    [Senate Hearing 116-]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

      DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND
              RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020

                                  ----------

                             THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019

                                           U.S. Senate,
               Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The subcommittee met at 10:04 a.m. in room SD-124, Dirksen
    Senate Office Building, Hon. Roy Blunt (chairman) presiding.
        Present: Senators Blunt, Alexander, Lankford, Murray,
    Durbin, Schatz, Baldwin, and Murphy.

                              DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

                            Office of the Secretary

    STATEMENT OF HON. R. ALEXANDER ACOSTA, SECRETARY

                     opening statement of senator roy blunt

        Senator Blunt. The Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor,
    Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies will
    come to order.
        I want to first of all thank you, Secretary Acosta, for
    appearing before the subcommittee today to discuss the
    department's budget that you submitted for 2020. The request is
    about in line with what you asked for last year and about 10
    percent below what the committee decided you needed to operate
    last year. I think the budget includes a handful of what I
    would consider to be forward leaning and positive proposals;
    the funding of apprenticeships, veterans workforce training,
    and employer compliance assistance. However, I think we are
    going to want to discuss some of the cuts that are proposed.
        Now if things are duplicative or ineffective, we hope you
    can help us make that case, because we do not want to have
    programs that are not doing what they should do. I know you
    have had to make difficult decisions and in fact, in previous
    budgets we have made difficult decisions, as this committee set
    sort of committee-wide different priorities than we might have
    had in the past.
        However, as I said before, it is about the same proposal
    that you made a year ago and it is not where we wound up a year
    ago. I think we want to look at the $703 million cut in the Job
    Corps program and hear what you have to say about that. We want
    to focus on programs that start workforce training, the
    apprenticeship programs and we have strong ideas on that, as
    you do.
        I know you and I were at the Carpenters' Joint
    Apprenticeship Training Facility in St. Louis earlier in the
    year. But you know what I noticed at that particular location
    was how many people had been out of high school about 10 years.
    Seemed to me there was a real significant number of 28 and 30-
    year-old people who had their own story of their lost decade of
    trying to figure out what they wanted to do.
        I hope you can help us figure out how we can help you and
    high schools, particularly, figure out some of the better
    alternatives that are out there with registered apprenticeship
    programs. I think we currently are training about 1,300
    apprenticeships, the carpentry trades for instance, and those
    programs, seem to be working.
        The Budget requests further investment toward workforce
    programs that are responsive to the needs of people looking for
    work, including veterans and military spouses.
        I just talked to our general assembly last week about the
    importance of transferring skills that military spouses bring
    to the next military assignment with them, but also looking at
    skills that veterans have achieved in the military and doing
    everything we can to be sure that those same skills are
    recognized as completely and quickly as possible, when people
    leave the military.
        So, we are glad you are here, I will have a longer
    statement for the record. We do have a series of votes that
    began about 10:30 and at least for that first vote, I am going
    to go vote as Senator Alexander pitches in, and then I will get
    back as he goes to vote. And we will try to move as quickly as
    we can to get questions asked by members in the time they
    expected to be here.
        [The statement follows:]
                    Prepared Statement of Senator Roy Blunt
        Good morning. Thank you, Secretary Acosta, for appearing before the
    Subcommittee today to discuss the Department of Labor's fiscal year
    2020 budget request. We look forward to your testimony.
        The Department's budget request is $10.9 billion, a reduction of
    $1.2 billion or 10 percent, largely mirroring the last budget request.
    The budget includes a handful of positive, forward-leaning proposals,
    such as funding for apprenticeship, veterans' workforce training, and
    employer compliance assistance. However, the budget also cuts funding
    or eliminates programs the Administration says are duplicative or
    ineffective.
        I agree that we should constantly evaluate programs and be willing
    to reduce or eliminate funding for programs that are ineffective and
    prioritize that funding elsewhere. We have made those difficult
    decisions in previous budgets and I know we have more we could do in
    that regard. However, as similar as this request is to previous ones, I
    expect the committee will have much the same reaction as it did to
    those, especially the unrealistic $703 million cut in the Job Corps
    program.
        Therefore, we should focus on the programs we can all agree on,
    which starts with workforce-training programs, particularly the
    apprenticeship program the Committee started 4 years ago. Mr.
    Secretary, when we were in Missouri together earlier this year, we met
    with apprentices at the Carpenter's Joint Apprenticeship training
    facility in St. Louis. This program is a DOL registered apprenticeship
    program, currently training 1,300 apprentices in carpentry trades. Each
    apprentice completes 4 to 4.5 years of training, working alongside
    contractors in the field, all while earning a wage. These apprentices
    not only earn family sustaining salaries upon completion--averaging
    $75,000 a year--but they are also free of student debt when they
    complete the program. The apprenticeship program has received strong
    bipartisan support and I look forward to hearing more about how the
    Department is deploying these funds.
        Second, the budget requests further investment toward workforce
    programs that are responsive to the needs of Americans looking for
    jobs, including our veterans and military spouses. Veterans have skills
    and experiences that are an asset to employers, but finding the right
    job opportunity can be a major challenge as they transition from active
    duty to civilian life. Companies like Winning Technologies in St.
    Louis, are setting the standard for their veterans hiring and retention
    practices, conducting outreach at Scott Air Force Base to recruit
    separating military service members. More than 30 percent of Winning
    Technologies' workforce are veterans and they are a recipient of DOL's
    HIRE Vets Medallion award. I am a strong advocate for reducing barriers
    to employment and, particularly focused on the need to increase across-
    State licensing, which can be challenging for military spouses who move
    every 2 to 3 years. I appreciate that the budget includes resources to
    address these workforce challenges, especially for our military
    families.
        We also must be certain to target workforce training to regions
    particularly hard hit. In fiscal year 2018, the committee started a
    rural workforce initiative focused in the Delta and Appalachian regions
    where unemployment rates are higher than the national average. We have
    now appropriated $60 million for this initiative and I am pleased the
    budget includes another $30 million in fiscal year 2020 to help
    individuals who have lost their jobs learn new skills and meet the
    workforce demands of the 21st Century. However, I am disappointed that
    not a dollar of fiscal year 2018 funds have been awarded even though
    you have had the funding for well over a year. This delay is hurting a
    population that needs these targeted resources to recover. I expect the
    Department to move forward with obligating these dollars and the fiscal
    year 2019 funding immediately.
        The Department of Labor serves an important role in the functioning
    of our overall economy through the workforce programs you oversee. By
    most every major indicator, the U.S. economy is thriving. We have had
    more than 100 months of job growth and the unemployment rate is holding
    steady around 3.8 percent. Everyone benefits from a strong and growing
    economy--when jobs are created, employment is sustained, and Americans'
    wages increase. While the nature of work is changing in the 21st
    Century, there are greater opportunities today for Americans to climb
    the economic ladder and earn family-sustaining wages. I look forward to
    hearing how the Department's budget proposal will continue to support
    high-quality training and employment programs.
        Mr. Secretary, I look forward to hearing your testimony today and
    appreciate your work on these important issues. Thank you.

        Senator Blunt. So, Senator Murray, again, glad to be here
    with you today and want to recognize you for your opening
    statement.

                       STATEMENT OF SENATOR PATTY MURRAY

        Senator Murray. Thank you very much Chairman Blunt.
        Mr. Secretary, as you know I have voiced my concern since
    you were first nominated, that as head of our Labor Department
    you would continue a long track record you have of serving
    special interests instead of workers and families. And I have
    to say at every turn you have managed to prove that concern was
    well-founded, especially with this budget proposal.
        This budget weakens the department's role in holding
    employers responsible for providing safe and healthy
    workplaces, and ensuring people get the pay that they earned
    and benefits they are entitled to under our labor laws. It
    takes us backwards by failing to support workers in developing
    the skills they need to advance and makes it harder for us to
    move forward on tackling many of the other challenges families
    and workers are facing, including a childcare crisis, a
    retirement crisis, and the epidemic of workplace assault and
    harassment. At every turn this budget moves us further away
    from those very important goals.
        Mr. Secretary, an important mission of your department is
    to make sure workers return home safely after each shift. Yet
    the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has
    dramatically reduced inspections, especially in areas that pose
    the greatest hazards to workers and require more resources to
    conduct those.
        The department's overtime proposal will leave millions of
    workers without protections and cost those workers more than $1
    billion over a decade. And despite the scourge of wage theft
    across the country, the department is making it harder for
    workers to hold their employers accountable when their wages
    are stolen.
        Mr. Secretary your budget fails to protect workers jobs,
    careers, and opportunities to prepare them for the future.
    Instead of increasing investments in successful workforce
    training models for our rapidly changing economy, this budget
    proposes more than $1 billion in cuts to the department's
    employment and training programs.
        I am also deeply concerned about the Trump administration's
    efforts to undermine the highly effective and broadly supported
    Registered Apprenticeship Program.
        Mr. Secretary, I have to ask why is the department so
    insistent on slashing this budget and undermining its very own
    mission?
        I am hopeful Mr. Chairman, that working together we will
    reject the harmful proposals and pass again a timely and
    responsible LHHS Appropriations bill that does invest in
    workers and families in our future.
        And finally, Mr. Secretary, I just have to say before we
    get started, I do continue to have very serious concerns about
    the plea deal that you helped negotiate for Jeffrey Epstein for
    the horrific abuses he committed. That sweetheart deal and the
    way that it came about raises a lot of questions, and it really
    is unacceptable that we still do not have answers.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Blunt. Thank you Senator Murray.
        Secretary, in 2018, the committee started a rural--Oh, I am
    sorry. Your opening statement. Please proceed.

                 SUMMARY STATEMENT OF HON. R. ALEXANDER ACOSTA

        Secretary Acosta. Mr. Chairman thank you, and Ranking
    Member Murray thank you for the invitation to appear. And I
    will try to make my opening statement brief in light of the
    votes.
        Let me just touch on a few points and you know, the
    question of the budget and enforcement and wage theft were
    raised, and then, so a few points I would like to make first
    with respect to the budget.
        The budget for the enforcement agencies, MSHA (Mine Safety
    and Health Administration), OSHA (Occupational Safety and
    Health Administration), Wage and Hour and others are all the
    same as the President's budget for assisted 2019 enacted, is
    the same or higher for enforcement. And I think that is
    important to note because we have aggressively enforced the
    laws and that is something we take very seriously. So, if we go
    through the various parts, our EBSA, the Employee Benefits
    Security Administration, we covered more than $1.16 billion in
    enforcement actions and obtained 142 criminal indictments. That
    recovers a 70 percent increase over the prior year.
        If we look at MSHA, MSHA fulfilled its statutory mission of
    inspecting each underground mine four times per year, each
    surface mine two times per year. And although the fatalities
    are still too high, we had the second lowest number of
    fatalities ever in the calendar year, and the lowest number in
    the fiscal year.
        OSHA, the number of inspections is actually up. And we have
    conducted more than 32,000 inspections in each of the last 2
    fiscal years, which is more than the prior years. In addition,
    we had 26,300 compliance assistance visits, which resulted in a
    number of improvements to the workplace and estimated savings
    of over a billion dollars to the various workplaces that
    improved safety and thereby prevented fatalities. Fatalities
    overall again are too high but are down in the most recent
    year.
        If we look at the Wage and Hour Division. The Wage and Hour
    Division recovered more than $304 million in back wages, and
    that is the highest recovery ever in the history of the Wage
    and Hour Division.
        So, I say this because I know that there are disagreements
    as to the budget, and we are going to disagree on issues, but I
    think in terms of the record of the department, particularly in
    enforcement, the record is quite strong.
        Thank you and I yield the remaining time.
        [The statement follows:]
                   Prepared Statement of R. Alexander Acosta
        Chairman Blunt, Ranking Member Murray, and Members of the
    Subcommittee, thank you for the invitation to testify today. I am
    pleased to appear before this Subcommittee and to represent President
    Trump and the hardworking men and women of the Department of Labor in
    reporting to you the progress of our work on behalf of all Americans,
    and to outline the Administration's vision for the Department of Labor
    in fiscal year 2020 and beyond.
        The President has put forth a responsible and well-reasoned budget
    for fiscal year 2020 that reflects Administration priorities to support
    the American workforce. Indeed, although the budget reflects a 10
    percent decrease over fiscal year 2019, the budget proposes greater
    investment in programs that work, eliminates programs that do not, and
    generally bolsters opportunities for working Americans through
    commonsense reforms. The budget reflects a continued focus on
    comprehensive compliance assistance for those seeking help to comply
    with the law paired with vigorous, fair, and effective enforcement
    against those who violate the law and reflects our priority of putting
    American workers first, including ensuring that labor protections in
    trade agreements are enforced to prevent unfair competition. As the
    information below shows, the Department of Labor has proven its ability
    to do more with less and to maximize the value of taxpayer dollars. The
    budget balances fiscal responsibility, sound management, and focus on
    priorities.
                                    overview
        The dedication, ingenuity, and innovation of our American
    workforce--the greatest workforce in the world--is unparalleled. No one
    does it better than the hardworking men and women of our Nation who
    farm, mine, make, build, transport, innovate, design, create, provide
    services, and engage with other Americans to make our lives healthier,
    safer, easier, and more productive.
        The President's vision for America and the American workforce is
    straightforward: to empower our economy to each day create jobs, more
    jobs, and even more jobs that are safe and family sustaining. The
    Department is hard at work to keep Americans safe in the workplace;
    prevent discriminatory employment practices; safeguard retirement
    savings; increase employment opportunities for all Americans; level the
    playing field for working Americans through fair trade; collect,
    analyze, and disseminate essential economic information; promote
    private-sector union democracy and financial integrity; protect the
    interest of workers, and their families, who are injured or become ill
    on the job; and ensure workers are paid what they are owed--in full and
    on time. The Department is also working diligently to identify and
    eliminate regulations that unnecessarily eliminate jobs, hinder job
    creation, or impose costs that outweigh the benefits.
        The first 2 years of the Trump Administration were marked by
    remarkable growth for our economy, increased opportunity for the
    American workforce, and a renewed confidence exemplified by investment
    in our Nation by job creators. In part due to a commonsense approach to
    deregulation, I am pleased to report on just a few notable milestones:
      --In fiscal year 2018, according to the Office of Management and
            Budget, the U.S. Department of Labor's deregulatory efforts
            totaled $3.28 billion in present value cost savings;
      --Since January 2017, the American economy has created 5.1 million
            jobs, 3.2 million of those new jobs have been created since the
            President signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act;
      --At the time this testimony was prepared, there were 7.1 million job
            openings, over one million more than the 6.2 million job
            seekers in the United States--American job creators are looking
            to hire;
      --In 2018, average hourly earnings increased 3.3 percent, the largest
            increase in average hourly earnings since 2009; and
            importantly, wage growth for the lowest decile earners was at
            approximately 6.5 percent;
      --Unemployment remains near its all-time low, and the increase in the
            labor force participation rate may indicate that Americans who
            were previously discouraged are rejoining the American
            workforce; and
      --Even as employment substantially increased over the last 2 years,
            the numbers and rates of fatal injuries and nonfatal injuries
            and illnesses in the workplace declined in 2017.
        While these statistics document the country's success, during my
    travels throughout our Nation over the past 21 months, it is clear that
    Main Street, not just Wall Street--from Indiana to California, Alaska
    to Florida--is deriving significant benefit from the economic growth.
    More Americans are working today than ever before. They are safer in
    the workplace. They are earning more. They have more opportunities for
    growth and advancement. The future of the American workforce and the
    American economy look bright, and the Department looks forward to
    working with Congress to continue that growth and opportunity.
    Removing Roadblocks to Job Creation Through Regulatory Reform
        The Department administers and enforces more than 180 Federal laws.
    These laws and the regulations that implement these laws cover more
    than 150 million workers and retirees, and 10 million employers.
    Consistent with the President's priorities, the Department has worked
    to identify regulations that unnecessarily eliminate jobs, inhibit job
    creation, or impose costs that exceed benefits--and reform or eliminate
    them.
        Our approach to regulatory reform is simple, we adhere to two core
    principles: respect for the individual and respect for the rule of law.
    The Department's rulemaking is carried out in a deliberative manner
    guided by fidelity to the law. Public participation in the rulemaking
    process through notice and comment is vital. It ensures all Americans
    have an opportunity to express their views before a rule is promulgated
    or changed.
        As mentioned above, the Office of Management and Budget estimates
    the regulatory impact of the Department's fiscal year 2018 regulatory
    reform efforts to reflect $3.28 billion in present value cost savings
    to the economy. Put simply, this means the Department significantly
    decreased the compliance burden on Americans.
        In addition to these actions, we expanded access to affordable
    quality healthcare coverage options through Association Health Plans
    and rescinded the ``Persuader Agreements'' rule, which the American Bar
    Association and others believed inappropriately impinged on attorney-
    client confidentiality.
        Our deregulatory actions have continued this fiscal year with two
    recent final actions: one ensuring continued safety of crane operations
    while reducing paperwork burdens and the other removing the electronic
    collection of certain information about workplace injuries that raised
    worker privacy concerns and that is unnecessary for the Occupational
    Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) electronic data collection
    requirements. We have also issued deregulatory proposals in the last
    few weeks on overtime thresholds for Fair Labor Standards Act
    exemptions and what goes into the regular rate of pay for overtime, in
    addition to a proposal that addresses concerns about joint employment
    liability so that workers and their employers, especially small
    businesses like franchisees, have definitive guidance on their rights
    and responsibilities. There are a number of other items that should be
    proposed shortly, including a proposal to ensure Americans and
    especially our military veterans have the broadest possible networks
    available when they need a doctor.
    Demanding Better Results Through Greater Accountability
        Accountability to the American taxpayer is a priority at the
    Department as we design new programs and evaluate existing ones. We are
    focused on refining our efforts in a manner that respects principles of
    Federalism, and best serves the American people. Where Departmental
    efforts and programs are working, we are looking for ways to improve
    them and learn from them, where Departmental programs are not working,
    we are looking for ways to make them work or consider whether we should
    refocus our efforts elsewhere.
        One example I have often mentioned is the difficulty of gauging the
    success of Federal programs when measuring inputs like dollars spent
    and program participants instead of outcomes like the career attainment
    rates of program graduates. In fiscal year 2018, the Department
    redesigned the way we measure the success and efficacy of the Job Corps
    program. We announced that the Office of Job Corps would reform the
    Outcome Measurement System to focus on student performance and long-
    term outcomes over inputs such as dollars spent and outputs such as
    number of students served. More specifically, the weights given to
    credential attainment have been reduced from about half, to 35 percent
    in Program Year (PY) 2018 and 20 percent in PY 2019. New metrics that
    focus on initial placement, placement wage, and placement quality (job
    training match and apprenticeships, military, and full-time placements)
    are now an additional 30 percent of the report card for both program
    years, and long-term placement and placement wage after 6 months and 12
    months account for the final 35 percent and 50 percent in PY 2018 and
    PY 2019.
        The Department also looks closely at opportunities to eliminate
    duplication to bring greater efficiency to our work and allocation of
    resources. One such example is in the Mine Safety and Health
    Administration (MSHA). During fiscal year 2018, MSHA leadership
    examined the capacity and utilization of its field inspectors and
    discovered that there was significant overlap between the duties
    performed by metal/non-metal mine inspectors and coal mine inspectors,
    but different training and an imbalance in capacity relative to the
    actual utilization of inspectors. As a result, MSHA leadership
    developed a plan to cross-train mine inspectors and reallocate
    resources. The Department expects that this will result in significant
    savings to MSHA in fiscal year 2019 with no impact on the health and
    safety of American miners.
        Finally, beginning in fiscal year 2018 and continuing on into
    fiscal year 2019, the Department is working to reduce the number of
    improper payments made through the State-run Unemployment Insurance
    (UI) Program. The President's fiscal year 2020 budget request includes
    $126 million in additional resources to address improper payments made
    through the State-run UI program and improve interstate communication
    to reduce such payments. The UI program is important to those Americans
    who need a helping hand during unemployment, and individuals that abuse
    the system may place added strain on these resources. The Department is
    committed to reining in improper payments in the UI program.
    Returning Flexibility to the States
        The Department recognizes that the workforce development needs of
    Alaska, New York, Arizona, and Vermont differ widely. The Department
    has made it a priority to work with States to help them customize their
    workforce programs. An example is the exercise of the Secretary's
    waiver authority under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
    (WIOA) to grant flexibility where possible. To date, the Department has
    granted 67 waivers to 28 States and territories to better tailor
    approaches to the needs and opportunities present in their States and
    communities.
        Providing States greater flexibility to administer programs
    efficiently and effectively is one way to better serve the
    individualized needs of Americans in various States and localities. To
    that end, the President's fiscal year 2020 Budget proposes broader
    waiver authority for the core WIOA programs, allowing the Department to
    trust our Nation's governors with the responsibility of how best to
    operate their workforce systems.
    Bringing Clarity to Employers and Employees
        After meeting with many American job creators, one of the things
    most important to them that affects working Americans is stability and
    understanding how an agency interprets its statutes and regulations.
    Clarity and consistency in agency interpretations allow the regulated
    public to comply with the law in a way that is not unduly burdensome or
    costly and ensure a level playing field.
        One of the ways the Department can best do that is by answering
    specific questions from the regulated community and making those
    answers known publicly. Accordingly, in June 2017, the Department's
    Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced it was resuming its longstanding
    practice of issuing opinion letters. Opinion letters are official,
    written opinions provided by the Department that address the
    application of statutes and regulations in specific circumstances
    presented by an employer, employee, or other entity. The letters were
    previously a Department practice for more than 70 years and
    specifically allowed in statute, until the practice was discontinued in
    2010.
        In fiscal year 2018, WHD reissued 18 previously withdrawn opinion
    letters and has issued 14 new opinion letters. These are now more
    readily available to the public on the WHD website via a searchable
    tool. Among other areas, one of the more recent opinion letters
    addressed a longstanding question as to whether organ donors can avail
    themselves of the Family and Medical Leave Act. Thanks to this opinion
    letter, it is now clear that they can. Following on this success, the
    Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) also recently
    announced the institution of an opinion letter program.
      expanding access to high-quality health and retirement coverage for
                                   americans
        On June 21, 2018, the Department published a final regulation
    expanding the ability of employers to participate in Association Health
    Plans (AHPs).\1\ The rule allows employers, including self-employed
    individuals and sole proprietors, to band together to offer group
    health coverage to their employees. AHPs provide more affordable, high-
    quality healthcare coverage choices to consumers, while maintaining
    important consumer protections to safeguard against discrimination on
    the basis of the perceived health of a company's workforce and
    individuals' pre-existing conditions. To date, more than 30 major
    organizations in 14 States have set up, or announced their intent to
    set up, AHPs to offer quality, affordable healthcare coverage options
    to their members' employees.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ On March 28, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of
    Columbia entered an order that vacated certain provisions of the final
    rule. We disagree with the Court's ruling and are considering all
    available options to defend the legal viability of the provisions ruled
    upon by the Court.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Building on this momentum, on August 31, 2018, President Trump
    signed Executive Order 13847 on Strengthening Retirement Security in
    America. Recognizing that all Americans deserve access to retirement
    savings opportunities, President Trump instructed the Department to
    examine opportunities to expand access to workplace retirement plan
    options and increase retirement security for all Americans.
        On October 23, 2018, the Department proposed a regulation
    clarifying the circumstances under which a group or association of
    employers, or a professional employer organization (PEO) can act as an
    employer and sponsor workplace retirement plans under the Employee
    Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). If published as a final rule,
    this regulation has the potential to expand Americans' access to
    affordable, quality retirement savings options.
        The Department is currently reviewing the public comments to the
    proposed regulation submitted before the comment period closed on
    December 24, 2018.
    Expanding Career Opportunities in America Through Reskilling,
            Upskilling, and Apprenticeships
        In fiscal year 2018, President Trump established the National
    Council for the American Worker and charged it with developing a
    national strategy to prepare Americans for careers in high-demand
    industries. As part of the work of the National Council for the
    American Worker, more than 200 companies, associations, and labor
    organizations have pledged to provide enhanced career opportunities by
    expanding programs that educate, train, and reskill American workers
    from high school age to near retirement. As of the time of this
    writing, these organizations have pledged to create 7,452,470 new
    opportunities for Americans.
        The Department is continuing to promote increased adoption of the
    apprenticeship model as a pathway to good, family-sustaining jobs for
    all Americans. Since January 2017, nearly 500,000 new apprentices have
    taken the first steps toward lifelong careers.
        In May 2018, the President's Task Force on Apprenticeship
    Expansion--comprised of governors, and leaders from companies, trade
    and industry groups, unions, educational institutions, workforce
    advocates, and nonprofit organizations--transmitted its final report to
    the President outlining its recommendations on how to best expand high-
    quality apprenticeship programs across industries.
        On July 27, 2018, the Department adopted the overwhelming majority
    of the Task Force's recommendations through Training and Employment
    Notice 3-18 (TEN), providing a framework for industry recognized
    apprenticeships (IRAPs) to form alongside the more traditional
    registered apprenticeship program. The TEN sets out, at a high level,
    the policies and procedures that certifiers will be expected to have in
    place to establish standards, establish certification intervals,
    evaluate and certify programs focused on outcomes and process, report
    results, and maintain records.
        Also last year, the Department launched the first-ever sector-based
    apprenticeship grant funding opportunity to invest $150 million to
    expand apprenticeships in those in-demand industry sectors most often
    filled by individuals on H-1B visas, such as information technology,
    healthcare, and advanced manufacturing. This grant funding opportunity
    introduced an innovative approach: a 35 percent private-sector match
    requirement. This brings the total investment to $202.5 million, $57.7
    million coming from the private sector. As a result of this private
    sector match requirement, educators have a greater incentive to join
    with industry to ensure curricula address the needs of our ever-
    changing workplace, investing in the latest technologies and
    techniques, and providing more in-demand opportunities for Americans.
        In fiscal year 2020, the Department's budget includes $160 million
    to continue our expansion of apprenticeship programs, along with a
    proposal to increase H-1B fee revenues to fund additional
    apprenticeship activities.
    Helping our Heroes and their Spouses Find Good, Family Sustaining
            Careers
        Through the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), the
    Department helps America's veterans succeed in civilian careers when
    they conclude their military service and protects their employment
    rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights
    Act (USERRA). The Department also helps eligible spouses of military
    service members navigate State licensing requirements and find
    meaningful employment, and advocates for the elimination or temporary
    suspension of occupational licensing requirements for military spouses.
    In 2018, thanks to a growing economy and VETS' efforts, the overall
    veteran unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 percent, an 18-year low, and
    the lowest annual unemployment rate for veterans since 2000.
        The Department is currently engaged with the Departments of Defense
    and Veterans' Affairs to improve the Transition Assistance Program
    (TAP) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year
    2019 (NDAA). NDAA directs these agencies to establish at least three
    pathways for transitioning service members, and the Department will
    alter the delivery of employment related workshops in fiscal year 2020
    to align with the new legislative requirements. The Department will
    also enhance the quality of employment support services for
    transitioning service members, with a focus on improved outcomes.
    Additionally, the Department is also developing components of TAP for
    military spouses as they transition from base to base or to civilian
    life when their active duty spouse leaves the military.
        Finally, the Department is committed to recognizing the many
    American job creators that employ veterans. In 2018, the Department
    implemented the Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing
    American Military Veterans (HIRE Vets) Act program 1 year earlier than
    the statute contemplated through a demonstration program. On November
    8, 2018, the Department recognized 239 employers that employ and offer
    growth opportunities to our Nation's veterans. Collectively, these 239
    employers hired more than 8,350 veterans.
    Bringing Americans with Disabilities into the Workforce
        The Department, through the Office of Disability Employment Policy
    (ODEP), provides Americans with disabilities with opportunities to join
    and succeed in the workforce. ODEP develops policy recommendations and
    offers tools and technical assistance to American job creators so they
    can hire and retain employees with disabilities.
        In fiscal year 2018, ODEP expanded its Stay at Work/Return to Work
    (SAW/RTW) initiative to support early intervention pilot projects and
    research initiatives, work with States to promote effective SAW/RTW
    policies, and address the need for early intervention for young people
    with disabilities to transition to gainful employment. In September
    2018, DOL awarded nearly $19 million in grant awards to eight State
    workforce agencies for the Retaining Employment and Talent After
    Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN). Jointly funded and developed by ODEP,
    the Department's Employment and Training Administration (ETA), and the
    Social Security Administration (SSA), the primary goal of RETAIN
    demonstration projects is to help Americans who are injured or ill
    remain in or return to the workforce, through early coordination of
    healthcare services and employment-related supports and services.
        ODEP also connects employers and skilled workers with disabilities
    through its technical assistance centers, such as the Job Accommodation
    Network (JAN) and the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on
    Disability Inclusion (EARN), and partnerships such as the Partnership
    on Employment and Accessible Technology (PEAT) which provides a free
    tool for employers to optimize online job applications and outreach
    efforts.
        In fiscal year 2018, JAN provided technical assistance to more than
    42,000 employers, individuals with disabilities, and service providers,
    and conducted more than 107 trainings. EARN provided technical
    assistance to more than 5,000 employers and ODEP's Public Service
    Announcements supporting its efforts aired approximately 32,000 times
    on more than 650 television stations nationwide.
    Helping Americans Reenter the Workforce After Incarceration
        When Americans who commit crimes have paid their debt to society
    and leave prison, it is important to find ways to reintroduce those
    individuals into society and the workforce. Simply put, individuals
    that have made mistakes in life and paid their debts to society deserve
    the opportunity to find good, safe, family sustaining careers and
    become contributing members of society. Long-term success at lowering
    recidivism rates requires that we offer Americans a second chance to
    pursue paths to opportunity. These concepts were part of the bipartisan
    First Step Act passed late last year.
        In fiscal year 2018, to address this important issue, the
    Department awarded Reentry Projects grants to 43 nonprofits and local
    and State governments focusing on two major groups: young adults (ages
    18 to 24) who have been involved in the juvenile or adult justice
    system and adults (ages 25 and older) formerly incarcerated in the
    adult criminal justice system. These grants offer communities the
    chance to deploy evidence-based, comprehensive strategies to facilitate
    the reintegration of ex-offenders into the workforce. In fiscal year
    2019, the Department will award an additional $83 million in Reentry
    Projects grants.
        The Department is also engaging with the Bureau of Prisons to
    develop apprenticeship programs. These programs seek to offer skills
    instruction and develop credentials that address the geographical issue
    associated with prison-based programs--Federal inmates are often
    incarcerated in one State, transferred, and released in another. As
    part of this new apprenticeship program, education and training in more
    than 120 skilled trades will be offered.
        Also, to address the stigma that employers associate with formerly
    incarcerated individuals, the Department is expanding its Federal
    Bonding Program which provides employers with access to $5,000-$25,000
    of fidelity bond coverage for the first 6 months of employment for
    formerly incarcerated individuals.
    Protecting Working Americans by Confronting Visa Fraud and Abuse
        Companies that commit visa fraud, and abuse the temporary worker
    system hurt working Americans and American job creators that play by
    the rules. These bad actors cut costs by not providing legally required
    wages and working conditions and, in some instances, foreign workers'
    lives are at stake.
        In June 2017, I directed the Department to confront non-immigrant
    visa program fraud and abuse, including making criminal referrals to
    the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The Department also made
    changes to the H-1B application forms to ensure greater transparency
    and better protect American workers from employers seeking to misuse
    the program.
        In fiscal year 2018, the Department concluded 649 non-immigrant
    visa program cases and found violations in 553 of those cases. In
    fiscal year 2018, the Department issued 37 debarments in the H-2A, H-
    2B, and PERM visa programs--precluding those employers from obtaining
    visas or doing work with the Department--a 61 percent increase over
    fiscal year 2017. In total, Department has recovered almost $11.6
    million in back wages on behalf of 6,061 non-immigrant visa employees
    in fiscal year 2018 and issued almost $4.2 million in civil money
    penalties--under 27 percent of dollars recovered. By way of comparison,
    in fiscal year 2016, the Department concluded only 526 non-immigrant
    visa cases, and recovered only $7.8 million in back wages for 5,161
    employees. At the same time, the Department assessed approximately $4.8
    million in civil money penalties--nearly 38 percent of dollars
    recovered.
    Leveling the Playing Field for Working Americans Through Fair Trade
        U.S. labor laws guarantee that working Americans be paid a minimum
    wage and overtime, that workplaces abide by health and safety
    standards, and restrict child labor. U.S. free trade agreements and
    preference programs require our trade partners to adopt, maintain, and
    effectively enforce labor laws addressing similar areas of protection.
    When trading partners fall short of their labor standards
    responsibilities under trade agreements, they create an uneven playing
    field that can hurt working Americans. The Budget strategically focuses
    efforts to make U.S. trade agreements fair for U.S. workers by
    monitoring and enforcing the labor provisions of free trade agreements
    and trade preference programs, combatting the reprehensible use of
    child labor and forced labor abroad, and providing technical assistance
    to countries seeking to improve labor standards.
        In addition to the Department's direct work on international labor
    issues, the Department also provides detailed research products and
    tools that help foreign governments and employers improve compliance
    with international child labor and forced labor standards. On September
    20, 2018, the Department released its 17th annual child labor report,
    Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, representing the most
    comprehensive research product to date on the state of child labor in
    132 countries worldwide. Simultaneously, the Department released an
    updated version of its Comply Chain app, which is designed to help
    businesses identify and root out abusive child labor and forced labor
    from global supply chains. Comply Chain is now also available in
    Spanish and French.
    Women's Bureau
        The Department's Women's Bureau assists in the development of
    policies and initiatives that promote the interests of the more than 74
    million women in the United States labor force. Women's Bureau
    collaborates with Department program agencies and other Federal
    partners to provide policy guidance, including on initiatives such as
    apprenticeships, military spouses, and occupational licensing, to
    better support the needs of women and their families.
        Women's Bureau is holding listening sessions across the country
    with military spouses in an effort to design a TAP specific to military
    spouses, 92 percent of whom are women. The Department leveraged its
    work with military spouses to aid efforts to redesign the workforce
    reentry components of TAP, focusing on assisting military spouses.
        Women's Bureau is also holding nationwide events and listening
    sessions--several of which were attended by Advisor to the President
    Ivanka Trump--to discuss the challenges, best practices, and potential
    solutions to help all working families access affordable, quality child
    care.
        Finally, the Department is conducting data analysis to better
    understand the impact of the opioid crisis on women in the labor force.
    This includes identifying and correcting the lack of information
    related to the opioid epidemic's effect on women in the labor force,
    relative to the existing research on its impact on men in the labor
    force. Building on this effort, the Department piloted a reemployment
    program grant in Maryland for women impacted by the opioid epidemic.
        The Budget focuses the Bureau's work on high priority areas like
    childcare, military spouses, entrepreneurship, and paid leave while
    eliminating unnecessary regional offices and eliminating grants.
     a strategy of vigorous enforcement coupled with compliance assistance
        The vast majority of employers are responsible actors, fully
    committed to following worker protection laws and to providing good,
    safe jobs for their employees. There are, however, those that fail to
    comply with their legal obligations. In those instances, the Department
    enforces our Nation's laws that protect working Americans--and does so
    vigorously. By way of example, in fiscal year 2018 the WHD's work
    resulted in a record $304 million in back wages recovered for more than
    265,000 workers across America. Fully enforcing the law levels the
    playing field for the majority of American job creators who play by the
    rules and supports the Nation's most important asset--working
    Americans.
        As a parallel to enforcement, there is significant value in
    compliance assistance programs that help working Americans and American
    job creators understand their rights and responsibilities under the
    law. Cooperation between the private sector and government can yield
    strong results at a quicker pace and lower cost than adversarial
    enforcement actions. Parties acting in good faith should have the help
    of the government to do so and should not be penalized for proactively
    requesting assistance.
        In August 2018, the Department launched the Office of Compliance
    Initiatives (OCI) to bring together agencies' compliance assistance
    efforts into a single, concerted program. The office, led by a career
    employee team, will help working Americans and American job creators
    understand their rights and responsibilities under the law and has
    launched the websites employer.gov and worker.gov to provide plain
    language guidance.
        The Department's fiscal year 2020 budget request includes
    additional resources for this office, as well as funding increases for
    every worker protection agency.
    Employee Benefits Security Administration
        EBSA helps ensure the security of the retirement, health, and other
    workplace related benefits of almost all American workers who have
    private-sector employer-sponsored plans. EBSA's enforcement authority
    extends to an estimated 694,000 private retirement plans, 2.2 million
    health plans, and similar numbers of other welfare benefit plans which
    together hold $9.5 trillion in assets. These plans provide critical
    benefits to America's workers, retirees, and their families.
        In safeguarding and clearly delineating fiduciaries'
    responsibilities on behalf of participants, on April 23, 2018, EBSA
    issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) laying out the Department's
    position that fiduciaries may not sacrifice investment returns, or
    assume greater risk, in order to promote collateral social goals, and
    must exercise care before incurring significant expenses to fund
    advocacy in the proxy voting space.
        In fiscal year 2018, EBSA recovered more than $1.16 billion in
    enforcement actions--a 70 percent increase over fiscal year 2017--and
    EBSA's criminal program resulted in 142 indictments. A large portion of
    this increase is attributable to EBSA's Terminated Vested Participants
    Program, which recovered over $807 million in benefit payments for
    participants and beneficiaries in defined benefit plans. During the
    same time period, EBSA's Benefits Advisors recovered an additional
    $443.2 million on behalf of participants and beneficiaries through
    informal dispute resolution, assisting 170,909 Americans.
        The President's fiscal year 2020 budget request for EBSA stands at
    $193.5 million, a nearly 7 percent increase from the fiscal year 2019
    revised enacted budget, and includes additional enforcement resources
    of $10.0 million and 45 FTE that will focus on investigating self-
    insured AHPs and self-insured Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements.
    Mine Safety and Health Administration
        MSHA's enforcement strategy is grounded in its mandate to inspect
    all active mines in the United States and its territories regularly.
    MSHA's enforcement mandate is essential to protect miners and advance a
    culture of safety and health in the mining industry.
        In support of its mission, MSHA also provides grants and compliance
    assistance to the mining community. In fiscal year 2018, MSHA's annual
    Training Resources Applied to Mining (TRAM) conference drew more than
    300 mining stakeholders to learn about training techniques, new
    technology, and best practices in mining. The MSHA Academy provided 443
    course days of compliance assistance training to the mining community.
    Educational Field and Small Mine Services, with support from
    Educational Policy Development personnel, provided 69,186 hours of
    additional compliance assistance in the field.
        In fiscal year 2018, MSHA fulfilled its statutory mandate to
    inspect all underground mines four times per year and all surface mines
    twice per year which, combined with non-mandatory inspections, helped
    foster a more safe mining industry. Notably, the mining industry
    overall experienced the lowest number of fatalities in fiscal year
    2018. The Department remains focused on reducing the numbers of mining
    injuries and fatalities even more, because our goal must be zero mining
    deaths.
        The President's fiscal year 2020 Budget request for MSHA stands at
    $376 million, an increase over the fiscal year 2019 revised enacted
    budget, and proposes a new enforcement structure that combines the Coal
    Mine Safety and Health and Metal/Non-Metal Safety and Health budget
    activities. This consolidated budget activity will provide the
    flexibility to address industry changes and maximize the efficient use
    of MSHA's resources.
    Occupational Safety and Health Administration
        OSHA helps ensure that employers provide safe and healthful working
    conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards
    and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. OSHA
    also administers the whistleblower provisions of more than 20
    whistleblower statutes. Compliance assistance and enforcement--driven
    by workplace inspections and investigations--play a vital role in
    OSHA's efforts to reduce workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.
        In fiscal year 2018, and in fiscal year 2017, OSHA conducted more
    than 32,000 inspections each year, exceeding the fiscal year 2016
    number. These results are impressive particularly given that OSHA
    dedicated substantial resources in fiscal year 2018 to hiring and
    training new inspectors. In August 2017, OSHA was provided blanket
    approval to hire needed inspectors to carry out its important work. The
    result was the hiring of 76 new inspectors in fiscal year 2018. The
    timeframe for new inspectors that join the Department to be prepared to
    conduct inspections can vary between one to 3 years depending on their
    prior experience and complexity of the inspections they may carry out.
    During this time, these new hires do not generally conduct independent
    inspections. OSHA has been hard at work to onboard and train new
    inspectors and expects to have a significant increase in inspectors in
    fiscal year 2019.
        In fiscal year 2018, in addition, OSHA personnel made 26,362
    compliance assistance visits covering more than 970,000 workers and
    ensuring that 135,021 hazards were identified/corrected. The estimated
    savings in injuries and costs prevented by this program exceed $1.3
    billion.
        Late in 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the injury
    and fatality data for calendar year 2017. Even as employment
    substantially increased and less-experienced workers were onboarded,
    the numbers and rates of fatal injuries and nonfatal injuries and
    illnesses in the workplace declined. With 43 fewer workplace fatalities
    in 2017, reversing a 3 year upward trend, the fatality rate fell to 3.5
    per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. The incidence rate for
    private industry nonfatal cases fell to 2.8 per 100 full-time
    equivalent workers after employers reported 45,800 fewer cases. This
    overall decrease occurred against a backdrop of a substantial increase
    in fatalities due to unintentional overdose from nonmedical use of
    drugs or alcohol, which increased from 217 to 272 workplace fatalities
    nationwide.
        The Department is committed to fostering an environment that
    promotes disclosure of dangerous work conditions and protects
    whistleblowers. OSHA's Whistleblower Program prevents retaliation
    against workers that report injuries, safety concerns, or engage in
    other protected activity. In fiscal year 2018, OSHA implemented
    internal measures, such as expedited case processing and streamlined
    case documentation requirements, to increase the efficiency of the
    Whistleblower Protection Program. fiscal year 2018 saw 9,387 new
    complaints under the program, a 9 percent increase over fiscal year
    2017, and processed 9,308 complaints, an 8.4 percent increase over
    fiscal year 2017.
        The President's fiscal year 2020 budget request for OSHA stands at
    $557.5 million, a slight increase over the fiscal year 2019 revised
    enacted budget, and proposes additional funding for staff, including 30
    additional Compliance Safety and Health Officers and five additional
    whistleblower investigators.
    Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
        OFCCP is tasked with ensuring that Federal contractors and
    subcontractors comply with their equal employment opportunity
    obligations.
        OFCCP supports compliance through assistance tools, resources, and
    incentives. Indeed, in fiscal year 2018, OFCCP held 346 events to
    inform and educate the regulated community and handled 2,797 help desk
    requests via telephone calls and email. Also in fiscal year 2018, OFCCP
    issued its ``Town Hall Action Plan'' and ``What Contractors Can
    Expect'' to engage with the regulated community and demystify OFCCP's
    work. Specifically, the agency sought to develop the broad
    understanding that contractors and subcontractors seeking OFCCP's
    assistance with satisfying their nondiscrimination and equal employment
    opportunity obligations can expect clear, accurate, and professional
    interactions with OFCCP's staff.
        In fiscal year 2018, the OFCCP conducted 812 compliance
    evaluations, entered into 168 conciliation agreements, and obtained
    over $16 million in monetary remedies for more than 12,000 affected
    employees and applicants.
        The President's fiscal year 2020 budget proposal for OFCCP stands
    at $103.6 million, a slight increase from the fiscal year 2019 revised
    enacted budget, and includes funding for IT modernization efforts which
    is largely offset by gains obtained through operational efficiencies in
    OFCCP.
    Office of Labor Management Standards
        The Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS) administers and
    enforces most of the provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and
    Disclosure Act (LMRDA). The LMRDA promotes union democracy and
    financial integrity in private sector labor unions, and transparency
    for labor unions and their officials, employers, labor relations
    consultants, and surety companies through reporting and disclosure
    requirements. In fiscal year 2018, OLMS conducted 16,968 participant
    hours of compliance assistance instruction--the highest since fiscal
    year 2012.
        The Department is also currently working on a new transparency
    regulatory proposal for union trust accounts so that union members can
    see where their money is going when it becomes part of a covered trust.
        In fiscal year 2018, OLMS investigated 128 union elections after
    complaints of violations, supervised 28 rerun elections due to election
    violations, and conducted 223 criminal investigations which resulted in
    73 convictions.
        The President's fiscal year 2020 budget for OLMS stands at $49.1
    million, a 15.8 percent increase over the fiscal year 2019 revised
    enacted budget, and includes a proposed increase of $4.2 million in
    staffing increases to support enforcement programs that ensure union
    transparency and financial integrity, both of which inure to the
    benefit of the hardworking men and women that make up the membership of
    unions.
    Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
        The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) administers
    four major disability compensation programs covering more than two
    million Federal employees, and a significant number of private sector
    workers, which provide wage replacement benefits, medical treatment,
    vocational rehabilitation, and other benefits to certain working
    Americans, or their dependents, who experience work-related injuries or
    occupational disease.
        Among those programs, OWCP oversees prescription benefits for
    injured Federal workers and is taking aggressive measures to control
    fraud. OWCP implemented measures in fiscal year 2018 to target and
    intercept abusive billing patterns, resulting in a $5 million per month
    average savings in overall pharmaceutical spending.\2\ These savings
    are in addition to the $19 million per month average savings in overall
    pharmaceutical spending realized in fiscal year 2017 from addressing
    compounded drugs.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Comparing the 7 months following implementation of measures in
    2018 (June 2018--December 2018) to the months prior in fiscal year 2018
    (October 2017--May 2018).
        \3\ Comparing the first 6 months of 2016 to the fiscal year 2017
    months after the primary compounded drug control was implemented
    (November 2016--September 2017).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        In 2017, the President rightfully declared the opioid crisis a
    public health emergency. Opioids are affecting how job creators hire,
    how job holders work, and how job seekers find family-sustaining jobs.
    This crisis is far-reaching and touches far too many Americans. The
    Department is doing its part to combat the opioids crisis. OWCP has
    taken aggressive steps to prevent the over-prescribing of opioids for
    the approximately 200,000 Federal employees or dependent beneficiaries
    each year who receive workers compensation benefits. Specifically, OWCP
    issued prescription guidelines for medical providers, and will monitor
    billing patterns and multi-party networks of interest using predictive
    analytics and risk metrics.
        OWCP is also updating its computer resources and acquiring a
    Pharmacy Benefit Manager to assist in these efforts. Since January
    2017, OWCP has seen a significant drop in the number of claimants
    prescribed high-dose opioids, with a 59 percent drop in claimants
    prescribed a morphine-equivalent dose (MED) of 500 or more, and a 31
    percent drop in claimants prescribed an MED of 90 or more as of the end
    of February 2019. Additionally, when comparing 20 months of data--
    January 2017 to August 2018 and the same time period in 2015 to 2016--
    there was a 24 percent drop in new opioid prescriptions and a 51
    percent decline in new opioid prescriptions lasting more than 30 days.
        The Department is resolute in its commitment to ensuring that
    injured Federal employees access opioids only with adequate medical
    supervision. OWCP now requires that the prescribing physician complete
    a medical evaluation and attest to the medical necessity of continued
    opioid treatment for all new opioid prescriptions that extend beyond an
    initial period of time, requires prior authorization and a letter of
    medical necessity for all new opioid prescriptions that extend beyond
    an initial grace period, and has imposed fill and re-fill prescription
    limits.
        OWCP has also worked closely with the OIG to eliminate Federal
    Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) fraud. In cooperation with the OIG,
    OWCP created documents that facilitate interagency investigation and
    prosecution efforts by providing guidance to the government-wide OIG
    community on how to request FECA data and submit reports of
    investigation that implicate waste, fraud, and abuse. In fiscal year
    2018, OWCP submitted 62 medical provider referrals to the OIG--covering
    more than 100 individual providers--for possible fraudulent medical
    billing. These referrals were due in large part to the establishment of
    OWCP's Program Integrity Unit housed in the Division of Federal
    Employees' Compensation.
        The President's fiscal year 2020 request for OWCP's discretionary
    salaries and expenses amount stands at $117.8 million, a slight
    increase over the fiscal year 2019 revised enacted budget.
    Wage and Hour Division
        WHD is tasked with ensuring compliance with, and enforcement of,
    many of the Nation's fundamental Federal labor laws, including minimum
    wage, overtime, and child labor laws. To accomplish its mission, WHD
    employs enforcement and compliance assistance strategies, along with
    evidence-based and data-driven approaches to allocate resources in a
    manner that maximizes its impact on behalf of workers in the United
    States.
        Fiscal year 2018 also saw record enforcement numbers from WHD
    resulting in the recovery of more than $304 million in back wages for
    more than 265,000 workers across America. Enforcement is a critical
    part of WHD's overall strategy and is employed rigorously when
    compliance assistance, alone, is not enough. WHD's enforcement efforts
    are tailored to safeguard workers' rights and obtain due compensation
    for violations of the law.
        In fiscal year 2018, WHD conducted a record 3,643 outreach events
    and presentations, providing valuable information and compliance
    assistance to participants across the United States. As part of this
    effort, WHD employs Community Outreach and Resource Planning
    Specialists (CORPS) in nearly all district offices nationwide. The
    CORPS have been successful in establishing partnerships with industry
    associations and employers to offer compliance assistance and educate
    stakeholders on labor standards.
        In fiscal year 2018, WHD recovered more than $304 million in back
    wages for more than 265,000 working Americans and other workers--more
    than any other year in the agency's history, and an average of $1,147
    per person.
        The President's fiscal year 2020 budget request for WHD stands at
    $232.6 million, a slight increase over the fiscal year 2019 revised
    enacted budget, and proposes additional funding for staff to modernize
    compliance assistance efforts.
    Helping Americans Get Back to Work After Natural Disasters
        This fiscal year, the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina,
    South Carolina, and territories of Northern Mariana Islands endured an
    active and destructive hurricane season. At the same time, Puerto Rico
    and the U.S. Virgin Islands continued their recovery from last year's
    storms. For a second year in a row, California suffered destructive
    wildfires.
        The Department of Labor worked with Federal, State, and local
    agencies to provide much-needed support to those affected. The
    Department:
      --provided more than $100 million in grants to help affected States
            and territories assess their workforce needs;
      --sent personnel and donated equipment to assist in recovery efforts;
            and
      --oversaw Disaster Unemployment Assistance aid to those unemployed as
            a result of the hurricanes.
        In addition to funding and direct support, the Department also
    worked to reduce barriers to rebuilding and aid efforts, and reduce the
    burdens on survivors by providing much-needed regulatory flexibility.
    The Department:
      --temporarily waived certain retirement plan and group health plan
            requirements and deadlines;
      --temporarily suspended select Federal contractor requirements,
            allowing businesses involved in hurricane relief the ability to
            prioritize recovery efforts;
      --temporarily eased reporting and other regulatory burdens on labor
            organizations, labor relations consultants, and employers
            affected by the hurricanes; and
      --provided other regulatory flexibility requested by individual
            States.
        The Department continues to support the Federal Emergency
    Management Agency (FEMA) with hurricane and wild fire recovery efforts.
    In the wake of the 2017 and 2018 hurricanes, Department staff conducted
    more than 2,229 outreach activities, providing critical information and
    compliance assistance to more than 14,000 workers in affected areas;
    more than 2,276 safety and health interventions reaching more than
    11,494 workers, of which more than 6,391 individuals were removed from
    hazards; and served more than 24,907 working Americans. The Department
    is also conducting investigations to ensure workers employed in
    recovery efforts are receiving the wages to which they are legally
    entitled and ensure a level playing field for law-abiding businesses.
        The hardworking men and women of the Department also donated 13,659
    hours, or more than 1,707 days, and more than $47,000 in gift cards to
    their colleagues who suffered significant property damage or loss as a
    result; and more than 500 DOL employees volunteered to travel to
    affected areas to support the recovery efforts.
                                   conclusion
        In closing, I hope my statement today makes clear the depth and
    breadth of the Department's accomplishments this past year. The
    Department is hard at work supporting Americans' efforts to find, and
    excel in good, safe, family-sustaining jobs.
        We look forward to working with Congress on these important goals.

