I want to pledge to Leo Gerard on his retirement that we are not going to pass a replacement NAFTA unless it honors the workers of Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

What a great champion for workers in North America. I assure Leo that we are going to carry on his work.

God bless him.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate my constituent and Royal Oak city manager, Don Johnson, on his retirement after 14 years with the great city of Royal Oak.

Don started as city manager right at the height of the Great Recession. To hear him tell it, the city was flat broke. Royal Oak was facing huge revenue shortfalls, and Michigan families were hurting.

In the years since, he has helped Royal Oak turn around and become one of the most desirable places to live and visit. Royal Oak saw a jump of $10 million in revenue in 10 years, truly an outstanding accomplishment for the people of Royal Oak and a testament to Don's hard work.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Don for his years of service and wish him the very best in his next chapter.

Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Smith for giving me these minutes to talk about two amendments that I have brought forth that are part of this en bloc.

First is an amendment about PFAS, which we have heard a little bit about already. It is important to understand that our military is storing and planning to destroy millions of gallons of material that contain PFAS, which is a class of chemicals that contaminate drinking water and is linked to serious health problems.

These materials must be destroyed for the sake of the health of our communities, but that needs to be done in a way that protects our environment, not in a way that causes us yet more harm.

My amendment directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure that all incineration of materials containing PFAS is conducted in a manner that eliminates PFAS while also ensuring that no PFAS is emitted into the air in the process. It also sets clear guardrails for storage, byproducts, and appropriate facilities for disposal.

I thank Mr. Khanna for cosponsoring this measure so we can protect our communities from further PFAS contamination.

The second amendment I wish to address will help us understand the universe of defense contractors that have willfully violated Federal health, safety, and labor standards that protect American workers. American people work hard to build the infrastructure necessary to keep our country safe. We have a responsibility to honor that work by paying them fairly and keeping them safe, as the law requires.

We have a responsibility to make sure that contractors taking Federal dollars are not recklessly neglecting the health, safety, and dignity of our working people. That is why this simple amendment is so necessary.

I thank Congresswoman Haaland for cosponsoring this amendment, and I thank, again, Chairman Smith for all of his hard work.

Madam Chair, the amendment before us is about our responsibility to protect the American people. It is about our values.

Do we believe the President acting on his own should be able to put our troops in harm's way and put us at risk of another horrific war with zero input from the American people's elected representatives in Congress? Or do we want to make clear that we are going to do our job, the job our constituents elected us to do, follow the Constitution, and prevent a reckless attack on Iran?

This isn't about being a Democrat or a Republican. As a Member of the people's House, colleagues should support this amendment to prevent an unauthorized attack on Iran and make it clear that this Congress has not authorized the use of military force, in line with my bipartisan AUMF Clarification Act.

Madam Chair, I thank Representative Khanna for yielding.

Madam Speaker, in recognition of Gun Violence Awareness Month, I rise to share the story of a brave soldier named Ben.

Ben's sister Mary is a Moms Demand Action leader in my hometown of Berkley, Michigan.

After her brother was honorably discharged from military service, Mary grew concerned that Ben was at risk of self-harm.

Mary and her dad begged every firearms store in the area they lived at the time not to sell a gun to her brother. She was told Ben could not be denied a gun, despite the risks he faced.

Ben died by suicide shortly thereafter with a gun he had bought at one of those stores.

Had Mary been able to seek an Extreme Risk Prevention Order, Ben could be alive today.

I am a cosponsor of the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act and the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act.

Madam Speaker, for Ben and so many others, Congress must act without delay.

Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 409 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 410.

Mr. Chair, I want to thank Chairwoman McCollum for her leadership in bringing forward a proposal that protects and preserves public lands, ensures access to clean air and drinking water, and combats climate change.

I am especially pleased to see this bill's $90 million investment for the first time in Sewer Overflow Control Grants to control and treat sewer overflows and to help address the water infrastructure crisis our country faces.

My amendment prioritizes grant funding from Macomb County's Chapaton Retention Basin and other such sewer overflow systems that help protect the water sources our communities rely on every day. This funding will help make urgent water quality improvements to Lake St. Clair, to the Great Lakes, and to freshwater bodies all across our country.

