[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





 
                 EXAMINING THE POLICIES AND PRIORITIES
                    OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               before the

                    COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

              HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, JUNE 9, 2021

                               __________

                           Serial No. 117-17

                               __________

      Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor
      
      

 [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]                                    


                                     

          Available via: edlabor.house.gov or www.govinfo.gov

                               __________
                               
                               
 
             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
44-799PDF           WASHINGTON : 2022                               
                               
                               
                               
                               

                    COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR

             ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia, Chairman

RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona            VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina,
JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut              Ranking Member
GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,      JOE WILSON, South Carolina
  Northern Mariana Islands           GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania
FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida         TIM WALBERG, Michigan
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon             GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin
MARK TAKANO, California              ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York
ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina        RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia
MARK DeSAULNIER, California          JIM BANKS, Indiana
DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey          JAMES COMER, Kentucky
PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington          RUSS FULCHER, Idaho
JOSEPH D. MORELLE, New York          FRED KELLER, Pennsylvania
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania             GREGORY F. MURPHY, North Carolina
LUCY McBATH, Georgia                 MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa
JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut            BURGESS OWENS, Utah
ANDY LEVIN, Michigan                 BOB GOOD, Virginia
ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota                LISA C. McCLAIN, Michigan
HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan           DIANA HARSHBARGER, Tennessee
TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico   MARY E. MILLER, Illinois
MONDAIRE JONES, New York             VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
KATHY E. MANNING, North Carolina     SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin
FRANK J. MRVAN, Indiana              MADISON CAWTHORN, North Carolina
JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York, Vice-Chair  MICHELLE STEEL, California
MARK POCAN, Wisconsin                JULIA LETLOW, Louisiana
JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas                Vacancy
MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey
JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky
ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
KWEISI MFUME, Maryland

                   Veronique Pluviose, Staff Director
                  Cyrus Artz, Minority Staff Director
                                 ------     
                                 
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Hearing held on June 9, 2021.....................................     1

Statement of Members:
    Scott, Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'', Chairman, Committee on 
      Education and Labor........................................     1
        Prepared statement of....................................     6
    Foxx, Hon. Virginia, Ranking Member, Committee on Education 
      and Labor..................................................     7
        Prepared statement of....................................     9

Statement of Witnesses:
    Walsh, Hon. Martin J., Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor...    11
        Prepared statement of....................................    13

Additional Submissions:
    Chairman Scott:
        Committee on Education and Labor letter to Secretary 
          Walsh dated June 2, 2021...............................    98
        NEA letter dated June 15, 2021...........................   101
    Fitzgerald, Hon. Scott, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of Wisconsin:
        Letter dated June 15, 2021...............................   103
    Questions submitted for the record by:
        Chairman Scott...........................................   106
        Ranking Member Foxx......................................   109
        Sablan, Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho, a Delegate in 
          Congress from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
          Islands................................................   106
        Omar, Hon. Ilhan, a Representative in Congress from the 
          State of Minnesota.....................................   107
        Castro, Hon. Joaquin, a Representative in Congress from 
          the State of Texas.....................................   107
        Sherrill, Hon. Mikie, a Representative in Congress from 
          the State of New Jersey................................   108
        Wilson, Hon. Joe, a Representative in Congress from the 
          State of South Carolina................................   118
        Walberg, Hon. Tim, a Representative in Congress from the 
          State of Minnesota.....................................   119
        Stefanik, Hon. Elise M., a Representative in Congress 
          from the State of New York.............................   119
        Allen, Hon. Rick, a Representative in Congress from the 
          State of Georgia.......................................   119
        Comer, Hon. James, a Representative in Congress from the 
          State of Kentucky......................................   120
        Keller, Hon. Fred, a Representative in Congress from the 
          State of Pennsylvania..................................   121
        Murphy, Hon. Gregory F., a Representative in Congress 
          from the State of North Carolina.......................   121
        Miller-Meeks, Hon. Mariannette, a Representative in 
          Congress from the State of Iowa........................   122
        Owens, Hon. Burgess, a Representative in Congress from 
          the State of Utah......................................   123
        Harshbarger, Hon. Diana, a Representative in Congress 
          from the State of Tennessee............................   123
        Letlow, Hon. Julia, a Representative in Congress from the 
          State of Louisiana.....................................   124
    Responses to questions submitted for the record by:
        Secretary Walsh..........................................   126


                 EXAMINING THE POLICIES AND PRIORITIES

                    OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

                              ----------                              


                        Wednesday, June 9, 2021

                  House of Representatives,
                          Committee on Education and Labor,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 12:01 p.m., via 
Zoom, Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott (Chairman of the 
Committee) presiding.
    Present: Representatives Scott, Grijalva, Courtney, Sablan, 
Wilson of Florida, Bonamici, Takano, Adams, DeSaulnier, 
Norcross, Jayapal, Morelle, Wild, McBath, Hayes, Levin, 
Stevens, Leger Fernandez, Jones, Manning, Mrvan, Bowman, Pocan, 
Sherrill, Yarmuth, Espaillat, Foxx, Wilson of South Carolina, 
Walberg, Grothman, Stefanik, Allen, Banks, Fulcher, Keller, 
Miller-Meeks, Owens, Good, McClain, Spartz, Fitzgerald, 
Cawthorn, Steel, and Letlow.
    Staff present: Ilana Brunner, General Counsel; Daniel 
Foster, Health and Labor Counsel; Rashage Green, Director of 
Education Policy; Christian Haines, General Counsel; Rasheedah 
Hasan, Chief Clerk; Sheila Havenner, Director of Information 
Technology; Eli Hovland, Policy Associate; Eunice Ikene, Labor 
Policy Advisor; Ariel Jona, Policy Associate; Andre Lindsay, 
Policy Associate; Kevin McDermott, Senior Labor Policy Advisor; 
Richard Miller, Director of Labor Policy; Max Moore, Staff 
Assistant; Yonatan Moskowitz, Oversight Counsel-Labor; Mariah 
Mowbray, Clerk/Special Assistant to the Staff Director; Kayla 
Pennebecker, Staff Assistant; Veronique Pluviose, Staff 
Director; Banyon Vassar, Deputy Director of Information 
Technology; Joshua Weisz, Communications Director; Cyrus Artz, 
Minority Staff Director; Gabriel Bisson, Minority Staff 
Assistant; Rob Green, Minority Director of Workforce Policy; 
Taylor Hittle, Minority Professional Staff Member; Amy Raaf 
Jones, Minority Director of Education and Human Resources 
Policy; Georgie Littlefair, Minority Legislative Assistant; 
John Martin, Minority Workforce Policy Counsel; Hannah Matesic, 
Minority Director of Operations; Audra McGeorge, Minority 
Communications Director; Jake Middlebrooks, Minority 
Professional Staff Member; Maureen O'Toole, Minority Press 
Assistant; Ben Ridder, Minority Professional Staff Member; 
Mandy Schaumburg, Minority Chief Counsel and Deputy Director of 
Education Policy; Kelly Tyroler, Minority Professional Staff 
Member; and John Witherspoon, Minority Professional Staff 
Member.
    Chairman Scott. The Committee on Education and Labor will 
come to order. And welcome everyone. I note that a quorum is 
present. The Committee is meeting today to hear testimony on 
Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of 
Labor. This is an entirely remote hearing, and all microphones 
are being kept muted as a general rule to avoid unnecessary 
background noise.
    Members and witnesses will be responsible for unmuting 
themselves when they're recognized to speak, or when they wish 
to seek recognition. I'll also ask if Members would please 
identify themselves before they speak. Members should keep 
their cameras on while in the proceeding.
    Members will be considered present in the proceeding when 
they're visible on camera and will be considered not present 
when they are not visible on the camera. The exception to this 
is if they are experiencing technical difficulties and inform 
the Committee staff of each such difficulty.
    If any Member experiences technical difficulties during the 
hearing you should stay connected on the platform, make sure 
you're muted and use your phone to immediately call the 
Committee's IT director whose number was provided in advance.
    Should the Chair experience a technical difficulty and need 
to step away, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Yarmouth, or any other majority 
Member is hereby authorized to assume the gavel in the Chair's 
absence. This is an entirely remote hearing, and as such the 
Committee's hearing room is officially closed.
    Members who wish to sit with their individual devices in 
the Committee room must wear headphones to avoid feedback, 
echoes and distortion resulting from more than one person on 
the software platform sitting in the same room.
    Members are also expected to adhere to social distancing, 
and safe healthcare guidelines, including the use of masks, 
hand sanitizer and wiping down their areas before and after 
their presence in the hearing room.
    In order to ensure the Committee's five-minute rule is 
adhered to, the staff will be keeping track of time using the 
Committee's field timer. The field timer will appear in its own 
thumbnail picture and will be named 001_timer. There will be no 
one minute remaining warning.
    The field timer will show a blinking light when the time is 
up, and Members and the witnesses are asked to wrap up promptly 
when their time has expired. While roll call is not necessary 
to establish a quorum in official proceedings conducted 
remotely, or with remote participation, the Committee has made 
it a practice wherever there's an official proceeding with 
remote participation.
    I understand that the live feed is having a problem. And so 
we'll delay for just a minute while it's taken care of.
    [Delay.]
    Chairman Scott. I understand that the live feed is back on, 
and I will proceed. Members and the witnesses are asked to wrap 
up promptly when the time is expired. While a roll call is not 
necessary to establish a quorum in official proceedings 
conducted remotely, or with remote participation, the Committee 
has made it a practice whenever there is an official proceeding 
with remote participation for the Clerk to call the roll to 
make clear who is present at the start of the proceedings.
    Members should say their name before announcing that they 
are present. This helps the Clerk, and also helps those 
watching the platform and livestream who may be experiencing a 
few seconds delay. At this time, I'll ask the Clerk to call the 
roll.
    The Clerk. Mr. Chairman
    Chairman Scott. Chairman Scott is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Grijalva?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Courtney?
    Mr. Courtney. Courtney is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Sablan?
    Mr. Sablan. Sablan is present.
    The Clerk. Ms. Wilson?
    Ms. Wilson. Ms. Wilson is present.
    The Clerk. Ms. Bonamici?
    Ms. Bonamici. Suzanne Bonamici is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Takano?
    Mr. Takano. Mark Takano is present.
    The Clerk. Ms. Adams?
    Ms. Adams. Ms. Adams is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. DeSaulnier?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Norcross?
    Mr. Norcross. Norcross is present.
    The Clerk. Ms. Jayapal?
    Ms. Jayapal. Jayapal is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Morelle?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Ms. Wild?
    Ms. Wild. Wild is present.
    The Clerk. Mrs. McBath?
    Mrs. McBath. McBath is present.
    The Clerk. Mrs. Hayes?
    Mrs. Hayes. Mrs. Hayes is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Levin?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Ms. Omar?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Ms. Stevens?
    Ms. Stevens. Stevens is present.
    The Clerk. Ms. Leger Fernandez?
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Ms. Leger Fernandez is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Jones?
    Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones is present.
    The Clerk. Ms. Manning?
    Ms. Manning. Manning is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Mrvan?
    Mr. Mrvan. Mr. Mrvan is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Bowman?
    Mr. Bowman. Mr. Bowman is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Pocan?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Castro?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Ms. Sherill?
    Ms. Sherill. Sherill's present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Yarmuth?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Espaillat?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Mfume?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Ranking Member Foxx?
    Ms. Foxx. Foxx is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Wilson?
    Mr. Wilson. Wilson is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Thompson?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Walberg?
    Mr. Walberg. Walberg is virtually present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Grothman?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Ms. Stefanik?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Allen?
    Mr. Allen. Allen's present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Banks?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Comer?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Fulcher?
    Mr. Fulcher. Fulcher is present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Keller?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Murphy?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mrs. Miller-Meeks?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Owens?
    Mr. Owens. Owens present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Good?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mrs. McClain?
    Mrs. McClain. McClain is present.
    The Clerk. Mrs. Harshbarger?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mrs. Miller?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mrs. Spartz?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mr. Scott Fitzgerald?
    Mr. Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald present.
    The Clerk. Mr. Cawthorn?
    [No response.]
    The Clerk. Mrs. Steel?
    Mrs. Steel. Steel is present.
    The Clerk. Ms. Letlow.
    Ms. Letlow. Letlow present.
    Mr. Pocan. Can I ask how you have Mr. Pocan recorded?
    The Clerk. Mr. Chairman Mr. Pocan is not recorded present.
    Mr. Pocan. OK, I'm present.
    Mr. Grijalva. May I ask how Mr. Grijalva is noted?
    The Clerk. Mr. Grijalva is not recorded.
    Mr. Grijalva. Mr. Grijalva is present.
    Chairman Scott. Anyone else? If not, thank you. Pursuant to 
Committee Rule 8(c) opening statements are limited to the Chair 
and the Ranking Member. This allows us to hear from our witness 
sooner and provides all Members with adequate time to ask 
questions. I now recognize myself for the purpose of making an 
opening statement.
    Today we're meeting to discuss the Department of Labor's 
Budget for Fiscal Year 2022 and to examine the Department's 
priorities to support workers, job seekers, retirees and their 
families. I'm going to start by welcoming our distinguished 
witness, Secretary Marty Walsh to the Committee of Education 
and Labor.
    We're grateful for your time and look forward to discussing 
your vision on how the Department of Labor can achieve the 
strong and shared economic recovery. To understand the 
Department's policies and priorities we must first consider the 
labor market that you inherited.
    For years, the Trump administration made it harder for low-
income and middle-class workers to succeed in America. Our 
corporations made record profits and reaped an overwhelming 
share of the benefits from the almost two trillion-dollar GOP 
tax cut. Many workers continue to work long hours and difficult 
jobs, but still have trouble making ends meet for themselves 
and their families.
    Other policies include the Trump administration's overtime 
rule, which has stripped millions of middle-class workers of 
their right to receive overtime. The Trump administration's 
independent contractor rule, which the Biden administration 
recently withdrew, would have cost workers an estimated 3 
billion dollars every year in lost wages and benefits.
    The Trump administration has abandoned the nearly complete 
infection disease standard when it took office. It was almost 
complete when the administration came in which would have been 
a valuable tool for OSHA to better protect workers against 
COVID-19.
    So Secretary Walsh your task is to restore the Labor 
Department's focus and strengthening workers and their 
families. And thankfully, the Biden/Harris administration and 
congressional Democrats have taken decisive steps to turn our 
economy around and get workers back on their feet.
    For example, the Biden administration worked with Congress 
to enact the American Rescue Plan which provided emergency 
funding to save our childcare system from collapsing, offered 
healthcare subsidies to cover the full cost of COVID benefits, 
so that laid off workers can maintain affordable health 
coverage during the pandemic, provided emergency financial 
assistance, including relief checks, the expanded child credit, 
improved earned income tax credit.
    And assistance is projected to cut child poverty in half, 
and we fully protected the hard-earned pensions of over 1 
million Americans who were projected to lose those pensions 
through no fault of their own. Not a single republican 
supported the package, but it is producing results for workers, 
businesses, and communities.
    The economy has created 2.2 million jobs since the Biden/
Harris administration took office. Unfortunately, we still have 
a lot of work to do to ensure that all workers benefit from the 
strong economy. Today our economy remains more than 8 million 
jobs behind where we were at the start of the pandemic.
    This is why it is essential that we create millions of 
good-paying jobs by investing in our infrastructure, and 
helping workers get the skills and support to fill those jobs. 
So Mr. Secretary, we look forward to your testimony on how the 
American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan will make smart 
investments to build back a better economy to enable workers to 
get back to work.
    And we're interested to know what the budget does for 
affordable childcare, and to make college degrees more 
accessible, and how you plan to expand job training at a time 
when countless businesses are desperate for talented workers, 
and workers looking for new high-quality careers.
    We're also interested in what the budget includes for 
worker protection agencies, including OSHA, Wage and Hour 
Division, and Employee Benefits Security Administration, that 
have faced decades of budget freezes and shrinking staff 
capacity.
    We also want to hear about the policies to reinvigorate the 
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and what you 
will do to prevent worker misclassification, wage theft, and 
what you will do to expand overtime pay protections.
    And finally, we have to address the historic workplace 
safety crisis caused by the pandemic. In January President 
Biden signed an executive order that instructed OSHA, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to consider 
issuing an emergency temporary workplace safety standard, or an 
ETS, by March 15.
    I understand that you'll give us an update on the status of 
that standard. So Mr. Secretary thank you for joining us today, 
and I will now at this time recognize our distinguished Ranking 
Member for the purpose of her opening statement. Dr. Foxx.
    [The statement of Chairman Scott follows:]