        Senator Blunt. Well thank you. I was obviously eager to get
    to our question time, and always, I am glad to hear your
    comments, particularly the fact that those programs that have
    direct contact with workplace issues, that you have increased
    slightly the budget for those.

                           RURAL WORKFORCE INITIATIVE

        I want to talk a little bit about the Rural Workforce
    Initiative that this committee started in 2018, fiscal year
    2018, dealing with the Delta Regional Authority and the
    Appalachian Regional Commission, the unemployment rates and
    even in a good economy are still well higher than the national
    average.
        We have now appropriated $60 million for this initiative
    and you have asked for another $30, but none of that money has
    yet been spent. At least I do not believe it has been spent. My
    sense is since you are asking for more money, these programs
    can work. What are you doing to get that money out the door now
    and see that they work?
        Secretary Acosta. Mr. Chairman, thank you. Thank you for
    the question. I think we all agree that this is a good
    investment and that this, in fact, should go forward.
        The way the appropriation was written, in the opinion of
    our attorneys created difficulty, as it was written. I think
    this committee intended the money to go to the regional
    commissions and have those commissions disperse it to
    individual entities within the region.
        Our attorneys, however, said that based on the language we
    had to do the disbursement directly to the individual entities.
    We have entered into an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with
    the regional commissions where we are providing funds for the
    regional commissions to do technical assistance so that the
    individual entities can apply to us, with the assistance of
    those regional commissions. So, the individual entities will
    apply to us as our budget attorneys say they have to, but with
    the assistance of those regional commissions.
        Going forward I hope that our staffs can work together, and
    my understanding is they are working together, to develop
    appropriate language so we do not have to face this next year.
    It is a technical issue.
        Senator Blunt. Then you would hope we could put that
    language in this next appropriating bill?
        Secretary Acosta. Absolutely. I think everyone agrees on
    what this should look like. There is a technical legal issue
    that we are working around. We have issued the MOU and entered
    the MOU with both the Delta, and I apologize, I forget the
    other.
        Senator Blunt. Appalachian.
        Secretary Acosta. With both the Delta and the Appalachian
    regional commissions so that we can disburse the money with
    their assistance, as they work with their local grantees.

                                JOB CORPS BUDGET

        Senator Blunt. Let's move to what I think was about a 40
    percent proposed cut for Job Corps that is over $700 million.
    Does that mean you are going to eliminate 40 percent of the
    locations in the country, or what do you expect to do with
    that?
        Secretary Acosta. Mr. Chairman I think I mentioned to you
    when we spoke earlier this year, the debate over Job Corps is
    one that goes back several decades. This committee is going to
    determine the appropriate funding level for Job Corps as it did
    last year, and the year before that. We have concerns about the
    program, irrespective of funding level. We are proceeding based
    on those concerns with reforms to the program that we think may
    be helpful. So, we are using our pilot project authority
    working with governors that are interested too, to try
    different pilot projects in particular States.
        So yesterday for example, I shared that that we are
    starting a Job Corps Scholars Pilot Program. It is small, it is
    only $20 million, but we issued a request for proposal for
    community colleges to set up many job corps within those
    community colleges, cohorts of 40 students. They would receive
    funds that would cover tuition, that would cover housing, that
    would cover counseling services, and interestingly it would be
    at about half the cost per student, of a job corps center,
    because job corps centers depending on the particular center,
    sometimes $30-$40,000 per student, per year.
        We are also working with, in Idaho for example, with the
    governor, the Job Corps Center is now being managed, or about
    to be managed, by their local community college. So, we are
    trying different approaches to see what works and what does not
    work, and we will proceed as this committee sees fit on the Job
    Corps program.

                           USDA-RUN JOB CORPS CENTERS

        Senator Blunt. Now there are a couple of USDA (United
    States Department of Agriculture) run Job Corps Centers in the
    country, I know we have one in Missouri. I have been told that
    they are no longer interested in running those programs.
        Secretary Acosta. The USDA has indicated that they have
    concerns as to the effectiveness of those programs. And if they
    do withdraw, then we would look at program Job Corps Center by
    Job Corps Center and determine whether to close that center,
    whether to consolidate that center, or whether to convert that
    center into something different.
        Senator Blunt. And you are working with the States on that?
        Secretary Acosta. We would be working with the USDA and the
    States, yes.
        Senator Blunt. Thank you.
        Senator Murray.
        Senator Murray. Thank you Mr. Chairman.

                               HUMAN TRAFFICKING

        Before I ask about budget Mr. Secretary, I do need to ask
    you about when you served as U.S. Attorney and your office
    negotiated a ``deal of a lifetime'' for a serial sex abuser,
    Jeffrey Epstein, which allowed him to serve minimal jail time
    and avoid Federal prosecution for sex trafficking charges.
        What I want to know is why the non-prosecution agreement
    you negotiated was not stronger? Why just 13 months in jail
    for--when those young girls were victims of what you described
    as a quote ``very vile crimes?''
        Secretary Acosta. So, Senator Murray first, let me point
    out that this started and was, a State matter. The district
    attorney received the information, the evidence from the
    police. The district attorney took this to a grand jury. The
    grand jury in the county recommended a single charge that would
    have resulted in no jail time; that would have resulted in no
    registration at all. And on that basis Epstein was arraigned in
    State court.
        Now as Federal prosecutors we looked at this and we said,
    this is of concern. The way this is proceeding in State court,
    no jail time, no registration, is of concern to us. So, we
    weighed in and we said that a Federal prosecution and
    investigation could result, and would result, if the State did
    not negotiate something that was much stronger. And at the end
    of the day he entered a plea in State court that called for 18
    months; that called for registration as a sex offender.
        Senator Murray. 13 months.
        Secretary Acosta. 18 months, Senator. The way that the
    State then allowed him to serve the sentence, it was reduced to
    13, but it was 18.
        Senator Murray. Well as you know he was a serial sex
    offender, and this, it does not feel that he was appropriately
    punished at all.
        And earlier this year a Federal Florida judge said the non-
    prosecution agreement violated the law. So, let me ask you,
    would you join with me calling for a thorough, independent
    investigation by career ethics officials into whether non
    prosecution agreements violated Federal law or Department of
    Justice policies?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator Murray, first let me say the
    Office of Professional Responsibility at the department is
    looking at this matter already.
        Secondly, if I could point out, the Department of Justice
    at the time, had a policy in place that did not--where the
    Crime Victim Notification's Act of the CBRA did not apply to
    non-prosecution agreements, and in fact, there was an Office of
    Legal Counsel decision.
        Senator Murray. Well, there is an investigation going on.
        I want to get to the budget. Do you agree with me that the
    investigation should be released to all members of the
    Congress?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, I think that is a Department of
    Justice decision, they have protocols on that.
        Senator Murray. What is your opinion?
        Secretary Acosta. I think that this is a Department of
    Justice decision.
        Senator Murray. So, you do not have an opinion on whether
    we should see it?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, I do not know what the protocols
    are at the Department of Justice. I think the Department of
    Justice has protocols, and that they should follow these
    protocols.

                              FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE

        Senator Murray. All right, well let me turn to the budget.
    Yesterday you testified before the House, Education and Labor
    Committee that, ``We do not support a change to the Federal
    minimum wage at this time''. You know the Federal minimum wage
    has not been increased in a decade and low-wage workers now
    make less per hour than they did 50 years ago.
        So, I would like you to clarify that statement. If workers
    do not deserve, a quote, at this time, then, when do they?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, the prior comments around that
    pointed out that 29 States have increased their State minimum
    wage above the Federal minimum wage. And within the remaining
    21 States there are some localities that also may have
    increased the minimum wage above the Federal.
        And so, part of this question, in fact the Washington Post
    had an editorial that pointed this out, should the 29 States
    that have raised the minimum wage above the Federal, impose
    their cost structures on the remaining 21 States? And so, the
    Post editorial, for example, pointed out that a one-size-fits-
    all approach does not work and does not work well.
        Senator Murray. Well we have worked well under a Federal
    Minimum Wage Law that made sure that we did not have increasing
    disparities among workers. So, you and I are going to disagree
    on this.

                            APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS

        I do want to ask about apprenticeships. The Registered
    Apprenticeship Program is really highly effective in providing
    workers with good paying jobs. It long has had a history a
    bipartisan support from this Congress, so I have to say I am
    very deeply concerned about your implementation of this
    program, and your efforts to create a duplicative lower quality
    apprenticeship program. You call it IRAPs (Industry Recognized
    Apprenticeship Programs).
        Now despite your repeated public assurance that our
    appropriation can only legally fund the Registered program,
    earlier this year I learned that DOL (Department of Labor)
    spent $20 million on a contract to quote, ``Expand industry
    relevant apprenticeship programs that are recognized and/or
    registered''. And it was not until we had a congressional
    inquiry months after the agreement was signed, DOL backtracked,
    acknowledging this would be illegal and inconsistent with the
    committee's direction.
        I am also concerned by your failure to spend the fiscal
    year 2018 funding. We appropriated that more than a year ago
    with the majority of that $145 million still unspent, despite a
    fast approaching expiration date.
        And finally, I am very troubled at the department's clear
    intent to undermine the Registered Apprenticeship Program by
    proposing changes to its regulation to weaken fundamental labor
    standards and limit Federal oversight, over tens of millions of
    dollars of taxpayers. Oversight is our responsibility.
        So I just, I only have a few seconds left, if you could
    just answer yes or no. Given the highly questionable nature of
    the $20 million contract I just mentioned, I sent you a letter
    today requesting DOL provide all the contract documents related
    to this agreement. Will you respond to that in a timely and
    transparent manner?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, I disagree with the
    characterization of that contract, and yes, I will respond.
        Senator Murray. Okay. Mr. Secretary given the White House's
    2017 Executive Order and your proposed regulatory changes, is
    it your position that DOL should be in the business of shifting
    tens of millions of dollars, of taxpayer dollars away from a
    proven Registered Apprenticeship Program to set up this
    unnecessary system with minimal Federal protections or
    oversights?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, again I disagree with the
    characterization, and we are not in the process of shifting
    dollars from registered to industry recognized apprenticeships.
        Senator Murray. Okay. My time has expired, and we will
    follow-up with written questions.
        Senator Blunt. Thank you Senator, Senator Murray.
        Senator Alexander.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you Mr. Chairman.

                               HUMAN TRAFFICKING

        Mr. Secretary, welcome. Given the conversation that Senator
    Murray mentioned, let me ask you two questions about the plea
    agreement. At the time of the non-prosecution agreement that
    she mentioned, and you discussed, did the George W. Bush
    Justice Department, for whom you worked, approve the agreement
    as consistent with the Department of Justice policy?
        Secretary Acosta. The agreement was reviewed in main
    justice as high up as the Deputy Attorney General, yes.
        Senator Alexander. Is the answer yes?
        Secretary Acosta. Yes.
        Senator Alexander. By the Deputy Attorney General?
        Secretary Acosta. By him or his staff, yes.
        Senator Alexander. And second, since then has the
    Department of Justice under President George W. Bush, President
    Obama, and President Trump continued to support your decision
    on the non-prosecution agreement as consistent with Department
    of Justice policy?
        Secretary Acosta. Yes, Senator.
        Senator Alexander. So, the decision you made was consistent
    with the Department of Justice at that time and it was
    consistent with the Department of Justice policy under three
    administrations and what we have now is a judge who disagrees
    with three administrations Department of Justice policy. But
    that to me, does not reflect on your decision at all.

                            ASSOCIATION HEALTH PLANS

        Let me go to Association Health Plans. Obamacare is a big
    problem in our country and such a big problem that almost all
    members of Congress would like to substitute something else for
    it. Republicans would like to replace it with policies that
    would give States more flexibility and individuals more choices
    and lower cost, and a large number of Democrats would like to
    replace it with Medicare for All, which would take away
    insurance on the job from 181 million Americans. So, there is
    broad agreement on both sides of the aisle that Obamacare does
    not work and is a problem. We just have different views about
    what to replace it with.
        Now, perhaps the most extraordinary problem with Obamacare
    is in the individual market. Which Senator Murray and I worked
    on to try to reduce premiums, and in the end, there was not an
    agreement. But in Tennessee for example, you might make $50-
    $60,000 if you are a farmer and be paying $20,000 for your
    insurance. You do not get any Obamacare subsidy.
        The best solution of that it seems to me, is your rule to
    reinstate Association Health Plans, which existed before
    Obamacare and which you reinstated in a fairly conservative
    way, and which basically give employees of smaller companies
    and some sole proprietors, the opportunity to buy the same sort
    of insurance that employees of big companies can buy with the
    same protections for such things as pre-existing condition.
        Now, your reinstatement of Association Health Plans has
    been popular, but a judge has stopped it. What happens for
    example, to the Las Vegas employee whose company organized
    insurance under the Association Health Plan rule? Does that
    employee lose her insurance as a result of the court decision?
    And what are the prospects for expanding Association Health
    Plans as a way of reducing outrageously high insurance
    premiums?
        In Tennessee since the start of Obamacare, individual
    insurance premiums are up more than 176 percent. So, what can
    you say about that?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, thank you. First let me point
    out is, you are correct, they have been popular.
        The Washington Post ran two articles, one an article, one
    an editorial board member. These are the headlines:
    ``Association health plans expanded under Trump looks promising
    so far'', talking about how they are quality plans, and
    ``Experts hated this Trump healthcare policy. So far, they are
    wrong''. Those are from February 1st and 4th.
        These first, let me say, are quality plans, the same plans
    offered by IBM and other major corporations. Now, about 30
    associations around the Nation have set up these AHP's and they
    have thousands of individuals that are covered.
        We issued earlier this week a nonenforcement policy with
    respect to Association Health Plans that said that those plans
    under the courts order, they cannot receive new clients, but
    they have an obligation to continue to provide coverage to
    existing clients under the current insurance contracts.
        So those individuals in Las Vegas that are covered by the
    Las Vegas AHP should know that their insurance contract will
    continue through the end of that contract and renewals thereof.
        Senator Alexander. I am out of time, but is the decision by
    the District Court judge on appeal and when is that appeal
    going to be heard and when will it be decided?
        Secretary Acosta. It is appealed, we do not have a date and
    so I do not know when it will be decided.
        Senator Alexander [presiding]. Thank you Mr. Secretary.
        Senator Schatz.
        Senator Schatz. Thank you Mr. Chairman, ranking member.
    Secretary, thank you for being here.

                        CHANGES TO FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE

        I want to follow up on Senator Murray's questioning about
    that minimum wage. Let us sort of set a baseline here. Do you
    believe that there should be a minimum wage?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator I do believe there should be a
    minimum wage, yes.
        Senator Schatz. A Federal minimum wage?
        Secretary Acosta. Yes.
        Senator Schatz. So, you think $7.25 is the right number?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, I know that at least 29 States
    have increased----
        Senator Schatz. Hold on, hold on. It is a very simple
    question. You are the Secretary of Labor. You said there should
    be a minimum wage, so we got that, $7.25 is the current rate
    which annualizes to about $15,000 a year. What do you think the
    right number is?
        Secretary Acosta. $7.25 is the current Federal minimum
    wage.
        Senator Schatz. I got that.
        Secretary Acosta. And I do not believe the Federal minimum
    wage should be changed at this time.
        Senator Schatz. Because that is enough?
        Secretary Acosta. There are different wage structures
    throughout the Nation.
        Senator Schatz. Yes, I got all that. I mean, listen, we
    have 5 minutes; I am not trying to trap you, I just want to
    understand your thinking. Do you think $15,000 a year is enough
    for the 88 percent of minimum wage workers who are over 20
    years old?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator----
        Senator Schatz. It is yes or no. Do you think that is
    enough money for them?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, the number of individuals that
    are on minimum wage varies depending which data you use between
    about .5 percent to a little over 1 percent. One question that
    I think is very important is, how long individuals continue to
    receive minimum wage; is this viewed as an entry-level wage, a
    training wage, a wage that is paid temporarily.
        Senator Schatz. Should I take that as a yes that it is
    enough as long as it is temporary?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, I think you should take that as
    a--this area is a little more complicated than yes or no
    questions.
        Senator Schatz. But you have to set a number, right? So, I
    get that. I mean I understand the workforce I understand how
    wages work; I understand that some people who get a minimum
    wage, a job immediately ascend to a higher paying job. But I
    will say that if you start at $7.25, you do not immediately go
    to $15.25, you go from $7.25 to $9.25. Right? And then to
    $11.25 if you are lucky, over many, many, many, many years.
        So, it really very much matters what the base pay is
    because you are not going to double your pay from $15,000 a
    year to $20,000 a year.
        So, the question for the Secretary of Labor is, what is the
    right number? And I understand that you are a former professor,
    but I am asking you what you think the right number is.
        Secretary Acosta. And Senator, my response is at this time,
    I do not think that there should be change in the Federal
    minimum wage. I understand that localities may and are changing
    that, but if one was to look for example at the labor force
    participation rate of younger Americans, it has fallen
    dramatically. The unemployment rate among younger Americans is
    a challenge, and one question that we need to think about----
        Senator Schatz. But what about the adults who make the
    minimum wage? And I guess that the question I have is if you
    make minimum wage, if you make $15,000 a year, you are almost
    inevitably on a number of public subsidies. So, it seems to me
    that the Government is subsidizing the corporation's
    underpaying of the individual.
        Can you address that problem? Because there is just no
    doubt if you are paying someone $7.25, they are going to be on
    SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, and
    any number of other Government paid taxpayer subsidized
    assistance. Which seems to me a crazy way to do these things,
    because if you just paid them enough, we could have the lower
    tax rate and a solid social safety net, but not one that
    required that we basically subsidize all the companies who were
    underpaying people.
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, what you are referencing is, the
    ``cliff effect'', which is in essence the trade-off between
    Government benefits and wages, is something that I would be
    more than happy to talk, maybe after the hearing, at length
    about. Because I would much rather see individuals working and
    working with good wages, than being the recipient of Government
    benefits. I think it is better for the individual.
        Senator Schatz. And so just--let's try it this way. Why not
    raise the minimum wage? Other than sort of, like ideology,
    let's presume I am a progressive and you are a conservative and
    we have our ideological reasons coming into this. If we took
    off our partisan hats, why not pay everybody $10?
        We have a robust economy, we have a housing shortage, we
    have healthcare costs that continue to outpace inflation, you
    have prescription drugs going through the roof, you have people
    across the country struggling, and yet GDP (gross domestic
    product) and productivity and the stock market are not quite
    all time highs, but are doing quite well. And we still want to
    pay people seven dollars an hour?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, I think I mentioned at my
    hearing yesterday, the overall wages are up, the highest, the
    fastest increase we have seen in more than a decade, but----
        Senator Schatz. But what about people making seven bucks?
        Secretary Acosta [continuing]. In particular, something
    that I think is very important is at the lowest decile last
    year, wages increased 6.5 percent, almost double, double the
    median, and that is a very, very good thing. And so, I think we
    share the desire to see wages go up at the lowest decile. The
    question is how do we go about doing that in a thoughtful way
    that does not generate a loss in jobs, particularly in lower
    cost areas of the Nation?
        Senator Schatz. Thank you.
        Senator Alexander. Thank you Senator Schatz.
        Senator Durbin.

                                  WAGE GROWTH

        Senator Durbin. Thanks Mr. Secretary for being here. I am
    sorry I was at another hearing and unable to join you here.
        But just to follow up on Senator Schatz's questions, when
    you are starting at $7.25 an hour and there is a 6.5 percent
    increase, you realize that it does not have a very dramatic
    impact on your lifestyle. The cost of living is going up too,
    and I would agree with his premise that paying people a decent
    livable wage, not only gives them dignity in the work that they
    perform, but also may absolve us from some Government
    responsibilities that we assume for those who are on the
    margins in our economy.
        Maybe someone here can remind me, Senator Schatz, or
    yourself, when was the last time we raised the minimum wage?
        Secretary Acosta. I believe it was 2009.
        Senator Durbin. 10 years ago. So, 6 1/2 percent a year at
    10 years, it should go up what, 60 percent let's say from where
    it is, at currently $7.25. You start seeing the effect that we
    do not respond and let this thing languish, it just worsens the
    plight of many people.

                                   CAREGIVERS

        I would like to ask you to consider something which we have
    never discussed, but I hope all of us will discuss more and
    more. I really started focusing on an aspect of the work force,
    of which we better pay closer attention to, and I called them
    generically, caregivers.
        Whether we are talking about daycare, and the desperate
    efforts of families to find safe quality, affordable daycare
    for that new infant and child, or the care for those who are
    disabled. The growing responsibility of individuals for caring
    for those later in life, many of whom are facing those serious
    health challenges. This segment of our population workforce is
    growing dramatically, at great sacrifice for many family
    members.
        And I think we ought to be looking at it in more honest
    terms about how we are going to deal with it in the future, to
    make sure that the people who care for those grandchildren we
    love, or those grandparents we love, are treated like the
    professionals that they need to be to do their jobs well.
        What is your response to that?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, first I agree that this is a
    growing segment of the population. That if we just look at our
    demographic's individuals, we are having more and more
    individuals retire. And as the retiree population increases
    this is going to become more of an issue.
        I would very much welcome the opportunity to have a
    conversation. I think there is a push-pull here. We want to
    recognize the professionalism and the value of individuals that
    are caring for others, both formally and informally. At the
    same time, we want to make sure that we do not put in place
    regulations or rules that make it difficult for individuals to
    get the kind of care that they want or need.
        So, I would welcome the opportunity to sit down and to have
    that conversation. There may be areas where there is room for
    agreement, and we can move forward.

