[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5663 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5663

   To provide for a competitive grant program for apprenticeship and 
  internship programs through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 
                                Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 2014

Mr. Veasey (for himself, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Wilson 
 of Florida, and Ms. Kelly of Illinois) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for a competitive grant program for apprenticeship and 
  internship programs through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 
                                Program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bridge to Manufacturing Jobs Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In 2012, Deloitte found that the United States has 
        600,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in the United States.
            (2) According to the Georgetown University Center on 
        Education and the Workforce, the United States is likely to 
        experience a shortage of about 5,000,000 workers with technical 
        certificates and credentials.
            (3) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 
        apprenticeship occupations are projected to grow more than 20 
        percent from 2012 to 2022.
            (4) The Department of Labor found that workers who 
        completed an apprenticeship earn an average starting salary of 
        $50,000.
            (5) Employers who support apprenticeship programs gain 
        skilled workers, build a pipeline of employees, and reduce 
        staff turnover.
            (6) Other countries, including Germany and the United 
        Kingdom, have successfully implemented apprenticeship programs. 
        For example, Germany, even with less than one-third of the 
        United States population, has almost 2,000,000 apprentices with 
        almost 500,000 sponsoring companies.
            (7) The Federal Government can play an important role in 
        facilitating the development of apprenticeship and internship 
        programs at manufacturing companies, in particular through the 
        Manufacturing Extension Program.

SEC. 3. COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO FACILITATE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS.

    Section 25(f) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
Act (15 U.S.C. 278k(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (B);
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 
                subparagraph (D); and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 
                following:
                    ``(C) may be related to projects designed to 
                facilitate the development and implementation of 
                apprenticeship programs, internship programs, or 
                student work-based learning programs to help serve the 
                workforce needs of consortia of manufacturing 
                companies; and''; and
            (2) by amending paragraph (5)(A)(i) to read as follows:
                            ``(i) create jobs and recruit and train a 
                        diverse manufacturing workforce, including 
                        through outreach to women and minorities;''.
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