        Statement of Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott, Chairman, 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

    Today, we are meeting to discuss the Department of Labor's budget 
request for Fiscal Year 2022 and examine the Department's priorities to 
support workers, job seekers, retirees, and their families.
    I want to start by welcoming our distinguished witness, Secretary 
Marty Walsh, to the Education and Labor Committee. We are grateful for 
your time and look forward to discussing your vision for how the Labor 
Department can help achieve a strong and shared economic recovery.
    To understand the Department's policies and priorities, we must 
first consider the labor market that you inherited.
    For years, the Trump administration made it harder for low-income 
and middle-class workers to succeed in America.
    While corporations made record profits and reaped an overwhelming 
share of the benefits from the almost $2 trillion GOP tax cut, many 
workers continued to work long hours in difficult jobs and still had 
trouble making ends meet for themselves and their families.
    Other policies include the Trump administration's overtime rule, 
which has stripped millions of middle-class workers of their right to 
receive overtime. The Trump administration's Independent Contractor 
rule--which the Biden administration recently withdrew--would have cost 
workers an estimated $3 billion every year in lost wages and benefits. 
And the Trump administration abandoned a nearly complete infectious 
disease standard when it took office. That standard was almost complete 
when the Administration came in, which would have been a valuable tool 
for OSHA to better protect workers against COVID-19.
    Secretary Walsh, your task is to restore the Labor Department's 
focus on strengthening workers and their families.
    Thankfully, the Biden-Harris Administration and congressional 
Democrats have taken decisive steps to turn our economy around and get 
workers back on their feet.
    For example, in March, the Administration worked with Congress to 
enact the American Rescue Plan Act, which provided emergency funding to 
save our child care system from collapsing, offered health care 
subsidies to cover the full cost of COBRA premiums so that laid-off 
workers can maintain affordable health coverage during the pandemic, 
and provided emergency financial assistance--including relief checks, 
the expanded Child Tax Credit, and the improved Earned Income Tax 
Credit--that is projected to cut child poverty in half.
    We also fully protected the hard-earned pensions of over one 
million Americans who were projected to lose those pensions through no 
fault of their own.
    Not a single Republican supported this package, but it is producing 
results for workers, businesses, and communities. The economy has 
created 2.2 million jobs since the Biden-Harris Administration took 
office.
    Unfortunately, we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that all 
workers benefit from a strong recovery. Today, our economy remains more 
than 8 million jobs behind where we were at the start of the pandemic.
    This is why it is essential that we create millions of good-paying 
jobs by investing in our infrastructure and helping workers get the 
skills and support to fill those jobs.
    Mr. Secretary, we look forward to your testimony on how the 
American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan would make smart 
investments to build back a better economy to enable workers to get 
back to work.
    We're interested to know what the budget does for affordable child 
care and to make college degrees more accessible as well as how you 
plan to expand job training at a time when countless businesses are 
desperate for talented workers and workers are looking for new, high-
quality careers.
    We're also interested in what the budget includes for worker 
protection agencies, including OSHA, the Wage and Hour Division, and 
the Employee Benefit Security Administration, which have faced decades 
of budget freezes and shrinking staff capacity.
    We also want to hear about the policies to reinvigorate the Office 
of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, what you will do to combat 
worker misclassification and wage theft, and what you will do to expand 
overtime pay protections.
    Finally, we must also address the historic workplace safety crisis 
caused by the pandemic. In January, President Biden signed an executive 
order that instructed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration 
to consider issuing an emergency temporary workplace safety standard, 
or E-T-S, by March 15.
    I understand that you will give us an update on the status of that 
standard.
    Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for joining us today. I will now, at this 
time, recognize the distinguished Ranking Member for the purpose of her 
opening statement.
                                 ______
                                 
    Ms. Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I thank the 
Secretary for being with us today also. A post-pandemic nation 
requires political leaders who support job creation and stand 
for all workers interests, not special interest. Workers want 
to provide for their families and participate in what was, 
until last year, the most robust and dynamic economy in the 
world.
    Sadly, the Democrat's permanent pandemic status quo 
continues to inflict severe emotional and financial stress on 
Americans. People crave a reason to be optimistic about the 
future. Unfortunately, President Biden's proposed budget, puts 
Washington's political class ahead of the working class.
    The Department of Labor's job killing agenda comes at the 
worst possible time. Just yesterday the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics reported that job openings reached a record high of 
9.3 million in April, while hiring lags far beyond. Employers 
are desperate to fill good-paying jobs, but qualified workers 
are hard to find.
    Earn and Learn models teach valuable skills and allow 
people to collect a paycheck at the same time. Yet Secretary 
Walsh shut down a popular industry-led apprenticeship model in 
one of his first decisions after taking office.
    If only DOL's anti-worker agenda stopped there. But that 
was simply the first wave. The tide of terrible decisions rose 
higher. Democrats spent trillions of our grandchildren's 
dollars on so-called stimulus policies. They expected massive 
growth, instead they're making excuses for one lackluster jobs 
report after another.
    Through their ill-advised and damaging unemployment 
insurance scheme, Democrats wound up creating an incentive for 
healthy Americans to stay home. It is not our constituents' 
fault they're merely taking the better deal. Eight-hour shifts 
are pointless when one could collect the perversely large 
unemployment check from the government.
    The Democrats ill-conceived spending spree stripped away 
the dignity that comes from earning a paycheck. The Department 
of Labor then unleashed an ongoing tsunami, which is 
obliterating the positive policy initiatives of the Trump 
administration.
    Along with pushing an unnecessary and ill-timed, one size 
fits all national emergency COVID-19 regulation, supporting 
socialist healthcare agenda, denying American workers the 
opportunity to choose when, where and how they work, and 
infringing on religious liberty, the Biden administration has 
provoked a strong sense of uncertainty among America's workers 
and job creators with its job killing agenda.
    The Biden regulatory whiplash is manifest in our lethargic 
economic recovery. Job creators need certainty and flexibility 
from Federal policymakers. Aggressive and punitive regulatory 
actions, coupled with competition from the government for 
worker's paychecks place unsustainable cost on small 
businesses. Entrepreneurs propel our economy forward by 
creating jobs, burying these burgeoning businesses in an 
avalanche of red tape hampers job creation.
    But that fact isn't stopping the Biden administration from 
planning a deluge of detrimental regulations. Perhaps most 
frustrating to our fellow citizens trying to build a better 
live for themselves, is the Democrats unabashed union 
favoritism. Democrats wasted no time gratifying the whims of 
big labor after taking hold the levers of Federal power.
    I'll give them credit; Democrats know how to reward those 
who butter their bread. The problem is they do so at the 
expense of American workers and taxpayers. In the first 150 
days of the year my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
moved legislation to override the democratic will of the people 
by eliminating states' right-to-work laws and shifting 
essential privacy protections from workers.
    They promoted a $15.00 minimum wage, a radical proposal the 
Congressional Budget Office estimates will dump millions of 
workers in the unemployment line. Democrats continue to take 
care of big labor with a shameful taxpayer funded pension 
bailout. The Democrats radical pro-union Boss's Act initiates 
government manded union pickpocketing.
    The program skims the tops of worker's wages regardless of 
whether they choose to be represented by a union and transfers 
that money into the pockets of union organizers. Stealing from 
the poor to give to the rich is hardly progressive 
policymaking.
    Democrats trampled on the American workers in their 
stampede to appease their political allies. And the latest 
Biden budget continues the betrayal of the working class. It 
doesn't have to be this way. It shouldn't be this way. We could 
work together for families.
    Republican policies facilitated unprecedented financial 
success for all Americans before COVID-19 devastated their own 
economy. The economic hangover created by the pandemic does not 
have to last forever. We could return to the dynamic growth of 
2019 if Democrats acted in bipartisan good faith.
    Republicans have effective ideas to lower drug prices off 
of reskilling opportunity for the workforce, and right now 
regulatory barriers to entrepreneurial success, but it requires 
willingness from the Democrats to work across the aisle.
    It requires an interest in elevating everyone, not just 
partisan allies. Secretary Walsh has much to explain today, and 
I look forward to hearing his testimony. And with that Mr. 
Chairman I yield back.
    [The statement of Ranking Member Foxx follows:]