                   CAREGIVER'S PROGRAM FOR DISABLED VETERANS

        Senator Durbin. Well I can give you an example. We have had
    a caregiver's program for disabled veterans for several years
    now. It is a bill that I picked up from then, Senator Hillary
    Clinton, and with the help of Danny Akaka and many others, it
    has become the law of the land. And over 20,000, I am not sure
    the exact number, but I think it is over 20,000 disabled
    veterans now have the help of caregivers.
        There are three things we provide. The basic training they
    need, medical training so they can respond to that disabled
    vets needs. Respite care there is a period of time we can give
    them, 2 weeks of the year for example, for their own relaxation
    and vacation, and then in extreme circumstances, financial
    assistance as well, so that they can take care of veterans.
    Which I might add is a great savings to the Federal Government
    if they are at home taking care of the veteran as opposed to an
    institutional setting.
        I think it is an interesting template for what I raised
    earlier. This spectrum of caregiving that is now growing
    dramatically in this country, that we ought to make sure that
    at least those three elements are part of any response to a
    caregiver's core or something like it.
        I hope that we look at this more seriously. The desperate
    situations that people face with infants, as well as aging
    parents, really call on us to be more mindful of this in the
    future.
        Secretary Acosta. Senator I have discretion over fees
    received from H-1B applications and we are directing those fees
    into three areas based on where the H-1Bs are being issued the
    most.
        One of those areas is healthcare. Not for physicians, not
    at the, what I will call the more expensive end of healthcare,
    but the more every day part of healthcare and education for
    individuals entering the profession. So, there is a need both
    on the workforce education side, and also on making sure that
    there are appropriate communications between those that can
    offer the skills and those that need the skills.
        Senator Durbin. Thank you sir.
        Secretary Acosta. Thank you.
        Senator Blunt [presiding]. Thank you Senator.
        Senator Baldwin.
        Senator Baldwin. Thank you Mr. Chairman.

                  INDUSTRY RECOGNIZED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS

        Secretary Acosta, on July 27 of last year the Department of
    Labor issued the Creating Industry Recognized Apprenticeship
    Programs to expand opportunity in America, often nicknamed the
    IRAP programs. It outlines the process that will allow trade
    associations and other nongovernmental entities to self-certify
    apprenticeship programs.
        In February of this year a number of my colleagues and I
    sent you a letter asking you to explain and show documentation
    for the department's rationale in the creation of the IRAP
    program. And recently I have had a number of compensations with
    Wisconsin stakeholders, who include business owners, and others
    who do not understand the departments move away from the
    registered apprenticeship system that they have used for years.
    They understand how to navigate the program, to comply with it,
    and it really has an 80-year track record of success in my home
    State of Wisconsin.
        So, can you provide this committee with any specific
    evidence that the proposed IRAP program model is needed? And
    also, how are the proposed IRAPs consistent with the National
    Apprenticeship Act provisions that state quote ``The Secretary
    of Labor is authorized and directed to formulate labor
    standards necessary to safeguard the welfare of apprentices''.
    In short where are the protections for apprentices in the IRAP
    system?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, thank you for the question.
    First, let me dispel any notion that we are moving away from
    the Registered Apprenticeship Program, as this subcommittee and
    the full Senate and House appropriate dollars for Registered
    Apprenticeship Programs. Those dollars are dispersed to support
    Registered Apprenticeship Programs.
        So, we are not moving away from the registered program. We
    are setting up a parallel system primarily for those industries
    where Registered Apprenticeship Programs are not used. As you
    pointed out, there is an 80-year track record of these
    programs; these programs work well. The chairman and I, the
    chairman mentioned earlier, visited one in Missouri and I
    visited apprenticeship programs around the Nation that worked
    quite well and that have good results.
        We are not looking to take anything away from those, but
    there are industries that are not making use of that program
    and for those industries we are saying there is an alternative
    model, the industry recognized apprenticeship model.
        Now you asked how it is consistent with the act, and one
    way to sort of conceptualize this is in the education space.
    The Department of Education delegates accreditation authority
    to, for example, the American Bar Association or other national
    associations, that then look at law schools for example, and
    say this law school meets the appropriate standards.
        The concept of having third parties in essence, accredit
    and administer programs for particular industry, is not
    something that is new, but is something that is quite often
    used in the field of education, and workforce training is
    education.
        Senator Baldwin. Okay, I am going to cut you off there and
    I would like to continue this dialogue of how it is consistent
    with the act. But in terms of your statement and trying to
    reassure us that you are fully supportive still of registered
    apprenticeship, I wonder if you could explain why fiscal year
    2018 and 2019 funds have not been released to support
    registered apprenticeship; and what the department plans are
    going forward to rectify this situation. What is the deadline
    to spend fiscal year 2018 funds appropriated for apprenticeship
    training?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator, all the funds have been released
    with the exception of the funds that are going to the
    individual States. That particular portion of the funds is
    pending I believe at OMB (Office of Management and Budget) for
    final clearance and should be released fairly soon.
        Again, we are not, we are not trying in any way shape or
    form--we believe in apprenticeship programs. We are not trying
    to move away from this.
        Senator Baldwin. Okay, we are going to be tracking that
    closely because obviously we have heard concerns.

                             INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE

        On Tuesday the President agreed to begin work on a $2
    trillion infrastructure package. A few weeks ago, at the
    Building Trades Legislative Conference you said that
    infrastructure should, and will, include Davis-Bacon.
        Do you believe the President will support your position on
    Davis-Bacon, and have you spoken with the President about
    including Davis-Bacon in the infrastructure packet?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator this has been our position since
    last year's Senate hearing on infrastructure. Infrastructure
    will be bipartisan. That means infrastructure will include
    Davis-Bacon.
        Senator Baldwin. And has the President given you his
    commitment to include Davis-Bacon?
        Secretary Acosta. The President has not given--I have not
    spoken with the President about this in particular, but the
    White House is aware of this position and understands that
    apprenticeship--I am sorry that the infrastructure will be
    bipartisan.
        Senator Baldwin. And will include Davis-Bacon.
        Secretary Acosta. And will include Davis-Bacon.
        Senator Baldwin. All right. Thank you.

                    CAREER PATHWAYS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

        Senator Blunt. Thank you Senator Baldwin.
        Mr. Secretary, I have four or five other things I would
    like to get on the record here before we make a determination
    about how we deal with the rest of this hearing.
        What can you do, what can we do, to work with the
    Department of Education to create a better sense in high school
    of the variety of paths that people have? The variety of career
    paths they have, and I am certainly not opposed to the focus on
    associate degrees and bachelor's degrees and graduate work.
        I think you and I have both seen a number of incidences
    now, where people get out of high school, they maybe do one
    semester of college and then kind of drift into various part-
    time things that do not really lead them where they eventually
    figure out they need to be going.
        How can we get more information out there earlier?
        Secretary Acosta. Mr. Chairman I think this is incredibly
    important. I think one thing that matters, it is difficult to
    do from the Senate, but it is really a local issue is, how do
    counselors and high schools get rewarded. Do they get
    recognized solely based on how many of their students go to
    college? Or do they get recognized based on whether the maximum
    number of their students find a path forward to success?
        Because success can be very different things. Success can
    be a great welding job that can pay $60, $70, $80,000. I read
    an article last week about oil riggers that are making almost
    $200,000 a year; or success can be college. And that counselor
    is so critical early on.
        Senator Blunt. Well, I think that is right, in fact I told
    a group yesterday that maybe we ought to be evaluating high
    schools as opposed to how many people get into college, how
    many people 5 years after they are out of high school have a
    job that pays at least $60,000 a year. And obviously there is a
    window there that is not quite as quick as you have enrolled in
    college and the next fall, but it is a measurable window, and
    would be a much greater indication probably of whether people
    were prepared to where they eventually may wind-up headed in
    life; airplane mechanics, welders, electricians, all of those
    things.

       ELIMINATING EMPLOYMENT OBSTACLES FOR VETERANS AND MILITARY SPOUSES

        And on that topic, let's start with veterans and military
    spouses. What can we do to further encourage States to accept
    credential skills? Somebody for instance, in the military has
    been driving a truck for 3 years, it would seem to me that
    getting a commercial truck driving license should not be an
    obstacle; or if they have been an electrician or doing some
    kind of medical assistance work. Those kinds of things. We need
    to do a better job I think, transitioning them into what is now
    a very tight workforce where people are looking for people.
    What can we do to encourage eliminating needless obstacles
    there?
        Secretary Acosta. Mr. Chairman, I think you raise a very,
    very important point. Someone can be licensed to drive a truck
    in Falluja and literally not be licensed to drive a truck when
    they leave the military and come back to their home. States
    seem to have difficulty addressing this, these are often caught
    up in local issues and local politics.
        I think it would behoove this Congress to look at how it
    can encourage, should I say, States to really look at these
    licensing issues, their barriers to entry. I think of one State
    where a license to install fire alarms cost more than a license
    to be a practicing lawyer.
        And not only are they barriers to entry for individuals
    that are leaving the military and coming back home, but they
    are barriers for entry often for those who can least afford to
    pay these licenses.
        This is a real, real issue depending on studies, Federal
    Reserve estimates 1.5 million Americans are broke and 3 million
    Americans are not working because of licensing issues. They
    just decided we are not going to pursue this license.
        Senator Blunt. Now some States, and Missouri is one of
    those, is getting pretty aggressive in this area on the topic
    of military spouses, who of course, the strength of the
    military families and military spouses getting credentialed
    quickly when they move as the person who is serving is
    transferred to a new base.
        I think we had the first person sworn in immediately as a
    member of the Missouri Bar when one of the military spouses was
    sworn-in in January, and immediately was going to work as a
    lawyer. Something that in our State would not have happened
    before without substantial time being involved. And whether it
    is that or teaching, or healthcare provider, or whatever. I
    think that is another area that is fairly easy to open that
    door. Everybody understands why that door and the veteran's
    door should open.
        But it also seems to me in this kind of economy, States
    should want to compete with each other to see who can make it
    the easiest for skilled people to move to your State, and
    frankly, I hope my State leads the way on that.
        Secretary Acosta. Mr. Chairman, I have heard it said that
    we recruit an individual, but we retain a family in the
    military. Military spouses sacrifice a lot so that the service
    person can be in the military and defend us. And to ask them to
    choose between maintaining the integrity of the family unit, or
    their career I think, is just an inappropriate and wrong
    choice.
        Military spouses--the military service person has to move
    on orders typically every 2 years. And the military spouse then
    has to decide, do I move, or do I keep my career. And to have
    to relicense every time someone moves and wait to get that
    license and go through that process, and pay those fees, and
    that bureaucracy, seems wrong.
        So, some mechanism of recognition where if a spouse is
    temporarily in a State, that State recognizes the license in
    the home State, I think would be a wonderful idea, and
    something I am working with some governors to encourage States
    to adopt.
        Senator Blunt. I am glad to hear that. Senator Gillibrand
    and I worked on some legislation a couple of years ago where
    military families now have new capacity to either stay a little
    longer and have the family support where they are or leave a
    little earlier if they want to do that because of education or
    job. You know, if there is a month left in school, if there is
    a month left in a contract, if you need to get there a little
    earlier. I think that is working well.
        But this is an area where I think letting military spouses
    use the skills they have as soon as you possibly can once they
    move, makes a big difference in whether people continue to
    serve. Retaining families is a good way to look at that.

                                   H-2B VISAS

        Let me ask a question about H-2B workers. Across the
    country and in Missouri in amusement parks, and hotels, and
    resorts, and tourism there is a particular need there. That
    number is much lower than the applications for those workers.
        In fiscal year 2019 the Department of Homeland Security
    Bill included a provision to allow for as many as 69,000
    additional visas with consultation with the Department of
    Labor. I think those visas are now going to be available, but I
    have not seen the rule yet. Does your department process that
    rule, and are you in the place to do that?
        Secretary Acosta. Mr. Chairman, we have processed the rule
    I believe that OMB has concluded review, and I believe
    publication should commence--should occur, shortly.
        Senator Blunt. If you find out anything differently than
    that, let me know.
        Senator Lankford.
        Senator Lankford. Mr. Chairman thank you very much.

                  PROCEDURE FOR ISSUING SUBREGULATORY GUIDANCE

        Secretary, thank you for being here in conversation, I am
    ping-ponging both between votes and two other committees, so if
    you have already been asked this I apologize, but I wanted to
    be able to drill down on little bit.
        The Inspector General had looked at some of the guidance
    that is been done specifically by OSHA and it asked about
    procedures in place and if those procedures are working. They
    found that OSHA did not have a lot of procedures in place for
    issuing guidance, and the procedures they did have in place
    only 80 percent of the time they did not follow it. That is an
    issue.
        I am sure you have looked at this trying to be able to
    figure out where this goes from here, what is happening with
    just basic structural; when we put out guidance, how we can
    give some sort of certainty to companies that are out there.
    How they can get insight because they need a question answered.
    But do you still also need to know this could make consistent
    process, so some other company does not ask a question and they
    get hit.
        Secretary Acosta. Senator thank you for the question. Let
    me break it down into a few parts. The Inspector General, in
    fact, did look at the use of guidance, subregulatory guidance,
    guidance that does not undergo APA rulemaking process as by
    OSHA. So, this goes to a broader issue within the Department of
    Labor that also goes to the Wage and Hour Division and others
    that used subregulatory guidance for example to issue new
    interpretations for Joint Employer, and many other issues that
    fundamentally changed the department's approach.
        One of the problems with this is often this guidance is
    directives to the field and are not even published. So how is
    the employer to even know what is expected of them.
        In other areas, because it is not formal public guidance,
    the public does not have input and often the public does not
    have the opportunity to challenge these new, they are not
    technically rules, but they have the effect of rules, in court.
        And so, two things, first, we do not use subregulatory
    guidance in the same way. So, for example on the Joint Employer
    Rule, in the joint employer area we have chosen to go through
    full APA rulemaking, we believe that is the better approach. It
    allows the public input.
        Second, we are in the process of looking internally at how
    we can develop a rule, and apologies that this sounds so
    bureaucratic, but it is almost a rule on how to issue rules.
        Senator Lankford. Right. There is a process.
        Secretary Acosta. Yes, a process only in Washington, but it
    is important, because we need to check our own ability in my
    opinion, to impose restrictions on the American public that
    they do not even know about, or restrictions that do not fully
    accord with the law.
        So, we are developing our own internal mechanism that will
    look at all guidance documents and determine whether this is
    something that should appropriately be a guidance document, or
    whether this would require rulemaking.
        Senator Lankford. Okay. That is going to be on all
    entities, that is not just an OSHA issue. Though the Inspector
    General is looking at OSHA, you are talking about broadening
    that out to everyone to make sure everyone follows basic
    process.
        Secretary Acosta. That is right Senator. The Inspector
    General focused on OSHA, but I do not think that this is an
    issue that is limited to OSHA, and I think that this should be
    not an OSHA matter, but a department wide approach.
        Senator Lankford. So, can I ask a question, how does this
    get maintained long-term? This is a practice that you put in
    place. Ten years from now is that still a practice in place or
    is this something that we need to be able to speak to.
        Secretary Acosta. Well, certainly Congress can speak to
    whether or not subregulatory guidance should be used. Apart
    from that, the rulemaking process itself could set out
    standards by which something is not given effect if it does not
    undergo the APA process.

                              JOINT EMPLOYER RULE

        Senator Lankford. So, you mentioned the Joint Employer
    conversation going through the Administrative Procedures Act,
    and the journey through that. What is the status on that right
    now, and specifically what is your sense of how this will
    affect franchises?
        Secretary Acosta. Senator that is currently pending public
    comment. A notice of proposed rulemaking was issued. And what
    this does is two things, first it provides clarity. The Federal
    Courts of Appeals had so many different tests, it was very
    difficult for particularly national franchises, to know what
    they could and could not do because it might vary by circuit.
        So, what the interim rule does is it says, there is a
    plurality approach and the plurality approach is this. These
    are the factors that are considered. And we are proposing that
    these are the factors that be adopted, so that there is
    clarity, so that is predictability.
        It is also important, I read an interesting article with
    respect to franchises and it pointed out that franchises want
    to provide technical assistance for example, on sexual
    harassment policy, but they are concerned that doing so would
    make them a Joint Employer.
        This is important so that franchises can provide
    information to their franchisees on any number of issues that
    will help those franchisees operate, understanding that it is
    ultimately the franchisees choice whether to follow that are
    not.
        Senator Lankford. Right. Ultimately the franchise--who owns
    the franchise itself, has also responsibility to be able to
    protect their own trademark, protect their own name, and
    protect some semblance of quality in the process. Though the
    franchisees out there, the owners, that local entity, that is
    their best step to be able to get into owning a business rather
    than working at a business.
        So, whatever is done at this long process, I look forward
    to trying to protect the American dream. Quite frankly, as you
    have the opportunity to be able to do, allow people to move
    from ``I work here'' to ``I own here''.
        And that is through the franchise process often so, I
    appreciate and look forward to that being finalized.

                         ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

        Senator Blunt. Thank you Senator Lankford, thank you
    Secretary Acosta.
        The record will stay open for one week for additional
    questions.
        [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but
    were submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the
    hearing:]
                    Questions Submitted by Senator Roy Blunt
       workforce opportunity grants for appalachian and delta regions--a
        Question. The fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2019 LHHS bills each
    included $30 million for a new dislocated worker training initiative to
    provide reemployment and training assistance to workers in rural areas
    of the country hit hardest by the recession and recovering more slowly.
    During the hearing, Secretary Acosta, you said that the fiscal year
    2018 funding opportunity announcement is forthcoming for the new
    Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) grants for the DRA
    and ARC regions. The Committee looks forward to seeing the FOA and
    encourages the Department to ensure the fiscal year 2019 funds are
    obligated in a timely manner. You also said that transferring the funds
    directly to the DRA and ARC would have sped up the process for getting
    funds on the ground in these rural communities.
        Aside from transferring the funds directly to the DRA and ARC, what
    else should the Committee consider to ensure these funds are
    expeditiously obligated in future years?
        Answer. Earlier this year, ETA, DRA and ARC signed a Memorandum of
    Understanding (MOU), detailing our cooperative efforts and allowing for
    the transfer of technical assistance funds to support rural communities
    in the Appalachian and Delta regions. In developing the MOU and the
    initial funding opportunity announcement for the Workforce Opportunity
    for Rural Communities Grant Initiative, ETA, DRA, and ARC worked
    through a variety of questions that covered many foundational,
    logistical, and policy-related matters. Future funding opportunities
    will be more efficient as we build on these cooperative efforts. ETA,
    DRA, and ARC published the jointly drafted funding opportunity
    announcement on May 15, 2019, with a closing date of July 15, 2019.\1\
    The funding will be awarded to entities in these regions based on the
    appropriations language included in the fiscal year 2018 appropriation.
    ETA, DRA, and ARC are all actively publicizing the grant opportunity
    with stakeholders through email distribution lists, website updates,
    social media, and webinars for potential applicants and plan to award
    grants by September 30, 2019. In addition, utilizing funds transferred
    through the MOU, ARC and DRA are providing in-person technical
    assistance and pre-application workshops to potential applicants.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-
    grants.html?keywords=Workforce%20
    Opportunity%20for%20Rural%20Communities%20(WORC)%3A%20A%20Grant%20Initia
    tive%20
    for%20the%20Appalachian%20and%20Delta.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         transition assistance program
        Question. The fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act
    requires reforms to the Transition Assistance Program and the budget
    request includes funding to begin implementation of the TAP reforms,
    with plans to expand DOL's role in future years.
        Please provide a detailed projection of the Department's long-term
    plan for implementation of these reforms and the range of resources
    that may be needed over the next 3 years to meet the Department's
    objectives?
        Answer. Transitioning service members are invaluable to American
    communities, bringing technical skills and leadership traits that job
    creators need. The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) for separating
    and retiring service members and their spouses, provided under 10
    U.S.C. 1144, helps to smooth the transition from active duty to
    civilian life. TAP is a cooperative effort among between the Department
    of Labor (the Department), the Department of Defense (DoD), the
    Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Veterans Affairs
    (VA), the Small Business Administration, and the Office of Personnel
    Management.
        The Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) estimates that
    approximately 150,000 transitioning service members will attend the
    Department's Employment Workshops this year. President Trump signed
    H.R. 5515, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
    for fiscal year 2019, (Public Law 115-232), into law on August 13, 2018
    that included requirements to improve TAP.
        In fiscal year 2019, the Department is laying the groundwork to
    implement fiscal year 2019 NDAA requirements with a focus on improving
    outcomes, including providing one day of required instruction on
    employment preparation and two days of elective instruction on
    vocational training and employment preparation. VETS is updating and
    reformatting curricula accordingly. Beginning on June 24, 2019, the
    Department, will pilot the NDAA curricula at selected military
    installations.
        In fiscal year 2020, VETS will begin implementing required
    improvements, including career counseling, resume preparation, and job
    search assistance. These changes to TAP are designed to help
    transitioning service members make the best career choices available to
    them, taking into account individual skills and high-demand career
    fields. Better matching veterans to career opportunities prior to
    transition could reduce job turnover rates among recently-transitioned
    veterans. VETS receives data on transitioning service members from DoD.
    This growing database contains demographic information, highest
    education level achieved, military base geographic data, and a full
    list of all the courses each service member participated in during the
    transition process. This information, when matched with wage data, will
    allow the Department to better understand outcomes achieved.
        The Department is also developing a course curriculum specific to
    the employment needs of military spouses who are transitioning with
    their service member. The course curriculum will continue the
    Department's efforts to address obstacles present in a military
    spouse's career such as the complexities presented by State licensing
    and credentialing requirements associated with relocations across State
    lines. As an example, last year, the Department developed a military
    spouse web portal where military spouses can efficiently search for
    specific points of contact, guidelines, and State laws on professional
    licensing, including information on how occupational licenses from one
    State can be recognized in another. While developing the new course
    curriculum, VETS will evaluate delivery options with DoD to determine
    the most effective and efficient format, likely hybrid models that
    allow face-to-face programming and digital delivery.
        Over the next 3 years, VETS will continue to implement TAP
    improvements. The Administration will evaluate resources needs on an
    annual basis and provide estimates of that need in the VETS annual
    budget request.
                          h-2b visa application surges
        Question. Across the country, H-2B workers play a vital role in the
    timber industry, hospitality, and landscaping. In Missouri, H-2B
    workers are employed throughout the State at amusement parks, in
    hotels, and resorts supporting our robust tourism industry. This
    Committee has provided resources to help the Department process labor
    certifications in a timely manner.
        How have these resources been deployed to address the surge of H-2B
    applications?
        Answer. The Department received a $20 million transfer to reduce H-
    2A and H-2B processing delays with funding made available in fiscal
    year 2017 and fiscal year 2018. However, since this transfer,
    application volumes across labor certification programs in the H-2A and
    H-2B program have continued to rapidly spike. The Department used the
    funding made available under the transfer to temporarily increase
    staffing for H-2 case processing, modernize technology supporting
    electronic filing and processing of H-2 applications, and increase
    grants to State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) to fulfill State-level
    activities required in the H-2 programs (e.g., posting job orders to
    recruit U.S. workers).
        In fiscal year 2017, the Department obligated $6.56 million of the
    $20 million transfer, with $5.14 million dedicated to increase the
    Department's staffing in support of H-2 case processing and $1.42
    million to provide additional grants to SWAs.
        In fiscal year 2018, the Department obligated the remaining $13.44
    million with funds allocated as follows: $7.37 million to increase
    staffing in support of H-2 case processing; $5.17 million to initiate
    development of a modernized information technology (IT) system to
    support electronic filing and processing of H-2 applications; and
    $900,000 to maintain the legacy IT system and enhance program integrity
    until the new system could be launched.
        For several years, the Department has requested the authority to
    collect and retain user fees to cover the full cost of operating
    Foreign Labor Certification programs. The ability to charge fees for
    these programs would give the Department a more reliable, workload-
    based source of funding that would eventually eliminate the need for
    congressional appropriations. In addition to helping the Department
    handle the workload and limit potential backlogs during peak times, a
    fee would also discourage illegitimate employers from abusing the
    system and potentially depriving American workers of job opportunities
    as well as appropriately allocating financial responsibility for the
    program to the entities that utilize and benefit from the program.
        Question. What feedback has the Department received from
    stakeholders regarding efforts to prevent future surges of
    applications, such as the unprecedented volume of applications that
    crashed the iCERT system on January 1, 2019?
        Answer. As a result of stakeholder comments and the most recent
    filing period, in which the Department experienced a service disruption
    due to the large volume of system user requests, the Department's
    Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) reassessed its procedures
    for processing H-2B applications. On February 26, 2019, the Department
    announced updates to its standard procedures for processing H-2B labor
    certification applications. Because of the intense competition for H-2B
    visas in recent years, in concert with the limited number of H-2B visas
    permitted by Congress on a semi-annual basis, the Department's
    technology and available staff resources have been challenged to handle
    the increasingly large volume of H-2B applications filed on January 1
    of each year.
        Pursuant to the new procedures, all H-2B applications filed on or
    after July 3, 2019, will be randomly ordered for processing based on
    the date of filing and the start date of work requested. Those
    applications filed during the first three calendar days of the
    regulatory time period for filing H-2B applications, and requesting the
    earliest start date of work permitted under the semi-annual visa
    allocation (i.e., October 1 or April 1), will be randomly ordered and
    assigned for processing. Once first actions are issued on this initial
    group of filings, OFLC will randomly assign for processing all other
    applications filed on a single calendar day.
        As a result, the transition from a first-come, first-served basis
    to random ordering should devalue the motivation for applicants to
    submit their applications immediately after midnight on the first day
    of the filing period. These processing changes will create more
    fairness to all applicants when the difference in submission to the IT
    system could be only thousandths of a second, and accordingly, reduce
    the likelihood of a surge in filing.
                       impacts of 2015 ifr housing policy
        Question. The fiscal year 2019 Senate Report 115-289 directed the
    Department to provide a detailed report with an assessment of the
    impacts of the 2015 Interim Final Rule [IFR] housing policy in
    industries that require a mobile workforce. The Committee received the
    Department's report, however, the Department failed to provide any data
    regarding the impact of the policy.
        Please provide an analysis of the economic impact of the housing
    policy on the affected employers and workers, by industry, including
    the costs incurred by employers as a result of the housing policy.
        Answer. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that wages be
    paid to employees, free and clear, and that employer deductions be
    reasonable. In accordance with the statute, deductions or costs
    incurred for facilities (including housing) that are primarily for the
    benefit or convenience of the employer are not considered reasonable
    under the FLSA and therefore may not be charged to the worker. The
    Department has long applied these FLSA principles to employers covered
    by the FLSA, including H-2B employers.
        Accordingly, this longstanding position was set forth in the
    Department's 2012 H-2B rulemaking (2012 Rule), predating the 2015
    Interim Final Rule (2015 Rule), and the Department responded to
    comments on this very issue.\2\ The preamble to the 2015 Rule simply
    reiterated that lodging for workers in industries requiring a mobile
    workforce is primarily for the H-2B employer's benefit and convenience,
    and therefore cannot be charged to the workers either directly or
    indirectly, to the extent it would reduce the worker's pay below the
    offered wage.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ See 77 Fed. Reg. 10038, 10067 (Feb. 21, 2012).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        As such, there was no change in policy in that the Department
    continued to apply longstanding FLSA principles in the 2015 Rule.
    Therefore, the Department did not quantify the economic impact on the
    H-2B program under the premise that no change created no impact.
        The Department, through its national and local outreach and
    compliance assistance efforts, regularly hears from stakeholders
    regarding the impact of Department's policies on its operations. The
    Department will continue to assess whether there are any other impacts
    of its mobile housing policy through these efforts.
                     job corps construction and renovation
        Question. Earlier this year, the Employment and Training
    Administration stated that there is an estimated $700 million in
    facilities maintenance projects at Job Corps centers. According to the
    fiscal year 2020 Congressional Budget Justification: ``Job Corps will
    prioritize its CRA funds to address the most critical issues, including
    leaking roofs that if not repaired result in facility damage and
    unhealthy living conditions; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
    (HVAC) systems that no longer provide adequate air quality; emergency
    repairs that affect center operations; and environmental and Executive
    Order compliance matters.''
        How does the Department prioritize CRA projects?
        Answer. Facility surveys are conducted at each Job Corps center
    every 3 years to document the condition of the facilities, identify
    deficient conditions, and provide recommendations and cost estimates
    for correcting deficiencies. Each deficiency is classified based on its
    severity and its impact on the facility and the program, and
    categorized based on the affected building system.
        Each deficiency is initially scored based on the classification,
    category, and building type (e.g., dormitory, education). Those
    deficiencies that receive a higher score have higher priority for
    repair. Deficiencies classified as Life Safety and Health are funded
    soon after the facility survey, while the remaining deficiencies and
    resulting projects become candidates for future funding.
        Candidates for future funding are scored based on the operational
    impact, degree of degradation, impact to the building, remaining useful
    life, and programmatic impact. Deficiencies and projects are considered
    for funding to prioritize the safety of students and staff, address
    asset preservation, improve the facility condition index (FCI), and
    bring Job Corps facilities into compliance with program guidelines and
    overall Job Corps and Departmental priorities.
        Question. Please provide a breakdown by center and project type of
    the $700 million backlog of construction and renovation projects.
        Answer.

