Bipartisan Letter Urges Funding for Workforce Development in Infrastructure Bill

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Thursday, May 02, 2019

GoLocalProv News Team

Congressman Jim Langevin is among a group of bipartisan Congress members who sent a letter to House leadership and leaders on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee urging them to include workforce development investments in future infrastructure legislation.

The letter comes a day after President Donald Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met at the White House to discuss a way forward on infrastructure.

“Our nation’s deteriorating infrastructure is creating an array of challenges for communities in every state. As we consider the investments needed to revitalize our infrastructure, we must acknowledge that we will need a workforce capable of designing, building and maintaining it. It is essential that any comprehensive infrastructure package includes investments in career and technical education to ensure we have a skilled workforce that is ready to meet the challenge of rebuilding America,” said Langevin.

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Others included in the letter are Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA), Congressmen Donald Norcross (D-NJ) and David McKinley (R-WV), co-chairs of the Building Trades Caucus.

The Letter

The letter, signed by a bipartisan coalition of 51 Members of Congress, highlights this looming workforce shortage and strategies to mitigate it.

The signers request that any infrastructure package considered in the House contain a requirement that states dedicate a portion of the funding they receive to workforce development programs.

They also highlight the need for incentives for infrastructure-related businesses that invest in work-based learning and encourage funding be provided for facility and equipment upgrades for CTE programs in infrastructure-related fields.

These recommendations reflect Congress’s ongoing commitment to CTE as seen in last year’s enactment of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, which reauthorized the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.