           Statement of Hon. Virginia Foxx, Ranking Member, 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

    A post-pandemic nation requires political leaders who support job 
creation and stand for all workers' interests, not special interests. 
Workers want to provide for their families and participate in what was 
until last year the most robust and dynamic economy in the world. 
Sadly, the Democrats' permanent pandemic status quo continues to 
inflict severe emotional and financial stress on Americans. People 
crave a reason to be optimistic about the future.
    Unfortunately, President Biden's proposed budget puts Washington's 
political class ahead of the working class.
    The Department of Labor's job-killing agenda comes at the worst 
possible time. Just yesterday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 
that job openings reached a record high of 9.3 million in April, while 
hiring lags far behind. Employers are desperate to fill good-paying 
jobs, but qualified workers are hard to find. Earn-and-learn models 
teach valuable skills and allow people to collect a paycheck at the 
same time. Yet Secretary Walsh shut down a popular industry-led 
apprenticeship model in one of his first decisions after taking office.
    If only DOL's anti-worker agenda stopped there, but that was simply 
the first wave. The tide of terrible decisions rose higher. Democrats 
spent trillions of our grandchildren's dollars on so-called stimulus 
policies. They expected massive growth. Instead, they are making 
excuses for one lackluster jobs report after another. Through their 
ill-advised and damaging unemployment insurance scheme, Democrats wound 
up creating an incentive for healthy Americans to stay home. It is not 
our constituents' fault. They are merely taking the better deal. Eight-
hour shifts are pointless when one can collect a perversely large 
unemployment check from the government. The Democrat's ill-conceived 
spending spree stripped away the dignity that comes from earning a 
paycheck.
    The Department of Labor then unleashed an ongoing tsunami which is 
obliterating the positive policy initiatives of the Trump 
administration. Along with pushing an unnecessary and ill-timed, one-
size-fits-all national ``emergency'' COVID-19 regulation; supporting a 
socialist health care agenda; denying American workers the 
opportunities to choose when, where, and how they work; and infringing 
on religious liberty, the Biden administration has provoked a strong 
sense of uncertainty among America's workers and job creators with its 
job-killing agenda.
    The Biden regulatory whiplash is manifest in our lethargic economic 
recovery. Job creators need certainty and flexibility from Federal 
policymakers. Aggressive and punitive regulatory actions, coupled with 
competition from the government for workers' paychecks, place 
unsustainable costs on small businesses. Entrepreneurs propel our 
economy forward by creating jobs. Burying these burgeoning businesses 
in an avalanche of red tape hampers job creation. But that fact isn't 
stopping the Biden administration from planning a deluge of detrimental 
regulations.
    Perhaps most frustrating to our fellow citizens trying to build a 
better life for themselves is the Democrats' unabashed union 
favoritism. Democrats wasted no time gratifying the whims of Big Labor 
after taking hold the levers of Federal power. I'll give them credit; 
House Democrats know how to reward those who butter their bread. The 
problem is they do so at the expense of American workers. In the first 
150 days of the year, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
moved legislation to override the democratic will of the people by 
eliminating states' right to work laws and stripping essential privacy 
protections from workers. They promoted a $15 national minimum wage--a 
radical proposal the Congressional Budget Office estimates will dump 
millions of workers in the unemployment line. Democrats continued to 
take care of Big Labor with a shameful taxpayer-funded pension bailout. 
The Democrats' radical Pro Union Bosses Act institutes government-
mandated union pickpocketing. The PRO Act skims the top off workers' 
wages regardless of whether they choose to be represented by a union 
and transfers that money into the pockets of union organizers. Stealing 
from the poor to give to the rich is hardly progressive policymaking. 
Democrats trampled on American workers in their stampede to appease 
their political allies. And the latest Biden budget continues the 
betrayal of the working class.
    It doesn't have to be this way. It shouldn't be this way. We can 
work together for families. Republican policies facilitated 
unprecedented financial success for all Americans before COVID-19 
devasted the world economy. The economic hangover created by the 
pandemic does not have to last forever. We could return to the dynamic 
growth of 2019 if Democrats acted in bipartisan good faith. Republicans 
have effective ideas to lower drug prices, offer reskilling 
opportunities for the workforce, and break down regulatory barriers to 
entrepreneurial success. But it requires willingness from the Democrats 
to work across the aisle. It requires an interest in elevating 
everyone, not just partisan allies.
    Secretary Walsh has much to explain today, and I look forward to 
hearing his testimony.
                                 ______
                                 
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Without objection all other 
Members who wish to insert written statements into the record 
may do so by submitting them to the Committee Clerk 
electronically in Microsoft Word format by 5 p.m. on June 23, 
2021.
    It is now my honor to introduce our witness Honorable Marty 
Walsh who was sworn in as the 29th Secretary of Labor on March 
23, 2021. He served as the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts for 7 
years before becoming Secretary. Prior to that Secretary Walsh 
served as a State Representative in Massachusetts and is the 
President of the Laborer's Local 223 in Boston.
    He earned a bachelor's degree from Boston College. And we 
appreciate the Secretary for participating today and look 
forward to your testimony. Let me remind you that we have read 
your written statement, and it will appear in full in the 
hearing record.
    Pursuant to Committee Rule 8(b) and Committee practice, 
you're asked to limit your oral presentation to about a five-
minute summary of your written statement. Before you begin your 
testimony please remember to unmute your microphone. If you 
experience technical difficulties during your testimony or 
later in the hearing you should stay connected to the platform 
to make sure that you're muted, and use your phone immediately 
to call the Committee's IT director whose number was provided 
to you in advance.
    After your presentation, we'll move to Member questions. 
When answering questions please remember to unmute your 
microphone. You will see the timer that I referred to in my 
opening statement on the screen. Secretary Walsh, it's an honor 
to have you with us today and please proceed with your 
testimony.

 STATEMENT OF HON. MARTIN J. WALSH, SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT 
                            OF LABOR

    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Chairman Scott and Ranking 
Member Foxx, Members of the Committee. I'm grateful for this 
opportunity to outline the Biden/Harris administration's plan 
for strengthening the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
and supporting the critical work of the Department of Labor in 
the President's fiscal 2022 budget.
    Since being sworn in as Secretary of Labor I've been able 
to meet with working people in businesses throughout this 
country. American workers have carried us through the pandemic. 
They've struggled and they've sacrificed. What they want and 
deserve is access to high-quality good-paying jobs to support 
their families and build back their communities.
    So I really appreciate the opportunity to share our vision 
for this meeting at this moment. WIOA was a law that was signed 
into law in 2014 with the goal of modernizing our workforce 
systems to better reflect the needs of the 21st Century 
economy. Today we face even greater challenges, so we need 
transformative solutions like the President has proposed in the 
American Jobs Plan, The American Families Plan in its fiscal 
1922 budget.
    That means as Congress considers reauthorization of this 
law, we have a historic opportunity. We can strengthen WIOA and 
build on it by integrating the innovation provided in the 
American Jobs Plan. As Members of the Committee know, the 
impact of WIOA has been limited by deeply inadequate funding.
    The United States spends only 0.1 percent of its gross 
domestic products on workforce policy, compared to an average 
of 0.6 percent in other wealthy nations. This deficit leaves in 
place barriers to opportunity for much of our workforce, 
especially in marginalized communities, and it's a competitive 
disadvantage for our economy.
    The President recognizes the critical role workforce 
development plays in strengthening our economy and our 
competitiveness on the world stage. That's why WIOA proposed 
historic investment of 100 billion dollars over 10 years in 
workforce development.
    Much of this is planned investment dedicated to building 
the capacity of our current workforce system. It would support 
evidence-based programs developed through WIOA funding. Scaling 
these innovations will help meet the growing needs of employers 
and bring more workers into well-paying middle class jobs.
    The President and I are also deeply committed to the equity 
in the American workforce. We have made equity a central 
component of WIOA's recommendations in the full budget. Many 
communities continue to face systemic racist, and persistent 
economic inequality. They lack real access to critical job 
training programs and in demand jobs.
    The President is committed to ensuring everyone can get a 
good paying high-quality job, including women, people of color, 
people with disabilities, veterans, transitioning service 
Members and their spouses. That commitment is central to 
building back better and it's a core goal of the WIOA law.
    For these reasons the administration's recommendations 
focus on four priority areas aligning WIOA with key proposals 
in the American Jobs Plan, expanding access to high-quality 
training and service matched to good jobs, improving data, 
transparency, and accountability to promote equitable outcomes, 
and integrate workforce education and public assistance systems 
to reach workers and deliver for regional economies.
    I am eager to work with the Committee to fully realize 
WIOA's potential and truly meet the needs of the 21st Century 
economy and its workers. At the same time, we also recognize 
that training is not enough. Training must lead to good quality 
jobs, jobs that pay family sustaining wages and benefits, jobs 
with opportunities to create advancement through training and 
education, jobs with access to paid leave, and the assurance 
that workers can use their voice and organize to improve pay 
and working conditions.
    That's why the President's budget proposal advances the 
full mission of the Department of Labor. It not only invests in 
our workforce system, but it also takes a step to provide the 
first comprehensive update to the UI system in decades. It 
calls for the reauthorization of the Trade Adjustment 
Assistance program, and it protects workers safety, paycheck's 
rights, and benefits by increasing funding through the 
Department's enforcement agencies.
    I look forward to discussing these proposals with this 
Committee as well. Under President Biden's leadership we have 
the opportunity to build back better by building up our ability 
to serve the working people of America. I look forward to 
continuing our work together on these issues and other 
priorities.
    And before I end my statement I would just like a minute 
Mr. Chairman just to let people know OIRA has concluded their 
review of the ETS. Normally there's a long delay between the 
conclusion of review and the publication of OSHA standards in 
the Federal Register, but our team is working to release the 
ETS on OSHA's website by this time tomorrow, and speed up the 
release of the specifics.
    We know there's lots of interest in the content of this 
rule, and we want to get more information on it. OSHA has 
tailored a rule that focuses on healthcare, that science tells 
us that healthcare workers, particularly those who have come 
into regular contact with people either suspected of having or 
being treated for COVID-19 are most at risk.
    OSHA has tailored a rule that reflects the reality on the 
ground. The success of all government vaccination efforts plus 
the largest guidance from CDC in changing the nature of the 
pandemic. We also expect to release some updated guidance for 
general industry which also affects the CDC's latest guidance 
and tells employers how to protect workers who have not yet 
been vaccinated.
    So with that I'll take questions on that. I look forward to 
the questions Mr. Chairman.
    [The prepared statement of Secretary Walsh follows.]