                                             JOB CORPS REPAIR BACKLOG BREAKDOWN BY PROJECT TYPE--AS OF MAY 14, 2019
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                   HVAC,        Other Rehab
                             Center                           Electrical and     Building        Interior      Plumbing, and        and        Total Repair
                                                                Fire Alarm       Envelope        Finishes       Mechanical     Miscellaneous      Backlog
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ALASKA..................................................        $505,207      $1,254,693        $372,229        $827,596        $483,214      $3,442,938
    ALBUQUERQUE.............................................        $299,575        $939,151         $95,272      $1,556,770        $442,211      $3,332,979
    ANACONDA................................................        $376,856        $736,953      $1,187,741        $582,668      $1,652,584      $4,536,802
    ANGELL..................................................      $1,402,110        $242,305         $15,938        $592,722        $988,983      $3,242,059
    ARECIBO.................................................        $717,053        $243,713        $366,491      $1,073,306      $1,308,975      $3,709,538
    ATTERBURY...............................................        $973,713     $10,228,921      $6,094,485      $1,243,522      $1,140,217     $19,680,858
    BAMBERG.................................................        $977,587        $261,297        $292,024        $591,790      $2,988,455      $5,111,154
    BENJAMIN L. HOOKS.......................................      $1,350,005        $481,261        $103,164      $2,162,952      $1,427,348      $5,524,729
    BLACKWELL...............................................         $93,889        $219,716        $296,708        $324,286        $970,504      $1,905,103
    BLUE RIDGE..............................................        $118,491        $458,440        $483,806        $270,014        $266,448      $1,597,200
    BOXELDER................................................        $781,050        $619,430        $228,594        $403,227      $1,490,988      $3,523,288
    BRUNSWICK...............................................      $2,462,106        $735,189      $1,265,299      $5,432,312      $2,640,445     $12,535,350
    CARL D. PERKINS.........................................        $207,484         $96,896          $7,436        $976,418        $913,701      $2,201,936
    CARVILLE................................................      $1,027,061        $181,167         $79,428        $166,250        $356,334      $1,810,240
    CASCADES................................................        $119,925      $1,412,884              $0        $401,241      $2,133,061      $4,067,111
    CASS....................................................        $172,620      $1,034,922        $173,783        $233,301        $583,187      $2,197,813
    CASSADAGA...............................................      $1,165,310      $1,011,140        $142,573      $2,184,245      $1,781,197      $6,284,465
    CENTENNIAL..............................................         $27,746      $2,214,739        $492,788        $370,379         $92,376      $3,198,027
    CHARLESTON..............................................         $97,356        $764,096         $64,617      $1,233,686        $471,159      $2,630,914
    CINCINNATI..............................................          $7,117         $42,579         $49,647        $527,750      $7,741,649      $8,368,741
    CLEARFIELD..............................................        $584,232     $27,225,090        $520,083      $6,725,764        $777,815     $35,832,983
    CLEVELAND...............................................          $2,009          $6,042            $619         $13,168         $76,375         $98,213
    COLLBRAN................................................         $54,752         $30,042        $213,617        $142,841      $5,709,388      $6,150,640
    COLUMBIA BASIN..........................................         $81,723      $1,753,665        $391,991      $1,450,577      $1,365,946      $5,043,902
    CURLEW..................................................        $557,851        $276,485      $1,922,510      $1,338,366        $350,528      $4,445,740
    DAVID L. CARRASCO.......................................        $204,177        $156,272        $405,999        $511,044         $88,092      $1,365,585
    DAYTON..................................................      $2,144,277      $1,656,731      $1,333,410      $1,941,567      $8,349,008     $15,424,993
    DELAWARE  VALLEY........................................        $307,957      $2,724,002        $574,329        $132,824      $5,827,567      $9,566,679
    DENISON.................................................         $12,652      $1,813,271         $42,466      $1,030,083        $912,079      $3,810,551
    DETROIT.................................................          $1,642         $79,323          $1,300         $38,003      $1,100,310      $1,220,578
    EARLE C. CLEMENTS.......................................      $1,761,537      $3,782,991      $2,529,900        $538,815      $3,731,852     $12,345,095
    EDISON..................................................      $2,338,661        $184,887      $3,430,921      $6,980,784      $6,131,187     $19,066,440
    EXCELSIOR SPRINGS.......................................        $292,888      $1,970,541        $211,645        $871,812        $362,665      $3,709,551
    EXETER..................................................         $18,680         $18,235         $37,134        $103,279              $0        $177,328
    FINCH-HENRY.............................................         $51,390        $107,483         $96,702        $253,472      $2,366,617      $2,875,664
    FLATWOODS...............................................        $779,556        $410,876      $1,337,632      $1,068,830        $244,311      $3,841,204
    FLINT HILLS.............................................      $2,054,804         $27,250         $11,344      $1,007,800        $310,400      $3,411,599
    FLINT/GENESEE...........................................        $250,739         $29,982        $736,405      $2,044,369      $1,116,644      $4,178,139
    FORT SIMCOE.............................................        $195,077         $46,376          $7,800        $629,685         $45,864        $924,802
    FRED ACOSTA.............................................        $205,086      $1,726,960        $156,648        $610,351      $1,636,513      $4,335,558
    FRENCHBURG..............................................        $384,783        $948,694          $9,299        $700,615        $399,824      $2,443,215
    GADSDEN.................................................        $441,115      $1,133,859        $133,643         $94,222        $229,958      $2,032,798
    GARY....................................................        $609,488      $2,744,704      $1,451,923      $4,184,037     $14,231,175     $23,221,327
    GERALD R. FORD..........................................          $9,957        $113,920              $0         $43,999        $214,733        $382,609
    GLENMONT................................................      $1,384,802      $1,766,469        $714,206      $2,248,870        $753,246      $6,867,592
    GRAFTON.................................................      $1,053,737      $3,693,675        $136,805     $10,862,412      $3,153,902     $18,900,531
    GREAT ONYX..............................................        $178,628        $202,142      $1,203,864        $258,967        $106,041      $1,949,641
    GULFPORT................................................        $789,113      $2,595,386      $1,421,977      $8,340,931        $748,222     $13,895,629
    GUTHRIE.................................................      $1,244,747        $411,497        $255,866        $994,633        $618,857      $3,525,600
    HARPERS FERRY...........................................        $296,666        $751,737         $70,306        $247,909      $2,754,417      $4,121,035
    HARTFORD................................................         $16,211              $0        $163,157         $50,332        $940,551      $1,170,251
    HAWAII..................................................        $580,931      $1,445,679        $108,361        $265,067        $192,025      $2,592,063
    HAWAII/MAUI.............................................        $519,124        $676,853        $552,111        $113,195        $451,593      $2,312,876
    HUBERT H  HUMPHREY......................................        $488,751      $1,109,703         $16,687      $3,022,337      $1,348,301      $5,985,779
    INLAND EMPIRE...........................................        $577,403      $1,721,383        $251,804        $589,691        $852,086      $3,992,367
    IROQUOIS................................................        $219,918        $390,163          $8,885        $796,556        $561,874      $1,977,396
    JACKSONVILLE............................................        $579,606        $262,577         $62,367      $1,299,822        $435,516      $2,639,888
    JACOBS CREEK............................................      $1,045,463        $506,280        $348,920        $711,259        $836,604      $3,448,527
    JOLIET..................................................      $5,828,003      $7,773,687        $353,120      $4,766,682      $9,288,844     $28,010,336
    KEYSTONE................................................        $184,642      $1,535,844        $135,071      $1,539,998      $2,657,644      $6,053,199
    KICKING HORSE...........................................        $440,682        $153,922         $21,330        $455,517        $741,072      $1,812,522
    KITTRELL................................................      $1,188,951        $552,410        $678,530        $745,472        $553,543      $3,718,905
    LAREDO..................................................        $277,438      $1,640,533         $57,420        $582,769      $1,133,813      $3,691,974
    LITTLE ROCK.............................................        $309,948              $0          $1,059        $250,649      $1,029,149      $1,590,804
    LONG BEACH..............................................        $941,709      $1,309,042        $106,922        $308,043         $65,076      $2,730,792
    LORING..................................................        $550,811      $1,752,410      $1,059,063     $11,547,828      $2,312,674     $17,222,786
    LOS ANGELES.............................................        $259,538         $36,063         $14,219        $664,224        $391,917      $1,365,960
    LYNDON B.  JOHNSON......................................        $435,177        $526,542        $284,416        $468,125        $315,788      $2,030,049
    MIAMI...................................................        $197,762        $473,301         $42,582        $677,004        $474,367      $1,865,016
    MILWAUKEE...............................................            $201            $122              $0          $2,900            $242          $3,465
    MINGO...................................................        $388,490        $349,781        $686,433        $499,874      $1,204,577      $3,129,155
    MISSISSIPPI.............................................      $1,196,785      $1,399,786        $207,410      $2,449,507        $279,073      $5,532,560
    MONTGOMERY..............................................          $7,962      $1,820,518        $391,727        $658,163        $211,664      $3,090,034
    MUHLENBERG..............................................        $259,720        $545,456      $1,333,441         $84,702      $2,046,072      $4,269,390
    NEW HAMPSHIRE...........................................        $196,708      $1,629,172              $0        $386,035         $68,084      $2,280,000
    NEW HAVEN...............................................         $32,207        $141,756        $437,210        $606,771        $313,959      $1,531,903
    NEW ORLEANS.............................................         $35,149         $23,796          $1,579         $22,120         $29,933        $112,577
    NORTH TEXAS.............................................      $2,869,337      $2,993,026        $256,396        $633,113      $1,248,097      $7,999,970
    NORTHLANDS..............................................         $39,229        $399,820        $293,862      $1,105,036      $3,496,773      $5,334,720
    OCONALUFTEE.............................................        $455,828        $829,774         $50,759        $297,689        $190,824      $1,824,874
    OLD DOMINION............................................         $64,296      $3,586,475        $253,810        $275,823        $231,878      $4,412,281
    ONEONTA.................................................      $1,559,691      $1,084,330      $1,693,835      $2,103,104      $2,376,763      $8,817,723
    OTTUMWA.................................................              $0              $0              $0          $4,645          $5,458         $10,103
    PAUL SIMON..............................................        $183,963        $136,914         $48,856        $899,642        $206,792      $1,476,166
    PENOBSCOT...............................................        $123,974        $631,106        $108,143        $344,018        $260,995      $1,468,236
    PHILADELPHIA............................................          $6,776          $8,301         $32,735         $16,220         $14,715         $78,746
    PHOENIX.................................................        $590,472      $2,771,873        $510,281        $429,704        $533,552      $4,835,882
    PINE KNOT...............................................         $52,263        $260,516        $216,289      $1,012,482      $1,138,158      $2,679,707
    PINE RIDGE..............................................        $348,528        $379,333         $94,181        $599,631        $483,733      $1,905,405
    PINELLAS COUNTY.........................................         $61,248         $21,812              $0         $27,658         $60,843        $171,560
    PITTSBURGH..............................................        $256,448      $1,403,877        $661,790      $9,535,700        $958,794     $12,816,609
    POTOMAC.................................................      $1,096,858      $2,188,884      $1,485,593      $3,025,755      $1,526,352      $9,323,443
    QUENTIN  BURDICK........................................        $102,117      $2,508,720         $34,720        $274,336        $112,087      $3,031,981
    RAMEY...................................................          $2,616        $173,046        $892,820      $1,671,770      $3,375,624      $6,115,875
    RED ROCK................................................        $313,753        $785,433        $316,917      $2,866,358      $2,154,073      $6,436,534
    ROSWELL.................................................      $1,544,558      $1,966,771        $516,366      $4,098,531      $1,131,979      $9,258,205
    SACRAMENTO..............................................        $479,918      $2,407,551         $22,367        $569,073        $356,732      $3,835,641
    SAN DIEGO...............................................      $1,671,428      $1,279,605      $3,077,565      $1,374,783      $1,022,549      $8,425,930
    SAN JOSE................................................        $280,480      $2,314,607        $162,185      $1,159,465        $139,857      $4,056,594
    SARGENT  SHRIVER........................................        $290,166      $2,592,874        $166,062        $782,641        $230,264      $4,062,007
    SCHENCK.................................................        $521,477        $411,901        $359,924      $2,023,464        $452,089      $3,768,854
    SHREVEPORT..............................................      $3,564,634      $5,888,064        $580,520      $2,961,211      $1,024,581     $14,019,011
    SIERRA NEVADA...........................................        $226,635        $551,463         $68,281      $2,951,308      $2,227,334      $6,025,020
    SOUTH BRONX.............................................      $1,328,741        $959,613        $846,261     $10,387,119      $4,401,634     $17,923,367
    SPRINGDALE..............................................      $1,125,713        $473,586        $273,045        $363,132        $601,821      $2,837,297
    ST LOUIS................................................        $982,696        $493,722     $11,924,959        $303,430      $1,363,770     $15,068,576
    TALKING LEAVES..........................................        $554,057        $204,858         $89,315        $144,344        $673,147      $1,665,721
    TIMBER LAKE.............................................        $593,792        $749,327        $202,692      $1,935,872        $602,572      $4,084,255
    TONGUE POINT............................................        $361,156        $724,251     $12,020,144      $2,941,892        $628,280     $16,675,723
    TRAPPER CREEK...........................................         $82,435         $16,392          $6,136        $460,748        $668,545      $1,234,256
    TREASURE ISLAND.........................................      $1,213,377      $2,293,261      $5,740,365      $1,656,315     $16,273,694     $27,177,013
    TULSA...................................................        $316,318        $171,525              $0      $2,333,195        $125,816      $2,946,854
    TURNER..................................................      $4,385,492      $3,360,190        $628,117      $6,712,792      $6,334,748     $21,421,340
    WEBER BASIN.............................................        $189,208      $1,628,485        $634,073        $529,972      $1,172,787      $4,154,525
    WESTOVER................................................      $1,543,339      $5,090,633        $320,108      $2,339,452      $9,742,914     $19,036,445
    WHITNEY M. YOUNG........................................        $137,543        $356,501        $315,163      $1,148,088        $506,864      $2,464,158
    WILMINGTON..............................................            $996          $1,477              $0            $259         $10,498         $13,230
    WIND RIVER..............................................         $45,749          $9,447          $3,334         $16,018          $1,107         $75,655
    WOLF CREEK..............................................        $509,238        $268,743         $26,870        $415,842      $1,969,381      $3,190,074
    WOODLAND................................................        $493,440        $237,362        $618,740        $126,987      $3,259,511      $4,736,041
    WOODSTOCK...............................................        $672,366        $801,846        $459,234      $3,243,436      $4,547,722      $9,724,604
                                                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 $79,575,023    $164,920,154     $84,580,918    $191,549,404    $200,653,027    $714,847,251
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                             job corps procurement
        Question. In response to a question for the record submitted in
    June 2017 regarding short-term contracts and the impact on staff
    turnover, the Department indicated it had reduced the backlog with
    intentions to address the remaining 13 contracts by June 2018.
        What is the status of the procurement backlog?
        Answer. The procurement backlog was completely eliminated in 2018.
        Question. Since June 2017, how many short-term contracts have been
    awarded, including bridge contracts, sole sources awards, or indefinite
    delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contingency awards? Please provide
    the number of each type of contract.
        Answer. Since June 2017, ETA has awarded six short-term IDIQ Task
    Orders and 14 short-term sole source/bridge contracts for Job Corps
    center operations.
        Question. What is the Department's rationale for the issuance of
    IDIQ contracts, as opposed to short-term noncompetitive bridge
    contracts?
        Answer. The Department's goal is to comply with the Competition in
    Contracting Act of 1984 by maximizing competition to the fullest extent
    practicable. The Department has worked to minimize the use of short-
    term ``noncompetitive'' bridge contracts by competitively awarding 12
    IDIQ contracts in late 2016 that could, in turn, be used to compete
    short-term task orders during exigency situations.
        Question. Have IDIQ contracts ever been awarded at a lower funding
    level than the incumbent operator's contract and, if so, how does the
    Department ensure such funding reductions do not negatively impact
    student outcomes?
        Answer. An Independent Government Cost Estimate is always developed
    for the short-term period of performance of any proposed task order. A
    competitive short-term task order (issued against the contractor's IDIQ
    contract) is then awarded to the offeror, whose proposal represents the
    best overall value to the government after considering all price/cost
    and non-price/cost related factors. Prior to award, offerors' cost
    proposals are evaluated to ensure that their proposed costs are
    realistic for the work to be performed and do not present a risk to
    performance that would negatively impact student outcomes.
                             compliance initiatives
        Question. The Department has launched several compliance-related
    initiatives, including the establishment of new websites and an Office
    of Compliance Initiatives.
        How is the Department measuring the return on these investments and
    the economic impact?
        Answer. The Office of Compliance Initiatives (OCI) is fulfilling
    its mission of collaborating and partnering with DOL agencies to
    protect the wages, safety and health, health benefits, retirement
    security, and union democracy for American workers. OCI's four
    strategic goals include (1) enhancing and expanding stakeholder
    outreach and engagement; (2) identifying and implementing innovative
    best practices to link with enforcement strategies; (3) fostering and
    institutionalizing a culture of compliance assistance as a complement
    to enforcement; and (4) conducting data analysis and developing
    behavioral insights to facilitate compliance. This effort builds upon
    and creates opportunities for the important compliance work DOL
    agencies have accomplished to date.
        DOL agencies track a number of compliance assistance measures and
    outputs. OCI is coordinating with DOL agencies to refine their metrics
    to ensure the efficacy of DOL's compliance assistance activities.
        Question. Since launching the compliance initiatives what have been
    the outcomes for workers, employers, and perhaps even the economy?
        Answer. Since OCI launched in August 2018, DOL agencies have rolled
    out, expanded, or enhanced their compliance assistance offerings. These
    tools and resources run the gamut and include Office of Federal
    Contract Compliance Programs' (OFCCP) ombud \3\ service for external
    stakeholders to share concerns and provide feedback and recommendations
    to improve the administration of the agency, and Wage and Hour
    Division's animated videos to facilitate compliance with the Fair Labor
    Standards Act (FLSA). For example, Employer.gov and Worker.gov are new
    companion tools to DOL's existing Employment Laws Assistance for
    Workers and Small Businesses (elaws) Advisors tool. The three tools
    serve the needs of different types of users seeking assistance
    navigating various Federal employment laws. Collectively, Employer.gov
    and Worker.gov received over 140 thousand page views since OCI's
    inception. Elaws Advisors were viewed over six million times since
    OCI's launch.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/directives/Dir2018-
    09-ESQA508c.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        A number of DOL agencies have introduced voluntary compliance
    programs designed to educate employers and workers about their
    obligations and rights under the laws DOL administers. For example,
    Wage and Hour Division's Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID)
    pilot program facilitates resolution of potential overtime and minimum
    wage violations under the FLSA. The primary goals of the PAID program
    are identifying and correcting non-compliant practices so employees
    receive 100 percent of their back wages due in a fraction of time of a
    typical investigation. To that end, the PAID program requires employers
    to review their pay practices, accept compliance assistance, and
    correct the practices that led to the errors. This is a win for
    employees, a win for employers, and a win for taxpayers.
        Another example is the OFCCP's Voluntary Enterprise-wide Review
    Program (VERP). This program is designed to enable OFCCP to blend its
    compliance evaluation and compliance assistance activities to work with
    high-performing contractors toward a mutual goal of sustained,
    enterprise-wide compliance, outside of OFCCP's neutral establishment-
    based scheduling process. VERP will provide meaningful cost-saving
    compliance incentives to Federal contractor participants and a path for
    companies who are close to excellence but want individualized
    compliance assistance from OFCCP to reach the top level. This will
    allow DOL to focus its enforcement resources on willful violators and
    other bad actors. VERP is in development consistent with the VERP
    Directive issued on February 13, 2019.
        WHD and OFCCP will evaluate the effectiveness of these pilot
    programs, including their impact on enforcement activity, before
    determining next steps, including whether any changes to the programs
    are warranted.
                                   youthbuild
        Question. The YouthBuild program has more than 200 sites in 46
    States, and the program experiences strong bipartisan support. The
    fiscal year 2020 budget request notes YouthBuild program's pre-
    apprenticeship component and efforts to expand training to include
    locally in-demand industries, known as the Construction Plus model.
        To better understand this trend, please provide data for 2016,
    2017, and 2018 outlining how many grant applications were submitted to
    the Department, the percentage of applications for Construction Plus
    models, and the percentage of awards granted for Construction Plus
    models. Please also include the percentage of rural applicants and
    awardees for 2016, 2017, and 2018.
        Answer. YouthBuild applicants responded positively to the
    Department's focus on local in-demand industries. For the fiscal year
    2018 YouthBuild competition, the Department reviewed 204 applications.
    Of those applications, 158 applications (78 percent) were Construction
    Plus models. Of the 81 awards in 2018, 65 applications (80 percent)
    were Construction Plus models. A total of 38 applications received in
    fiscal year 2018 were from rural applicants, which resulted in 21 rural
    awards (26 percent of all YouthBuild awards). The Department reviewed
    173 applications in 2016 and 186 applications in 2017. Additional
    information regarding fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2017 applicants
    will take additional time to gather and report. The Department would be
    happy to follow up with your staff later this summer with that
    information.
                                     ______

                Questions Submitted by Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
         workforce opportunity grants for appalachian and delta regions
        Question. It is important we continue to make investments in our
    workforce by supporting special skills training for individuals to fill
    vacant jobs in rural communities. I am pleased that Congress has
    provided funding to assist with career and training services for our
    rural workforce. I understand the Department has been working closely
    with Delta Regional Authority and Appalachian Regional Commission to
    develop a grant program around this initiative.
        Please provide the Committee an update on these efforts. What is
    the Department doing to boost community engagement and awareness of
    this grant program?
        Answer. The Department's Employment and Training Administration
    (ETA) continues to work collaboratively with the Delta Regional
    Authority (DRA) and Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to develop
    funding opportunities for entities in these regions. ETA, ARC, and DRA
    signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) detailing our cooperative
    efforts and allowing for the transfer of technical assistance funds to
    support those efforts. The agencies published a jointly-drafted Funding
    Opportunity Announcement titled, ``Workforce Opportunity for Rural
    Communities (WORC): A Grant Initiative for the Appalachian and Delta
    Regions'' on May 15, 2019, with a closing date of July 15, 2019, and
    plan to award grants by September 30, 2019.\4\ The funding is required
    to be awarded to entities in these regions based on the appropriations
    language included in the fiscal year 2018 appropriation. ETA, DRA and
    ARC are all actively publicizing the grant opportunity with
    stakeholders through email distribution lists, website updates, social
    media, and webinars for potential applicants and plan to award grants
    by September 30, 2019. In addition, with funds transferred to ARC and
    DRA through the MOU, ARC and DRA are providing in-person technical
    assistance and pre-application workshops to potential applicants.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-
    grants.html?keywords=Workforce%20
    Opportunity%20for%20Rural%20Communities%20(WORC)%3A%20A%20Grant%20Initia
    tive%20for%20the%20Appalachian%20and%20Delta.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            gulfport job corp center
        Question. The Department has been working to rebuild the Gulfport
    Job Corps Center for many, many years. The rebuilding of this Center
    was important to my predecessor, and I will continue to work toward its
    completion to benefit my constituents in South Mississippi. I commend
    the Department for prioritizing this project in recent years and
    appreciate the monthly progress updates. I understand the Department
    has been working on the design phase since September 2018, and the
    design completion date is expected in April 2020.
        Please explain to the Committee why the design phase is so lengthy.
        Answer. The design phase for a project of this magnitude and
    technical complexity can typically take 1 year. However, the design
    phase for this project was extended to approximately 18 months due to
    the historic preservation process and the resulting Memorandum of
    Agreement (MOA) signed by the Department and the Advisory Council on
    Historic Preservation, to which the City of Gulfport is an invited
    signatory. Significant public review and involvement is required by the
    MOA at two major design phases, and the periods of time allowed for
    public comment and potential implementation for resulting modifications
    to the design is approximately four to 6 months. These additional
    review periods account for the difference in time between the typical
    design period and the design period for this project.
        Question. How long do you expect the construction phase will be?
    Should my constituents expect a prolonged construction process?
        Answer. The construction phase is expected to take approximately 19
    months. Technical complications related to temporarily supporting the
    existing facfade during demolition and then permanently attaching the
    facfade to the new buildings lengthen the typical construction period
    by at least 6 months.
                        h-2a and h-b visa filing systems
        Question. The H-2A and H-2B seasonal worker programs are vital for
    the success of many American farmers and business owners. My
    constituents rely on the timely processing of seasonal worker
    applications. Failure to fill the positions often result in shortened
    seasons, cancelled contracts, and even closed businesses. Over a number
    of years, the Appropriations Committee has invested significant funding
    to upgrade the Department's processing system. However, the filing
    system experienced technical issues this January during peak filing
    season.
        What is the Department doing to correct ongoing technical issues
    and ensure the timely processing of applications?
        Answer. Under the leadership of the Office of the Chief Information
    Officer, the Department is well underway with efforts to implement a
    new electronic filing and case management system that will replace the
    legacy iCERT System. This modernized solution--the Foreign Labor
    Application Gateway System (FLAG)--leverages proven enterprise, cloud-
    based technology that can quickly scale up or down to meet peak filing
    demands. Both the H-2A and H-2B programs have been a primary focus in
    the rollout of the FLAG System (https://flag.dol.gov), which will
    foster efficiencies in the processing of employer applications and
    create a streamlined user experience. In addition, the Department is
    working to upgrade and eliminate legacy technology infrastructure by
    modernizing functions that currently rely on outdated technologies to
    create processing efficiencies, reduce maintenance costs, and minimize
    security risks. In June 2019, the Department implemented the FLAG
    System for employers seeking temporary labor certification to employ H-
    2B workers beginning in fiscal year 2020, with further staggered
    rollouts for other temporary programs, including H-2A, through the end
    of calendar year 2019.
        Furthermore, the Department has taken rapid action on occasions
    where technical issues have been encountered, such as in January 2019.
    On January 1, 2019, the volume of users who accessed the system to file
    an H-2B temporary labor certification was thirty times the number of
    users that accessed the system on January 1, 2018, overwhelming the
    system and triggering a multi-day service disruption in the iCERT
    system. In response to the system disruption, the Department
    immediately assembled a team to expeditiously restore service. Once
    service was restored on January 7, 2019, the Department processed all
    applications based on the date and time received into the system, in
    accordance with H-2B processing procedures in effect at that time, as
    announced on June 1, 2018. The Department's goal is to issue H-2B
    temporary labor certifications covering enough jobs to fill the semi-
    annual cap as efficiently as possible. Despite the delays caused by the
    technical issues and service disruption, the Department was still able
    to issue certifications for enough worker positions to fill the second
    half of the fiscal year 2019 visa cap by February 12, which represents
    a 9-day reduction in processing time over the same mark for fiscal year
    2018. As a result, employers received certifications with ample time to
    complete the remainder of the H-2B visa process and have their H-2B
    workers available on their requested start date of need.
        Question. What can Congress and the Department do to facilitate a
    less complex and more efficient and effective seasonal worker system?
        Answer. Congress can best facilitate a more efficient and effective
    system by supporting the Administration's two legislative proposals in
    the fiscal year 2020 Budget, which would establish cost-based fees for
    employers filing Foreign Labor Certification (FLC) applications and
    increase the existing American Competitiveness and Workforce
    Improvement Act (ACWIA) fee collected by the Department of Homeland
    Security for H-1B applications. These proposals would link the supply
    of FLC case processing resources to the demand for labor
    certifications, reduce the risk of processing delays, enhance fraud
    protection, and eventually eliminate the need for FLC appropriations.
              water industry registered apprenticeship programs--b
        Question. Water and wastewater utilities are important to the
    economic development and health of our rural communities. With the
    current workforce nearing retirement, skilled workers are vital to
    maintaining our water infrastructure, especially in rural areas. I have
    heard from constituents who are concerned with the lack of skilled
    labor to meet the needs of the industry.
        What is the Department doing to support industry Registered
    Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) that support this water utilities need,
    especially in rural areas?
        Answer. The Department is committed to expanding apprenticeship
    opportunities across a broad range of sectors and occupations,
    particularly in those industries where a shortage of skilled workers
    threatens the long-term safety and economic growth of rural
    communities. Over the next decade, the water sector is expected to lose
    between 30 to 50 percent \5\ of its workforce to retirement. The
    establishment and growth of quality apprenticeship programs in the
    water and wastewater utilities industries can provide an effective
    workforce strategy for addressing the emerging skills gap in these
    critical fields.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ GAO Report 18-102, ``Water and Wastewater Workforce: Recruiting
    Approaches Helped Industry Hire Operators, but Additional EPA Guidance
    Could Help Identify Future Needs,''
    January 2018, p. 17.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Through its National Guidelines Standards of apprenticeship, the
    Department has assisted stakeholders and industry associations in
    developing nationally-recognized education and training standards for
    specific water utility occupations. On November 14, 2017, at a signing
    ceremony at the Department's headquarters in Washington, D.C., the
    National Rural Water Association (NRWA) formally announced an
    apprenticeship program for rural water utilities (the ``WaterPro
    Apprenticeship Program'') with the Department's Office of
    Apprenticeship (OA). Bulletin 2017-47 publicized the WaterPro
    apprenticeship program, which establishes a set of National Guideline
    Standards of apprenticeship that are tailored to the specific
    occupational requirements of water systems operations specialists and
    wastewater system operations specialists. As a leading provider of
    training for rural water and wastewater systems, NRWA is currently
    collaborating with State and local leaders to accelerate the
    development of RAPs covering these critical occupations.
        At present, a total of 17 NRWA state affiliates have successful
    RAPs that conform to these NRWA National Guideline Standards, and
    registration applications from NRWA affiliates in 12 additional states
    are currently in process. Nationally, 140 active apprentices are
    enrolled in the NRWA-sponsored apprenticeship program. Local NRWA-
    affiliated program sponsors include Pentair, Inc. (based in Aurora,
    Illinois) and the West Virginia American Water Joint Apprenticeship and
    Training Committee (based in Charleston, West Virginia). The
    groundbreaking NRWA RAPs directly address the concerns raised by GAO
    Report 18-102 (January 2018) about the current and growing nationwide
    shortage of well-trained drinking water and wastewater management
    professionals. For more information concerning the NRWA national
    apprenticeship program, please visit the following links:
      --https://nrwa.org/initiatives/apprenticeship-program
      --https://nrwa.org/2017/11/nrwa-partners-with-department-of-labor-on-
            apprenticeship-program/
        In the fall of 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
    awarded a $6 million grant to the NRWA for further development of its
    national apprenticeship program. With this new funding from USDA, NRWA
    will have additional means to help States develop RAPs for water and
    wastewater system operations specialists.
        In addition, in May 2019, the Department released a funding
    opportunity through the Apprenticeship Expansion and Modernization Fund
    to support the development of innovative tools and strategies that,
    while relatively untested, hold promise to transform Registered
    Apprenticeship and support the expansion of RAPs throughout the Nation.
    This opportunity allows applicants to propose innovative projects that
    best meet the specific challenges and needs in their area, their
    industry, or the local population. Vendor proposals are in development
    and may include projects that support workforce development in rural
    areas.
                                     ______

                  Questions Submitted by Senator Patty Murray
                        most hazardous workplace hazards
        Question. You highlighted in your testimony the 32,000 inspections
    conducted by OSHA. However, you failed to acknowledge that within this
    level OSHA has shifted its enforcement priorities away from those that
    OSHA acknowledges are ``resource-intensive enforcement activity . . .
    focused on some of the most hazardous work place hazards.'' Ergonomics
    is one of those hazards, yet such inspections have dropped by almost 70
    percent over the past 2 years, even though musculoskeletal disorders
    are a leading work-related illness reported by the Bureau of Labor
    Statistics.
        Why has OSHA reduced inspections of the most hazardous workplace
    hazards?
        Answer. Ergonomic inspections are primarily based on complaints,
    and vary from year to year. While the number of ergonomic related
    inspections has declined over the last 5 years, OSHA believes that
    number will increase as a result of its Site Specific Targeting Program
    (SST), which was launched in the first quarter of fiscal year 2018.
    Under SST, OSHA uses employer provided injury and illness data to
    direct enforcement resources to those workplaces with the highest rates
    of injury and illness. With more than one third of the non-fatal
    incidents reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics related to
    ergonomics, OSHA expects the SST to find more ergonomic violations.
                      federal enforcement staffing levels
        Question. Mr. Secretary, OSHA's Federal Enforcement staffing level
    is down by 191, or 13 percent, since 2016. I understand some hiring
    actions are in process, but OSHA needs to do more to get its staffing
    up and quickly. Please provide an update on OSHA's actions to hire,
    train, and deploy compliance safety and health officers.
        What is OSHA's plan for maintaining its enforcement workforce and
    ensuring that vacancies are filled in a timely way?
        Answer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
    has taken several steps to increase its Federal Enforcement staffing
    levels. Beginning in 2017, the agency received approval to fill all
    funded Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHO) positions. All
    vacancies are being recruited for, and OSHA is in the process of on-
    boarding the inspectors. The agency begins the recruitment process as
    soon as a vacancy occurs, or an upcoming retirement is announced. OSHA
    advertises and recruits individuals to fill all current vacancies, and
    the new inspectors then begin the on-boarding process. The recruitment
    and on-boarding process can take from three to 6 months, which includes
    the time necessary for advertisement, application, screening and
    interviews, and completing the required clearance of applicants under
    consideration, such as security and CSHO physicals. OSHA has also begun
    recruiting for a larger number of positions than available vacancies to
    ensure there is a continuous pool of CSHO applicants for selection when
    future vacancies occur.
                               workplace violence
        Question. It's been more than 3 years since the Government
    Accountability Office (GAO) made recommendations that would help reduce
    the risk of workplace violence for approximately 15 million healthcare
    workers in the United States. I, along with Representatives Bobby
    Scott, Joe Courtney and Frederica Wilson, requested GAO undertake this
    work. I am concerned about the pace of OSHA's actions to implement
    these recommendations. OSHA updated its voluntary guidelines on
    preventing workplace violence in healthcare and social services and its
    enforcement procedures for addressing workplace violence under OSHA's
    general duty clause. However, OSHA has yet to issue its report that
    will help compliance officers develop citations in workplace violence
    cases. And, it is still considering information from its December 2016
    Request for Information (RFI).
        When will OSHA implement this report?
        Answer. On January 10, 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health
    Administration (OSHA) issued the enforcement directive ``Enforcement
    Procedures and Scheduling for Occupational Exposure to Workplace
    Violence.'' This directive provides detailed guidance and procedures
    for compliance officers when conducting inspections and issuing
    citations related to workplace violence.
        Question. When will OSHA act on the information it has received
    from the RFI?
        Answer. OSHA is in the process of analyzing the information it has
    gathered from petitioners for a standard, participants of the
    stakeholder meeting, comments received in response to its Request for
    Information (RFI), and experts. OSHA will use this information to
    develop regulatory alternatives and cost and benefit analyses required
    to initiate the SBREFA process in Fall 2019. The enforcement directive
    can be found at https://www.osha.gov/enforcement/directives/cpl-02-01-
    058.
        Question. When will OSHA convene a SBREFA panel so that it can
    finally issue a workplace violence standard, and what is delaying that
    process?
        Answer. There is not a delay. OSHA is in the process of analyzing
    the information it has gathered from petitioners for a standard,
    participants of the stakeholder meeting, comments received in response
    to the RFI, and experts. OSHA will use this information to develop
    regulatory alternatives and cost and benefit analyses required to
    initiate the small business review process required by the Small
    Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA). OSHA anticipates
    initiating the SBREFA process in Fall 2019.
        Question. For each of the past 5 years, how many citations under
    the General Duty clause has OSHA issued related to workplace violence
    in healthcare settings?
        Answer. The following table provides the number of citations under
    the General Duty clause for workplace violence by fiscal year:

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
         2014           2015           2016           2017          2018
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
          4              6              7              9              5
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Question. Additionally, what is the Department doing more generally
    to address harassment and violence in workplaces across the Nation?
        Answer. OSHA regional and area office staff provide guidance to
    employers and employees concerning workplace violence. Each region has
    a workplace violence coordinator who can respond to questions
    concerning workplace violence and provide guidance to employers on
    developing policies and procedures to protect workers from violence.
    Similarly, these workplace violence coordinators support area office
    staff who respond to employee and employer questions about workplace
    safety. Employee training concerning workplace violence has been
    provided through Susan Harwood training grants, and those training
    materials are available on the OSHA website. In addition, workplace
    violence prevention is a current topic in the fiscal year 2019 Susan
    Harwood Grants funding opportunity announcement.
                   highest-impact and highest-risk workplaces
        Question. The OSHA Congressional Budget Justification states that
    OSHA plans to begin ``shifting the focus to the highest-impact and most
    complex inspections at the highest-risk workplaces.''
        Please describe in more detail these plans, including how OSHA will
    identify the highest-impact and highest-risk workplaces.
        Answer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
    revising its enforcement weighting system. The updated system will
    include a greater emphasis on the impact of inspections, rather than
    the current system's emphasis on the resources expended in an
    inspection. With this revision, OSHA can emphasize inspections that are
    not resource intensive, but save more lives and reduce exposure to
    hazards. These inspections include those addressing fall and trenching
    hazards.
        Question. Further, what additional steps will OSHA take to
    publicize and promote its inspection findings and citations so that the
    regulated community understand that OSHA will vigorously enforce
    employer obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act?
        Answer. OSHA makes use of a variety of tools to disseminate
    information on inspection findings, citations, and the importance of
    enforcement. OSHA's website has several resources that provide
    enforcement information, including data on annual inspection activity;
    a map of enforcement cases with initial penalties of $40,000 or more,
    and a search tool that allows users to access OSHA inspection data by
    establishment name, North American Industry Classification System code,
    or inspection number. The agency also maintains a webpage that provides
    data on work-related fatalities that occurred under Federal OSHA and
    State Plan jurisdiction. The page is updated regularly, as data become
    available. Additionally, any page on the OSHA website can be auto-
    translated into Spanish with the simple click of a button.
        Information about enforcement cases and programs is also shared
    through OSHA's twice-monthly QuickTakes newsletter, which reaches more
    than 257,000 subscribers; the agency's Twitter feed; and a trade media
    email list through which news releases are distributed. The importance
    of strong, fair, and full enforcement is also shared in speeches and
    presentations by OSHA leadership and staff to a wide variety of
    audiences.
        OSHA continuously looks for opportunities to improve its website
    and outreach tools, and make information--including enforcement
    information--more accessible, understandable, and usable.
                                 osha reporting
        Question. Last year's Committee report instructed ``OSHA to resume
    timely and public reporting on its website of fatalities that occur at
    workplaces, regardless if a citation is issued.'' This directive has
    not been followed.
        Why is OSHA not in compliance?
        Answer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
    in compliance with this directive. Since October 2017, OSHA has
    published on its website a list of all inspections initiated in
    response to a workplace fatality that occurred on or after January 1,
    2017. The list includes all fatality inspections under Federal OSHA or
    State Plan jurisdiction regardless of whether citations were issued.
    The list can be reached from anywhere on the agency's website through
    the ``Fatality Reports'' link under the main ``Data'' menu. The
    fatality reports page is updated approximately every two weeks to allow
    OSHA staff time to manually review each fatality report description and
    ensure that it does not include personally identifiable information. In
    order to provide the most accurate information possible about the
    hazards related to a fatality, inspection data is added to the fatality
    reports page after OSHA concludes the inspection.
        Question. Why is OSHA opposed to recognizing those workers that
    have been killed on the job and the impact unsafe working conditions
    have on individuals and families?
        Answer. OSHA takes every workplace fatality seriously. As a result,
    the agency maintains a dedicated page on its website listing all
    inspections that were conducted in response to a workplace fatality
    that occurred on or after January 1, 2017. The list includes a
    description of the hazard that led to each fatality, as well as an
    indicator of whether OSHA issued any citations related to the fatality.
    OSHA believes this publicly available data source is an important tool
    to better understand the impact that workplace hazards can have on
    individuals and their families. The hyperlink to the fatality data is:
    https://www.osha.gov/dep/fatcat/dep_fatcat.html.
           improving timeliness and accuracy of prevailing wage rates
        Question. I am glad that you have stated clearly your support for
    the application of Davis Bacon wage protections to any infrastructure
    package that Congress considers. As you are aware, the Department of
    Labor Inspector General issued a report in March of this year that
    found the ``Wage and Hour Division needs better strategies to improve
    the timeliness and accuracy of prevailing wage rates'' and made eight
    recommendations to improve the overall quality and accuracy of
    prevailing wage rates.
        Please describe planned actions and associated timelines to address
    each of the report's recommendations.
        Answer. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) submitted a comprehensive
    response to the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (OIG)
    report and its eight specific recommendations. In that response, WHD
    generally agreed with OIG's recommendations and committed to numerous
    actions that are intended to effectively and efficiently implement
    OIG's recommended improvements to the Davis-Bacon Act wage
    determinations program. WHD subsequently submitted its official 60-day
    response to OIG's final report on May 31, 2019. The response included
    detailed information regarding WHD's planned actions and associated
    timelines to address each of the report's eight recommendations. WHD
    has already taken some steps to address OIG's recommendations. Further,
    WHD is convening a cross-functional task force to reassess
    comprehensively WHD's wage determination process and to determine the
    best way to implement each of OIG's recommendations.
          payroll audit independent determination (paid) pilot program
        Question. Mr. Secretary, as you are aware, I am concerned that the
    Wage and Hour Division's Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID)
    pilot program is nothing more than amnesty for employers engaged in
    wage theft. In response to a question I asked last year about your
    evaluation of the PAID pilot program, it was stated that ``At the end
    of the pilot period, WHD will review lessons learned . . . and use a
    balanced approach in assessing all aspects of this pilot phase of the
    program, including quantitative and qualitative measures, as well as
    feedback from employees, employers, and WHD staff.''
        Given that PAID was announced as an approximately six month
    program, that was subsequently extended for another 6 months, please
    provide the reasons for the subsequent extension, lessons learned, the
    data and information collected from the qualitative and quantitative
    measures, and feedback from employees, employers and WHD staff that are
    informing current and future implementation of this pilot program.
        Answer. The Wage and Hour Division's (WHD) Payroll Audit
    Independent Determination (PAID) pilot program facilitates resolution
    of potential overtime and minimum wage violations under the Fair Labor
    Standards Act (FLSA). The primary goals of the PAID program are
    identifying and correcting non-compliant practices so employees receive
    100 percent of their back wages due in a fraction of time of a typical
    investigation. To that end, the PAID program requires employers to
    review their pay practices, accept compliance assistance, and correct
    the practices that led to the errors. This is a win for employees, a
    win for employers, and a win for taxpayers.
        The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Voluntary
    Protection Program and the Employee Benefits Security Administration's
    Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program are similar to PAID. These long-
    standing programs encourage correction of possible violations of the
    law and expand worker protection.
        Questions regarding program outcomes will be addressed in a report
    in response to S. Rept. 115-289--language which accompanied the Senate
    Appropriations Committee-passed version of Labor, Health and Human
    Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 2019. The
    language directed the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to submit a report
    to the Committee no later than 12 months after the date of the act
    detailing the outcomes of the PAID pilot program.
        Until that report becomes available, early testimonials from
    employees and employers alike indicate that the results are
    overwhelmingly positive. The program's goal is to get back wages into
    the hands of employees more quickly, and that is what has been
    happening. Providing this platform for well-intentioned employers to
    resolve violations frees the Division to commit more resources to
    investigating the more egregious, willful violators, affecting even
    more employees and bringing those violators into compliance moving
    forward. Under this program, the Department expects more employers to
    proactively conduct audits that otherwise may not occur. As a result,
    more employees will be paid the back wages they have rightfully earned.
        At the conclusion of the pilot phase in September 2018, most PAID
    cases remained open, but cases with back wages due appeared to require
    fewer investigator hours than full investigations. Since then, WHD has
    worked to implement PAID consistent with existing protocols and
    procedures for compliance actions, which has allowed district offices
    to incorporate the program into enforcement and compliance assistance
    tools already in place. WHD has continued collecting and assessing
    administrative enforcement data throughout the program's implementation
    and will be addressed in a report in response to S. Rept. 115-289, no
    later than 12 months after the date of the Act.
                        modernized compliance assistance
        Question. The budget proposal for the Wage and Hour Division
    includes an increase of 7 FTE and $1,068,000 ``to implement modernized
    compliance assistance that will enable the agency to develop and
    deliver employer-focused resources and tools.''
        Please describe the assistance, associated staffing levels, and
    budgetary resources you are providing to workers on recognizing when
    and how they are being victimized by their employers?
        Answer. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) uses a multi-pronged
    approach to meet its mission of promoting and achieving compliance:
    investigations in high-violation industries, engagement and education
    of private and public stakeholders, and the use of communications tools
    and compliance assistance. In addition, WHD takes an evidence-based
    approach to ensure that it prioritizes providing compliance assistance
    and using enforcement resources in areas where the agency is most
    likely to uncover violations. This process, informed by data, research,
    and evaluation, allows the agency to make the most of its limited
    resources. WHD set a record in fiscal year 2018 recovering $304 million
    for workers, as well as setting a record in fiscal year 2018 with more
    than 3,600 outreach events. WHD staff are generalists and focus on the
    multi-pronged approach to achieving compliance with the laws we
    enforce.
        WHD continues to conduct extensive outreach to employee
    organizations, and that outreach focuses not only on workers' rights,
    but also on explaining how to get in touch, confidentially with the
    Department if they have questions, or if they want to file a complaint.
    Our website offers clear information on how to reach us, as well as on
    how to file a complaint. Our compliance assistance materials include a
    wide range of plain language materials explaining worker's rights, and
    WHD publishes hundreds of press releases each year identifying
    employers found in violation through our investigations. Those press
    releases explain the nature of the violations so that employees of
    other employers may recognize if the same practices are affecting them,
    and reach out to WHD for confidential assistance.
                  whd continuous business process improvements
        Question. The Wage and Hour Division budget also refers to learning
    from other government enforcement agencies that will be leveraged to
    design a system that will support continuous business process
    improvements at the Division.
        Please describe the evidence and learning that support these
    changes and the specific plans and investments needed for the agency to
    implement this transformation.
        Answer. The Wage and Hour Division's (WHD) existing applications
    are nearly 20 years old. They are difficult and costly to maintain. As
    a result, WHD is leveraging the Department's Case Management Platform,
    an Appian-based Business Process Management System to modernize its
    suite of applications. This system provides the flexibility to adapt
    quickly to policy and process changes that naturally evolve over time.
    These investments in technology and capacity-building will sustain the
    agency's strong performance results and is expected to have an outsized
    impact on long-term organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
        Additionally, this year, WHD spearheaded an effort to stand up an
    Appian Business Users Forum to facilitate sharing of information and
    best practices across agencies. WHD will continue to collaborate across
    agencies to ensure success of the program. The agency is working
    closely with the Department's Chief Information Office to modernization
    efforts to promote, reuse, and leverage lessons learned from other
    Appian development efforts.
        In modernizing its suite of applications, WHD will decouple legacy
    data structures from programmatically siloed software and allow for the
    establishment of an enterprise data management and analytics platform.
    The resulting technical architecture will enable WHD to manage data as
    a valuable, strategic business asset, thereby evolving the treatment of
    data as just administrative outputs. A dynamic, user-centric system is
    expected to significantly increase operational efficiencies, reduce
    costs, and allow for greater innovation in meeting the mission.
    Investigators and programmatic staff can dedicate more time towards
    higher value work while agency leadership can focus resources where
    data and evidence show WHD can have the greatest impact.
                           women's bureau budget cuts
        Question. I am greatly concerned about the significant reduction of
    $10.225 million for the Women's Bureau. This would cause the number of
    policy and research deliverables to fall from 16 in fiscal year 2018 to
    7 under the fiscal year 2020 budget request. It would slash by 60
    percent the number of staff working at the Women's bureau. This would
    diminish the bureau's work on the full range of issues facing women
    seeking entry to the workforce and in addressing other challenges of
    working women, such as equal pay for equal work.
        Don't you agree that we should be creating greater opportunities
    for women?
        Answer. Women are nearly fifty percent of the workforce and the
    President's fiscal year 2020 budget and previous budget requests
    reflect the importance of women in the workforce.
        The Women's Bureau serves an important role at the Department of
    Labor, promoting and advancing the interests of working women by
    convening stakeholders, advising on policy change, and starting
    conversations around topics that are critical to women, their families,
    and our Nation's prosperity. Success for the Women's Bureau is achieved
    when the issues it champions move beyond the Bureau, because that means
    the problems and opportunities identified through its work are being
    addressed.
        Next year, the Women's Bureau will celebrate its Centennial year,
    which provides an opportunity to reflect on how far women have come
    over the past 100 years. Over the past century, the Women's Bureau has
    successfully advocated for workplace safety standards, family leave
    benefits, and pay equality protections.
        The Women's Bureau has recently taken a number of actions to
    advance women's workplace policies and influence the current state of
    women in the workforce. Since the beginning of 2017, the Women's Bureau
    has:
      --Partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services to help
            increase working families' access to affordable, quality child
            care;
      --Worked with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the
            Treasury Department to grow opportunities for women in
            entrepreneurship;
      --Coordinated with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
            to increase opportunities for women to access and thrive in
            apprenticeship programs;
      --Joined the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), the
            Department of Defense, and others to address employment
            opportunities and reducing occupational licensing barriers for
            military spouses, 92 percent of whom are women; and
      --Supported the Trump Administration's commitment to address the
            opioid crisis with a focus on helping women who have been
            impacted by the opioid crisis.
        None of these efforts will be negatively affected by the fiscal
    year 2020 budget. Instead, the Department will more effectively support
    and advance the mission of the Women's Bureau by focusing the Bureau's
    resources on conducting research and collaborating with agencies and
    departments across the government. In the coming year, the Women's
    Bureau will collaborate with ETA and VETS to support grant work on
    State licensing and promoting employment for military spouses; with the
    White House to identify innovative solutions to childcare; and with SBA
    to expand opportunities for women to thrive in entrepreneurship.
        As mentioned previously, the Women's Bureau provides research and
    analysis on the issues of interest to working women. Following a
    request by members of the Senate, the Women's Bureau commissioned a
    study, which is still in the early stages of analysis, to produce an
    independent, more precise and current estimate of the gender wage gap.
    The commissioned work will update a study on the gender wage gap issued
    by the Department in 2009. The 2009 study, which was funded by the
    Department and produced by the CONSAD Research Corporation,
    systematically reviewed then-available research on gender differentials
    in earnings and used data from the Current Population Survey to
    identify factors (including education, occupation, industry, work
    experience, and career interruptions) that contributed to the gender
    wage gap.
        In addition to the CONSAD update research study, the Women's Bureau
    is partnering with the Census Bureau to link administrative and survey
    data to produce a more precise and current estimate of the gender wage
    gap. The study will include an in-depth examination of variables such
    as industry, occupation, education and work experience that contribute
    to the gender wage gap. Findings from both projects are expected by the
    end of the 2019 calendar year.
        While recognizing that many factors go into determining wages,
    data-driven information concerning the wage gap provides a baseline for
    women planning careers to learn about prospective occupations, and as a
    comparison point for women already in the labor force to evaluate their
    wages. The Women's Bureau has an interactive visualization tool
    available on the Women's Bureau website, which shows average wages for
    women and men in more than 300 occupations.
        ETA also supports programs to provide workforce development
    services for female workers. For example, the Women's Bureau is
    collaborating with the Office of Apprenticeship (OA) to recruit and
    retain women in pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs as
    potential pathways for women to non-traditional occupations that may
    have higher average salaries. Through WIOA, ETA supports programs that
    provide workforce development services for individuals with barriers to
    employment, including over two million women workers in Program Year
    2017. In addition, WIOA emphasizes providing services and placing women
    in non-traditional occupations, such as apprenticeships, that may have
    higher average salaries.
        Question. Won't this diminished workforce and the significant
    reduction of policy and research deliverables mean fewer opportunities
    for women?
        Answer. Please see the response to the prior question.
                                ilab budget cuts
        Question. Mr. Secretary, in the foreword to your Department's 2018
    List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, you wrote:
    ``these reports show us that we need to accelerate progress toward
    ending child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, and modern
    slavery. This is vital if we are to make trade fair for all.''
        How will you accelerate progress on these critical issues when your
    budget proposes a 79 percent reduction for the key agency of the
    Department involved in this work?
        Answer. With these resources ILAB will continue to pursue the
    Administration's priority of combatting child labor, forced labor,
    human trafficking, modern slavery, and other important humanitarian
    issues. United States trading partners receive an unfair subsidy when
    they fail to comply with their trade-related labor commitments,
    including not doing enough to prevent and address cases of forced labor
    and child labor. This puts workers and businesses in the United States
    at a competitive disadvantage. ILAB will use its expertise to address
    these issues and ensure that U.S. workers and businesses are able to
    compete on a fair global playing field.
        ILAB will continue to monitor and enforce the labor provisions of
    free trade agreements and trade preference programs. The Department's
    approach will include prioritizing proactive monitoring of labor
    conditions in key countries; reviewing trade complaints; using ILAB
    experts to provide targeted direct technical support to trading
    partners to improve laws and enforcement; and aggressively engaging
    with trade partners that are deemed to be out of compliance.
        ILAB will provide direct technical support to our trading partners
    to improve laws and enforcement and will use its existing technical
    assistance portfolio to combat forced labor and child labor and improve
    labor enforcement and working conditions around the world. At the same
    time, we are asking our trading partners to invest more of their own
    resources to enforce their labor laws and fund initiatives to combat
    child labor, forced labor, and modern slavery. ILAB will also increase
    its impact by strengthening partnerships with other U.S. government
    agencies, such as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the
    Department of State, and Department of Homeland Security, as well as
    with private sector stakeholders to prevent the importation of goods
    made with forced labor and child labor and make trade more fair for
    workers and businesses in the United States.
                  dol's work with the department of education
        Question. The Department of Education budget includes $60 million
    to support State efforts to create pre-apprenticeship programs that
    increase the number of adults who are able to meet the basic entrance
    requirements of apprenticeship programs.
        What plans does the Department have to work with the Department of
    Education on this program?
        Answer. The Department of Labor is working with the Department of
    Education and plans to release a Training and Employment Guidance
    Letter that will define a pre-apprenticeship program, describe the pre-
    apprenticeship program pathways that may connect to apprenticeship
    programs, and ensure alignment with current Workforce Innovation and
    Opportunity Act (WIOA) guidance. This upcoming guidance will help
    inform the Department of Education on how pre-apprenticeship programs
    could serve as a pathway to apprenticeships.
        Question. Is it the Department of Labor's understanding that the
    purpose of such pre-apprenticeship programs is to enable participants
    to qualify for and participate in existing registered apprenticeship
    programs?
        Answer. In addition to defining a pre-apprenticeship program,
    describing the pre-apprenticeship program pathways that may connect to
    apprenticeship programs, and ensuring alignment with current Workforce
    Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) guidance, the above-mentioned
    Training and Employment Guidance Letter will also explain how quality
    pre-apprenticeship programs can play a valuable role in providing work-
    based learning to prepare adults for an entry-level Registered
    Apprenticeship Program.
        Question. If not, why would this initiative ignore the existing
    infrastructure around such high-quality registered apprenticeship
    programs and instead propose pathways into duplicative, lower quality
    programs?
        Answer. The Department strongly encourages the development of pre-
    apprenticeship programs to better prepare individual to enter
    apprenticeship programs that lead to skilled jobs that pay family-
    sustaining wages.
        While alignment of pre-apprenticeship programs to Registered
    Apprenticeship Programs remains a best practice, advancement to
    employment opportunities and other advanced training opportunities that
    result in portable, industry-recognized credentials are also viable
    pathways, particularly in fields where apprenticeships are still
    emerging (including, IT, cyber security, financial services, healthcare
    and manufacturing).
        Accordingly, the Department is considering actions to update
    guidance in order to expand pre-apprentices' opportunities to gain a
    foothold in the successful apprenticeship model.
                  msha's combined enforcement budget activity
        Question. The budget request for the Mine Safety and Health
    Administration (MSHA) proposes a single enforcement budget activity,
    combining Coal Mine Safety and Health with Metal and Nonmetal Mine
    Safety and Health.
        Please explain the basis for the Department's determination that
    such a consolidation is needed and would bolster, rather than diminish,
    MSHA's ability to enforce the Mine Safety and Health Act. Please also
    describe how the enforcement consolidation will be implemented,
    monitored, and evaluated in ensuring that inspections at different
    types of mines will consistently adhere to MSHA policies and
    procedures. The Congressional Budget Justification also states that
    ``The merger will consist of two program areas, while still
    accommodating situations unique to certain types of mines.'' Please
    elaborate on MSHA's thinking about the merger and such accommodations.
        Answer. The Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) ``One
    MSHA'' initiative began by creating the unified position of
    Administrator, Mine Safety & Health over all of Enforcement. MSHA then
    evaluated all mines for distance from MSHA offices, and identified 90
    mines where it made sense to train a coal inspector to inspect a metal/
    nonmetal mine, or vice versa. The Mine Academy in Beckley, WV
    established and revised our curriculum, with input from the National
    Council of Field Labor Locals (NCFLL). MSHA provided up to 56 hours of
    classroom training for those inspectors, plus up to 24 hours on-the-job
    training with a seasoned inspector or manager.
        During the 6 months beginning last October, inspectors for those 90
    mines spent 41 percent less time driving than previously. This saves
    taxpayer dollars on vehicles, fuel, food and lodging. But ultimately
    this is about more effectively achieving MSHA's core mission: instead
    of spending time driving in a car, our inspectors can spend more time
    on site interacting with miners and observing safety conditions.
        Based on the success of phase one, starting July 1st MSHA will add
    117 more mines. Understand that MSHA will retain specialists in their
    current roles to cover specific mining conditions, such as ventilation
    experts inspecting underground coal mines prone to hazardous conditions
    like combustible coal dust and methane inundation.
        In keeping MSHA's promise to House and Senate Appropriations
    Committees, MSHA's Office of Accountability will audit crossover mine
    inspections to ensure that enforcement personnel adhered to MSHA's
    policies and procedures.
                         dol's chief evaluation office
        Question. Earlier this year, the President signed into law a bill I
    co-wrote with former Speaker Paul Ryan called the ``Foundations for
    Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018'' (Public Law 115-435).
        Given the Department of Labor already has in place a Chief
    Evaluation Officer and produces a regular evaluation plan--please
    describe any changes to that position or process that will occur
    following enactment of Public Law 115-435?
        Answer. As noted in the question, the Department has in place
    already several key provisions of the new legislation. Per Section
    101(a) of Title 1, the Department's Chief Evaluation Officer position
    is a career official with demonstrated methodological and subject-
    matter expertise. This office is staffed with highly-skilled evaluation
    professionals who ensure robust and meaningful coordination with the
    Department's evaluation program. The Department has an evaluation
    policy and learning agenda/annual evaluation plan, which ground
    evaluation in a broader portfolio of evidence-building that includes
    analytical, statistical, and research activities.
        These key foundational practices will be augmented by updates to
    the Department's evaluation plan and planning process to ensure full
    compliance with the law. The following are key updates to the current
    planning process: to demarcate the ``significant'' studies in the
    evaluation portfolio and their anticipated research questions, to
    describe the key information collections and acquisitions, and to align
    the plan with any other requirements as specified in yet-to-be-released
    guidance. The Department will also modify the planning process timeline
    to align with the reporting cycle of its performance plan.
        Question. In addition, please describe the steps the Department is
    taking to prioritize implementation of the bill's other key provisions,
    including those related to tapping senior leaders to fulfill the law's
    goals (e.g., the Chief Data Officer and the Statistical Officer--in
    addition to the Chief Evaluation Officer), improving coordination of
    data within the Department, and ultimately improving accessibility of
    Labor data?
        Answer. On March 12, 2019, a Secretary's Order \6,7\ was signed,
    creating a Chief Data Officer (CDO) and the Department of Labor's Data
    Board in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy. The Data
    Board, led by the CDO, will serve as the Department's enterprise
    oversight body for the development of coordinated Department-wide
    positions on data strategy, data management, standards management, and
    implementation of the data responsibilities under the new legislation.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \6\ https://www.Federalregister.gov/d/2019-05720 (signed 03/12/
    2019, published 03/26/2019).
        \7\ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osec/osec20190313,
    published 03/13/2019.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Question. The Department did not include a request for additional
    resources to support implementation; how does the Department intend to
    ensure the capacity exists to implement this new law?
        Answer. Given that the Department has existing infrastructure and
    resources to leverage for implementation, the current priority is on
    adapting established roles and processes. Additionally, the Department
    will use the interim evidence capacity assessment planning process to
    strategically assess, align, and potentially augment internal assets to
    ensure full implementation of the new law.
        Question. What is the Department's timeline for designating the
    senior leaders?
        Answer. Public Law115-435 requires the Department designate the
    evaluation, data, and statistical officer within 180 days of enactment.
    The Department has named an acting CDO who is organizing the newly
    formalized data board and developing plans and structures to implement
    the legislation and Secretary's Order. The Department is working to
    designate a Statistical Officer by the end of fiscal year 2019.
        Question. Finally, how does the Department see the interagency
    Chief Data Officer Council and the Advisory Committee on Data for
    Evidence Building as helping to improve the sharing of and access to
    data for purposes of evidence building?
        Answer. The Department sees these interagency committees as
    critical for advancing evidence building, particularly in an era of
    limited budgets and the need for rapid insights. The interagency
    committees identified by the statute could fill an important gap in
    identifying efficient, streamlined, and cost-effective solutions for
    data sharing to answer mission critical questions.
                         dol's policies and rationales
        Question. Secretary Acosta, you have repeatedly criticized the use
    of sub-regulatory guidance by the Department and other administrative
    agencies as using ``administrative fiat'' to make significant policy
    changes. You have said that any change in substantive law should be
    made by Congress or through notice and comment rulemaking. At the
    hearing, you reiterated this Administration's position that full
    rulemaking is the better approach, and stated that the Department is
    developing its own internal mechanism to decide whether something is
    appropriate as a guidance document or as a rulemaking.
        Please provide a detailed explanation for this new internal
    mechanism, including a statement of the Department's official policy
    and rationale for developing and implementing the policy.
        Answer. The Department of Labor believes that the best practice is
    generally to use the Administrative Procedure Act's (APA) prescribed
    rulemaking process, allowing for the American public's input and
    ability to access and challenge new policies or interpretations of the
    law. The Department is concerned that in the past, sub-regulatory
    guidance has been issued, without notice and comment, with the purpose
    or effect of binding outside parties. The Department is also concerned
    that American workers and employers may not know when an agency issues
    sub-regulatory guidance, which could expose them to potential
    enforcement actions under requirements about which they may not be
    aware. At the same time, sub-regulatory guidance can, in certain
    limited fact-specific circumstances, serve as a useful tool for
    conveying the Department's interpretation of the law to the regulated
    community or for educating American employers and workers about rights
    and obligations that flow from the law.
        The Department is committed to ensuring that the APA's rulemaking
    requirements are consistently followed, while utilizing sub-regulatory
    guidance judiciously and where appropriate under the law. The
    Department is working on developing a standard internal mechanism to
    appropriately assess guidance to determine whether it should go through
    a rulemaking or be issued as guidance.
                               job corps funding
        Question. I am deeply concerned by your proposal to gut funding for
    the Job Corps --our Nation's flagship youth employment program, which
    has had strong bipartisan support for more than half a century. Despite
    your proposed cuts, the Appropriations Committee has protected funding
    for the program with the expectation that it would continue to offer
    the same number of training opportunities. Yet several centers have
    closed and overall training slots are declining. I understand that you
    are proceeding with amendments to the USDA-DOL agreement, which could
    equate to closing 20 percent of Job Corps centers, without
    congressional approval.
        The Department has stated its intention to ``unwind'' the agreement
    between USDA and Job Corps that allows for the operation of CCCs. Have
    the Departments begun this process? Please provide a copy of the
    current agreement, the updated agreement, and the current budget of the
    USDA Forest Service Job Corps. Please also provide a fulsome
    explanation of the Department's legal authority for transferring
    operation of the CCCs from USDA to DOL, and for closing the CCCs
    without congressional approval.
        Answer. On May 24, 2019, the Department of Agriculture (USDA)
    announced that it was withdrawing from operating Job Corps Civilian
    Conservation Centers (CCCs) and transferring operations of those
    centers to DOL. As a result, DOL reviewed the portfolio of CCCs and
    proposed deactivation of nine CCCs and its intent to enter into
    procurement or partnership as to the remaining 15 centers. USDA has
    reconsidered and no longer intends to transfer these centers to DOL.
    Therefore, DOL announced on June 24, 2019, that it is withdrawing its
    previously published Federal Register notice proposing the deactivation
    of nine CCCs.
        The Department will provide a copy of the Interagency Agreement,
    executed in 2008, by the Department and the USDA to the Committee.
        Question. What are your plans for the 24 currently operating Job
    Corps Civilian Conservation Centers, including the three in my home
    State of Washington, and those training slots?
        Answer. The USDA will continue to operate the 24 Job Corps CCCs,
    including the three in your home State of Washington. DOL, working with
    USDA, will explore ways to improve the performance of the CCCs and
    results they achieve for the students. There are no plans to reduce
    student training slots at the CCCs
        Question. If they close, will the training slots that Congress has
    funded be shifted to other Job Corps centers?
        Answer. The 24 CCCs will remain open and operated by the USDA
    Forest Service. The Federal Register Notice proposing deactivation of
    nine CCCs was withdrawn. There are no plans to reduce student training
    slots at these CCCs.
        Question. If they close, please explain how the Department will
    handle students enrolled at those centers. Will they be transferred to
    another Center, or will they be separated from the Job Corps program
    altogether?
        Answer. The Federal Register Notice proposing to deactivate nine
    CCCs has been withdrawn. As a result, given these CCCs are not closing,
    there is no need to transfer or reassign students.
        Question. If they close, what will happen to the USDA Forest
    Service employees who operate and staff the centers?
        Answer. Given USDA no longer intends to transfer the 24 CCCs to
    DOL, USDA's Forest Service employees will continue to serve students
    enrolled at these locations.
        Question. If they close, how will DOL or USDA address the loss of
    Forest Service Job Corps camp crews who are trained to assist during
    national emergencies, including those caused by wildfires, floods,
    hurricanes, and tornadoes?
        Answer. We expect that USDA Forest Service will continue to support
    activities in response to national emergencies. It is important to note
    that community service assistance in national emergencies is an
    important aspect of the Job Corps experience. Annually, Job Corps
    students are engaged in a wide range of these kinds of volunteer
    activities across the country.
        Question. Will you attempt to enable private operators to run them?
    What land-use permitting and additional costs will be required of
    private operators to run these facilities on Federal lands?
        Answer. As a result of the USDA decision, a land-use permit will
    not be necessary.
                  use of job corp centers to shelter migrants
        Question. Has the Department considered--or engaged with the
    Department of Homeland Security, any other Federal agency, or any
    private entity regarding--using Job Corps Center facilities to house or
    shelter migrants?
        Answer. The Department has had an agreement with the Department of
    Health and Human Services (HHS), which allows HHS to use a former Job
    Corps facility in Homestead, Florida, for their Administration for
    Children and Families' Unaccompanied Youth program.
                           job corps staffing levels
        Question. Job Corps operational slots have steadily declined since
    the start of this Administration despite Congress having provided
    stable funding levels. Job Corps' on-board strength remains around 80
    percent compared to a historical average in the high 90s, even during
    economic expansions.
        Given Job Corps' low on-board strength, how much, if any, surplus
    operational funding does ETA anticipate Job Corps having in PY 2018 and
    PY 2019?
        Answer. The Department does not anticipate any surplus operational
    funding in Program Year (PY) 2018 or PY 2019.
        Job Corps recently increased its oversight and accountability over
    the implementation and adequacy of required Outreach and Public
    Education Plans created by outreach and admissions providers. These
    plans include, among other elements, outreach strategies to achieve and
    maintain center capacity; plans to ensure coordination of efforts
    between contractors and centers; and a description of the public
    education and outreach methods that the contractor will develop. By
    increasing accountability, the Job Corps program has increased overall
    enrollment during the past year. Job Corps continues to monitor follow-
    up activities associated with potential applicants expressing interest
    in the program by conducting weekly teleconferences with outreach and
    admissions providers to review potential applicant and new applicant
    information in detail.
        Currently, Job Corps is using a digital media campaign to increase
    Job Corps' On-Board Strength (OBS) at many of its largest centers. This
    campaign includes using a digital outreach strategy for each of the
    targeted centers and requires frequent coordination among regional Job
    Corps staff, a media consultant, outreach and admissions providers, and
    center operators. Regular meetings are used to review and analyze OBS-
    related data, identify and resolve barriers to increasing student
    enrollment and retention, and provide feedback on center-specific media
    outreach.
        Job Corps is transitioning stand-alone outreach and admissions
    activities into center operations contracts. By consolidating these
    activities into the center operations contract, Job Corps center
    operators assume a more direct responsibility for ensuring that their
    centers are operating at full capacity
        Before the end of the year, Job Corps will finalize its new
    methodology for creating the Geographic Assignment Plan (GAP). This new
    plan, referred to as the National Enrollee Assignment Plan (NEAP), will
    apply a standard formula to all Job Corps centers to determine the
    number of new students each center must enroll to maintain full
    capacity. Historically, Job Corps used a fixed national average of
    students it anticipated would leave the program each year to help
    calculate the arrival goals for each admissions provider. The new NEAP
    approach utilizes center-specific separation rates to set contract
    arrival goals. Centers with higher separation rates will have higher
    arrival goals in order to align with actual recruitment needs. These
    revised goals will be included in each admissions provider's contract
    to ensure that Job Corps centers are closer to full capacity.
        As part of its new NEAP strategy, Job Corps is reestablishing its
    defined recruitment areas so that they align with each State's Local
    Workforce Development Areas (LWDA). As a result of aligning recruitment
    efforts with LWDAs, Job Corps' outreach and admissions providers will
    have the opportunity to work in collaboration with partners in the
    workforce system, including receiving and providing referrals for
    individuals who express interest in the Job Corps program or are in
    need of other workforce development assistance.
        Finally, in 2019, Job Corps plans to launch a new student
    enrollment services system to identify and minimize delays and
    bottlenecks in the enrollment and center assignment processes. The new
    system will also improve the quality of career counseling provided,
    resulting in better matching of enrollee interests and/or aptitudes
    with a skills instruction program. The net results should be improved
    enrollments, student arrivals, and retention.
        Each month, approximately 18,000 youth express some interest in Job
    Corps' education and skills instruction program. This interest is
    primarily expressed through Job Corps' website. Prospective applicant
    information is provided directly to outreach and admissions contractors
    for follow-up. To capitalize on this interest and increase enrollment
    in the program, Job Corps is currently developing a new student
    enrollment services system, which will include a new information
    technology (IT) platform.
        The IT upgrades in the new enrollment services system will be
    designed to ensure that the eligible at-risk youth in the enrollment
    pipeline are promptly processed and enrolled. The new enrollment
    services system will seek to leverage technology to improve
    efficiencies in the system by monitoring the processing of applicants,
    and quickly resolving delays and bottlenecks, which will reduce
    application processing times. Job Corps' expanded use of technology
    will also create greater transparency by making application and
    enrollment data available in real time to those involved in the
    outreach, admissions, and center assignment processes. These changes
    will also provide tech-savvy youth easy access to Job Corps'
    application and a better user experience during the enrollment process.
    Finally, the new enrollment services system will provide meaningful
    career counseling during the admissions process. This will allow Job
    Corps to better manage enrollee expectations and better match enrollee
    interests and aptitudes with a skills instruction program. All of these
    efforts will support improved student recruitment and retention,
    resulting in full utilization of Job Corps centers.
        Question. What will this funding be redirected towards?
        Answer. The Department does not anticipate any surplus operational
    funding in Program Year (PY) 2018 or fiscal year 2019.
        Question. Please provide a detailed spend plan for the PY 2018
    operational funds.
        Answer. Below is the PY 2018 Job Corps Operational Funds Spend
    Plan.

                      PY 2018 OPERATIONAL FUNDS SPEND PLAN

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Contractor Operated Job Corps Centers..........        $1,152,040,482.82
    Regional Grant Demonstration Projects..........           $17,336,914.00
    USDA Transfer..................................          $145,810,489.00
    National Administrative Support and Contracts..          $286,345,558.52
                                                    ------------------------
        TOTAL SPEND PLAN:..........................        $1,601,533,444.34
                                                    ------------------------
        TOTAL APPROPRIATION:.......................        $1,603,325,000.00
                                                    ------------------------
        TOTAL PLANNED REMAINING BALANCE:...........            $1,791,555.66
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         job corps financial reporting
        Question. The OIG has stated that ETA has recently allowed Job
    Corps funding to expire.
        WIOA requires ETA to submit periodic financial reports; have these
    plans been submitted?
        Answer. Pursuant to section 161(a) of the Workforce Innovation and
    Opportunity Act, the Department submitted three such reports to
    Congress: first and second quarters of Program Year (PY) 2014 (July 1,
    2014 to December 31, 2014), third and fourth quarters of PY 2014
    (January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2015), and the first and second quarters
    of PY 2015 (July 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015). No additional reports
    were provided due to the following reasons:
      --The OIG recommendations referenced in section 161(a)(1)(A) were
            closed out as of March 24, 2015.
      --There has not been a budgetary shortfall as referenced in section
            161(a)(1)(B).
      --There has not been any instances of contract expenditures in excess
            of the amounts provided for under the contract as referenced in
            section 161(a)(1)(C).
        Question. What controls do you have in place to ensure that all the
    funding Congress has appropriated for Job Corps is being spent on Job
    Corps' students and mission prior to expiration?
        Answer. The Department is committed to using funds appropriated by
    Congress for the Job Corps program effectively and efficiently. Job
    Corps currently incrementally funds 98 contract centers all with
    varying contract periods, which requires additional monitoring and
    oversight to account for the status of funds. The Department has
    improved financial controls to more timely account for spending and
    maximize the use of available funds. Several initiatives were recently
    implemented to strengthen financial controls of Job Corps funding:
      --Job Corps established standard procedures to ensure timely and
            accurate monitoring of the status of funds. These procedures
            established new levels of detail in the current financial
            system of record, which has allowed Job Corps to monitor and
            report on current year obligations and expenditures in real-
            time across multiple fiscal, program and contract years.
      --Job Corps validates unexpended funds on a quarterly basis to
            determine if funds are available.
      --Job Corps' program officials meet regularly with financial and
            procurement staff to discuss the status of funds and to ensure
            any unobligated balances are being used to serve the program's
            mission.
                      job corps geographic assignment plan
        Question. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act requires the
    Department to produce a geographic assignment plan for Job Corps every
    2 years.
        Please share the current geographic assignment plan.
        Answer. Before the end of the year, Job Corps will finalize its new
    methodology for creating the Geographic Assignment Plan (GAP). This new
    plan, referred to as the National Enrollee Assignment Plan (NEAP), will
    be Job Corps' first comprehensive assignment plan and will replace the
    GAPs developed by each Job Corps Regional Office. The NEAP will apply a
    standard formula to all Job Corps centers to determine the number of
    new students each center must enroll to maintain full capacity.
    Historically, Job Corps used a fixed national average of students it
    anticipated would leave the program each year to help calculate the
    arrival goals for each admissions provider. The new NEAP approach
    utilizes center-specific separation rates to set contract arrival
    goals. Centers with higher separation rates will have higher arrival
    goals in order to align with actual recruitment needs. These revised
    goals will be included in each admissions provider's contract to help
    ensure that Job Corps centers achieve and maintain full capacity.
        As part of its new NEAP strategy, Job Corps is reestablishing its
    defined recruitment areas so that they align with each State's Local
    Workforce Development Areas (LWDA). As a result of aligning recruitment
    efforts with LWDAs, Job Corps' outreach and admissions providers will
    have the opportunity to work in collaboration with partners in the
    workforce system, including receiving and providing referrals for
    individuals who express interest in the Job Corps program or are in
    need of other workforce development assistance.
        Once complete, additional information regarding the NEAP will be
    provided to the Committee.
                              job corps marketing
        Question. How does DOL measure the efficacy and effectiveness of
    its national marketing efforts?
        Answer. Job Corps continues to refine the measures used to
    determine whether its marketing is effective. Marketing is handled by a
    contract marketing firm and is primarily digital (i.e., online) in
    nature. Digital platforms used include Facebook, Google, Instagram, and
    YouTube. However, print materials are also widely distributed.
        Currently, Job Corps initially measures the efficacy and
    effectiveness of its national marketing by tracking the number of
    people who indicate initial interest in the Job Corps program (i.e.,
    prospects). Prospects come into the system for tracking purposes via
    the recruitment website or by telephone via 800-733-JOBS. Effectiveness
    is also measured by the number of landing page `clicks' Job Corps
    advertisements generate, the number of online enrollment interest forms
    `clicks' generated, the number of interest forms submitted and, when
    known, the number of applications submitted resulting from contact with
    one or more of our digital platforms. Job Corps has used focus groups
    and surveys to determine what advertising is most effective with its
    target audience. Accordingly, Job Corps develops its outreach in
    consideration of this information. Each month, approximately 18,000
    youth express some interest in Job Corps' education and skills
    instruction program.
        A comparison of the results of Job Corps' national marketing
    efforts from calendar year 2017 to 2018 shows a 36 percent increase in
    the number of individuals `clicking' on the enrollment interest form
    and an increase in females expressing interest.
                 job corps construction rehabilitation projects
        Question. WIOA requires the Department to annually submit a list of
    construction and rehabilitation projects at Job Corps centers.
        Please provide a full accounting of the construction and
    rehabilitation projects for PY 2017 and 2018.
        Answer. The Department's Construction, Rehabilitation and
    Acquisition resources are available for Federal obligation for 3 years.
    Resources appropriated for PY 2017 and PY 2018 are not fully obligated
    yet. In fiscal year 2018, the Department obligated $70.4 million in
    Construction, Rehabilitation, and Acquisition funds. This included
    resources that were appropriated in fiscal year 2016, fiscal year 2017,
    fiscal year 2018, and fiscal year 2019.
        In fiscal year 2017, the Department obligated $123.5 million in
    Construction, Rehabilitation and Acquisition funds. This includes
    resources that were appropriated in fiscal year 2014, fiscal year 2015,
    fiscal year 2016, and fiscal year 2017.
        See the embedded PDF file below for the amounts spent and types of
    construction and rehabilitation projects during fiscal years 2017 and
    2018.