Mr. Chair, I would also like to thank the former distinguished Member of this body and the current Macomb County Public Works Commissioner, Candice Miller, for her partnership to make sure we protect Lake St. Clair.

Madam Chair, I am proud to support this bill, and I thank Chairwoman Kaptur for her leadership.

I am especially pleased to see this bill's increased investment in the important work of the Army Corps of Engineers to advance key water infrastructure construction priorities.

My amendment prioritizes $30 million of that funding for critically needed projects that improve the quality of freshwater bodies like Lake St. Clair in my district.

To make urgent water quality improvements to Lake St. Clair, to the Great Lakes, and to freshwater bodies across our country, we must prioritize Federal funding for improving Macomb County's Chapaton Retention Basin and other such sewer overflow systems that help us protect the water sources our communities rely on every day.

I would like to point out that I am working on this with the now director of public works in Macomb County, former Member of this body, Candice Miller.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this en bloc package that includes my amendment to prohibit the use of funds in this act for assistance to the Forces Armees d'Haiti, or the Haitian Armed Forces, the FAd'H.

I worked in Haiti as an investigator for Human Rights Watch in 1992, not long after Haitian soldiers led a coup against Haiti's first democratically-elected President and not long before the military was implicated in the massacre of his supporters in the town of Raboteau.

Now, the Haitian government has revived the armed forces and empowered some of the same people who played a part in those horrors of the 1990s to lead them.

We cannot let a single dollar of U.S. taxpayer funds go to the FAd'H. The Haitian people must know that we have not forgotten the horrors of their past and we are committed to working with them for a better future.

I thank Congresswoman Lee, Congresswoman Waters, Congressman Engel, and Congressman Sires for cosponsoring this amendment, and I also thank Chairwoman Lowey for working with me on this and for her hard work on this bill.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I am proud to be joined by 11 of my colleagues from the Committee on Education and Labor in presenting this amendment, which would increase funding for the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General, or the EDOIG, by $4 million dollars.

EDOIG conducts independent and objective audits, investigations, and other activities to promote the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department.

This office helps prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse, and that work is as important now as it has ever been, especially since the Department of Education has violated the law on three different occasions under this administration.

Just last year, a Federal court ruled that the Department's actions during the rollback of a loan-relief plan, had violated Federal privacy law.

The Department also violated the Administrative Procedures Act by arbitrarily refusing to discharge the student loan payments of borrowers who attended Corinthian College, a for-profit university accused of predatory lending.

And recently, the Department illegally delayed Obama-era regulations governing online colleges, without conducting the legally-required negotiated rulemaking.

We insist upon the utmost integrity at the Department entrusted with the education of our children, and this amendment will make sure that OIG has the resources and staff it needs to do its critical work.

I would like to reiterate my gratitude to my Education and Labor Committee colleagues who joined me as cosponsors of this amendment. And I would also like to thank Chairman Bobby Scott and his team for his visionary leadership of our work on behalf of students, families, workers, and all Americans.

I also thank Chairwoman DeLauro and Chairwoman Lowey for working with me on this, and for their leadership on this bill which prioritizes funding for programs that provide opportunities for millions of American families. Many of those programs have been shortchanged in recent years, and that will no longer be the case, thanks to the gentlewomen's leadership.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), my esteemed colleague.

Madam Chair, I want to commend my colleague from Connecticut, on behalf of the entire freshman class, for her incredible leadership on this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

Madam Chair, I will close.

I will use my last 10 seconds to tell the gentleman that the Janus decision was nothing about people not paying dues. Unions have not been allowed to make people pay dues for 60 years in this country. It was about not having workers pay their fair share for services that unions are forced to provide them under U.S. law.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, today marks 100 years exactly since the U.S. House of Representatives approved the 19th Amendment and moved our Nation one step closer to full voting rights for women.

I am so proud that the great State of Michigan was among the first to ratify the 19th Amendment, and I was proud to join my colleagues today to pass a bipartisan resolution to commemorate and celebrate the amendment.

I rise now to honor all the suffragettes whose names we know and all those we don't, who put themselves in danger to help make a more perfect union. But I also rise to honor those who follow in their footsteps, like my incredible classmates in the 116th Congress.

Just like the suffragettes helped usher our Nation forward, they, too, have opened doors that young women like my own daughter, Molly, may walk through some day.

It is an honor to fight alongside them today and every day.