               Prepared Statement of Hon. Martin J. Walsh
               
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]





    Chairman Scott. Thank you very much and I certainly 
appreciate your testimony and we'll now have questions from 
Members beginning with the gentleman from Arizona Mr. Grijalva.
    Mr. Grijalva. Thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Chairman 
and thank you Secretary for being with us. As we heard, as you 
will hear today many of my republican colleagues have talked 
about the so-called labor shortages, particularly in the 
leisure and hospitality sector caused by in part, in large 
part, according to them, by the supplemental unemployment 
benefits that were provided, and continue to be provided during 
this pandemic.
    The jobs report from Friday showed that employment in the 
sector actually increased by close to 300,000 in May as the 
restrictions on the pandemic ease up in parts of the country. 
My question is it with all that being said, and do you think 
that the real and persistent issue that our country faces and 
the Biden administration and yourself and congressional 
Democrats are trying to solve is a shortage of good paying 
jobs, high-quality jobs, wages that are being paid?
    Or is it just caused by supplemental unemployment benefits 
that were provided during the pandemic as a recovery and a 
relief measure. Secretary if you would please, thank you.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman, for your question. 
First and foremost I just want to say how grateful I am for the 
unemployment insurance system from the beginning of this 
pandemic before when COVID-19 really started hitting our cities 
across America. I was the mayor of Boston and if we didn't have 
the unemployment insurance, and Congress didn't act on 
unemployment insurance in the CARES Act and the American Rescue 
Plan, we would have had a lot more devastation in our cities 
and towns across America.
    People would have lost their homes. People would have been 
thrown out of their apartments. People wouldn't be able to put 
food on the table. We would have had a lot of crises. In the 
beginning of COVID-19 the economy literally was shut down what 
seemed like overnight, but over several days.
    To regenerate and restart our economy it's going to take 
more than simply flipping a switch as the President said the 
other day. I think that a lot of the concern people have is we 
have right now in America over 268 million people have been 
vaccinated. People still haven't been fully vaccinated. I think 
this is adding to people and the concern of going back to work.
    I think people are concerned about their health. I think 
lots of industries still aren't open yet. The encouraging signs 
are that the last 4 months we've seen in addition to 540,000 
new jobs added to the economy for each of the last 4 months, 
and as you've pointed out Mr. Congressman you've talked about 
the hospitality industry.
    We've seen a lot of gains for two consistent months there. 
We've seen that President Biden's economic plans are working. 
The American Rescue Plan is working, and we're seeing Americans 
every day more and more go back to work. And I think that we 
still have some inefficiencies that we have to deal with in 
childcare in learning hybrid schools. So I'm encouraged that 
with the signs that we're seeing and through the month of May 
and I want to continue to be encouraged as long as the 
pandemic, the numbers continue to go down as we move forward 
here.
    But I will say this. I do not feel that the $300.00 bonus 
is keeping people out of work. If that was the original 
intention of your question. Thank you, Congressman.
    Mr. Grijalva. Thank you very much and with that Mr. 
Chairman thank you for the hearing, and the Secretary for being 
with us and I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you and I'll be recognizing Members 
in order of seniority, and we ask you to notice the time. We're 
going to keep within the five-minute rule. So thank you Mr. 
Grijalva and the next person to ask questions will be the 
gentleman from South Carolina Mr. Wilson.
    Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Chairman and thank you Ranking 
Member Virginia Foxx, both of you for your leadership of the 
Committee. Secretary Walsh I represent the historic Savannah 
Rivers site in Aiken, South Carolina. Many of the patriots who 
worked at this site are the persons who were successful through 
a cold war victory.
    Now they're eligible for energy employees' occupational 
interest compensation program, the EEOICP. This office has had 
an issue about complaints when it comes to navigating the 
program, and also barriers to appropriate care. Do you have 
plans to work with the stakeholders to develop a more 
transparent, equitable, and claimant friendly adjudication 
process as Congress has intended?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Mr. Congressman. I absolutely 
will work with you on. And look forward to working with you. We 
should probably connect maybe after the hearing or over the 
next couple of days, and obviously your constituents are 
concerned, and the industry is concerned as a whole workers, so 
I look forward to working with you on that.
    Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much for that offer, and we will 
be in touch, and I appreciate your sincerity on that. 
Additionally, the energy employees program in 2019, the 
ombudsman report mentioned complaints regarding collection 
notices received for a bill that they thought was paid for by 
the program, or in obtaining emergency home healthcare 
services.
    A paraphrase from the report is that, ``Stress from health 
problems combined with the problems we're trying to resolve 
these medical bills in fear of financial impact arising from 
unpaid medical bills have led some claimants to assert they 
wish they had not filed a claim in the first place.''
    What steps do you plan to take to improve the medical claim 
adjudication process and delivery of promised goods to ensure 
that the medical providers are compensated in a timely manner?
    Secretary Walsh. Certainly, Congressman this is an 
important issue, and we can definitely work better to make this 
program work on behalf of the workers and the people affected 
by it.
    Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much. Another question would be 
the U.S. Department of Labor has recognized the apprenticeship 
of South Carolina, a division of the South Carolina technical 
college system as a national model for providing apprenticeship 
expansion and to collaboration among State agencies engaged in 
workforce development.
    Through Federal grants and supplemental State funding the 
apprenticeship of South Carolina has been able to offer 
superior customer service to South Carolina businesses when it 
comes to navigating the burdensome Federal apprenticeship 
program. And I'm really grateful that the proposed courier and 
newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina where people have a 
very similar accent to yours in Boston, that in Charleston the 
newspaper there has endorsed this program.
    And what are your efforts to promote apprenticeship 
programs?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you for talking about this area. 
When I was going through my hearing back in March, Democrats 
and Republicans all agreed on needs for workforce development 
in community colleges. And it's a great opportunity for us to 
really make major investments in our community colleges to help 
young people that go to college, or people going to college 
whether they're on a pathway to college, or a pathway to a 
career.
    So part of the WIOA reauthorization, part of the investment 
in the American Jobs Plan, all of this is what we really need 
to take advantage. When I say advantage, a good advantage, of 
our community college system that's already in our country to 
be able to make the investments in those colleges, so they can 
make the investment in the American workforce, so I look 
forward to working with your community college in your 
district, but also community college all across this country, 
and thank you for bringing this up in the hearing.
    I think this is one of the most important things when we 
think about the future of workforce development, community 
colleges need to be at the table from the first day to the 
last.
    Mr. Wilson. Thank you again for your insight on that. And 
finally a question in regard to the Inspector General's alert 
memorandum issued in February of this year, identified more 
than 5.4 billion dollars of potentially fraudulent unemployment 
insurance payments between March 2020 and October 2020, 
anticipating that the actual amounts could be significant 
higher.
    I'm grateful that with the leadership in our home State 
with Governor Henry McMaster in South Carolina, that we've been 
diligent in adopting tools to mitigate fraud through a cross 
system checking careful staff scrutiny of applications and 
implementation of fraud indicators. What are you proposing for 
other states?
    Secretary Walsh. Well right now through the American Rescue 
Plan there was a 2 billion dollar investment in our team at ETA 
is working right now on policy and looking at how do we look at 
all of the issues that came up during the pandemic, both before 
the pandemic, and how do we make sure that the UI system works 
on behalf of the American worker, so we can eliminate the 
problems that we're seeing.
    Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much and I yield back Mr. 
Chairman.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Next will be the gentleman from 
Connecticut, Mr. Courtney.
    Mr. Courtney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Secretary, 
it's good to see you again. Thank you for your May 4th visit up 
to Groton, to visit the electrical shipyard and the home and 
the birthplace of the Fitzgerald Act Registered Partnership 
Program and I think we all got a very good opportunity to see 
the success of the Registered Apprenticeship Program, with both 
the building trades and the shipyard workers.
    I'm going to ask you a question about that in a second, but 
I wanted to spend a minute. On April 4th, the House passed an 
OSHA bill, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Healthcare 
Workers and Social Workers. It passed actually with over 60 
percent bipartisan margin.
    As you pointed out, the healthcare workforce has been the 
true front line during the pandemic, but there's a colliding 
epidemic of workplace violence that this Committee has 
documented through GAO. The Department of Labor has had 
voluntary guidance out there for a number of years, but it's 
not working, and the COVID pandemic did not abate the incidents 
of assaults and unacceptable levels of violence in the 
healthcare sector.
    Again, I was pleased to see in your budget you've allocated 
funding for OSHA to implement a workplace violence standard 
rule, and I hope again you will help us in the Senate to try 
and achieve the same bipartisan success which again multiple 
healthcare professional groups and labor groups are supporting 
this bill.
    This is really about preventing burnout in a key sector of 
our economy.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman. It's great to see 
you again and we did have a great visit that day. I want to 
thank you. And I want to thank you on your leadership in this 
important issue. You know all across America we hear violence 
happening around healthcare, nurses, aides, doctors, and it's 
really an issue.
    OSHA strongly supports your bill that's being considered by 
the Senate. You know we're going to continue to push in 
addition to that, to that legislation. Now is the time for OSHA 
to take the steps necessary toward developing a standard of 
addressing workplace violence.
    I look forward to working with you and other Members of 
this Committee and Members of the House and Senate to talk 
about that. I know that during the Obama administration OSHA 
granted rulemaking petitions seeking such a standard, but the 
last administration took no action on that decision, so I look 
forward to working with you.
    This is an issue that I'm quite honestly, I worked on a bit 
when I was a State legislator back 25 years ago, in the 
Massachusetts House of Representatives, so I look forward to 
working with you on it.
    Mr. Courtney. Great. Well I really appreciate that. Again 
turning to apprenticeships and workforce development, as I said 
the two of us had a chance to sort of see first-hand how you 
can size up a workforce really fast as is happening at Electric 
Boat and also use solid standards in terms of making sure that 
the training programs both pre-apprenticeship and 
apprenticeship have real quality and high standards.
    Again your testimony, your written testimony notice that 
again the House passed, the National Apprenticeship Act which 
is the first update to the Fitzgerald Act which passed in 1937. 
Could you talk about the way the WIOA funding and initiative in 
the Jobs Plan sort of dovetails in with the Apprenticeship 
Program?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes no, absolutely. First and foremost, 
just for the Members of the Committee on that trip that when we 
visited Electric Boat that day there were two young people 
there that were apprentices. And both of them express now they 
have an opportunity to earn a living now by being in the 
apprentice program working for a company that actually does 
contracting with the Federal Government, which is important, 
it's a win/win.
    And how one of them said that college was not for him. And 
if this opportunity was not presented to him, he wouldn't have 
had a way to earn a living. So right there there's proof in 
that apprenticeships work, workforce development works.
    What we're looking at doing is making a major investment in 
apprenticeship programs through the American Jobs Plan. The 
President has allocated, I think I'm trying to get the exact 
figure, I think 285 million dollars which will create 2 million 
more registered apprentice programs in this country.
    And it will benefit every single district in the United 
States of America with young people that quite honestly might 
make decisions instead of going to college, they don't want to 
go to college, get into the workforce. And the minute they 
start working as an apprentice, they start giving into the 
economy.
    They start paying taxes. They start being a part of 
society, they start earning a wage, earning a living, 
healthcare, all of that, so this investment of 200 plus billion 
dollars I should say, not millions, billions, is a great 
investment for the future of the workforce.
    Ranking Member Foxx in the very beginning talked about 
people not being in the workforce. Some of this is about 
creating an opportunity for some of those folks that want to 
better their life, want to be able to get in a better job, and 
there's no better way of doing it than through the WIOA 
reauthorization, the investment in the American Jobs Plan, and 
really looking at workforce development and apprenticeships.
    Mr. Courtney. Very well said. Thank you. I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Next is the gentleman from 
Michigan Mr. Walberg.