                           job corps center statuses
        Question. What is the status of the Kicking Horse Job Corps Center
    in Montana?
        Answer. In March 2019, CSKT, as the lessor of the property on which
    the Kicking Horse Job Corps Center (KHJCC) operates, invoked its right
    to cancel the land-use lease with the Department. At the time of the
    lease termination notice, KHJCC and the Department were engaged in
    discussion about the center's performance and the Department's options
    in light of that performance. Cancellation of the land-use lease by
    CSKT requires the Department to vacate the premises within 180 days of
    the notice, which will effectively end Job Corps center operations at
    that location. ETA, in consultation with legal counsel, is currently
    considering options for the appropriate path forward for the KHJCC.
        Question. What is the status of the Centennial Job Corps Civilian
    Conservation Center in Idaho?
        Answer. In May 2019, the Centennial Job Corps Center began
    transitioning into a demonstration project operated by the State of
    Idaho. The State of Idaho began to occupy the Centennial center in July
    2019. All Centennial Job Corps students either completed their training
    prior to the transition beginning or were transferred to other Job
    Corps centers nearby that also offer the students' trades.
        Question. When do you anticipate the Arecibo Job Corps Center in
    Puerto Rico will be reopened?
        Answer. The Arecibo Job Corps Center in Garrochales, Puerto Rico,
    was damaged by Hurricane Maria in September 2017. Rehabilitation of the
    center was initiated in June 2018, and the center is anticipated to
    reopen by February 2020.
        Question. When do you anticipate the Atlanta Job Corps Center will
    be reopened?
        Answer. On June 22, 2017, the Department awarded a contract to 4K
    Global-ACC Joint Venture, LLC (4K Global), to construct a new Job Corps
    center in South Fulton, an incorporated area near Atlanta, Georgia. The
    new center will be built to accommodate 472 students, primarily from
    the Atlanta area. Early during the course of construction, the
    Department identified serious concerns regarding 4K Global's
    performance, and it communicated those concerns to 4K Global in
    accordance with the contract's terms and conditions. The construction
    concerns are being addressed through an agreement between the
    Department and 4K Global. This agreement established increased quality
    assurance measures, including requiring third party inspections of some
    of the construction work previously completed. The Department reached
    an agreement with the third-party inspector, that is, the U.S. Army
    Corps of Engineers, on July 18, 2019. The contractor, 4K Global cannot
    resume construction in some areas until the inspector deems the prior
    work sound. The impact of the delays and inspections on the completion
    date is undetermined.
        Question. What is the status of the reconstruction of the Gulfport
    Job Corps Center?
        Answer. The Department remains committed to, and continues to
    prioritize, the construction of the Gulfport Job Corps Center. The
    Department also continues to submit the required 30-day update reports
    to Congress and to stakeholders on the progress of the Gulfport center
    construction. As recently reported, the Architect/Engineering (A/E)
    firm, Eley Guild Hardy Architects, submitted the schematic design for
    the Gulfport Job Corps Center Redevelopment Project to DOL, as
    scheduled, on March 22, 2019. The Department reviewed and accepted
    various Value Engineering (VE) changes to the schematic design. The VE
    discussions have focused on alternatives for materials and other
    project elements to identify opportunities for cost savings, which has
    thus far identified approximately $5 million in cost-saving design
    changes, all of which have been evaluated with respect to both cost and
    quality, and deemed appropriate for implementation. The Department will
    memorialize these changes in a document to be sent to the A/E firm.
    Subsequent to preparation of changes to the schematic design documents
    by the A/E firm, the Department will schedule a public meeting.
        The revised statement of work for a consultant to conduct the
    Historic American Building Survey (HABS), interview the high school
    alumni, and design the lobby exhibit was posted on the FedBizOpps web
    site (www.fbo.gov) on March 19, 2019. The deadline for offers was May
    1, 2019. DOL received and reviewed seven proposals, and held a
    reconciliation meeting with its selection team to discuss the proposals
    and continue with the selection process. The design phase is scheduled
    to conclude in April 2020. The construction phase is estimated to take
    an additional 19 months.
                                     ______

                Questions Submitted by Senator Richard J. Durbin
                    job training services for at-risk youth
        Question. Chicago has experienced a heartbreaking wave of gun
    violence--in many cases, the areas in the city with the highest
    unemployment rates are the same as those with the highest rates of
    violence. I've spoken with you several times about the importance of
    Federal support for programs that help reduce violence and create
    economic opportunity in areas like Chicago, where youth disconnection
    is extremely chronic and concentrated. In the Chicago metro area, more
    than 24 percent of Black youth and more than 11 percent of Latino youth
    ages 16-24 both out of school and out of work. I am very concerned that
    this Administration has repeatedly spoken of eliminating certain
    workforce development programs. This year's budget proposes a 10
    percent decrease in funding for the Department of Labor overall.
    Federal programs play a role in creating economic opportunity for
    youth, and we should be working to build up these programs, not reduce
    and eliminate them.
        Do you agree that Federal funding plays a critical role in creating
    job training and employment opportunities for at-risk youth in
    underserved communities? If yes, how do you justify consistently
    requesting cuts to programs that help train at-risk youth and other
    vulnerable populations?
        Answer. Federal funding plays a critical role in creating
    employment opportunities for at-risk youth in underserved communities,
    but Federal investment alone is not sufficient. The fiscal year 2020
    Budget requests the same level as the fiscal year 2019 enacted level
    for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth formula
    program, which serves primarily out-of-school youth. The Department
    also serves at-risk youth under Reentry Employment Opportunities,
    YouthBuild, and Job Corps. YouthBuild currently has five active grants
    within the Chicago metropolitan area that provide training, through a
    pre-apprenticeship model, for in-demand industries, including
    construction, information technology, healthcare, and logistics. In
    Chicago, the Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO) program has one
    project that focuses on serving at-risk and offender youth. Further,
    the fiscal year 2020 Budget prioritizes evidence-based strategies, such
    as apprenticeship, which serve youth in Chicago and throughout the U.S.
        Question. In Chicago, Community Based Organizations have developed
    training programs that offer a combination of job skills training,
    wage-paid work, and support services such as counseling for at-risk
    youth. What steps has your Department taken to support organizations
    that provide these types of transitional jobs services?
        Answer. The WIOA formula youth program is designed specifically to
    provide all three of these activities for youth, and requires local
    areas to spend a minimum of 20 percent of their youth funds on work
    experience, which is one of the program's ten elements. Older youth can
    also be served through the WIOA Adult program, where local areas can
    use up to 10 percent of funds to support transitional work experience.
    In addition, YouthBuild awards grants to community-based organizations
    and requires hands-on work experience in a real-world employer setting
    for all industry training provided, while providing supportive
    services, and stipends and wages. The WIOA Youth program, REO program,
    and Job Corps also engage employers to provide these meaningful work
    experience opportunities for at-risk youth. The Department works with
    industry groups, companies, non-profit organizations, unions, and joint
    labor-management organizations to develop workforce development
    programs, such as pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship, and career
    pathways that allow young people to earn and learn simultaneously,
    leading to family-sustaining jobs.
        The Department provides support to States to administer the Work
    Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and the Federal Bonding Program (FPB).
    WOTC provides a tax credit to employers that hire formerly-incarcerated
    youth and young adults. FPB just launched a demonstration project to
    expand the use of Federal bonds across the country through the use of
    bonds to employers that hire formerly-incarcerated individuals,
    including youth and young adults.
                           women's bureau budget cuts
        Question. From Alzheimer's disease, to the chronic care needs of an
    aging parent, or the emotional or physical health need of a child, tens
    of millions of Americans are pressed into service to care for their
    loved ones. The average family caregiver spends $7,000 of their own
    money every year to provide care to loved ones, with an average
    commitment of 24 hours per week. And millions more serve as
    professional home care aides, child care workers, and early childhood
    educators--providing important forms of care for Americans from birth
    to death. More needs to be done to support our Nation's caregivers and
    recognize the heroic job that they perform every day. More than 60
    percent of caregivers are women, and the Women's Bureau plays an
    important role in improving workplace practices for women who currently
    lack adequate flexibility, benefits, and supports such as equal pay,
    paid family leave, and childcare. I am very concerned that the fiscal
    year 2020 budget request would cut funding for the Women's Bureau by 74
    percent.
        Even without these budget cuts, the Federal Government is
    dedicating far too few resources to policies that meet the challenges
    faced by the caregiving workforce. Did you approve the proposed cuts to
    the Women's Bureau budget?
        Answer. Women are nearly fifty percent of the workforce and the
    President's fiscal year 2020 budget and previous budget requests
    reflect the importance of women in the workforce.
        The Women's Bureau serves an important role at the Department of
    Labor, promoting and advancing the interests of working women by
    convening stakeholders, advising on policy change, and starting
    conversations around topics that are critical to women, their families,
    and our Nation's prosperity. Success for the Women's Bureau is achieved
    when the issues it champions move beyond the Bureau, because that means
    the problems and opportunities identified through its work are being
    addressed.
        Next year, the Women's Bureau will celebrate its Centennial year,
    which provides an opportunity to reflect on how far women have come
    over the past 100 years. Over the past century, the Women's Bureau has
    successfully advocated for workplace safety standards, family leave
    benefits, and pay equality protections.
        The Women's Bureau has recently taken a number of actions to
    advance women's workplace policies and influence the current state of
    women in the workforce. Since the beginning of 2017, the Women's Bureau
    has:
      --Partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services to help
            increase working families' access to affordable, quality child
            care;
      --Worked with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the
            Treasury Department to grow opportunities for women in
            entrepreneurship;
      --Coordinated with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
            to increase opportunities for women to access and thrive in
            apprenticeship programs;
      --Joined the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), the
            Department of Defense, and others to address employment
            opportunities and reducing occupational licensing barriers for
            military spouses, 92 percent of whom are women; and
      --Supported the Trump Administration's commitment to address the
            opioid crisis with a focus on helping women who have been
            impacted by the opioid crisis.
        None of these efforts will be negatively affected by the fiscal
    year 2020 budget. Instead, the Department will more effectively support
    and advance the mission of the Women's Bureau by focusing the Bureau's
    resources on conducting research and collaborating with agencies and
    departments across the government. In the coming year, the Women's
    Bureau will collaborate with ETA and VETS to support grant work on
    State licensing and promoting employment for military spouses; with the
    White House to identify innovative solutions to childcare; and with SBA
    to expand opportunities for women to thrive in entrepreneurship.
        As mentioned previously, the Women's Bureau provides research and
    analysis on the issues of interest to working women. Following a
    request by members of the Senate, the Women's Bureau commissioned a
    study, which is still in the early stages of analysis, to produce an
    independent, more precise and current estimate of the gender wage gap.
    The commissioned work will update a study on the gender wage gap issued
    by the Department in 2009. The 2009 study, which was funded by the
    Department and produced by the CONSAD Research Corporation,
    systematically reviewed then-available research on gender differentials
    in earnings and used data from the Current Population Survey to
    identify factors (including education, occupation, industry, work
    experience, and career interruptions) that contributed to the gender
    wage gap.
        In addition to the CONSAD update research study, the Women's Bureau
    is partnering with the Census Bureau to link administrative and survey
    data to produce a more precise and current estimate of the gender wage
    gap. The study will include an in-depth examination of variables such
    as industry, occupation, education and work experience that contribute
    to the gender wage gap. Findings from both projects are expected by the
    end of the 2019 calendar year.
        While recognizing that many factors go into determining wages,
    data-driven information concerning the wage gap provides a baseline for
    women planning careers to learn about prospective occupations, and as a
    comparison point for women already in the labor force to evaluate their
    wages. The Women's Bureau has an interactive visualization tool
    available on the Women's Bureau website, which shows average wages for
    women and men in more than 300 occupations.
        ETA also supports programs to provide workforce development
    services for female workers. For example, the Women's Bureau is
    collaborating with the Office of Apprenticeship (OA) to recruit and
    retain women in pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs as
    potential pathways for women to non-traditional occupations that may
    have higher average salaries. Through WIOA, ETA supports programs that
    provide workforce development services for individuals with barriers to
    employment, including over two million women workers in Program Year
    2017. In addition, WIOA emphasizes providing services and placing women
    in non-traditional occupations, such as apprenticeships, that may have
    higher average salaries.
        Question. How do cuts to the Women's Bureau help improve working
    conditions and opportunities for employment for women, especially our
    Nation's caregiving workforce?
        Answer. Please see the response to the prior question.
                      addressing the impact of automation
        Question. In your testimony, you note that the ``dedication,
    ingenuity, and innovation of our American workforce . . . is
    unparalleled''. I agree. And that is why I'm committed to finding ways
    the Federal Government can be an engaged partner in providing American
    workers with the tools they need to upskill and prepare for jobs of the
    future. A 2017 study from Ball State University estimated that between
    50 and 60 percent of jobs in my home State of Illinois could be at risk
    of becoming automated. And low-income workers and women are at greater
    risk of being impacted by these changes in the nature of work.
        Has the Department taken steps to better understand the impact of
    automation--and best retraining practices--on specific populations such
    as women, minorities, or low-income workers?
        Answer. The Department is actively taking steps to better
    understand the impact of automation on the American workforce.
    Specifically, the Department is exploring additional ways to use
    existing or new data collection efforts to identify and track the
    workforce effects of advanced technologies. In fiscal year 2020, the
    Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) plans to complete several
    relevant work products, including: a literature review that summarizes
    and synthesizes economic theory on the interaction between labor and
    capital in the workplace and how this is affected by new technologies;
    an analysis that identifies how the key constructs are currently
    captured by domestic and international statistical agencies and ways to
    supplement the data that BLS currently collects; and a final report
    that recommends data collection options to fill those gaps as well as
    methodologies for leveraging existing BLS data to the fullest extent.
    Once finalized, BLS plans to report this work to Congress as well as
    make information publicly available on the DOL website. Through this
    comprehensive approach, BLS will be able to fully consider the complex
    nature of how technology might interact with labor from both an
    economic measurement and survey methodology perspective.
        The Department's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will
    also leverage the work of BLS in considering whether and how to adjust
    the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) survey or products. O*NET
    will continue to provide information to the general public and
    researchers through the O*NET database and supporting websites, which
    offer a variety of occupational characteristics and requirements data.
    For example, the tasks and detailed work activities of occupations
    listed on O*NET have been used to assess the impact of automation.
    O*NET also updates the tools and technology skills of occupations more
    frequently--twice yearly--than the entire occupation profile.
        Question. Is the Department coordinating with other Federal
    agencies, especially other agencies that support job training efforts,
    to comprehensively address the potential workforce effects of advanced
    technologies?
        Answer. The Department is working with the White House's Office of
    Science and Technology Policy, which is supporting the Administration's
    efforts to help Americans adjust to economic changes, including those
    stemming from automation. BLS has already begun exploring the potential
    impact of advanced technologies and is coordinating with the Census
    Bureau on research activities in this area. The Department is also
    supporting the Department of Commerce's Network for Manufacturing
    Innovation Program (Manufacturing USA), which includes work on advanced
    robotics, by proactively sharing informational resources, websites, and
    other information developed by BLS.
        Further, the Department has and continues to collaborate with the
    Department of Transportation (DOT) to assess economic changes in the
    trucking industry. In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018
    (Public Law 115-141), Congress provided funding to DOT to conduct a
    comprehensive analysis of the impact of Advanced Driver Assist Systems
    and Highly Automated Vehicles technologies on drivers and operators of
    commercial motor vehicle, including the potential for any labor
    displacement. Further, the Department and DOT organized multiple
    stakeholder outreach events with industry, labor, technologists, and
    users in order to gather and share information regarding the potential
    effects of the adoption of advanced technologies. The Department and
    DOT held a stakeholder meeting on March 20, 2019, and plan to hold
    another one in calendar year 2019. The Department and DOT anticipate
    the comprehensive analysis and recommendations to address potential
    displacement will be available in summer 2019.
                   increasing enrollment in job corps centers
        Question. According to data from the Aspen Institute, there are
    approximately 4.6 million disconnected youth in America--youth ages 16-
    24 who do not have a job and are not in school. Youth of color, youth
    with disabilities, youth living in poverty and young mothers are more
    likely to be part of this group. Given the number of youth in need of
    high quality job training, there is no reason a program like Job Corps
    should be underenrolled. I find it concerning that the Department of
    Labor has not undertaken significant proactive measures, including
    increasing the number of Admissions Counselors, using effective marking
    strategies that target youth on social media and more effectively
    leveraging its Centers and operators, in order to better reach youth.
    It is my understanding, for instance, that media outreach has been
    highly restricted for months, including banning positive newspaper and
    television interviews with staff and students, limiting Job Corps
    Centers' ability to gain positive press that can lead to enrollment.
        What proactive steps is the Department now undertaking to ensure
    Job Corps Centers are fully enrolled in the near term?
        Answer. Job Corps recently increased its oversight and
    accountability over the implementation and adequacy of required
    Outreach and Public Education Plans created by outreach and admissions
    providers. These plans include, among other elements, outreach
    strategies to achieve and maintain center capacity; plans to ensure
    coordination of efforts between contractors and centers; and a
    description of the public education and outreach methods that the
    contractor will develop. By increasing accountability, the Job Corps
    program has increased enrollment during the past year. Job Corps
    continues to monitor follow-up activities associated with potential
    applicants expressing interest in the program by conducting weekly
    teleconferences with outreach and admissions providers to review
    potential applicant and new applicant information in detail.
        Currently, Job Corps is using a digital media campaign to increase
    Job Corps' On-Board-Strength (OBS) at many of its largest centers. This
    campaign includes using a digital outreach strategy for each of the
    targeted centers and requires frequent coordination among regional Job
    Corps staff, a media consultant, outreach and admissions providers, and
    center operators. Regular meetings are used to review and analyze OBS-
    related data, identify and resolve barriers to increasing student
    enrollment and retention, and provide feedback on center-specific media
    outreach.
        Job Corps is transitioning stand-alone outreach and admissions
    activities into center operations contracts. By consolidating these
    activities into the center operations contract, Job Corps center
    operators assume a more direct responsibility for ensuring that their
    centers are operating at full capacity.
        Before the end of the year, Job Corps will finalize its new
    methodology for creating the Geographic Assignment Plan (GAP). This new
    plan, referred to as the National Enrollee Assignment Plan (NEAP), will
    apply a standard formula to all Job Corps centers to determine the
    number of new students each center must enroll to maintain full
    capacity. Historically, Job Corps used a fixed national average of
    students it anticipated would leave the program each year to help
    calculate the arrival goals for each admissions provider. The new NEAP
    approach utilizes center-specific separation rates to set contract
    arrival goals. Centers with higher separation rates will have higher
    arrival goals in order to align with actual recruitment needs. These
    revised goals will be included in each admissions provider's contract
    to ensure that Job Corps centers are closer to full capacity.
        As part of its new NEAP strategy, Job Corps is reestablishing its
    defined recruitment areas so that they align with each State's Local
    Workforce Development Areas (LWDA). As a result of aligning recruitment
    efforts with LWDAs, Job Corps' outreach and admissions providers will
    have the opportunity to work in collaboration with partners in the
    workforce system, including receiving and providing referrals for
    individuals who express interest in the Job Corps program or are in
    need of other workforce development assistance.
        Finally, in 2019, Job Corps plans to launch a new student
    enrollment services system to identify and minimize delays and
    bottlenecks in the enrollment and center assignment processes. The new
    system will also improve the career counseling that occurs resulting in
    better matching of enrollee interests and/or aptitudes with a skills
    instruction program. The net results should be improved enrollments and
    student arrivals, and retention.
        Each month, approximately 18,000 youth express some interest in Job
    Corps' education and skills instruction program. This interest is
    primarily expressed through Job Corps' website. Prospective applicant
    information is provided directly to outreach and admissions contractors
    for follow-up. To capitalize on this interest and increase enrollment
    in the program, Job Corps is currently developing a new student
    enrollment services system and a new information technology (IT)
    platform will be developed accordingly.
        The IT upgrades in the new enrollment services system will be
    designed to ensure that the eligible at-risk youth in the enrollment
    pipeline are promptly processed and enrolled. The new enrollment
    services system will seek to leverage technology to improve
    efficiencies in the system by monitoring the processing of applicants,
    and quickly resolving delays and bottlenecks, which will reduce
    application processing times. Job Corps' expanded use of technology
    will also create greater transparency by making application and
    enrollment data available in real time to those involved in the
    outreach, admissions, and center assignment processes. These changes
    will also provide tech-savvy youth easy access to Job Corps'
    application and a better user experience during the enrollment process.
    Finally, the new enrollment services system will provide meaningful
    career counseling during the admissions process. This will allow Job
    Corps to better manage enrollee expectations and better match enrollee
    interests and aptitudes with a skills instruction program. All of these
    efforts will support student recruitment and retention, as well as
    result in full utilization of Job Corps centers.
               water industry registered apprenticeship programs
        Question. The Illinois rural water utilities industry must fill
    open positions left behind by the aging water industry workforce.
    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is expected that
    employment in Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant System
    Operations will decline by 3 percent between 2016 and 2026. The water
    and wastewater utilities industry is in need of a pipeline of skilled
    workers to help ensure clean and safe water for the public and to
    maintain the water infrastructure necessary to keep service areas
    economically viable. This is especially important in rural America,
    where 92 percent of systems serve communities of 10,000 or less. Water
    and wastewater utilities are the backbone of economic development. It
    is crucial that this industry not fall behind because of a lack of
    qualified employees.
        Has the Department considered prioritizing funding for water
    industry registered apprenticeship programs? If so, how does the
    Department plan to use Federal funds to enhance water industry
    apprenticeship programs?
        Answer. On May 3, 2019, the Department announced apprenticeship
    expansion funding to States via Training and Employment Guidance Letter
    17-18. Through an allotment process, the funding is available to all
    States, and allows the flexibility for efforts targeted in rural areas.
    States, in coordination with industry partners, are encouraged to
    identify the most pressing workforce areas where apprenticeship
    expansion strategies will make the greatest impact. More specifically,
    funds are to be aligned with sectors identified as priorities in the
    Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and in broader economic
    development plans. In order for investments to be successful, industry
    must be a key driver.
        To provide support for industry, States, and other key
    stakeholders, the Department developed National Guideline Standards of
    Apprenticeship with the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) for
    water utility jobs and will continue to support the industry's need for
    any future apprenticeship program expansion.
        In the fall of 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
    awarded a $6 million grant to the NRWA for further development of its
    national apprenticeship program. With this new funding from USDA, NRWA
    will have additional means to help States develop Registered
    Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) for water and wastewater system
    operations specialists.
        In addition, in May 2019, the Department released a funding
    opportunity through the Apprenticeship Expansion and Modernization Fund
    to support the development of innovative tools and strategies that,
    while relatively untested, hold promise to transform Registered
    Apprenticeship and support the expansion of RAPs throughout the Nation.
    This opportunity allows applicants to propose innovative projects that
    best meet the specific challenges and needs in their area, their
    industry, or the local population. Vendor proposals are in development
    and may include projects that support workforce development in rural
    areas.
        Question. Has the Department consulted with stakeholders and rural
    communities to address staffing issues within the water and waste water
    utilities industry?
        Answer. The Department is committed to expanding apprenticeship
    opportunities across a broad range of sectors and occupations,
    particularly in those industries where a shortage of skilled workers
    threatens the long-term safety and economic growth of rural
    communities. Over the next decade, the water sector is expected to lose
    between 30 to 50 percent \8\ of its workforce to retirement. The
    establishment and growth of quality apprenticeship programs in the
    water and wastewater utilities industries can provide an effective
    workforce strategy for addressing the emerging skills gap in these
    critical fields.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ GAO Report 18-102, ``Water and Wastewater Workforce: Recruiting
    Approaches Helped Industry Hire Operators, but Additional EPA Guidance
    Could Help Identify Future Needs,''
    January 2018, p. 17.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Through its National Guidelines Standards of apprenticeship, the
    Department has assisted stakeholders and industry associations in
    developing nationally-recognized education and training standards for
    specific water utility occupations. On November 14, 2017, at a signing
    ceremony at the Department's headquarters in Washington, D.C., the
    National Rural Water Association (NRWA) formally announced an
    apprenticeship program for rural water utilities (the ``WaterPro
    Apprenticeship Program'') with the Department's Office of
    Apprenticeship (OA). Bulletin 2017-47 publicized the WaterPro
    apprenticeship program, which establishes a set of National Guideline
    Standards of apprenticeship that are tailored to the specific
    occupational requirements of water system operations specialists and
    wastewater system operations specialists. As a leading provider of
    training for rural water and wastewater systems, NRWA is currently
    collaborating with State and local leaders to accelerate the
    development of RAPs covering these critical occupations.
        At present, a total of 17 NRWA State affiliates have successful
    RAPs that conform to these NRWA National Guideline Standards, and
    registration applications from NRWA affiliates in 12 additional States
    are currently in process. Nationally, 140 active apprentices are
    enrolled in the NRWA-sponsored apprenticeship program. Local NRWA-
    affiliated program sponsors include Pentair, Inc. (based in Aurora,
    Illinois) and the West Virginia American Water Joint Apprenticeship and
    Training Committee (based in Charleston, West Virginia). The
    groundbreaking NRWA RAPs directly address the concerns raised by GAO
    Report 18-102 (January 2018) about the current and growing nationwide
    shortage of well-trained drinking water and wastewater management
    professionals. For more information concerning the NRWA national
    apprenticeship program, please visit the following links:
      --https://nrwa.org/initiatives/apprenticeship-program
      --https://nrwa.org/2017/11/nrwa-partners-with-department-of-labor-on-
            apprenticeship-program/
        In the fall of 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
    awarded a $6 million grant to the NRWA for further development of its
    national apprenticeship program. With this new funding from USDA, NRWA
    will have additional means to help States develop RAPs for water and
    wastewater system operations specialists.
        The Department recently attended the NRWA annual meeting in Fort
    Worth, Texas and met with key stake holders attending the conference in
    our efforts to promote to the industry the benefits to the
    apprenticeship system. This included open discussion with various
    stakeholders on what they as an industry see as their biggest
    challenges and how the apprenticeship system can work to help eliminate
    those issues. Departmental staff members across the country continue to
    meet with local employers to assist in getting their individual
    programs registered.
                                     ______

                    Questions Submitted by Senator Jack Reed
                      addressing the impact of automation
        Question. The fiscal year 2018 Omnibus provided funding for the
    Department of Transportation to conduct a study with the Department of
    Labor to better understand the consequences of automation for middle-
    class workers, whose jobs involve driving. The study is now overdue.
        When will it be submitted? What steps does the Department plan to
    take to address potential displacement in driving-related occupations?
        Answer. The Department has and continues to collaborate with the
    Department of Transportation (DOT) to assess economic changes in the
    trucking industry. In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018
    (Public Law 115-141), Congress provided funding to DOT to conduct a
    comprehensive analysis of the impact of Advanced Driver Assist Systems
    and Highly Automated Vehicles technologies on drivers and operators of
    commercial motor vehicle, including the potential for any labor
    displacement. Further, the Department and DOT organized multiple
    stakeholder outreach events with industry, labor, technologists, and
    users in order to gather and share information regarding the potential
    effects of the adoption of advanced technologies. The Department and
    DOT held a stakeholder meeting on March 20, 2019, and plan to hold
    another one in calendar year 2019. The Department and DOT anticipate
    the comprehensive analysis and recommendations to address potential
    displacement will be available in summer 2019.
        In a March 7, 2019, report ``Automated Trucking: Federal Agencies
    Should Take Additional Steps to Prepare for Potential Workforce
    Effects,'' the Government Accountability Office recommended that: ``The
    Secretary of Labor should consult with the Secretary of Transportation
    to share information with key stakeholders on the potential effects of
    automated trucking on the workforce as the technology evolves. These
    stakeholders could include representatives of other relevant Federal
    agencies, technology developers, the trucking industry, organizations
    that represent truck drivers, truck driver training schools, State
    workforce agencies, and local workforce development boards.''
        Question. What specific outreach is the Department making to
    industry and labor organization stakeholders on this issue? How will
    the Department sustain its outreach?
        Answer. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) extensively
    reviewed the Department's outreach, and summarized some of those
    efforts in its March 7, 2019, report. As noted by GAO, the Department
    and DOT organized multiple stakeholder outreach events with industry,
    labor, technologists, and users in order to gather and share
    information regarding the potential effects of the adoption of advanced
    technologies. Building on these efforts, the Department and DOT held a
    stakeholder meeting on March 20, 2019, which included multiple industry
    and labor organizations, and plan to hold another one in calendar year
    2019.
        GAO also noted in the same report that it does ``not have
    information to identify the number of long-haul truck drivers, whose
    jobs may be the most likely to be affected by automation. Specifically,
    the occupational code DOL uses to classify heavy and tractor-trailer
    truck drivers captures drivers who operate any type of heavy truck.
    Along with long-haul drivers, this code includes other drivers whose
    jobs may be harder to automate, such as tow truck operators.''
        Question. What steps is the Department taking to develop data that
    will better identify and track occupations that will be affected by
    automation?
        Answer. The Department is actively taking steps to better
    understand the impact of automation on the American workforce.
    Specifically, the Department is exploring additional ways to use
    existing or new data collection efforts to identify and track the
    workforce effects of advanced technologies. In fiscal year 2020, the
    Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) plans to complete several
    relevant work products, including: a literature review that summarizes
    and synthesizes economic theory on the interaction between labor and
    capital in the workplace and how this is affected by new technologies;
    an analysis that identifies how the key constructs are currently
    captured by domestic and international statistical agencies and ways to
    supplement the data that BLS currently collects; and a final report
    that recommends data collection options to fill those gaps as well as
    methodologies for leveraging existing BLS data to the fullest extent.
    Once finalized, BLS plans to report this work to Congress as well as
    make information publicly available on the DOL website. Through this
    comprehensive approach, BLS will be able to fully consider the complex
    nature of how technology might interact with labor from both an
    economic measurement and survey methodology perspective.
        The Department's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will
    also leverage the work of BLS in considering whether and how to adjust
    the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) survey or products. O*NET
    will continue to provide information to the general public and
    researchers through the O*NET database and supporting websites, which
    offer a variety of occupational characteristics and requirements data.
    For example, the tasks and detailed work activities of occupations
    listed on O*NET have been used to assess the impact of automation.
    O*NET also updates the tools and technology skills of occupations more
    frequently--twice yearly--than the entire occupation profile.
        Question. Has the Department reviewed this report and what steps is
    it taking to address the issues raised in this report in its policies
    and programs?
        Answer. The Department is aware of the report, which was published
    on April 25, 2019. The Department will take information provided by
    interested stakeholders, such as the OECD, into consideration as it
    continues to support the Administration's efforts to help Americans
    adjust to economic changes, including those stemming from automation.
                            job corp pilot programs
        Question. Please provide a list of all stakeholders that the
    Department consulted in developing the proposal for pilot programs.
        Answer. The Job Corps Job ChalleNGe Demonstration Project will
    serve Job Corps eligible youth, providing them access to a high school
    diploma or equivalency as well as skills instruction. The Department
    engaged the Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau and others in
    the Department of Defense, and State officials about collaborating to
    serve at-risk youth through the National Guard in the various States
    interested in participating in such a Job ChalleNGe demonstration
    project.
        The Department has engaged governors and other State officials by
    exploring their interest in participating in a State-operated Job Corps
    demonstration project. A State-operated Job Corps program involves
    engagement of State officials who have expressed interest in
    alternative approaches to serving Job Corps eligible youth. The
    demonstrations, such as the Idaho JOBCorps project at the Centennial
    Job Corps Center, explore whether providing flexibility to States to
    develop and implement customized, State-based approaches to serving Job
    Corps eligible students is an effective model. Once fully operational,
    the Idaho demonstration project will serve more students than the
    number served by the center when it was operated as a traditional Job
    Corps center. Moreover, the majority of these students will be from the
    State of Idaho.
        In addition, in May, the Department announced the Job Corps
    Scholars Program, designed to serve Job Corps eligible youth by
    providing extensive counseling and employment related services through
    existing educational institutions rather than a traditional Job Corps
    center facility. In addition to engaging the Department of Education
    about the program, Job Corps sought public comments through a Notice of
    Intent in order to engage as many stakeholders as possible. The comment
    period closed on July 3, and DOL is now in the process of reviewing the
    comments, after which we will make any necessary revisions and publish
    the funding opportunity announcement and begin accepting grant
    applications.
        Question. How will the pilot program serve Job Corps-eligible
    students who do not have a high school diploma?
        Answer. Per WIOA, Job Corps has a wide range of eligibility
    criteria which include individuals with one or more of the below
    criteria, in addition to meeting the basic age requirement and being
    low income (unless a veteran has military income from the 6-month
    period prior to applying to Job Corps that makes them not low income).
    These include:
      --Basic skills deficient;
      --A school dropout;
      --A homeless individual (as defined in section 41403(6) of the
            Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043e--2(6))), a
            homeless child or youth (as defined in section 725(2) of the
            McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2))),
            a runaway, an individual in foster care, or an individual who
            was in foster care and has aged out of the foster care system;
      --A parent; or
      --An individual who requires additional education, career and
            technical education or training, or workforce preparation
            skills to be able to obtain and retain employment that leads to
            economic self-sufficiency.
        For the most recently completed program year, June 30, 2018, nearly
    40 percent of Job Corps' students had a high school diploma or
    equivalency when they entered the program. The Idaho JOBCorps Program,
    a State-operated demonstration project at the Centennial Job Corps
    Center Job Corps, will also serve Job Corps eligible youth without a
    high school diploma or equivalency. Through their Basic Skills
    Education program, the College of Western Idaho offers services for
    those seeking a GED certificate.
        The Job Corps Scholars Program demonstration requires each Job
    Corps eligible students participating in the program to meet the
    admissions requirements of his or her participating community college
    or university. In some cases, that may mean already having a high
    school diploma. However, in other cases, admission may be based on an
    entrance exam. Students completing the Job Corps Scholars Program may
    seek employment upon completing the program, pursue an associate or 4-
    year college degree, or join the military.
        The Job ChalleNGe program, proposed as a demonstration project,
    will serve students without high school diplomas because it requires
    the recruitment of Job Corps eligible youth from among the participants
    of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program. Youth ChalleNGe is a
    program for 16 to 18 year olds who failed to complete traditional high
    school. Job ChalleNGe places these young adults on the path to
    employment through occupational skills training, educational
    credentialing, counseling, and job placement.
        Question. How will the projects serve the full age-range of Jobs
    Corps-eligible students?
        Answer. Job Corps' statutory age eligibility is not less than age
    16 and not more than age 24 on the date of enrollment. The Idaho
    JOBCorps program and the Job Corps Scholars program will serve the full
    age range of Job Corps eligible youth. The National Guard Youth
    ChalleNGe program serves individuals 16 to 18 years old who have not
    completed high school graduation requirements. It is anticipated that
    the age of most Job ChalleNGe participants will be 17 to 19 years old
        Question. Will the pilot programs have to comply with all Job Corps
    policies and requirements?
        Answer. Under Section 156(a) of the Workforce Innovation and
    Opportunity Act (WIOA), the Secretary may carry out experimental,
    research, or demonstration projects relating to the Job Corps program.
    The Secretary may waive any provisions that would prevent the
    Department from carrying out the projects if the Department informs the
    Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of
    Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
    Pensions of the Senate. This notice must be in writing, and provided no
    less than 90 days in advance of issuing any waiver.
        The Department announced and provided the required waiver
    notifications for the State-Operated Job Corps Demonstration Projects
    and the National Guard Job ChalleNGe Demonstration Projects in December
    2018. To provide the flexibility necessary to deliver skills
    instruction and education services to Job Corps eligible youth in a new
    and innovative manner, the Department waived provisions of WIOA for
    these demonstration projects while retaining the statutory provisions
    associated with program eligibility and the youth performance
    indicators. However, for the Job ChalleNGe Project, the Department also
    waived two of the six youth performance indicators. The two youth
    measures waived were measureable skill gains and effectiveness in
    serving employers. Given the age of the participants and training
    received in the Youth ChalleNGe program, these two youth measures were
    not well tailored to the population served.
        In May 2019, the Department announced and provided the required
    waiver notification for the Job Corps Scholars Program, a new
    demonstration project to provide at-risk youth with job skills
    instruction, educational opportunities, and individualized employment
    counseling. With this demonstration, the Department is retaining the
    statutory provisions associated with Job Corps program eligibility and
    the six youth performance indicators. The Department is currently
    seeking public comments on the Job Corps Scholars model on grants.gov.
                        job corp staffing and enrollment
        Question. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that
    outreach and enrollment activities are effective in reaching potential
    students and families?
        Answer. Job Corps recently increased its oversight and
    accountability over the implementation and adequacy of required
    Outreach and Public Education Plans created by outreach and admissions
    providers. These plans include, among other elements, outreach
    strategies to achieve and maintain center capacity; plans to ensure
    coordination of efforts between contractors and centers; and a
    description of the public education and outreach methods that the
    contractor will develop. By increasing accountability, the Job Corps
    program has increased enrollment during the past year. Job Corps
    continues to monitor follow-up activities associated with potential
    applicants expressing interest in the program by conducting weekly
    teleconferences with outreach and admissions providers to review
    potential applicant and new applicant information in detail.
        Currently, Job Corps is using a digital media campaign to increase
    Job Corps' On-Board Strength (OBS) at many of its largest centers. This
    campaign includes using a digital outreach strategy for each of the
    targeted centers and requires frequent coordination among regional Job
    Corps staff, a media consultant, outreach and admissions providers, and
    center operators. Regular meetings are used to review and analyze OBS-
    related data, identify and resolve barriers to increasing student
    enrollment and retention, and provide feedback on center-specific media
    outreach.
        Job Corps is transitioning stand-alone outreach and admissions
    activities into center operations contracts. By consolidating these
    activities into the center operations contract, Job Corps center
    operators assume a more direct responsibility for ensuring that their
    centers are operating at full capacity.
        Before the end of the year, Job Corps will finalize its new
    methodology for creating the Geographic Assignment Plan (GAP). This new
    plan, referred to as the National Enrollee Assignment Plan (NEAP), will
    apply a standard formula to all Job Corps centers to determine the
    number of new students each center must enroll to maintain full
    capacity. Historically, Job Corps used a fixed national average of
    students it anticipated would leave the program each year to help
    calculate the arrival goals for each admissions provider. The new NEAP
    approach utilizes center-specific separation rates to set contract
    arrival goals. Centers with higher separation rates will have higher
    arrival goals in order to align with actual recruitment needs. These
    revised goals will be included in each admissions provider's contract
    to ensure that Job Corps centers are closer to full capacity.
        As part of its new NEAP strategy, Job Corps is reestablishing its
    defined recruitment areas so that they align with each State's Local
    Workforce Development Areas (LWDA). As a result of aligning recruitment
    efforts with LWDAs, Job Corps' outreach and admissions providers will
    have the opportunity to work in collaboration with partners in the
    workforce system, including receiving and providing referrals for
    individuals who express interest in the Job Corps program or are in
    need of other workforce development assistance.
        Finally, in 2019, Job Corps plans to launch a new student
    enrollment services system to identify and minimize delays and
    bottlenecks in the enrollment and center assignment processes. The new
    system will also improve the quality of career counseling provided,
    resulting in better matching of enrollee interests and/or aptitudes
    with a skills instruction program. The net results should be improved
    enrollments, student arrivals, and retention.
        Each month, approximately 18,000 youth express some interest in Job
    Corps' education and skills instruction program. This interest is
    primarily expressed through Job Corps' website. Prospective applicant
    information is provided directly to outreach and admissions contractors
    for follow-up. To capitalize on this interest and increase enrollment
    in the program, Job Corps is currently developing a new student
    enrollment services system, which will include a new information
    technology (IT) platform.
        The IT upgrades in the new enrollment services system will be
    designed to ensure that the eligible at-risk youth in the enrollment
    pipeline are promptly processed and enrolled. The new enrollment
    services system will seek to leverage technology to improve
    efficiencies in the system by monitoring the processing of applicants,
    and quickly resolving delays and bottlenecks, which will reduce
    application processing times. Job Corps' expanded use of technology
    will also create greater transparency by making application and
    enrollment data available in real time to those involved in the
    outreach, admissions, and center assignment processes. These changes
    will also provide tech-savvy youth easy access to Job Corps'
    application and a better user experience during the enrollment process.
    Finally, the new enrollment services system will provide meaningful
    career counseling during the admissions process. This will allow Job
    Corps to better manage enrollee expectations and better match enrollee
    interests and aptitudes with a skills instruction program. All of these
    efforts will support improved student recruitment and retention,
    resulting in full utilization of Job Corps centers.
        Question. How will the Department ensure that all Job Corps Centers
    are operating at full on-board strength?
        Answer. Please see the response to the prior question.
            professional development and training for job corp staff
        Question. What are the areas of greatest need for professional
    development and staff training at Job Corps Centers?
        Answer. Pursuant to contract terms, each Job Corps center operator
    is responsible for hiring and retaining qualified personnel to provide
    the services required by the contract. As such, individual center
    operators can best answer the need for professional development and
    staff training.
        Question. What resources are available under current contracts to
    provide professional development and staff training?
        Answer. It is the operator's responsibility to provide and pay for
    staff training. Job Corps supplements the training provided by center
    operators by providing training specific to the operation of Job Corps
    centers. Job Corps has provided both in-person and web-based training
    to center staff, generally at no cost to center operators. For example,
    as the Department implements the transition to firm fixed price
    contracting, training costs will be incorporated into the contractor's
    bid. This gives contractors more flexibility and responsibility for
    knowing and/or projecting training needs and cost.
                                     ______