    Mr. Walberg. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Secretary 
thank, you for being with us virtually today. First let me 
start by saying that I sincerely appreciate your efforts as 
mayor of Boston to combat human trafficking. Eliminating this 
scourge in society is something I care very deeply about, and 
next week my good friend and colleague, Representative Sablan 
and I will reintroduce our Enhancing Detection of Human 
Trafficking Act to ensure the Department of Labor employees 
have the skills they need to detect cases of human trafficking 
in the workplace.
    And I look forward Mr. Secretary to working with you on 
this issue as I know it's something we both care deeply about.
    Changing subjects, as we all know on May 13th the CDC said 
that fully vaccinated people can begin returning to normal 
life, mask free without the need for physical distancing in 
most settings. I hate to ask it this way, but I need to ask you 
a yes or no question. Does the Department want citizens and 
State leaders to follow the guidance put out by the CDC, yes or 
no?
    Secretary Walsh. Kind I just before I answer that question 
let me just first your first point, thank you very much for 
acknowledging that. We did a lot of work in the city of Boston. 
I look forward to working with you on human trafficking. We 
created a division within the Boston Police Department for 
human trafficking, and I'm not going to publicly say some of 
the other things we did because it's protection of the 
traffickers but thank you for that.
    The answer to your question is, is it's hard to say yes or 
no, but yes, I'd like to see people back to work. But there's a 
but there with the virus.
    Mr. Walberg. Your Department has decided to continue 
forward with an emergency temporary standard ETS that employers 
must adhere to in the workplace. Now the Department of Labor 
rule has not yet been published, but per the President's 
executive order the Department must consider the requirements 
for masks to be worn in the workplace, and that concerns me.
    Secretary Walsh. I just want to clarify it just on the 
medical.
    Mr. Walberg. Where everyone is fully vaccinated should 
workers wear a mask.
    Secretary Walsh. Sorry I don't know if you've heard in the 
beginning just really quickly, just so I was clear. Maybe I 
wasn't clear. This is just in the healthcare field. The 
standard is just for healthcare. All the other industries it's 
going to be a guidance, so we're just talking in hospitals, in 
healthcare settings with nurses, doctors, where you have 
potentially high risk of contact with COVID patients.
    So this isn't blanketed across the industries.
    Mr. Walberg. I'm glad to hear that. But I contend again if 
you're fully vaccinated, you're protected. And I think we ought 
to follow the science at some point in time, and even giving 
guidance I think is not truthful in the fact that if you want 
to follow the science CDC says it's right. We've seen the 
impact.
    Even here in Michigan because of the vaccinated individuals 
we have dropped below any surge going back to July of last 
year. So I think the answer should be let's let people go back 
to work and do it in a normal fashion. Cases are down and 
continuing to decline. Hospitalizations are down, and as the 
President noted on June 2, over 170 million Americans have 
received the vaccine.
    Is the Department's position a grave danger still exists to 
American workers?
    Secretary Walsh. I think that the answer to that is 
impossible for me to be able to answer that fully. I'm not a 
scientist unfortunately, and I think that you know I like the 
signs of where we're headed with COVID-19. I love the fact that 
our numbers are going down, however people are still dying, and 
people are still getting infected.
    But I want us to continue. Listen, in my previous role as 
mayor one of the worst things that could happen.
    Mr. Walberg. With all due respect I suggest we follow the 
science because you know to not do that, why would the 
Department of Labor continue its policy of issuing one size 
fits all rule when the CDC is saying vaccinated people can 
start living normally?
    Let me move on from that. I don't think we're going to 
fully agree on that, but I hope we can move forward. The most 
recent jobs report reported 9.3 million vacant job openings in 
March. That's more than 1 million higher than at the end of 
April. And the fastest growth rates since July 2020.
    Additionally, your own Inspector General pointed out that 
there's been at least 39.2 billion in wasted fraud in the 
pandemic unemployment programs, that by the end of September. 
Secretary Walsh given the plunge in COVID-19 cases, 
unprecedented challenges in business that all sides are 
experiencing, in my district and many other places, is it time 
for this Federal emergency employment insurance to be 
immediately terminated?
    Secretary Walsh. I'll give you a simple answer to that, no.
    Mr. Walberg. But I'll tell you.
    Chairman Scott. The gentleman's time is way over. If you 
want to complete your thought, the gentleman from Michigan 
complete his thought.
    Mr. Walberg. I guess to complete the thought it says that 
what we're seeing in the real world with job providers here in 
the 7th District of Michigan and other places this is having a 
significant impact on people getting back to work. I think it's 
time to end it. Thanks for the discretion and I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentleman from Northern 
Mariana Islands Mr. Sablan.
    Mr. Sablan. Yes thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Chairman 
and Secretary Walsh good morning and thank you very much for 
joining us. Mr. Secretary I negotiated the Marianas eligibility 
for PUA and FPUC based on the government's experience in 
administering the Disaster Unemployment Assistance Program. And 
with no underlying UI system, delays were understandably 
expected.
    However, according to your Department's Office of the 
Inspector General, it took 111 days for the first payment to be 
issued, the highest reported delay in implementation of 
jurisdictions. My constituents report delays in payments that 
range from weeks to months, in some cases, approved individuals 
have been waiting over a year for payments since filing a claim 
last June.
    According to claims data provided in April by your 
Department, the Marianas received over 383 million dollars, but 
has spent 190 million of that--so just under half. What actions 
Mr. Secretary is your Department taking to make sure that the 
aid Congress made available is getting to the people who it was 
intended for in my district?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you. Thank you Representative, and I 
appreciate your concern. I want to first say to you the 
Department is committed to working obviously with you and your 
office in Congress and OIG to ensure the proper administration 
of the UI program.
    The program's administration and integrity, we need to work 
hard to improve the distribution I should say of benefits. I 
drew a blank there for a minute. We need to continue to work 
hard so that this doesn't happen again. No worker should have 
to go through this. No area of our country should have to go 
through this, and I look forward to working hard with you and 
folks in ETA so that we correct this problem.
    We've noticed during the pandemic obviously there were some 
problems and some situations that arose in different 
situations, so we have work to do here.
    Mr. Sablan. Yes thank you Secretary Walsh for that. Again, 
you know at the risk of repeating myself, my Marianas 
constituents have reported instances of PUA checks returned for 
insufficient funds, or inconsistent pay dates where the payment 
was scheduled and then did not occur. Mr. Secretary will you 
please agree to commit to working with me and your Office of 
Inspector General to review the Commonwealth's government's 
administration of the PUA and FPUC programs and provide the 
Commonwealth Department of Labor the necessary steps to get the 
programs on track.
    People are waiting for benefits meant for them for months, 
some a year or more.
    Secretary Walsh. The answer, the short answer to your 
question is yes. And there's lot of lessons learned throughout 
this pandemic and the shortfalls of our system as I mentioned 
earlier, and I didn't probably articulate correctly in the 
beginning. You know when the pandemic hit many cities and towns 
and states and territories around the country had issues with 
how do we administer a program so quickly?
    I will not blame the people at the Department of Labor, 
they did an amazing job getting hundreds of billions of dollars 
out of the front door, but it surely showed inequities in our 
system, and even today we still have communities of color that 
were disproportionately impacted by not getting benefits out 
the door.
    So there's lots of lessons that were learned. I want to 
thank you and Congress for passing the American Rescue Plan for 
the two-billion-dollar investment. That money that was invested 
in the system is for us to look at the system, look at the 
areas where we fell short. Look at the areas where there was 
problems, look at the areas where there was fraud, and how do 
we help strengthen the 53 systems that are around the country 
right now?
    We're currently in the process of having those 
conversations, and we are going to continue to have those 
conversations. So thank you for bringing this up today.
    Mr. Sablan. I appreciate that and you know of course it's 
not a massive volume, my government, my Commonwealth government 
took the longest to actually get the first check out of 111 
days, the highest known in the Nation, but Mr. Secretary thank 
you very much. Mr. Chairman I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Yes, next we have the gentlelady 
from New York, Ms. Stefanik.
    Ms. Stefanik. Secretary Walsh I wanted to followup on the 
question that my colleague Mr. Walberg asked regarding the 
additional Federal unemployment assistance. Recent data from 
the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported a record 9.3 
million job openings as workers are incentivized to sit at home 
because of this additional $300.00 per week of enhanced Federal 
unemployment insurance.
    According to a recent report from the University of 
Chicago, 42 percent of American workers are earning more 
through unemployment insurance that they are making in their 
pre-pandemic jobs. I'm hearing from small business and 
manufacturers all across my district, and all across the 
country who are absolutely desperate to fill these vacant job 
openings.
    So as the American people are focused on reopening our 
economy and you go to any main street in America you see for 
hire signs. I believe in the American people and small business 
believe that we need to end this additional $300.00 per week.
    [Inaudible.]
    And small businesses across this country, and why to stay 
at home rather than incentivizing reopening. Am I coming 
through now Bobby?
    Chairman Scott. Yes, you are.
    Ms. Stefanik. OK.
    Chairman Scott. Yes, you just got back.
    Ms. Stefanik. Great. So the question, is the incentive is 
such that more workers are staying home rather than getting 
back to work. And you go to any main street across America and 
there's a for hire sign at small businesses. Why are we 
continuing to promote this incentive for workers to stay home 
rather than getting back to work?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you very much for your question and 
concern. I think that I want to start with the fact is that the 
President's economic plan is working. For the last 4 months 
we've created more jobs than any other administration in 
American history, more than 2 million people are now working 
that were not when President Biden took office, and we're 
seeing wages go up as well.
    Both are positive steps, and you know we just need to 
continue to work with companies.
    Ms. Stefanik. What we're seeing Mr. Secretary that the 
labor force participation is down. That's what we saw in the 
most recent jobs report that was released, and again you go to 
any small business, the No. 1 issue they raise is that they're 
unable to hire workers.
    In my district in upState New York you go to any main 
street and that is the issue, the lack for hiring. I guess my 
followup question is are you going to collect data from states 
who have wowed down this Federal unemployment assistance and 
compare it to states that have not, so we can truly see the 
impact of this Federal employment assistance.
    Secretary Walsh. Actually in that question no State has 
done it yet, they've only mentioned it, but no one has actually 
taken that action.
    Ms. Stefanik. Well when they do that will that data be 
collected?
    Secretary Walsh. I'm assuming. Well I can look at it and 
see if it is. The unemployment extension runs out in September. 
So I'm not sure when they're going to take action on it.
    Ms. Stefanik. Great. So that's not my question. My question 
is willing the Department collect that data?
    Secretary Walsh. Of course I said it. At the beginning I 
said I would look into it.
    Ms. Stefanik. OK great, so I'll take that as a yes that 
they will look into that data so we can see the comparison 
because my bet, and you talk to any small businesses, I bet 
we're going to see much stronger job growth in states that wind 
it down than in states that don't.
    My second question is regarding the payroll audit 
independence termination program, the PAID program. This was of 
course as you know established by the Trump administration in 
2018 to encourage business owners to conduct payroll audits and 
to self-report violations of any are discovered. We of course 
want workers to be paid what they are owed.
    Between its inception and July of last year this successful 
program resulted in more than 7 million dollars in back wages 
paid to more than 11,000 workers. It secured four times the 
amount of back wages compared to traditional full enforcement 
investigations and more than 10 times the back wages per labor 
department's staff hours invested, and yet despite the success 
this administration has chosen to end this program, why was 
that decision made?
    Secretary Walsh. I'm not familiar with this program. I'd 
have to get more information on it, I honestly am not familiar 
with this program at all.
    Ms. Stefanik. OK. So as the Secretary of the Department 
you're not familiar with the decision to wind down a successful 
program to get workers? wages that they're owed?
    Secretary Walsh. Like I said to you I will look into it, 
and I will get back to you on this.
    Ms. Stefanik. OK that's very concerning. I look forward to 
the response on that. It was an effective program, and I'm very 
concerned that the Secretary of Labor is not familiar with the 
decision made to wind down the program. Thank you I yield back.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you.
    Chairman Scott. The gentlelady's time has expired. Next is 
the gentlelady from Florida Ms. Wilson.
    Ms. Wilson. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you Secretary 
Walsh for coming before our Committee today. As Chair of the 
Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee I 
welcome your full investment in job training and workforce 
development.
    I also look forward to working directly with you on a 
robust reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act. And as an original cosponsor of the PRO Act I 
great appreciate President Biden's and your support for this 
landmark legislation. I had the opportunity to Chair three 
hearings on the PRO Act during the last Congress.
    I applaud you and President Biden for fighting to build 
back our economy and we all share the commitment to ensuring 
that all workers are allowed to organize and collectively 
bargain. As you all know, unions are the backbone of American 
economic prosperity.
    With that I have a few questions Secretary. The 
administration is calling for a 1.5-billion-dollar 
appropriation for dislocated workers. Would the administration 
support an expansion of eligibility for dislocated worker 
program through reauthorization that would take into account 
gig workers who wouldn't automatically qualify for these 
services?
    Secretary Walsh. We are looking into that now as we move 
forward here, and I look forward to working with you on that 
Congresswoman to see exactly some of the areas you want us to 
look at as well.
    Ms. Wilson. Thank you so much and thank you for allowing 
virtual enrollment for Job Corps centers. And as we move past 
that, when will Job Corps resume normal enrollments and non-
residential enrollments particularly for vaccinated students? 
And when will Job Corps begin complying with current guidelines 
on vaccinations including no longer requiring vaccinated 
students to quarantine upon entry?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you for that. I had a conversation 
yesterday with some of the job corps folks to talk about we 
talked about the online signup. You know we talked about making 
sure as we reopen job corps, as we get people back into the 
classrooms and back into the facilities that we do it safely 
and to make sure we continue to buildup a team.
    I'm hoping that they're working on proposals now. I was in 
Memphis a couple weeks ago. I had a chance to visit a Job Corps 
in Memphis. They have a beautiful facility there, beautiful 
grounds, and they had no kids and a few instructors. So I 
thought to myself what a shame that this place is not filled 
with lots of life and doing some amazing training, so we are 
working there.
    But we also have to make sure that we in some cases, make 
sure that our young people have access to the vaccine that want 
to take the vaccine, and then also we want to make sure as 
we're building up the team there, part of this is also a 
culture of teamwork, working together, the young people working 
together. So our ETA folks are working really hard to make sure 
that we can continue.
    And Job Corps folks I really should say, and the staff, 
working to make sure we can open up Job Corps safely and 
effectively and make a big impact on many young people's lives.
    Ms. Wilson. Thank you so much. As the economy reopens, why 
is it important that workers be able to earn at least $15.00 an 
hour, at least?
    Secretary Walsh. You're asking me why? Listen, you know, I 
know you know this. The minimum wage in this country is too 
low. There's no way that a family of one can raise themselves 
on $7.25. A $15.00 minimum wage is a baseline that would be 
able to help people earn higher wages, a better living. I think 
that that's something that we owe to the people in this 
country.
    And I think it's something that we're able to do in many 
states around the country, including my home State of 
Massachusetts. The impact of raising that minimum wage did not 
cause any job loss. As a matter of fact it was quite honest it 
was job gain. We're seeing increases in opportunities in 
Massachusetts and other states that have raised minimum wage, 
so I would love to work with you, and to see Congress and the 
Senate pass the minimum wage bill.
    That's something that President Biden is very adamant 
about. It's something that the American people are adamant 
about, and it's about helping all people right now. If we saw 
anything during this pandemic, we saw the inequities in my city 
where we saw food lines. We saw food lines in Dallas. We saw 
food lines all across this country, something that we weren't 
used to seeing except around holidays where poor people and 
homeless people came out.
    We owe the American people more, and I hope that we can get 
the $15.00 an hour minimum wage passed in both branches of the 
government on the President's desk.
    Ms. Wilson. Thank you so much. I appreciate you including 
that in your budget for a Federal minimum wage. And what can we 
do to make sure that we impose civil penalties against people 
who retaliate against workers who try to join a union?
    Secretary Walsh. I think one of the things the President 
put in the American Jobs Plan the PRO Act, and that's something 
that is and there is some other legislation up on capitol hill 
that would be looking out for the rights of workers.
    So I think again it's having a conversation, a dialog, with 
all Members of Congress about the importance of making sure 
that we protect worker's rights.
    Ms. Wilson. Thank you so much. I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentleman from Georgia, Mr. 
Allen. You're on mute.
    Mr. Allen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman can you hear me now? Mr. 
Secretary thank you for joining us today. Mr. Chairman thank 
you for having this hearing. Mr. Secretary my State of Georgia 
was one of the first states to reopen during the COVID crisis.
    We are currently closing in on pre-pandemic economic 
numbers. The biggest problem we're having, and you've heard 
this over and over again, is workers returning to the 
workforce. As you heard the number of workers who are not 
working, we've probably got another 20 million workers who are 
trapped on some form of welfare, and we know that work programs 
and the ability to go back to work creates a tremendous 
opportunity for those folks who have been stuck in generational 
welfare.
    Secretary Walsh, Labor and Management Reporting and 
Disclosure Act reporting requirements serve as the primary 
means by which more than 7 million private sector union Members 
receive information on how their dues are spent.
    On May 27, your Department's Office of Labor Management 
Standards published a proposed rule to rescind the Trump 
administration's final rule on labor organization trust. The 
Trump administration rule established the form T-1 which labor 
organizations are required to submit to OLMS disclosing assets, 
liabilities, receipts and disbursements for trust in which the 
union has a significant stake.
    Please explain how repealing this DOL rule that ensures 
financial transparency for union Members is in the best 
interest of American workers.
    Secretary Walsh. Mr. Congressman the fundamental question 
exists regarding the rule's legal basis and policy 
jurisdictions. But under the current rule the initial T-1 
report must be filed as soon as September 28. Did I lose you 
Mr. Congressman?
    Mr. Allen. No sir I'm here.
    Secretary Walsh. Oh I thought something was beeping here. 
So whether the jointly trusted trust can be considered under 
the rule of unions, so basically this rule did not change the 
way we can go in and check labor, and check labor unions.
    Mr. Allen. OK. Well we will continue to discuss that, and 
we'll do that offline, but I want to make sure that you 
understand exactly what my concern is there.
    Secretary Walsh. Mr. Congressman if I can try really 
quickly, I apologize.
    Mr. Allen. Yes.
    Secretary Walsh. We already collect the information and the 
rule that we rescinded was redundant, so we already collect 
that information. I apologize for not giving you the correct 
answer.
    Mr. Allen. OK. Secretary Walsh you testified before the 
House Appropriations Committee hearing in April, and my 
colleague Representative Andy Harris asked you if the 
Department of Labor would consider extending the RRASA stand-
alone telehealth exemption.
    Currently employers are allowed to offer standalone 
telehealth benefits to employees who are not eligible for full 
benefits, including seasonal or part-time workers. At the time 
you said that you would have to circle back with him. It's been 
probably a month since the hearing, and I'm sure you've had the 
opportunity to formulate some type of policy response.
    What does the Department of Labor support, or does the 
Department of Labor support extending the RRASA stand along 
telehealth exemption?
    Secretary Walsh. We still I don't have a full answer for 
the Congressman or for you today. We are still working on that 
situation and looking at what the reforms would look like and 
what the rules would look like.
    Mr. Allen. OK sir. And I've got about 45 seconds. In 
crafting the 86 billion taxpayer bailout of multi-employer 
pension system, congressional Democrats completely disregarded 
the extreme burden it placed on the American taxpayer, most of 
whom will not benefit from open-ended and extensive provisions.
    To put matters into a perspective according to the most 
recent TPGC data, a multi-employee system is collectively 
underfunded by 673 billion. You are Chair of the TPGC's Board 
of Directors. I've been in Congress four terms, and we've done 
nothing to fix this. What is your solution?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you for that. Thank you for 
acknowledging that you've been in Congress for a long time and 
now I'm trying to fix it, so I appreciate that. The Rescue Plan 
does address some of the funding issues. I had a meeting 
actually earlier today with the folks dealing with this issue, 
and it's a complicated issue.
    It's not a smooth one. You had mentioned the taxpayers 
paying to try and help this plan. Many of the folks that are in 
this plan are taxpayers as well living in districts around this 
country and on the verge of losing their pension, so I'm just 
really rolling my sleeves up on this issue and getting involved 
in it.
    It's one of the areas where when President Biden called me 
and asked me to be the Secretary of Labor I didn't realize I 
was going to be the Chairman of this Committee, and now that 
I'm the Chairman of his Committee you know I'm grateful that 
the Rescue Plan did get some funding and we have some work to 
do there, there's no question about it.
    Mr. Allen. No question we've got to fix the problem sir 
thank you. I yield back.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman.
    Chairman Scott. The gentleman's time has expired. The 
gentlelady from Oregon, Ms. Bonamici.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you, Chairman Scott and Ranking Member, 
Foxx, and thank you so much Secretary Walsh for joining us 
today. I'm very grateful for your leadership and the steadfast 
commitment from the Biden administration to make workers a 
priority, and I appreciate your partnership in helping to 
secure 100 billion dollars for workforce development programs 
in the American Jobs Plan. And I look forward to continuing to 
work with you to advance these efforts.
    With regard to the conversation about getting people back 
to work I speak with employers regularly, and the concerns I've 
heard frequently as recently as yesterday is that people can't 
find affordable childcare, and they can't find affordable 
housing. So moving on Mr. Secretary, many policies to support 
dislocated workers are fragmented and they put the burden on 
the worker to prove the cause of their displacement.
    For example, workers eligible for trade adjustment 
assistance receive benefits like income support, and help with 
their job search and training, but these services do not exist 
for workers who have been dislocated by causes other than 
trade. The administration recently proposed an 18 billion-
dollar investment for comprehensive support for dislocated 
workers to help more people access training for good paying 
high-quality jobs without suffering further economic 
insecurity.
    So Secretary Walsh will this program be available to all 
workers regardless of the cause of dislocation? And how can 
this Committee expand benefits to serve more workers regardless 
of the cause of dislocation in our WIOA reauthorization?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes thank you Madam Congresswoman. The 
short answer is yes. I just want to just quickly add a little 
bit, you know, and a lot of questions have come up about COVID. 
The COVID-19 pandemic has created widespread economic 
disruption and further highlighted pre-existing deficiencies in 
the availability of opportunities for all Americans to find 
good paying safe employment.
    So as we continue to move here, I know you also brought up 
childcare. Thank you for the American Rescue Plan for 39 
billion dollar investment to go to our childcare facilities 
around this country so that they could open up, and quite 
honestly stay open in a lot of cases.
    And also thank you to the 16 billion dollar investment to 
our small businesses in this country and our restaurants, many 
of which are on the verge of shutting down. So you know we need 
to do everything we can with obviously with the funding for 
dislocated workers in the program and the formula. So thank you 
for your interest and thank you for your question on it.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you so much. And also Mr. Secretary we 
know that registered apprenticeships provide these life-
changing opportunities. I've spoken with many people who have 
gone through the programs, but women still make up less than 10 
percent of apprentices nationwide.
    Black, African-American women, or workers also make up less 
than 10 percent of apprentices, and Asian-American workers make 
up less than 2 percent. In my home State of Oregon women's 
participation in trades apprenticeships is more than double the 
national average and that's in large part because of the work 
of pre-apprenticeship programs like Oregon Tradeswomen.
    But these opportunities need to be accessible to workers, 
not just in Oregon but across the country. So Secretary Walsh 
how will the Department help more individuals who have 
historically faced barriers to employment, access registered 
apprenticeships, and what resources are needed to make sure 
that more diverse populations can participate and succeed in 
registered apprenticeships?
    Secretary Walsh. No thank you that's a great point, and 
it's a top priority of the Department of Labor. It is something 
that as we think about these funds making sure that the money 
impacts the most impacted communities such as women, whether 
it's in the trades or other areas of apprenticeships, people of 
color.
    One of the things that I know pretty well is this area as 
the mayor of Boston we created programs with the building 
trades and with the hotel workers to create pathways into those 
industries, and the biggest people that get the biggest support 
of this are people of color and women.
    And we've seen it in our unemployment numbers where 
unemployment in the black community in this country is 9.1 
percent, in Latino it's 7.3 percent, we saw millions of women 
pushed out of the workforce, they're not coming back into the 