                 Questions Submitted by Senator Jeanne Shaheen
                               job corps programs
        Question. In my conversations with Granite Staters all across New
    Hampshire, I often hear about the workforce challenges facing our State
    and the importance of investing in programs that equip the next
    generation with the necessary tools to succeed in our evolving economy.
        That is why I have advocated for the Job Corps program since my
    time as Governor. And I was proud that a center finally came to New
    Hampshire in 2015. The Center, which is located in Manchester, serves
    350 students annually. In the current program year, the Manchester
    Center has placed over 85 percent of its graduates in full-time jobs or
    advanced education.
        The Center serves individuals like Manny Lopez, who arrived at New
    Hampshire Job Corps with the goal of achieving his Advanced
    Manufacturing Associates Degree. After working closely with the Center,
    Manny was encouraged to apply to Manchester Community College's
    Robotics program, where he participated in a Robotics Challenge hosted
    by DEKA Research, a technology company founded by the highly-successful
    innovator, Dean Kamen, based in Manchester. To no surprise, Manny was
    on the winning team! After his graduation from New Hampshire Job Corps,
    Manny applied for a coveted position at DEKA research. Just two weeks
    later, Manny was offered a full-time, well-paid and highly-competitive
    position with the company.
        This story is one of many. That is why I am disappointed to see
    that similar to last year's budget request, the President is again
    proposing to cut funding for the Job Corps program by more than $700
    million.
        Has the Department fully considered the success of the Job Corps
    program in preparing students to enter 21st century occupations when
    advocating for these significant funding cuts?
        Answer. The Department of Labor is committed to helping young
    individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds receive high-quality
    vocational and academic instruction opportunities. The Department has
    concerns about the program, irrespective of the funding level, and is
    proceeding based on those concerns with reforms to the program that we
    believe will improve outcomes for youth and make the program more
    effective and efficient. For example, the Department is using its pilot
    project authority to work with governors who are interested in
    establishing pilot projects throughout the United States. As our
    demonstration projects mature, we will assess them to determine whether
    they will offer more effective models for serving at-risk youth as
    compared to the Department's traditional Job Corps program model. The
    Department will also determine whether these alternate approaches are
    more cost effective than the traditional program model. The Department
    will consider scaling efficiencies identified by demonstration projects
    in order to improve the delivery of Job Corps services.
        Overall, the Department is conducting a center by center
    programmatic assessment of performance, surveying physical facilities,
    assessing programmatic sustainability, and considering the workforce
    development needs in each State and area served by a Job Corps center.
    Using this deliberate approach, the Department will determine how to
    allocate the program's fiscal year 2020 resources, including whether to
    close some centers. It is the Department's expectation that through
    concentration of Job Corps activities in a more limited set of higher
    performing centers, we will provide Job Corps participants with higher
    quality services that lead to better outcomes. The Department always
    prioritizes the needs of current Job Corps participants when
    deactivating or consolidating a center, allowing them to complete their
    Job Corps training either at their current center or at a higher
    performing center. Further, the Department will maintain as many
    student slots as possible by increasing Job Corps capacity at remaining
    centers. This approach maximizes the impact of Job Corps'
    appropriation, allowing us to continue to serve at risk youth from all
    fifty States and territories without compromising program
    effectiveness.
        Question. Despite attempts from the Administration to weaken the
    Job Corps program, what steps is the Department currently taking to
    utilize the funds appropriated by Congress to prioritize the program
    and help it reach its maximum student capacity?
        Answer. Job Corps recently increased its oversight and
    accountability over the implementation and adequacy of required
    Outreach and Public Education Plans created by outreach and admissions
    providers. These plans include, among other elements, outreach
    strategies to achieve and maintain center capacity; plans to ensure
    coordination of efforts between contractors and centers; and a
    description of the public education and outreach methods that the
    contractor will develop. By increasing accountability, the Job Corps
    program has increased enrollment during the past year. Job Corps
    continues to monitor follow-up activities associated with potential
    applicants expressing interest in the program by conducting weekly
    teleconferences with outreach and admissions providers to review
    potential applicant and new applicant information in detail.
        Currently, Job Corps is using a digital media campaign to increase
    Job Corps' On-Board-Strength (OBS) at many of its largest centers. This
    campaign includes using a digital outreach strategy for each of the
    targeted centers and requires frequent coordination among regional Job
    Corps staff, a media consultant, outreach and admissions providers, and
    center operators. Regular meetings are used to review and analyze OBS-
    related data, identify and resolve barriers to increasing student
    enrollment and retention, and provide feedback on center-specific media
    outreach.
        Job Corps is transitioning stand-alone outreach and admissions
    activities into center operations contracts. By consolidating these
    activities into the center operations contract, Job Corps center
    operators assume a more direct responsibility for ensuring that their
    centers are operating at full capacity.
        Before the end of the year, Job Corps will finalize its new
    methodology for creating the Geographic Assignment Plan (GAP). This new
    plan, referred to as the National Enrollee Assignment Plan (NEAP), will
    apply a standard formula to all Job Corps centers to determine the
    number of new students each center must enroll to maintain full
    capacity. Historically, Job Corps used a fixed national average of
    students it anticipated would leave the program each year to help
    calculate the arrival goals for each admissions provider. The new NEAP
    approach utilizes center-specific separation rates to set contract
    arrival goals. Centers with higher separation rates will have higher
    arrival goals in order to align with actual recruitment needs. These
    revised goals will be included in each admissions provider's contract
    to ensure that Job Corps centers are closer to full capacity.
        As part of its new NEAP strategy, Job Corps is reestablishing its
    defined recruitment areas so that they align with each state's Local
    Workforce Development Areas (LWDA). As a result of aligning recruitment
    efforts with LWDAs, Job Corps' outreach and admissions providers will
    have the opportunity to work in collaboration with partners in the
    workforce system, including receiving and providing referrals for
    individuals who express interest in the Job Corps program or are in
    need of other workforce development assistance.
        Finally, in 2019, Job Corps plans to launch a new student
    enrollment services system to identify and minimize delays and
    bottlenecks in the enrollment and center assignment processes. The new
    system will also improve the quality of career counseling provided,
    resulting in better matching of enrollee interests and/or aptitudes
    with a skills instruction program. The net results should be improved
    enrollments, student arrivals, and retention.
        Each month, approximately 18,000 youth express some interest in Job
    Corps' education and skills instruction program. This interest is
    primarily expressed through Job Corps' website. Prospective applicant
    information is provided directly to outreach and admissions contractors
    for follow-up. To capitalize on this interest and increase enrollment
    in the program, Job Corps is currently developing a new student
    enrollment services system, which will include a new information
    technology (IT) platform.
        The IT upgrades in the new enrollment services system will be
    designed to ensure that the eligible at-risk youth in the enrollment
    pipeline are promptly processed and enrolled. The new enrollment
    services system will seek to leverage technology to improve
    efficiencies in the system by monitoring the processing of applicants,
    and quickly resolving delays and bottlenecks, which will reduce
    application processing times. Job Corps' expanded use of technology
    will also create greater transparency by making application and
    enrollment data available in real time to those involved in the
    outreach, admissions, and center assignment processes. These changes
    will also provide tech-savvy youth easy access to Job Corps'
    application and a better user experience during the enrollment process.
    Finally, the new enrollment services system will provide meaningful
    career counseling during the admissions process. This will allow Job
    Corps to better manage enrollee expectations and better match enrollee
    interests and aptitudes with a skills instruction program. All of these
    efforts will support improved student recruitment and retention,
    resulting in full utilization of Job Corps centers.
                    workforce innovation and opportunity act
        Question. The widening skills gap has made it harder for employers
    to find qualified, skilled workers to fill job openings. I often hear
    from business leaders in New Hampshire who have job openings and would
    like to expand, but they can't find enough employees with the right
    qualifications. I also hear from unemployed workers who need help
    getting the necessary training to compete in this evolving job market.
        That is why I have consistently advocated for additional resources
    for State job training programs funded through the bipartisan Workforce
    Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). In New Hampshire and across the
    country, these important programs prepare individuals for work and help
    them improve their prospects in the labor market. However, these
    programs have been starved for investment and are still funded below
    authorized levels. Since 2001, WIOA funding has been cut by 40 percent.
    These cuts mean fewer businesses are served and fewer workers earn the
    skills they need to enter good jobs.
        In years past, the Administration has proposed drastic cuts to
    these programs and while I am pleased that the President's budget
    request for this upcoming fiscal year does not follow-suit, I believe
    that more needs to be done to meet the needs of both workers and
    businesses.
        Can you speak to the important role that Labor Department programs,
    like those authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
    Act, play in improving employment rates and economic output in my State
    and many others?
        Answer. The Department is committed to investing in programs that
    work for our job seekers and businesses, including some of those
    authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The
    fiscal year 2020 Budget prioritizes evidence-based strategies, such as
    apprenticeship, which improve employment outcomes and economic output,
    and proposes eliminating programs that are ineffective, unproven, or
    duplicative. The fiscal year 2020 Budget also proposes additional
    flexibility in the WIOA programs to ensure that State and local
    governments are empowered to make decisions that best suit their States
    and meet the needs of local employers and job seekers.
        WIOA establishes performance accountability indicators and
    performance reporting requirements to assess the effectiveness of
    States and local areas in achieving positive outcomes for individuals
    served by the workforce development and education systems' six core
    programs. States collect performance information and report on
    participant characteristics, services received, and outcomes achieved
    for the following measures: employment in the 2nd quarter after exit;
    employment in the 4th quarter after exit; median earnings of program
    completers in the 2nd quarter after exit; and credential attainment
    rate, which are outcome measures; measurable skill gains, which is a
    progress measure; and the effectiveness in serving employers.
        The WIOA programs operate on a Program Year (PY) basis (July 1-June
    30). PY 2018 (July 1, 2018--June 30, 2019) is the third year State
    grantees will have reported performance information under the WIOA
    performance accountability provisions; the PY 2018 performance
    information will be reported in October 2019. WIOA annual report
    summaries are available at www.doleta.gov/performance/results.
        Question. What additional steps is the Department taking to ensure
    that State agencies, local areas and business have the resources they
    need to address workforce needs?
        Answer. The Department is committed to working with States and
    local governments to ensure the American workforce is the greatest in
    the world. The fiscal year 2020 Budget prioritizes investments in
    effective programs that help to align workforce development efforts
    with market demands. States and local areas know their communities best
    and are best positioned to develop services and strategies for these
    workers to help them be able to find a job and continue participating
    in the workforce. The Department will continue to work with States to
    identify and reduce barriers to provide maximum flexibility to the
    States so States can ensure the best services to our Nation's job
    seekers and businesses.
                                     ______

                  Questions Submitted by Senator Brian Schatz
                           women's bureau budget cuts
        Question. This administration has claimed to support proposals that
    empower working women, such as paid family leave. Yet, the fiscal year
    2020 budget calls for a 73 percent decrease in funding for the Women's
    Bureau at the Department of Labor.
        Why does the budget cut funding for the Women's Bureau by nearly 75
    percent, and how does this cut reflect on the administration's
    commitment to working women?
        Answer. Women are nearly fifty percent of the workforce and the
    President's fiscal year 2020 budget and previous budget requests
    reflect the importance of women in the workforce.
        The Women's Bureau serves an important role at the Department of
    Labor, promoting and advancing the interests of working women by
    convening stakeholders, advising on policy change, and starting
    conversations around topics that are critical to women, their families,
    and our Nation's prosperity. Success for the Women's Bureau is achieved
    when the issues it champions move beyond the Bureau, because that means
    the problems and opportunities identified through its work are being
    addressed.
        Next year, the Women's Bureau will celebrate its Centennial year,
    which provides an opportunity to reflect on how far women have come
    over the past 100 years. Over the past century, the Women's Bureau has
    successfully advocated for workplace safety standards, family leave
    benefits, and pay equality protections.
        The Women's Bureau has recently taken a number of actions to
    advance women's workplace policies and influence the current state of
    women in the workforce. Since the beginning of 2017, the Women's Bureau
    has:
      --Partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services to help
            increase working families' access to affordable, quality child
            care;
      --Worked with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the
            Treasury Department to grow opportunities for women in
            entrepreneurship;
      --Coordinated with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
            to increase opportunities for women to access and thrive in
            apprenticeship programs;
      --Joined the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), the
            Department of Defense, and others to address employment
            opportunities and reducing occupational licensing barriers for
            military spouses, 92 percent of whom are women; and
      --Supported the Trump Administration's commitment to address the
            opioid crisis with a focus on helping women who have been
            impacted by the opioid crisis.
        None of these efforts will be negatively affected by the fiscal
    year 2020 budget. Instead, the Department will more effectively support
    and advance the mission of the Women's Bureau by focusing the Bureau's
    resources on conducting research and collaborating with agencies and
    departments across the government. In the coming year, the Women's
    Bureau will collaborate with ETA and VETS to support grant work on
    State licensing and promoting employment for military spouses; with the
    White House to identify innovative solutions to childcare; and with SBA
    to expand opportunities for women to thrive in entrepreneurship.
        As mentioned previously, the Women's Bureau provides research and
    analysis on the issues of interest to working women. Following a
    request by members of the Senate, the Women's Bureau commissioned a
    study, which is still in the early stages of analysis, to produce an
    independent, more precise and current estimate of the gender wage gap.
    The commissioned work will update a study on the gender wage gap issued
    by the Department in 2009. The 2009 study, which was funded by the
    Department and produced by the CONSAD Research Corporation,
    systematically reviewed then-available research on gender differentials
    in earnings and used data from the Current Population Survey to
    identify factors (including education, occupation, industry, work
    experience, and career interruptions) that contributed to the gender
    wage gap.
        In addition to the CONSAD update research study, the Women's Bureau
    is partnering with the Census Bureau to link administrative and survey
    data to produce a more precise and current estimate of the gender wage
    gap. The study will include an in-depth examination of variables such
    as industry, occupation, education and work experience that contribute
    to the gender wage gap. Findings from both projects are expected by the
    end of the 2019 calendar year.
        While recognizing that many factors go into determining wages,
    data-driven information concerning the wage gap provides a baseline for
    women planning careers to learn about prospective occupations, and as a
    comparison point for women already in the labor force to evaluate their
    wages. The Women's Bureau has an interactive visualization tool
    available on the Women's Bureau website, which shows average wages for
    women and men in more than 300 occupations.
        ETA also supports programs to provide workforce development
    services for female workers. For example, the Women's Bureau is
    collaborating with the Office of Apprenticeship (OA) to recruit and
    retain women in pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs as
    potential pathways for women to non-traditional occupations that may
    have higher average salaries. Through WIOA, ETA supports programs that
    provide workforce development services for individuals with barriers to
    employment, including over two million women workers in Program Year
    2017. In addition, WIOA emphasizes providing services and placing women
    in non-traditional occupations, such as apprenticeships, that may have
    higher average salaries.
        Question. Given the proposed increase in the Office of Labor-
    Management Standards, why choose to invest in a program aimed at
    tearing down the labor movement rather than one focused on empowering
    women in the workplace?
        Answer. The Department's budget proposes additional investments in
    all worker protection agencies including for Federal enforcement by the
    Occupational Safety and Health Administration and for the Wage and Hour
    Division (WHD). In fiscal year 2018, WHD recovered a record
    $304,000,000 in back wages owed to more than 1,300,000 workers.
        Question. What role does the Department see for the Women's Bureau
    with a budget of $3,525,000?
        Answer. Please see the response to the prior question.
                   worker safety and health training programs
        Question. Each day in this country, 275 workers die due to job
    related injuries and illnesses, and nearly 10,000 workers are injured
    on the job. Yet, the President's budget cuts key worker safety and
    health training programs, the number of inspectors at OSHA are at their
    lowest levels ever, and 400 more people died on the job in 2017 than
    compared to the average year under the last administration. In
    addition, the use of quick inspections under this administration has
    increased while inspections for high-penalty cases are down 50 percent
    from 2016.
        What is the Department doing to rectify this situation and to
    protect American workers?
        Answer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA)
    balanced approach to inspect and provide compliance assistant has made
    workplaces safer. Injury and illness rates decreased to 2.8 cases per
    100 workers in 2017, the latest year of data available. This equates to
    nearly 45,800 fewer injury and illness cases in 2017 as compared to
    2016. Workplace fatalities have also declined with 3.5 fatalities per
    100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers in 2017, as compared to 3.6
    per 100,000 FTE in 2016--resulting in 43 fewer fatalities in 2017. OSHA
    aggressively targets high hazard industries and activities through
    enforcement actions as well as compliance assistance activities.
        OSHA has taken several steps to increase its Federal Enforcement
    staffing levels. The agency is seeking to fill all funded Compliance
    Safety and Health Officers (CSHO) positions. All vacancies are being
    recruited for, and OSHA is in the process of on-boarding the
    inspectors. The agency begins the recruitment process as soon as a
    vacancy occurs, or an upcoming retirement is announced. OSHA advertises
    and recruits individuals to fill all current vacancies and the new
    inspectors then begin the on-boarding process. The recruitment and on-
    boarding process can take from three to 6 months, which includes the
    time necessary for advertisement, application, screening and
    interviews, and completing the required clearance of applicants under
    consideration, such as security and CSHO physicals. OSHA has also begun
    recruiting for a larger number of positions than available vacancies to
    ensure there is a continuous pool of CSHO applicants for selection when
    future vacancies occur.
        OSHA bases its programmed inspection targeting, i.e., emphasis
    programs, on available inspection data and injury and illness data from
    the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additional data may be available at the
    local level, as well. OSHA analyzes this data to identify industries
    and processes with the most serious injuries and illnesses. Two
    examples of national initiatives to address these hazards are the
    National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls and the Agency Priority
    Goal (APG) to prevent fatal incidents in trenches. Both are based on
    data showing high fatal incident rates in the construction industry.
    The Fall Stand-Down is the largest compliance assistance effort
    conducted by OSHA. More than one million employees participate in these
    events each year across the country that focus on the importance of
    preventing employee deaths from falls. The APG for excavations and
    trenching was established in 2018 to address an increase in fatal
    injuries of workers in the construction sector. OSHA utilized targeted
    enforcement and consultation in a balanced manner to reduce these
    incidents. These initiatives demonstrate OSHA's two-pronged approach of
    enforcement and compliance assistance to target leading causes of
    injuries and fatalities to reduce injury, illness, and fatality rates.
        OSHA has a variety of programs and tools available that provide
    training, outreach, and assistance to employers and employees. These
    include Alliances, Strategic Partnerships, On-site Consultation, and
    numerous targeted outreach events, such as the Fall Stand Down in
    Construction, which provide information on workplace safety and health
    to the public. The training programs include the Outreach Training
    Program, the OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Center Program,
    and OSHA's cooperative programs. Training and outreach programs
    delivered directly by the agency can more efficiently provide the same
    type of information to a broader audience than is delivered through the
    Harwood training grants.
        OSHA's Outreach Training Program and OTI Education Centers are in
    full operation for fiscal year 2019 and the Administration continues
    its support of the programs in its fiscal year 2020 budget request. In
    fiscal year 2018, OSHA trained more than 1,000,000 workers and
    potential workers through the Outreach Training Program, which reaches
    at-risk worker populations, including individuals with limited English
    proficiency. In the same timeframe, the OTI Education Centers trained
    more than 55,000 workers through a nationwide network of OSHA-
    authorized training centers that educate participants on the
    recognition, prevention, and elimination of occupational hazards.
        OSHA also offers training to workers through its Compliance
    Assistance Specialists located in various area offices across the
    country; through its use of both formal and informal alliances and
    partnerships with trade associations, labor organizations, and other
    groups; and through training provided by OSHA's On-Site Consultation
    Program in all 50 States and several U.S. Territories.
        The President's fiscal year 2020 Budget for OSHA includes an
    overall request of $557,533,000, an increase of $300,000 for the agency
    from the fiscal year 2019 appropriation. Specifically, the Budget
    proposes additional resources for the following budget activities:
    $3,780,000 for Federal Enforcement, $1,124,000 for Whistleblower
    Programs, $433,000 for Federal Compliance Assistance, and $5,500,000
    for Safety and Health Statistics.
        Question. Given the effectiveness of the program, why did the
    Department choose to eliminate the Harwood Training Grants?
        Answer. OSHA has a variety of programs and tools available that
    provide training, outreach, and assistance to employers and employees.
    These include Alliances, Strategic Partnerships, On-site Consultation,
    and numerous targeted outreach events, such as the Fall Stand Down in
    Construction, which provide information on workplace safety and health
    to the public. The training programs include the Outreach Training
    Program, the OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Center Program,
    and OSHA's cooperative programs. Training and outreach programs
    delivered directly by the agency can more efficiently provide the same
    type of information to a broader audience than is delivered through the
    Harwood training grants.
        OSHA's Outreach Training Program and OTI Education Centers are in
    full operation for fiscal year 2019 and the Administration continues
    its support of the programs in its fiscal year 2020 budget request. In
    fiscal year 2018, OSHA trained more than 1,000,000 workers and
    potential workers through the Outreach Training Program, which reaches
    at-risk worker populations, including individuals with limited English
    proficiency. In the same timeframe, the OTI Education Centers trained
    more than 55,000 workers through a nationwide network of OSHA-
    authorized training centers that educate participants on the
    recognition, prevention, and elimination of occupational hazards.
        OSHA also offers training to workers through its Compliance
    Assistance Specialists located in various area offices across the
    country; through its use of both formal and informal alliances and
    partnerships with trade associations, labor organizations, and other
    groups; and through training provided by OSHA's On-Site Consultation
    Program in all 50 States and several U.S. Territories.
        Question. Why prioritize quick, random inspections over ones
    undertaken due to serious allegations or workplace injuries?
        Answer. OSHA's priority system for conducting inspections is
    designed to provide the maximum feasible protection to working men and
    women. OSHA's Field Operation Manual (FOM), outlines those priorities
    in Chapter 2, Section IV as shown below:

    Priority...................................  Category
    First......................................  Imminent Danger
    Second.....................................  Fatality/Catastrophe*
    Third......................................  Complaints/Referrals
    Fourth.....................................  Programmed Inspections

    *OSHA Area Offices determine the inspection priority of a catastrophe
      using the Memorandum entitled, ``Interim Enforcement Procedures for
      New Reporting Requirements under 29 C.F.R. 1904.39'', dated December
      24, 2014, or unless superseded by future agency-approved
      correspondence.

        The higher priority inspections are unprogrammed inspections, and
    tend to focus on specific areas or hazards, which does not always
    result in a comprehensive scope inspection. However, OSHA is required
    to respond to unprogrammed activity, which generally arises from
    serious workplace injuries/illnesses or allegations.
        Question. How can you explain the decrease in inspections related
    to high-penalty cases, heat concerns, and workplace violence?
        Answer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
    revising its enforcement weighting system. The updated system will
    include a greater emphasis on the impact of inspections, rather than
    the current system's emphasis on the resources expended in an
    inspection. With this revision, OSHA can emphasize inspections that are
    not resource intensive, but save more lives and reduce exposure to
    hazards. These inspections include those addressing fall and trenching
    hazards.
        Regarding the number of heat related inspections, OSHA conducted 81
    in fiscal year 2015, 233 in fiscal year 2016, 106 in fiscal year 2017,
    and 130 in fiscal year 2018. Since the majority of these inspections
    are unprogrammed (i.e., complaints) the number of inspections will vary
    per year.
        Regarding the number of workplace violence related inspections,
    OSHA conducted a total of 31 in fiscal year 2015, 72 in fiscal year
    2016, 58 in fiscal year 2017 and 49 in fiscal year 2018.
                              labor organizations
        Question. The fiscal year 2020 budget includes cuts to many of the
    Department's programs, but one area that the administration seems keen
    to invest in is the auditing of labor organizations. This is emphasized
    by the fact that while the union membership rate in the private sector
    is 6.4 percent, the budget calls for larger increases in funding to
    police labor organizations than to police private companies alleged of
    wage and hour or workplace safety violations.
        Can we expect to see the Department prioritizing the enforcement of
    labor organizations over that of private employers in the future?
        Answer. The Department of Labor (the Department) is charged with
    protecting workers in all aspects of their employment and will continue
    to vigorously enforce the law. The Department has thus requested
    increases for all of the worker protection agencies. Worker protection
    includes ensuring that private sector and Federal unions operate
    democratically, transparently, and with financial integrity.
        Enforcement of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
    (LMRDA) suffered disproportionate funding reductions over the past 10
    years, despite the increase in union held assets from $2,800,000,000 in
    2008 to $30,000,000,000 in 2018. These cuts greatly reduced the Office
    of Labor-Management Standards's (OLMS) enforcement presence, leaving at
    risk union workers' rights under the LMRDA, particularly with respect
    to financial integrity. In fiscal year 2008, OLMS had 191 investigators
    on board at the end of the year. By the end of fiscal year 2018, this
    number was at 103, a 46 percent reduction. The number of criminal
    investigations completed during this time period decreased by 43
    percent (from 393 in 2008 to 223 in 2018). The number of audits
    completed during this time decreased by 73 percent (from 791 in 2008 to
    215 in 2018).
        The recent, modest increases in OLMS's appropriation were not
    adequate to keep pace with inflationary costs, further eroding the
    deterrent effect of a proactive audit and enforcement program. The
    LMRDA requires that union assets and receipts be used solely for union
    member benefits. However, the decrease in the number of investigators
    has limited OLMS's ability to investigate all cases of suspected fraud
    and it has not had the resources to audit union funds held at the
    international union level since 2010.
        Question. How did the Department come to the conclusion that it was
    more worthwhile to restart the International Compliance Audit Program
    (I-CAP) rather than invest in workplace safety or wage and hour
    enforcement?
        Answer. The Department's budget proposes additional investments in
    all worker protection agencies including for Federal enforcement by the
    Occupational Safety and Health Administration and for the Wage and Hour
    Division (WHD). In fiscal year 2018, WHD recovered a record
    $304,000,000 in back wages owed to more than 1,300,000 workers.
        The Department specifically proposes to restart the International
    Compliance Audit Program (I-CAP) because the financial environment of
    international unions is far more complex than that of local and
    intermediate unions and because international unions have a
    significantly higher level of assets, receipts, disbursements, etc.
    These important audits safeguard union members' assets held at the
    international level of union governance by detecting embezzlements and
    other criminal and civil violations of the law. From fiscal year 2004
    through fiscal year 2010, OLMS completed 35 audits under I-CAP,
    completing approximately seven each year with a contingent of
    approximately 12 staff on board. These audits uncovered 304 reporting
    violations, 109 recordkeeping violations, 126 internal control
    weaknesses, and 22 bonding violations. They also uncovered criminal
    violations that resulted in indictments and convictions.
        The inability of OLMS to audit international unions places their
    assets at risk. It provides union officers and others with the
    opportunity to commit fraud and embezzlement undetected, thus
    increasing financial risk to these international unions.
        The funding increase requested for OLMS would not be directed
    solely to conducting I-CAP audits. The request also restores resources
    to OLMS' core enforcement, which budget reductions and inflation have
    eroded, and includes $2,500,000 for the Department's worker protection
    information technology modernization efforts.
                                     ______