workforce. We need to get back into the workforce, so we're 
going to be real intentional about this, and also President 
Biden signed an executive order in equity, executive order, 
making sure that not just for the Department of Labor, but all 
the cabinets across the government are working issues of equity 
and inclusion in all different levels.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you so Mr. Secretary and as I yield 
back Mr. Chairman the issue of childcare is as you know Mr. 
Chairman and Committee Members, going to be essential to our 
economic recovery. I have had so many conversations with people 
who say I want to go back to work but I don't have affordable 
childcare, so we need to solve that issue as well, thank you 
Mr. Secretary for your service and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Next is the gentleman from 
Indiana, Mr. Banks.
    Mr. Banks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you Mr. 
Secretary for being with us today. As you know this morning 
probably you've seen the news that Chipotle announced a 4 
percent increase in all of their menu prices across the board 
to keep up with rising labor costs.
    I'm curious Mr. Secretary is that a good sign or a bad sign 
for our economy?
    Secretary Walsh. I think the fact that they want to pay 
their workers more is a good sign. We have a number of 
restaurants in my district in Northeast Indiana Mr. Secretary 
who have closed permanently because they can no longer find 
workers to open their doors and operate their restaurants. Is 
that a good sign or a bad sign for our economy?
    Secretary Walsh. I would be willing to bet that a lot of 
the restaurants in this country that have closed wasn't due to 
finding workers, it was due to the pandemic and the impacts the 
pandemic had on them. I think the number is about 25 percent of 
restaurants in this country went out of business due to the 
pandemic.
    Loss of customers, didn't have any ability to pay their 
rent, didn't have the ability to pay their overhead. Many of 
them tried to keep their employees on the payroll but they 
couldn't, and I think that that's the impact, and 
unfortunately, the impact of COVID-19 and that's why I think 
it's really incumbent upon us to pass the American Job Plan and 
American Families Plan because it does deal with what companies 
and businesses all across this country have been dealing with 
for the last year in the pandemic.
    Mr. Banks. OK. Interesting response to both those 
questions. Your Departments Fiscal Year 2022 budget requests a 
174 million dollar increase for WIOA State grants that help 
dislocated workers, low income adults and youth find work, 
citing the pandemic as the main reason for that gigantic 
increase.
    Yet the Biden administration has continued to push the 
$300.00 enhanced unemployment benefits which is causing workers 
to stay home instead of finding a job. How will offering more 
money to stay home not undermine the effectiveness of WIOA 
funding that you are requesting to help get workers back to 
work?
    Secretary Walsh. I wouldn't necessarily characterize the 
unemployment benefit as pay to stay home. I think that the plan 
benefit was expanded because of a pandemic, a global pandemic 
that did lots of harm. In the WIOA funding even pre-pandemic 
and now during and post pandemic, sometime soon in the future, 
we want to be able to train America's workers to meet the need 
for the employers in this country who are telling us that they 
need workers that are trained whether it's in manufacturing, 
high-tech, biotech, life sciences, jobs like that that they 
would like to be able to use American workers to work on those 
areas.
    So I think that we could be real intention about the 
investments in the workforce development programs to make sure 
that workers all across this country have opportunities to get 
better paying jobs and better their lives for themselves and 
their families.
    Mr. Banks. So President Biden has already rushed nearly two 
trillion dollars in new spending as you know, with plans for 
more. More than 4 trillion dollars for climate change and so-
called infrastructure legislation to come. These plans will 
lead to more borrowing, tax hikes, and the fed printing more 
money at all hours of the day.
    These actions are a recipe for further inflation that rob 
Americans of their hard-earned dollars, reduce their purchasing 
power, and would derail small businesses and bolster the 
President's monopolistic donors. All of this will stunt job 
growth and harm American workers.
    How does your department plan to deal with that crisis that 
will only worsen if the Biden agenda gets enacted?
    Secretary Walsh. Well thank you Mr. Congressman for that. I 
think that I'm very encouraged that the American Jobs Plan is 
an amazing investment all across America. I've talked to mayors 
all across this country. I've talked to governments across this 
country. And when you talk about infrastructure, we talked 
about roads and bridges, we're talking about broadband access.
    We're talking about clean drinking water, eliminating lead 
pipes. We're talking about electric grids to create better 
opportunities for the energy and economy of the future. We're 
talking about the CARES economy. We're talking about money into 
new housing. We're talking about money into training and 
workforce development.
    We're talking into a whole bunch of free community college, 
university pre-K, kindergarten, actually the way that I look at 
this plan, the way the President looks at the plan it's about 
enhancing America. It's about keeping us competitive and the 
world leader in the economy and the environment, in new 
infrastructure.
    I know that you know again when I'm talking to mayors I was 
in Wisconsin, in Pennsylvania the last 2 weeks, and 
collectively those two states have over 5,000 bridges in 
desperate need of repair because action hasn't happened.
    Mr. Banks. Let me ask you a final question. Is it a good 
sign for our economy that the American people are spending more 
dollars substantially every time they pump gas and go to the 
grocery store? Is that good for our economy?
    Secretary Walsh. Actually the President's plan is working 
right now. I think when you talk about that and the way that 
the President wants to pay for these plans is by raising the 
corporate tax rate, so corporations pay taxes. In some cases, 
they're paying zero, and he's made a commitment to every 
average American that makes $400,000.00 or less, will not pay 
one more cent in taxes.
    Mr. Banks. My time has expired.
    Chairman Scott. The gentleman's time has expired thank you. 
The gentleman from California Mr. Takano.
    Mr. Takano. Mr. Secretary thank you for being here today. 
Are you aware of a new study that was published by the World 
Health Organization and the International Labor Organization 
that says that working 55 hours or more a week is a serious 
health hazard, and that the pandemic poses serious risks of 
having Americans and workers around the world work too long?
    Secretary Walsh. I haven't seen the study that you're 
referring to, but certainly I have had many conversations in my 
life about the impacts of people's work hours and as a mayor we 
also looked at certain industries, whether it's public safety, 
or public works in different parts of the city where people 
were working a certain amount of hours and the impacts that 
they would have on their families.
    Mr. Takano. Well specifically related to the pandemic the 
fact that people are teleworking, working from home, that the 
distinction between work and home has blurred, and that's 
leading to the risk that people are working such long hours. 
It's estimated, and even before the pandemic, it's estimated 
that long working hours led to about 745,000 deaths worldwide 
in 2016, a 29 percent increase over the year 2000.
    I mean I'm setting this as a prelude to the issue of 
overtime. It was suggested that one of the ways to address this 
health risk is to ensure that we enforce overtime laws. And 
many people don't know that in addition to giving the Federal 
Government the ability to set the minimum wage in our country, 
the FLSA also gives the government the ability to set overtime 
standards.
    By extending overtime protections to millions of workers we 
can boost wages, but also help prevent employees from working 
excessive hours. Now my office sent you a letter supported by 
some Members of this Committee to encourage your Department to 
address a salary threshold in line with a historical high point 
of salary thresholds, the 55th percentile, which really 
translated by the year 2023 would be around $85,000.
    Currently the overtime threshold is around $35,000. Do you 
think that the current overtime salary threshold is too low?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes definitely.
    Mr. Takano. And so do you have any plans to revisit the 
issue and re-regulate in this area?
    Secretary Walsh. Well currently right now doing that, 
reviewing that regulation and rule right now is literally as we 
speak, we have people at the Department of Labor working on 
that.
    Mr. Takano. And you know prior to the Trump administration 
not appealing a judge's case, which overrules the previous 
administration, Obama administration's attempt to raise the 
threshold, the salary threshold was stuck at a very, very low 
place for 10 years. Do you think that we need automatic and 
regular updates of the threshold to protect workers?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes, we do.
    Mr. Takano. And are you also planning to do that as part of 
your review?
    Secretary Walsh. That will be part of the review.
    Mr. Takano. Well I'm glad to hear that Mr. Secretary. You 
know with my remaining time I want to know if you know anything 
about the equal participation of faith-based organizations and 
the Federal agencies? programs rule that is currently which 
would require that people participating, Americans' 
participating in certain programs would have to you know attend 
things that are religious in nature. Are you aware of that 
rule?
    Secretary Walsh. Is this a religious exemption rule you're 
talking about?
    Mr. Takano. No, the rule is entitled The Equal 
Participation of Faith-Based Organizations in Federal Agency's 
Programs and Activities Rule, and currently the rule. There are 
organizations that have filed against the rule. I'm wondering 
if you know much about this rule and are prepared to comment on 
it?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes no, I'm not prepared to comment on it. 
Let me look into it and get back to you on that.
    Mr. Takano. OK. Similarly, I'd like you to look at the 
implementing legal requirements regarding the equal opportunity 
clause's exemption. That might be the rule that you were 
thinking of. The final rule is under a stay and OFCCP has 
proposed to rescind the rule. Can you say anything about that?
    Secretary Walsh. No let me look into that one. I'm trying 
to get some notes on it right now. And I don't have information 
in front of me on either one of those.
    Mr. Takano. All right. My time is up. I would appreciate 
your being in touch with me about those two rules.
    Secretary Walsh. I will Congressman thank you.
    Mr. Takano. Thank you.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Next on the republican side Mr. 
Thompson and Mr. Grothman, Mr. Comer, do not appear to be here. 
The next would be the gentleman from Idaho Mr. Fulcher.
    Mr. Fulcher. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Secretary 
thank, you for being here and participating today and also for 
your service to the city of Boston, and I hope you appreciate 
how I said that. I've been working on it many times. I'm from 
Idaho, we don't say Boston, we always say Boston.
    Secretary Walsh. You did pretty good there, you did all 
right there it wasn't bad. You were pretty close.
    Mr. Fulcher. I have to park my car in Harvard yes. Anyway. 
Thank you for your service and I appreciate the question by 
Congressman Takano because where I think he was trying to go is 
where I would like to discuss it as well. If I understand it 
correctly it was March 23, the Department of Labor announced 
plans to rescind the rule protecting equal participation of 
safe based organizations in Federal contracting.
    And that rule as I understand guarantees protections of the 
Constitution Federal law for religious contractors so they can 
participate in the Federal contracting system while following 
their religious beliefs. And so that's the basis for that, and 
I believe that's what Congressman Takano was talking about as 
well.
    And so since overturning this rule could adversely impact 
religious organizations and discourage participation in the 
Federal contracting process, that was my question too. Do you 
agree with that?
    Secretary Walsh. Let me just get my notes in front of me. 
In the current proposed recission is not yet public. I think it 
was the Congressman's second point, your first point. Currently 
it's under review with the Office of Management and Budget 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
    Once a notice of proposed change recission is published for 
public comment the Department will consider all comment on all 
the proposals, so I'm not at liberty to be able to discuss it 
right now but is under review.
    Mr. Fulcher. OK and I thank you for that and thank you for 
considering it. If I may a word of encouragement. I believe 
that there are very good reasons for faith-based organizations 
to have that equal protection and for that rule to remain in 
place. And just three general categories.
    Politically speaking, over half of Americans subscribe to 
spiritual religious affiliations first of all. That's just from 
a practical standpoint. From a political standpoint rather, 
practically speaking I believe you can make a strong argument 
that it's our religious principles that are the basis for our 
rule of law, for our civility, for social structure and 
personally I believe for our prosperity.
    And then last there's legal precedent now, at least two 
Supreme court cases in 2014 Brewell versus Hobby Lobby in the 
2018 Masterpiece Cakeshop versus Colorado Civil Rights 
Commission. So Mr. Secretary that's basically where I wanted to 
go with the dialog.
    And I just believe that moved to disadvantage faith-based 
organizations just will have a very devastating and negative 
impact, so I urge your involvement and your consideration in 
that regard, and any comments you'd like to have before my time 
is up.
    Secretary Walsh. Oh thank you and I look forward to working 
with you on this and thank you for your great Boston accent 
today.
    Mr. Fulcher. All right thank you Mr. Secretary, and Mr. 
Chairman I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. I haven't heard Boston 
pronounced correctly in a long time. I went to college in that 
area and so I know how it's supposed to be said, and down in 
Virginia we don't pronounce it that way, but it was an 
interesting reminder.
    The gentlelady from North Carolina Ms. Adams.
    Ms. Adams. Thank you, Mr. Chair and Boston is correct. 
Thank you for convening the hearing today and to my colleagues 