                  Questions Submitted by Senator Tammy Baldwin
                  industry-recognized apprenticeship programs
        Question. On July 27th, 2018, the Department of Labor issued TEN 3-
    18: Creating Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs to Expand
    Opportunity in America, which outlines the process that will allow
    trade associations and other non-governmental entities to self-certify
    apprenticeship programs.
        In February 2019 a number of my colleagues and I sent a letter to
    you asking you to explain and show written documentation for The
    Department's rationale for creation of the IRAP program. And, recently
    I have had a number of conversations with Wisconsin apprenticeship
    stakeholders, including business owners, who don't understand the
    Department's move away from the registered apprenticeship system they
    have used for years--a system they understand how to navigate and
    comply with, and has an 80 year track record of success.
        Can you provide this committee any specific evidence that the
    proposed Industry Recognized Apprenticeship program model is needed?
        Answer. The apprenticeship model, meaning earning while learning,
    has worked well in many American industries and the Department is
    working to open opportunities for apprenticeships to expand in new
    sectors of our economy. With 7.4 million open jobs and job creators
    searching for skilled job seekers, apprenticeship expansion will
    continue to close the skills gap and strengthen the greatest workforce
    in the world--the American workforce.
        To this point, the Department and State Apprenticeship Agencies
    (SAAs) have primarily implemented the National Apprenticeship Act by
    registering individual apprenticeship programs and apprentices.
    However, while the registered apprenticeship model has been highly
    successful in preparing workers for jobs in the traditional trades,
    such as construction, this approach has not easily scaled in high-
    growth sectors such as advanced manufacturing, IT/cybersecurity, and
    healthcare. In addition, participation in Registered Apprenticeship
    Programs relative to the U.S. workforce overall lags behind
    corresponding participation in other leading economies.
        Currently, registered apprenticeships provide occupational training
    to only approximately 0.3 percent of the American workforce. In
    contrast, other developed countries, such as Germany and Switzerland,
    have more successfully integrated apprenticeships into their education
    systems and workforces, leveraging the full potential of apprenticeship
    programs to lower unemployment rates and contribute to economic
    success.\9\ If apprenticeships are to accelerate and flourish in
    emerging and high-growth sectors, the United States will need to create
    a new pathway to apprenticeship development that better fits the needs
    of industry.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \9\ Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, ``Final Report to: The
    President of the United States,'' May 10, 2018, https://www.dol.gov/
    apprenticeship/docs/task-force-apprenticeship-expansion-report.pdf.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        On June 15, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13801
    charging the Secretary of Labor to consider establishing guidelines or
    requirements that qualified entities should or must follow to ensure
    that apprenticeship programs they recognize meet quality standards. The
    Executive Order created a Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion that
    included representatives of companies, labor, educational institutions,
    trade associations, and public officials and invited them to offer
    their recommendations on how to best expand the apprenticeship model in
    America. The Task Force recommendations were transmitted to the
    President on May 10, 2018, and the Department continues to take steps
    to effectuate the Executive Order.
        On June 24, 2019, the Department issued a Notice of Proposed
    Rulemaking (NPRM) titled Apprenticeship Programs, Labor Standards for
    Registration, Amendment of Regulations. This proposed rule reflects key
    recommendations contained in the final report of the Task Force, which
    noted that the establishment of industry-recognized apprenticeships
    could provide high-quality apprenticeship programs and opportunities in
    a market-driven system.
        Under the proposed rule, entities such as trade, industry, and
    employer groups or associations, educational institutions, State and
    local government entities, non-profit organizations, unions, or a
    consortium or partnership of these entities could become a Standards
    Recognition Entity (SRE) that sets standards for training, structure,
    and curricula for industry recognized apprenticeship programs (IRAPs)
    in relevant industries or occupational areas. The SREs would be
    recognized through the U.S. Department of Labor to ensure that its
    requirements are met, resulting in strong oversight of IRAPs. This is a
    similar relationship to the one that exists between the U.S. Department
    of Education and higher education accrediting bodies. The Department
    would ensure that SREs have the capacity and quality-assurance
    processes and procedures needed to monitor IRAPs and recognize that
    IRAPs are high quality. The Department's criteria for high-quality
    IRAPs include paid work, work-based learning, mentorship, education and
    instruction, industry-recognized credentials, safety and supervision,
    and adhering to equal employment opportunity obligations.
        Question. How are proposed IRAPs consistent with the National
    Apprenticeship Act provision that states: ``The Secretary of Labor is
    authorized and directed to formulate . . . labor standards necessary to
    safeguard the welfare of apprentices?''
        Answer. As with all American workers, apprentices in IRAPs would
    enjoy the full range of workplace protections with respect to wages,
    occupational safety, and equal employment opportunity that are required
    by law. The welfare of apprentices is of the utmost importance to the
    Department and the NPRM contains several provisions to that effect,
    including protections requiring a safe working environment consistent
    with Federal, State, and local laws; payment of at least the applicable
    Federal, State, or local minimum wage; and equal employment opportunity
    protections, that will keep the workplace free from harassment,
    intimidation, and retaliation.
        Specifically, in Section 29.22, ``Responsibilities and Requirements
    of Standards Recognition Entities,'' the Department addresses safety
    (Sec. 29.22(a)(4)(v)), wages (Sec. 29.22(a)(4)(vii)), and equal
    employment opportunity (Sec. 29.22(a)(4)(viii). Under the proposed
    rule, the Department would also require that SREs have policies and
    procedures related to harassment, intimidation, and retaliation to
    facilitate IRAPs' adherence to applicable law (Sec. 29.22(k)).The
    proposal allows SREs to recognize and maintain recognition of only
    those apprenticeship programs that conform to such requirements
    (Sec. 29.22(a)(4)).
        The proposed rule would also require a SRE to validate IRAPs'
    compliance with such requirements when it provides the Department with
    notice it has recognized an IRAP (Sec. 29.22(b)). Additionally, Section
    29.26, ``Complaints against Standards Recognition Entities'' authorizes
    apprentices to submit a complaint to the Administrator of the Office of
    Apprenticeship should they believe a SRE has failed to comply with the
    requirements of the proposed rule.
        This approach is fully consistent with the language of the National
    Apprenticeship Act of 1937, which charges the Secretary of Labor with
    ``formulat[ing] and promot[ing] the furtherance of labor standards
    necessary to safeguard the welfare of apprentices.''
        As this is an open rulemaking, if you have any additional questions
    or items for consideration, the Department encourages you to submit
    these as comments in the rulemaking record so that they may be
    addressed in any final rule.
        Question. What protections are provided for apprentices in the IRAP
    System?
        Answer. Please see the response to the prior question.
        Question. Does the Department have any vision or plans on how to
    best support and expand the highly effective RA system?
        Answer. Starting with the President's Executive Order on Expanding
    Apprenticeships in America, the Administration has made clear that
    streamlining and expanding the Registered Apprenticeship Program is a
    priority. Moreover, the Secretary of Labor released a memorandum to
    Federal agencies in June 2017, asking ``that each Agency head support
    the Administration's apprenticeship initiative by removing obstacles to
    apprenticeship growth that may be present in current regulations or
    practices.'' Subsequently, the Taskforce on Apprenticeship Expansion's
    report to the President provided a clear indication that Registered
    Apprenticeship needs reform ``to modernize the system and encourage
    greater employer and industry sector involvement.''
        The Department has begun to take actions to streamline RAPs by
    revising its National Program Standards (NPS) approval criteria to
    enable more high-quality apprenticeship programs with national scope to
    qualify. Despite an increase in the number of apprenticeship programs
    with NPS recognition, these programs have often encountered additional,
    unnecessary layers of regulation. The Department clarified that
    sponsors that meet certain criteria to register NPS with the Department
    need not also register their programs on a State-by-State basis.
        In response to the concerns expressed by many sponsors of RAPs that
    the paperwork for registration has been unduly burdensome to complete,
    the Department is actively taking steps to reduce and streamline the
    paperwork required of program sponsors for registration.
        In addition to these efforts, the Department has continued to
    invest in RAPs through State grants, cooperative agreements, and
    contracts that expand Registered Apprenticeship opportunities. As a
    result, since January 2017, there are more than 526,000 new
    apprentices. These results represent a 20-year high mark for the
    Registered Apprenticeship System, increasing the number of active
    apprentices by 56 percent since 2013.
                     state apprenticeship council alliance
        Question. I have heard from apprenticeship stakeholders in my State
    that the Federal Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship has essentially
    disbanded. In its absence, and the move by this Administration away
    from the Registered Apprenticeship Program, 18 different State
    Apprenticeship Councils have created The State Apprenticeship Council
    Alliance (SACA). These State Apprenticeship Councils include members
    from North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada,
    Louisiana, Wisconsin and others.
        (SACA States: Arizona, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Kansas,
    Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
    Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island,
    Vermont, & Wisconsin)
        The purpose of SACA is to advocate for the national Registered
    Apprenticeship system, promote policies that support Registered
    Apprenticeship system and programs, and elevate the key leadership role
    of State Apprenticeship Councils.
        Mr. Acosta, what is the current status of the Federal Advisory
    Committee on Apprenticeship and does the Department have plans to
    reconvene this committee?
        Answer. The Executive Order on Expanding Apprenticeships in America
    directed the Secretary of Labor to establish a Task Force on
    Apprenticeship Expansion (Task Force), bringing together industry and
    workforce leaders to consider how to promote apprenticeships in sectors
    where they are insufficient. On May 10, 2018, the Task Force
    transmitted its final report to President Trump, which included 26
    recommendations for expanding high-quality apprenticeships that lead to
    family-sustaining careers. Among other recommendations, the report
    included recommendations on modernizing RAPs and indicated that
    Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs) could provide a new
    and flexible alternative to supplement--but not supplant--the
    Registered Apprenticeship Program. In response to the recommendations
    of the Task Force, the Department has issued a Notice of Proposed
    Rulemaking on IRAPs that will make such apprenticeships more flexible
    and responsive to market needs.
        The Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship (ACA) is a discretionary
    committee under FACA and its charter expired on December 16, 2018. The
    Department continues to implement the recommendations from the Task
    Force and is committed to expanding the apprenticeship model, including
    into non-traditional industries in order to rapidly scale the number of
    apprenticeships in America.
        Question. Will the Department commit to working with the State
    Apprenticeship Council Alliance to expand and promote apprenticeship
    training programs within their member States?
        Answer. Absolutely. The Department would be happy to meet with the
    State Apprenticeship Council Alliance to explore how to work together
    to expand and promote apprenticeships in America and how to eliminate
    the bureaucratic hurdles at the State and local levels.
                         election of board of directors
        Question. Secretary Acosta, in your message accompanying the
    Department's strategic plan, you note that ``our Nation's greatest
    resource is the American workforce.'' That is why I have introduced
    legislation to require that American workers elect one-third of their
    board of directors. Research has shown that worker representation
    increases investment, lowers income inequality, and improves
    profitability.
        Do you believe workers should have the opportunity to elect their
    own representatives to corporate boards?
        Answer. The Department appreciates your interest in the important
    issue of corporate governance. The Administration has not taken a
    position on S. 915.
                               workplace violence
        Question. Workplace violence is a serious and growing problem that
    has reached epidemic proportions. Violence is now the third leading
    cause of workplace deaths. Healthcare and social service workers--
    nurses, nursing assistants and emergency response workers--suffer more
    than 70 percent of all work-related assaults. And, women face the
    greatest risks--two of every three workplace violence events are
    suffered by women.
        In 2016, OSHA accepted a petition from unions for OSHA to develop a
    standard to protect healthcare and social service workers from
    workplace violence. But under the Trump administration, there's been
    virtually no action or progress on the workplace violence rule. The
    latest DOL regulatory agenda from last Fall stated that OSHA would
    start a small business review of a draft proposed workplace violence
    rule this March, after first saying the review would begin in January.
        Does DOL consider Workplace Violence to be a serious safety and
    health problem and are you committed to develop and issue a workplace
    violence standard to protect healthcare and social service workers?
        Answer. The Department clearly recognizes the importance of
    preventing workplace violence in all workplaces--including the
    healthcare and social assistance sectors--and it has a long history of
    commitment to protecting healthcare employees from work-related
    physical harm and threats of physical harm. The Department is committed
    to continuing to gather data to inform a potential standard to protect
    healthcare and social assistance workers.
        Question. If so, what is DOLs schedule for issuing the workplace
    violence rule?
        Answer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
    in the process of analyzing the information it has gathered from
    petitioners for a standard, participants of the stakeholder meeting,
    comments received in response to its Request for Information, and
    experts. OSHA will use this information to develop regulatory
    alternatives and cost and benefit analyses required to initiate the
    small business review process required by the Small Business Regulatory
    Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA). OSHA anticipates initiating the
    SBREFA process in Fall 2019.
        Question. When will DOL complete a small business review of the
    draft proposed rule?
        Answer. OSHA anticipates initiating the SBREFA process in the fall
    of this year. OSHA expects to complete the small business review about
    4 months after initiation.
        Question. Can you give us a date when DOL plans to issue a final
    workplace violence standard?
        Answer. The schedule for issuing proposed and final rules depends
    upon the input received and recommendations that arise from the SBREFA
    process, as well as the nature of comments received in response to
    issuing the proposed rule.
                         employee stock ownership plans
        Question. Employee Stock Ownership Plans provide an opportunity for
    workers to own a part of the very business they work for, and these
    empowering arrangements drive economic growth, create jobs, and provide
    meaningful retirement savings for the employee-owners. Congress has, on
    a bipartisan basis, gone to great lengths to encourage ESOPs, but the
    Department of Labor's overly aggressive enforcement tactics are putting
    employee ownership at risk. The Department has never issued guidance on
    key issues such as valuation and, instead, has elected to regulate
    through litigation. That is causing very real problems for employee-
    owned companies.
        Do I have your commitment that you will take immediate steps to
    begin working with the ESOP community to provide guidance to the ESOP
    community and stop trying to regulate through litigation?
        Answer. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) provide retirement
    benefits and give workers a direct stake in their companies. The
    Department fully supports this model. However, when ESOP fiduciaries
    allow an ESOP to overpay for employer stock, or sell employer stock at
    a discount, they endanger retirement benefits and undermine the
    Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). When this happens, the
    Department has an obligation to enforce the law.
        The Department pursues corrective action through voluntary
    compliance and refers cases for litigation only when there are material
    and substantive violations that remain uncorrected. The Department
    processed 2,974 civil ESOP investigations from fiscal year 2003 to
    fiscal year 2018. During that same period, the Department filed
    litigation in just 69 ESOP cases. This translates to an average of four
    (4) lawsuits per year. Further, the number of investigations opened has
    dropped from an average of 188 cases per year between 2003 and 2017, to
    18 last year.
        The Department bases enforcement actions and lawsuits on well-
    established principles that are set forth in numerous published
    decisions. ERISA says that trustees must discharge their duties with
    prudence and undivided loyalty to the ESOP's participants. When relying
    on an appraiser to set the stock's fair market value, the trustees must
    (1) investigate the appraiser's qualifications; (2) provide the
    appraiser complete, current, and accurate information; and (3) make
    certain that reliance on the appraiser's opinion is reasonably
    justified under the circumstances. Reliance on the appraiser is
    justified when the fiduciary (i) reads the report and supporting
    documents; (ii) understands the report; (iii) identifies, questions,
    and tests the underlying assumptions; (iv) verifies that the
    conclusions are consistent with the data and analyses; (v) verifies
    that the appraisal is internally consistent and makes sense; and (vi)
    if necessary, obtains additional expert assistance to evaluate the
    transaction and appraisal.
        Since 2015, the Department's ESOP litigation has returned more than
    $69 million to ESOP plans, and, ultimately, participating employees and
    their families.
        In addition to the principles established through case law, the
    Department has provided guidance to the ESOP community through well-
    publicized process agreements. The Department has continually
    emphasized the importance of the fiduciary's process and the need for a
    prudent, critical, and thorough review of every ESOP transaction. As a
    result, the Department has entered into several additional process
    agreements in which the Department has reiterated its position. The
    Department makes these process agreements publicly available through
    its website, and they are also widely disseminated in the ESOP
    community.
        The Department remains committed to assuring meaningful retirement
    savings for the participants of ESOPs, and will continue to work with
    the ESOP community to develop additional guidance where it is feasible
    and appropriate to do so.
                     line speed waivers for poultry plants
        Question. According to OSHA, poultry workers are nearly twice as
    likely to suffer from serious injuries as other workers in private
    industry, and more than six times as likely to have a work-related
    illness. In 2014, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service published
    a new rule on poultry inspection. In that final rule, the USDA did not
    increase line speeds in poultry plants because of the potential to
    further endanger workers in an already dangerous industry. Within the
    rule DOL said that the agency needs to consider the impact on worker
    safety before increasing line speeds. I understand that 6 or 7 poultry
    plants have been granted waivers by the FSIS from this rule and allowed
    to increase line speeds with little to no public comment or
    consideration.
        Did USDA request OSHA's input or ask your Department to conduct any
    evaluation, or gather any data from these 6-7 plants on worker safety
    prior to the waivers being issued?
        Answer. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) did not request
    the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conduct any
    evaluations or collect data from poultry plants.
        Question. Did USDA ask you to provide the OSHA records, or injury
    reports for the plants that were granted waivers?
        Answer. USDA did not ask OSHA to provide records or injury reports
    for poultry processing.
                     swine slaughter safety inspection rule
        Question. Last spring, the USDA proposed a new swine slaughter
    inspection rule that would remove any caps on line speed in hog
    slaughter plants. There have been many concerns raised about this
    rule--including what an increase in line speeds means for workers in
    these plants. Meatpacking is one of the most dangerous industries, with
    worker injury rates more than two times the national average and
    illness rates more than 16 times. OSHA's own guidelines for the
    meatpacking industry makes it clear that due to the forceful nature of
    these jobs an increase in the pace of work in these plants will
    increase injuries.
        Over 80,000 comments were received by USDA on this proposed rule,
    almost all opposed to the rule. In the rule, USDA states that the
    agency would need to conduct an evaluation of the impact of increased
    line speeds on worker safety, and the agency said they conducted such
    an evaluation--but did not put in the record for the public to view or
    comment on. Recently the agency said it is not USDA's problem if their
    rule increases worker injuries, because worker safety is under the
    jurisdiction of OSHA.
        Please share with the committee any evaluation DOL did regarding
    worker safety and line speeds related to this proposed new swine
    slaughter inspection rule.
        Answer. The Department did not conduct an independent evaluation of
    the impact of the proposed swine slaughter inspection rule on worker
    safety and health.
        Question. Did DOL review the USDA evaluation of the impact on
    worker safety if line speed were increased in hog slaughter plants? Can
    you share with this committee any evaluation, or comments DOL made to
    USDA on such an evaluation?
        Answer. The Department did provide comments to the Office of
    Management and Budget (OMB) on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
    (USDA) Modernization of Swine Slaughter Inspection proposed rule, when,
    pursuant to Executive Order 12866, OMB's Office of Information and
    Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) was coordinating Executive Branch review of
    the draft regulation prior to publication in the Federal Register. The
    Department's comments were reflected in USDA's February 2018 Notice of
    Proposed Rulemaking.
        The requested comment documents--which record the agencies'
    deliberative, pre-decisional exchange about the draft proposed rule--
    constitute part of the Executive Branch's deliberative process in the
    development of a regulatory action, and are not released outside of the
    Executive Branch.
        Question. Do you think DOL has an obligation to raise serious
    worker safety concerns to USDA when the final rule comes to DOL for
    review?
        Answer. The Department takes its obligation to ensure that
    employers provide safe and healthful workplaces very seriously.
        Question. Do you think it is ok that USDA can increase line speeds
    and thereby increase injuries among the 90,000 hog slaughter workers
    without input from DOL?
        Answer. The Department takes its obligation to ensure that
    employers provide safe and healthful workplaces very seriously.
                            osha inspector vacancies
        Question. Since the beginning of the Trump administration, there
    has been a decrease in the number of OSHA inspectors from 815 to 752
    inspectors as of the beginning of this year. This is the lowest number
    of OSHA inspectors since the early 1970's when OSHA began. During this
    time, the workforce has nearly doubled and new safety and health
    problems have emerged.
        In DOL's budget request for fiscal year 2018 and 2019, DOL
    requested additional resources for OSHA enforcement. But at the same
    time, many of the already authorized and funded inspector positions at
    OSHA remain vacant.
        Why after more than 2 years in office are there so many vacant
    inspector positions, why have so few of these positions been filled?
        Answer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
    has taken several steps to increase its Federal Enforcement staffing
    levels. Beginning in 2017, the agency received approval to fill all
    funded Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHO) positions. All
    vacancies are being recruited for, and OSHA is in the process of on-
    boarding the inspectors. The agency begins the recruitment process as
    soon as a vacancy occurs, or an upcoming retirement is announced. OSHA
    advertises and recruits individuals to fill all current vacancies, and
    the new inspectors then begin the on-boarding process. The recruitment
    and on-boarding process can take from three to 6 months, which includes
    the time necessary for advertisement, application, screening and
    interviews, and completing the required clearance of applicants under
    consideration, such as security and CSHO physicals. OSHA has also begun
    recruiting for a larger number of positions than available vacancies to
    ensure there is a continuous pool of CSHO applicants for selection when
    future vacancies occur.
        Question. Will you commit to fill these vacant inspector positions
    by June 30th this year?
        Answer. Please see the response to the prior question.
              improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses
        Question. In 2016 OSHA issued a regulation to Improve Tracking of
    Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. The purpose of the rule was to
    provide OSHA, employers, workers, public health officials and
    researchers with real-time injury and illness information from
    individual workplaces that could be used to help identify hazardous
    workplaces, and groups of workers at high risk of injury. The rule
    didn't require employers to keep any new records, but simply to report
    injury data they are already required to submit to OSHA in a new
    updated electronic format. And OSHA planned to share this data in a
    format that protected individual worker's privacy.
        Some industry groups strongly opposed the rule because they don't
    want their workplace injury and illness data to be made public. So
    instead of fully implementing this important rule, DOL first refused to
    make any of the summary injury data collected public. Second, the
    administration moved to revoke the requirements for large employers to
    report their detailed injury data to OSHA, which means that OSHA and
    the safety and health community will not be readily able to get
    information on the types of injuries occurring in hazardous workplaces
    or the groups of workers at high-risk of injury. It's a disservice to
    workers and safety specialists committed to making the workplace safer
    that DOL has weakened this important rule.
        Will DOL commit to fully defend the remaining provisions of the
    2016 injury tracking rule--both the requirements for employers to
    report summary injury data and the provisions that strengthen anti-
    retaliation protections for workers who report workplace injuries?
        Answer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will
    fully defend the final injury and illness recordkeeping rule, which
    became effective on February 25, 2019.
                                     ______

                Questions Submitted by Senator Joe Manchin, III
                    the american miners act--miners pensions
        Question. Secretary Acosta, as I am sure you know, the UMWA 1974
    Pension fund provides retirement benefits to over 86,000 miners
    including 26,000 in West Virginia. The average pension is $600 per
    month, modest by most standards, but still critical to the 87,000
    beneficiaries who depend on it. In the past 2 years, contributions into
    the Plan have dropped by more than $100 million, leaving less than $25
    million per year still coming into it. If nothing changes, the Plan
    will be insolvent as soon as 2022. It will happen even sooner if any
    more coal companies file for bankruptcy. If this plan collapses,
    beneficiaries and their dependents would revert to the Pension Benefit
    Guaranty Corporation, destroying PBGC leaving taxpayers on the hook to
    foot the bill instead of the companies that made these promises in the
    first place. The time to act is now--the longer we wait to solve this
    problem the more expensive and more difficult it becomes. This is one
    of the reasons why I introduced the American Miners Act earlier this
    year. The American Miners Act would ensure that crucial benefits would
    be protected for our miners and beneficiaries.
        Secretary Acosta, is the Department of Labor actively working on
    solutions to this problem?
        Answer. It is critical to address the security of our pension
    system and the Department is committed to working with Congress and
    stakeholders to ensure the stability of the multiemployer plan system--
    promoting retirement security is part of the Department's mission and
    is simply good public policy. America's retired coal miners, and other
    workers in multiemployer plans, have worked hard for their pensions
    they reasonably expect upon retirement. The Department's 2020 Budget
    includes a proposal to keep PBGC solvent for the next 20 years by
    reforming the premiums levied on multiemployer plans. The proposal
    would add a premium based on plan underfunding, similar to the premium
    assessed on single-employer plans, in order to charge according to the
    risk plans pose to PBGC rather than their number of participants. The
    Department, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), and the
    Departments of Treasury and Commerce, are committed to working with
    Congress and stakeholders to address the security of multiemployer
    pension plans, including the UMWA 1974 Pension Plan.
        Question. Would you commit to working with me to finding a solution
    by the end of the year?
        Answer. The Department, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
    (PBGC), and the Departments of Treasury and Commerce, are committed to
    working with Congress and stakeholders to address the security of
    multiemployer pension plans, including the UMWA 1974 Pension Plan.
           the american miners act--black lung disability trust fund
        Question. Black lung is a terrible disease and it is only getting
    worse. After many years of dedication to providing our Nation with
    energy, America's coal miners continue to face the devastation of black
    lung disease caused by inhaling coal mine dust. We are seeing more and
    more cases of black lung--particularly in younger miners who have spent
    less time working in the mines. Today, more than 25,000 coal miners and
    their dependents rely on the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund to pay
    for critical medical treatments and basic expenses. Due to decreases in
    the coal excise tax, this already indebted Trust Fund could face
    borrowing costs of more than $15 billion by 2050.
        Secretary Acosta, what is your plan to ensure that these benefits
    are protected and that our coal miners continue to get the help that
    they need?
        Answer. Because the Department of the Treasury is required by
    statute to provide repayable advances to the Black Lung Disability
    Trust Fund (Trust Fund) if needed, there is no risk that entitled
    beneficiaries will not receive their Federal black lung benefits.
    However, under present circumstances, the Trust Fund's debt will
    continue to increase without intervention. Any changes to the Trust
    Fund's financing would require legislative action, and the Department
    is ready to work with Congress to develop a solution and ensure the
    long-term viability of the Trust Fund.
               clean start act and offender job reentry programs
        Question. As the opioid epidemic continues to take its toll, there
    are more and more men and women who face severely limited job
    opportunities after serving their time for crimes committed as a result
    of addiction. To help fix this problem, I introduced a bill called the
    Clean Start Act last Congress that seeks to help former addicts with
    criminal records seal those records if they complete a comprehensive
    addiction treatment program and show that they have turned their lives
    around. Last year, West Virginia enacted its own version of the Clean
    Start Act and I look forward to seeing it implemented.
        How do you plan on helping former offenders re-join the workforce
    and once again become responsible taxpayers?
        Answer. The Department is committed to helping individuals involved
    in the criminal justice system, including ex-offenders recovering from
    opioid and other substance use disorders, obtain employment in family-
    sustaining jobs. On April 1, 2019, the Department hosted an event--
    Strengthening America's Workforce--to discuss paths for Americans
    transitioning from the justice system into the workforce and to
    encourage more organizations to apply for the Department's reentry
    grants. The Reentry Employment Opportunity's Reentry Project grants are
    designed to develop or expand programs to improve employment
    opportunities for adults ages 18-24 who have been incarcerated in the
    youth or adult criminal justice system, and adults ages 25 or older,
    released from prison or jail within 2 years of enrollment.
    Additionally, through the Nation's network of American Job Centers, the
    Department informs employers about the skills and abilities of this
    population and advances strategies to address the barriers to
    reemployment. Lastly, through the Federal Bonding Program (FBP), the
    Department provides fidelity bonds to employers to help reduce the
    risks of hiring individuals whose criminal backgrounds, including
    individuals with a history of opioid and other drug misuse, pose
    barriers to securing employment. The Department also recently announced
    a pilot project to support the expansion of fidelity bonds in six
    States, which are participating in a demonstration designed to combat
    the opioid crisis. These States (Alaska, Maryland, New Hampshire,
    Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington) now have the opportunity to
    pilot expanded use of the FBP to decrease employment barriers for
    recovering opioid users and others in substance abuse recovery.
        Question. What programs and initiatives, in your experience, will
    be most effective in assisting former offenders rejoin the workforce?
        Answer. Providing former offenders with the opportunities to gain
    the skills necessary to compete in the workplace is a major part of
    successful reentry. The Department requires that all Reentry Project
    grantees provide occupational training in in-demand industries that
    leads to industry-recognized credentials, including supporting
    Registered Apprenticeship pathways for returning offenders. This
    approach is beneficial to employers and participants, resulting in an
    increase in employment for program participants. Additionally, the
    Department provides assistance through the FBP. Fidelity bonds issued
    through the FBP serve as a job placement tool. Employers receive the
    bonds free of charge as incentive to hire hard-to-place job applicants.
    The bond insurance was designed to reimburse the employer for any loss
    due to employee theft of money or property. Individuals may be covered
    from $5,000 to $25,000, at a cost of $100 per bond paid by the State
    with Federal funds. Individuals are covered for the first 6 months of
    employment. If necessary, bonds may be issued to cover an additional 6
    months. Another promising approach is the use of Registered
    Apprenticeships behind bars. Many State Departments of Corrections have
    sponsored Registered Apprenticeship programs, including Washington and
    Iowa. The Department has also partnered with the Bureau of Prisons to
    create an apprenticeship program that offers a standardized pathway for
    inmates to gain skills in over 100 trades in 98 Federal institutions.
    Staff prepare inmates for reentry by offering trade-specific skill
    development partnered with work opportunities, which will translate
    into employment opportunities upon release from incarceration.
                               cuts to job corps
        Question. The President's Budget would cut $700 million in funding
    for Job Corps. This program is the Nation's largest career technical
    training and educational program for youth and approximately 95 percent
    of Job Corps students successfully attain industry-recognized
    certifications. Job Corps has a zero-tolerance policy against violence
    and drugs. Secretary Acosta, I am deeply concerned about the
    availability of job training and employment opportunities, especially
    for young adults who are not always being well prepared in our
    education system. I have heard from employers across my State that they
    have jobs, but they don't have the workers with the skills needed to do
    those jobs.
        Secretary Acosta, this reduction will obviously have a major impact
    on the number of individuals who are able to receive desperately needed
    job training.
        What will happen to those individuals and the employers who need
    workers? What will happen to the young West Virginians who are ready,
    willing and able to be learn a new skill or trade but have few or no
    options because of these proposed budget cuts?
        Answer. The Department of Labor is committed to helping young
    individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds receive high-quality
    vocational and academic instruction opportunities. The Department has
    concerns about the program, irrespective of the funding level, and is
    proceeding based on those concerns with reforms to the program that we
    believe will improve outcomes for youth and make the program more
    effective and efficient. For example, the Department is using its pilot
    project authority to work with governors who are interested in
    establishing pilot projects throughout the United States. As our
    demonstration projects mature, we will assess them to determine whether
    they offer more effective models for serving at-risk youth as compared
    to the Department's traditional Job Corps program model. The Department
    will also determine whether these alternate approaches are more cost
    effective than the traditional program model. The Department will
    consider scaling efficiencies identified by demonstration projects in
    order to improve the delivery of Job Corps services.
        Overall, the Department is conducting a center by center
    programmatic assessment of performance, surveying physical facilities,
    assessing programmatic sustainability, and considering the workforce
    development needs in each State and area served by a Job Corps center.
    Using this deliberate approach, the Department will determine how to
    allocate the program's fiscal year 2020 resources, including whether to
    close some centers. It is the Department's expectation that through
    concentration of Job Corps activities in a more limited set of higher
    performing centers, we will provide Job Corps participants with higher
    quality services that lead to better outcomes. The Department always
    prioritizes the needs of current Job Corps participants when
    deactivating or consolidating a center, allowing them to complete their
    Job Corps training either at their current center or at a higher
    performing center. Further, the Department will maintain as many
    student slots as possible by increasing Job Corps capacity at remaining
    centers. This approach maximizes the impact of Job Corps'
    appropriation, allowing us to continue to serve at risk youth from all
    fifty states and territories without compromising program
    effectiveness.
             mine safety and health administration silica standard
        Question. Worker exposure to silica is a major health and safety
    problem that causes disabling lung disease. In 2016, after decades of
    effort the unions won a stronger Occupational Safety and Health
    Administration (OSHA) silica standard that cut permissible exposures in
    half. After OSHA issued its standard, the Mine Safety and Health
    Administration (MSHA) was moving to lower the silica standard for
    mining. However, the Trump administration has sidelined a new MSHA
    silica standard and is refusing to act. Meanwhile, there has been an
    epidemic of progressive massive fibrosis seen in coal miners in
    Appalachia, including miners in West Virginia. The most likely cause of
    this epidemic is exposure to silica from high quartz levels in the rock
    in the coal mines in this area. Still MSHA has refused to move forward.
    MSHA needs to move forward immediately to tighten the silica standard
    for miners like those that OSHA has for other workers.
        Secretary Acosta, will you direct MSHA to move forward and issue a
    stronger silica standard for miners?
        Answer. MSHA continues to aggressively sample the mine environment
    and enforce existing standards to ensure that operators have effective
    controls in place that continuously protect miners' health from
    exposure to respirable dust and silica (quartz). Quartz samples
    increased 335 percent between 2013 and 2018, and MSHA is encouraged by
    mine operators' compliance with the respirable coal dust rule, and
    control of coal miners' exposure to quartz. Since August 2016, for
    example, MSHA samples indicate average quartz exposure of about 25
    percent of the limit. Whereas over 16 percent of quartz samples
    exceeded the standard in 2008, by 2018 only 1.2 percent of quartz
    samples exceeded the standard.
        When quartz samples exceed the standard, MSHA leadership personally
    reviews and discusses each exceedance with senior staff. Field staff
    issue citations where appropriate and require corrective actions (such
    as revising ventilation and dust control plans and improving
    engineering controls). Enforcement staff follows up to ensure that the
    mine applies needed controls to avoid future exceedances.
        MSHA is currently reviewing the health effects and risk from
    miners' exposures to quartz and considering appropriate next steps that
    include an examination of permissible exposure limits. To that end, in
    the Spring 2019 Unified Agenda, MSHA announced its intent to issue a
    request for information to identify ways to protect miners from
    exposure to quartz, including an examination of an appropriately
    reduced permissible exposure limit, potential protective technologies,
    and/or technical and educational assistance.
                         overtime coverage for workers
        Question. Earlier this year, your Department of Labor proposed a
    rule that revises the overtime rule from the previously promulgated
    rule issued by the Obama Administration. Differing from the Obama era
    regulation providing automatic overtime coverage for workers making
    less than $47,476 your proposed rule would provide coverage for workers
    making less than $35,308. Studies show that a guarantee for overtime
    coverage only to those who make less than your number ($35,308) means
    that in year one, 2.8 million fewer workers will receive protection
    under the overtime laws, and that number grows to 4.3 million by year
    ten.
        Can you explain your department's analysis on why you think this
    decrease was reasonable?
        Answer. As part of the rulemaking process, the Administrative
    Procedure Act generally requires that agencies publish a notice of
    proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register. The agency then
    provides a public comment period and, after considering the comments
    received, develops a final rule. The comment period for the Overtime
    NPRM ended on May 21, 2019, and the Department received 59,348 comment
    submissions representing 116,298 comments, some of which may be
    duplicates. The Department is currently reviewing the comments received
    as part of developing the final rule.
        Shortly before the 2016 final rule's effective date, it was
    enjoined by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
    In a subsequent opinion invalidating the rule, the court held that the
    rule's $913 per week standard salary level went beyond the salary
    level's traditional purpose of setting a ``floor'' to screen out
    obviously nonexempt employees, and would exclude from exemption too
    many workers who perform executive, administrative, or professional
    capacity duties. An appeal of that decision to the Fifth Circuit is
    being held in abeyance pending the completion of this rulemaking. In
    the NPRM, the Department has reconsidered the $913 per week standard
    salary level set in the 2016 final rule in light of ongoing litigation,
    public comments received in response to a July 26, 2017, Request for
    Information (RFI), and feedback received at public listening sessions
    the Department held around the country to receive additional public
    input on issues related to the salary level test. The Department agrees
    with the vast majority of RFI commenters that the standard salary level
    needs to exceed the currently-enforced amount of $455 per week to more
    effectively serve its purpose.
        In the NPRM, the Department proposed to formally rescind the 2016
    final rule and to simply update the 2004 standard salary level by
    applying the 2004 final rule's methodology to current data. The 2004
    final rule set the standard salary level at approximately the 20th
    percentile of earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage
    census region (then and now the South) and in the retail sector. The
    Department's proposed rule would do the same, restoring the
    effectiveness of the salary level test without unduly disrupting
    employers' operations or causing other adverse economic effects.
        Question. Would you reinstate the Obama era overtime regulations?
        Answer. Please see the response to the prior question.
                        disabled workers discrimination
        Question. The Rehabilitation Act (Public Law 93-112) prohibits
    employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the
    Federal sector. Schedule A is a specific hiring authority with the goal
    of increasing opportunities at Federal Government agencies for workers
    with intellectual, physical, and psychiatric disabilities. Schedule A
    hiring authority includes a 2 year probationary period during which
    Schedule A workers are held to the same performance standards as all
    other employees. Schedule A also includes people with ``targeted
    disabilities'' as a subset of the larger disability category. The
    Federal Government has recognized that qualified individuals with
    certain disabilities, particularly manifest disabilities, face
    significant barriers to employment, above and beyond the barriers faced
    by people with the broader range of disabilities. The American
    Federation of Government Employees, a union representing employees at
    DOL headquarters and around the country, has noted a number of Schedule
    A employees at your agency are removed immediately prior to the end of
    their 2 year probationary period. During the 35 day government shutdown
    the Department removed a blind lawyer, who worked as a legal assistant
    for DOL, during her probationary period despite failing to ``make
    electronic and information technology accessible'' to disabled workers
    under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. DOL failed to report to
    the EEOC the rate of involuntary removals for 2016 or 2017, as required
    in their Management Directive 715 reports that provide transparency on
    the recruiting, hiring, and retention of disabled workers.
        Can you please provide to the Committee the last 3 years of
    Management Directive 715 Reports and specifically identify in each of
    those reports any deficiencies, barriers, or triggers for disabled and
    targeted disabled and how the agency addressed those issues?
        Answer. Attached are the 2015, 2016, and 2017 Management Directive
    715 Reports. Within the 2015 report, pages 32-33 (Part I) provide the
    requested information (see Attachment 1); within the 2016 report, pages
    30-33 (Part I) provide the requested information (see Attachment 2);
    and within the 2017 report, pages 29-31 (Part I) provide the requested
    information (see Attachment 3). The Department of Labor's (the
    Department) Human Resources Center, with support from the Department,
    has addressed identified barriers and/or triggers with the following
    example initiatives:
      --Outreach to organizations with a high concentration of individuals
            with disabilities such as Gallaudet University and Disabled
            Veterans groups;
      --Partnerships with the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services
            (DORS) and the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative
            Services (DARS);
      --Working actively with the Department's Disability Action Group
            (Affinity Group) to support recruitment, retention, and
            professional development strategies for employees with
            disabilities;
      --Training on Schedule A hiring authorities;
      --Training on and adherence to Section 508 accessible communication
            requirements; and
      --Internal recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness
            Month (NDEAM).
        The Committee has received the 2015, 2016, and 2017 Management
    Directive 715 Reports as requested.
        The 2018 Management Directive 715 Report will be submitted to the
    Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by May 31, 2019.
        Question. Can you also please identify why DOL did not send the
    EEOC data on involuntary removals broken by disability/targeted
    disability/non-disability status for years 2016 and 2017?
        Answer. The Department has provided this data. It was included
    within the Workforce Data Tables for each fiscal year. The MD-715
    reports and workforce data tables were submitted, as required, to the
    EEOC via their Federal Sector EEO Portal (FEDSEP) (see Attachment 4);
    specifically:
      --Within the fiscal year 2016 Workforce Data Tables, the data is
            provided in Data Table B14 (See Page 75 of Attachment 5);
      --Within the fiscal year 2017 Workforce Data Tables, the data is
            provided in Data Table B14 (Page 63 of Attachment 6).
        Please note that there was a clerical error on the 2017 Data Table
    B14, where the voluntary and involuntary separation numbers were
    transposed. DOL sent a letter to the EEOC clarifying the data reflected
    in that table (see Attachment 7).
                            water industry workforce
        Question. One of the main concerns for West Virginia rural water
    utilities is filling jobs left behind by the aging water industry
    workforce. Your Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that
    employment of Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System
    Operators is expected to decline by 3% \10\ between 2016 and 2026. The
    projected percent change in employment for all occupations is 7 percent
    growth. Water and wastewater utilities are the backbone of economic
    development, responsible for the public's health protection and
    stewards of safe drinking water delivery. Water and wastewater
    utilities need a pipeline of skilled workers to help ensure clean and
    safe water for the public and to maintain the water infrastructure
    necessary to keep service areas economically viable (especially in
    rural America where 92 percent of systems serve communities of 10,000
    or less). An apprenticeship program for community water supplies create
    jobs could address the Nation's crumbling water infrastructure.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ https://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/water-and-wastewater-
    treatment-plant-and-system-operators.htm.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Would your Department prioritize apprenticeship program funding for
    rural water utilities? More generally, what is the best way to train
    the water industry's workforce for the next generation?
        Answer. The Department is committed to expanding apprenticeship
    opportunities across a broad range of sectors and occupations,
    particularly in those industries where a shortage of skilled workers
    threatens the long-term safety and economic growth of rural
    communities. Over the next decade, the water sector is expected to lose
    between 30 to 50 percent \11\ of its workforce to retirement. The
    establishment and growth of quality apprenticeship programs in the
    water and wastewater utilities industries can provide an effective
    workforce strategy for addressing the emerging skills gap in these
    critical fields.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ GAO Report 18-102, ``Water and Wastewater Workforce:
    Recruiting Approaches Helped Industry Hire Operators, but Additional
    EPA Guidance Could Help Identify Future Needs,''
    January 2018, p. 17.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Through its National Guidelines Standards of apprenticeship, the
    Department has assisted stakeholders and industry associations in
    developing nationally-recognized education and training standards for
    specific water utility occupations. On November 14, 2017, at a signing
    ceremony at the Department's headquarters in Washington, D.C., the
    National Rural Water Association (NRWA) formally announced an
    apprenticeship program for rural water utilities (the ``WaterPro
    Apprenticeship Program'') with the Department's Office of
    Apprenticeship (OA). Bulletin 2017-47 publicized the WaterPro
    apprenticeship program, which establishes a set of National Guideline
    Standards of apprenticeship that are tailored to the specific
    occupational requirements of water system operations specialists and
    wastewater system operations specialists. As a leading provider of
    training for rural water and wastewater systems, NRWA is currently
    collaborating with State and local leaders to accelerate the
    development of Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) covering these
    critical occupations.
        At present, a total of 17 NRWA State affiliates have successful
    RAPs that conform to these NRWA National Guideline Standards, and
    registration applications from NRWA affiliates in 12 additional States
    are currently in process. Nationally, 140 active apprentices are
    enrolled in the NRWA-sponsored apprenticeship program. Local NRWA-
    affiliated program sponsors include Pentair, Inc. (based in Aurora,
    Illinois) and the West Virginia American Water Joint Apprenticeship and
    Training Committee (based in Charleston, West Virginia). The
    groundbreaking NRWA RAPs directly address the concerns raised by GAO
    Report 18-102 (January 2018) about the current and growing nationwide
    shortage of well-trained drinking water and wastewater management
    professionals. For more information concerning the NRWA national
    apprenticeship program, please visit the following links:
      --https://nrwa.org/initiatives/apprenticeship-program
      --https://nrwa.org/2017/11/nrwa-partners-with-department-of-labor-on-
            apprenticeship-program/
        In the fall of 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
    awarded a $6 million grant to the NRWA for further development of its
    national apprenticeship program. With this new funding from USDA, NRWA
    will have additional means to help States develop RAPs for water and
    wastewater system operations specialists.
        In addition, in May 2019, the Department released a funding
    opportunity through the Apprenticeship Expansion and Modernization Fund
    to support the development of innovative tools and strategies that,
    while relatively untested, hold promise to transform Registered
    Apprenticeship and support the expansion of RAPs throughout the Nation.
    This opportunity allows applicants to propose innovative projects that
    best meet the specific challenges and needs in their area, their
    industry, or the local population. Vendor proposals are in development
    and may include projects that support workforce development in rural
    areas.

                              SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

        Senator Blunt. The subcommittee stands in recess.
        [Whereupon, at 11:03 a.m., Thursday, May 2, the
    subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
    the Chair.]