for their questions. Secretary Walsh it's good to see you 
again. Thank you for your testimony today.
    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, today nearly 
four out of five private sector workers have no access to paid 
leave. 95 percent of the lowest wage workers, mostly women, and 
workers of color lack any access to paid family leave.
    During the COVID-19 pandemic a disproportionate number of 
women, especially women of color left the labor force, and this 
is because industries where women are over-represented have 
been hardest hit by lay-offs and women have had to increase 
their care responsibilities making it more challenging to 
balance work and family responsibilities.
    So Mr. Secretary how could pay medical and family leave at 
the Federal level help women return to work?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman, for that question. 
Well, there's a lot of things I could speak as, paid family 
leave and medical leave for women would be a tremendous 
benefit. In one of my last roles as mayor of Boston I signed an 
executive order having 12 paid weeks of paid family leave for 
people working in city government, prior to that we had 8 paid 
weeks.
    It makes a tremendous impact in the entire workforce. The 
pandemic certainly has showed us as you mentioned, the 
disproportionate affects it has on women, women of color in our 
communities. It underscores the importance of why paid family 
leave is needed and medical leave is needed. We saw families 
who were home taking care of loved ones.
    They had to take them out of nursing homes and put them in 
their home because they were concerned about their health. They 
were concerned about the care, and you know we need to continue 
to move forward. The American Families Plan as the President 
has talked about, and I talked about and you actually talked 
about the other day would create a program that would ensure 
workers receive partial wage replacement for the time to bond 
with a new child, care for a seriously ill loved one, deal with 
the loved ones military deployment.
    We also need to support our military men and women who and 
their families are serving our country. Also women that find 
themselves, find safety from sexual assaults, stalking, 
domestic violence, healing from their own serious illness. It's 
time for us to deal with this. It's time for us to really think 
about how we move forward, and I hope that as we continue to 
move forward the American Families Plan, the American Jobs Plan 
has some really important investments in it that really helps 
the American worker.
    The last thing I'll say it's a respect issue. It's 
respecting the American worker as well. It's a way for us to 
respect the worker and their benefits. I was on a call, it 
would have been a meeting where I was on the call with three 
large employers in the United States of America about 3 weeks 
ago and they were talking about the importance, they have 
family leave in their companies.
    And they talked about it as a way to respect and help their 
workers and these are big companies in America that support it, 
so I don't think a lot of people are against it, now it's time 
for us to take action on it.
    Ms. Adams. Right thank you. You know, during the pandemic, 
employees have made difficult decisions to leave the workforce 
to care for loved ones or to battle illness. Can you tell us 
why job protection is a crucial policy, as Congress works to 
draft and pass the paid family medical leave in the American 
Families Plan?
    Secretary Walsh. I think, you know I know this. I mean my 
experience as Secretary of Labor and then you go back at any 
level I had it's important for us to continue to support the 
American worker with different supports. I think that you know 
I've heard over the last few weeks about the $300.00 is a 
handout. That's not a handout. That's unemployment benefits 
that people earned and the Congress voted on.
    I think whether it's paid family leave, worker protection, 
40-hour work week, overtime rules, all of these are worker 
protections that we need to make sure that are in place. If we 
didn't have these worker protections many of our workers would 
be taken advantage of.
    Ms. Adams. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. You know we've had 
some issues in terms of OSHA and inspections. Let me just ask 
you, do you think it's too ambitious for Congress to provide 
enough funding for OSHA to inspect each facility once every 100 
years? I mean in your view is once a century too frequent? If 
not, what is the right benchmark?
    Secretary Walsh. I think we need to get to a point where 
OSHA is doing inspections, but not only inspections but helping 
companies to make sure there are safe working conditions for 
their workers. Right now we're responding to crisis. OSHA for 
the most part goes out to a situation after a crisis occurs, 
after a tragedy happens.
    The investments from the American Rescue Plan are going to 
help us staff up to where we were in 2017, but really a major 
investment in OSHA to work with companies across America to 
have safe workplaces before they're dangerous is something I'd 
like to see. So it's hard to answer your question, but I think 
we should be able to inspect worksites at least once every 2 
years at the minimum, not once every 100.
    Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. I'm out of time. Working 
hard is not enough if you don't make enough, I appreciate your 
position on minimum wage. Chairman I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentlelady's time has 
expired. The gentleman from Pennsylvania Mr. Keller.
    Mr. Keller. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the 
opportunity to be able to be with everybody today and discuss 
things that are happening the Department of Labor. Secretary 
Walsh I was disappointed to see the Department of Labor rescind 
the Trump administration's rule establishing policies and 
procedures for issuing sub-regulatory guidance.
    This commonsense rule sought to limit what has 
unfortunately become a common practice at the Department of 
treating informal guidance as legally binding. A short-cut 
which eliminates legal protections for employers and workers 
found in former rulemaking such as advance notice to the public 
when an opportunity for stakeholders to comment.
    Do you believe there's a legal difference between 
regulations and guidance?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman, for your question. 
We are always going to follow the Administrative Procedures 
Act. I mean we're always going to follow that guidance.
    Mr. Keller. OK. So I guess it's a yes or no. Do you believe 
there's a difference between, a legal difference, between 
regulations and guidance?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes.
    Mr. Keller. OK. Because I know you discussed guidance 
earlier when it came to COVID-19 in healthcare settings versus 
other places, so I just want to make sure. Is sub-regulatory 
guidance issued by your Department legally enforceable?
    Secretary Walsh. It really depends upon what the guidance 
is.
    Mr. Keller. So in other words what you're saying is it's 
going to be even more difficult for businesses to understand 
what the guidance is, whether it's legally enforceable and the 
difference?
    Secretary Walsh. I think we have regulations you know it's 
going through a process and becomes a regulation of a business. 
And the guidance is in some cases a recommendation. And it's 
similar to when I talked about the ETS the regulation that 
we're putting forth is for hospital workers, and the guidance 
is recommendations for you to suggest use the guidance to keep 
your workers safe.
    There's a very different enforcement piece there when it 
comes to guidance and regulation.
    Mr. Keller. Well also but Mr. Secretary during the Obama 
administration OSHA was uniquely antagonistic toward you know 
job creators, our employers, forcing an over-zealous 
enforcement and punishment rather than working with employers 
to improve workplace safety outcomes and prevent accidents 
before they happen. This included the policy of regulation by 
shaming which involved publicizing the results of an OSHA 
inspection before a business owner had the opportunity to 
contest the citations, many of which were ultimately 
overturned.
    Unfortunately, we are seeing signs that this practice is 
making a comeback at OSHA. Do you support the adversarial 
policy of shaming employers? And should business expect this 
lack of due process to continue to be common practice under 
your watch at the Department?
    Secretary Walsh. You know I just want to be as I'm hearing 
you, I'd like to followup. I'm going to give you an answer in a 
second, but I'd like to followup on this. The folks at OSHA 
that work at the Department of Labor workers should be hired 
every day and they've been understaffed for the last 4 years.
    Mr. Keller. I honestly just want to get to the fact.
    Secretary Walsh. I will.
    Mr. Keller. Do you think the people that employ Americans 
should have due process during your watch at the Department?
    Secretary Walsh. I think the people that employ Americans 
need to keep workers safe.
    Mr. Keller. And do you believe that most people that employ 
Americans across our Nation care about their employees and want 
them to be safe?
    Secretary Walsh. I would hope so.
    Mr. Keller. Do you believe that?
    Secretary Walsh. I believe it yes; I would hope so.
    Mr. Keller. Yes, I believe they do too. As with anything 
there's some people that need to be held accountable. We all 
want that to happen. But I believe the majority of people I 
represent that are job creators are small businesses, and they 
want their employees to be safe.
    The people that run these businesses are families, our 
friends, our neighbors, that's who they are. They're our 
neighbors. They contribute to civic organizations. They want 
people to be safe, so I'm glad we agree that most people in 
American who create jobs are good hard-working people that want 
their employees to be safe.
    Secretary Walsh. I agree with you on that, and as mayor I 
love my small businesses. I mean without small businesses you 
add them together there are largest employers, and they create 
opportunities and as Secretary as Labor I love small businesses 
as well. And this is something I take very seriously.
    Mr. Keller. And so do I because often times you know people 
say businesses are going to do this, or they're going to pay 
corporations or businesses are going to pay these taxes. In 
Pennsylvania Governor Wolf in his first budget address back in 
2015 said that 70 percent of the companies doing business in 
Pennsylvania don't pay corporate income tax. Well the truth of 
the matter is that over 70 percent of the businesses in the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are sub-chapter S, LLC's, 
partnerships, sole proprietors OK?
    So I think as policymakers and people that want great 
outcomes for people to go to work every day need to recognize, 
and not have the political theater that somebody else at these 
businesses are nebulous entities.
    Many times these small businesses as you pointed out, are 
the back of our community and we need to recognize that, so 
when we talk about taxing businesses or putting regulations on 
businesses, let's put a face to those people who the Biden 
administration wants to tax and make pay all this money. So 
with that I see that I just have another thing that I'd like 
to, I guess I over aren't I Mr. Chairman, so I guess I'll yield 
back and thank you I appreciate being able to participate.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you, the gentleman's time has 
expired. The gentleman from California Mr. DeSaulnier.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Secretary, 
just some comments about your accent. I think it's wicked good, 
as a native of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a former 
resident from the West End of the Back Bay area, I think it's 
good.
    And I won't go into the details of the great education the 
Chair got in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but it is 
reflective of his wisdom. Mr. Secretary, I wanted to talk to 
you about the transition of our energy workforce. I represent 
an area that has five of the 13 refineries left in the State of 
California.
    They are pretty much.--you cannot argue that they're not 
the safest, highest paying, good quality jobs, institutions of 
their type in the United States. And I'll take some credit for 
this both at the local, State, and Federal level, along with my 
colleague, or I should say my predecessor, Congressman Miller, 
who Chaired this Committee.
    So the good news is these are great paying jobs. They're 
required by State statute that I was a coauthor of when I was 
in the legislature that requires all the employees to be 
graduates in good standing of the State apprenticeship 
standards which we are very proud of in California. We have 
academies in disadvantaged communities, high schools that young 
people can go, get apprenticeship and partnerships with the 
building trades and the local labor council.
    They can go to school in high school, get apprenticeship, 
get out, get a job in these refineries for turn around work or 
with the steelworkers, the maintenance workers that are 
$125,000.00 a year, and they're world class.
    Yesterday I was at my local UA and I'm just so proud of 
those folks. Such a real investment in career training. So the 
challenge though is we're transitioning like Boston, San 
Francisco Bay area, very progressive environmentally. I used to 
be on the Air Resources Board. We want to make our carbon 
reduction. So I've had this conversation with Gina McCarthy, 
who like you has a great accent, with Secretary Granholm, who 
has great experience here in the Bay Area with our national 
laboratories that are doing great jobs with DOA grants.
    So two questions, three questions for you. What are your 
thoughts on this transition? I've had meetings, dozens of them, 
with my friends in the workforce that have been accelerated 
because of COVID, one of our refineries shut down and we lost 
600 steelworker jobs. And potentially hundreds of turnaround 
work.
    Now they're transitioning to biodiesel. So I'd like to have 
your thoughts about this. I'd also like to see if you could 
help us at the regional level coordinating the assets of the 
Department of Energy, Labor and we've had this conversation 
with Secretary Buttigieg, and I know it's a priority for the 
President, and I know it's a priority for the vice-president.
    So your thoughts on this transition. It's complicated, it's 
difficult, I know you know to take a boiler maker or a very 
highly skilled industrial welder or electrician and try to find 
another job for them and do it with respect is a real 
challenge, but we need to do it.
    So I'd love to have your thoughts and your help in 
coordinating the resources both in a national level and at a 
regional level as the administration gets ready to appoint 
regional administration. Thank you.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman, and I want to 
thank you for the budget question. This is fiscal 2022 budget 
President Biden proposed an establishment of competitive grant 
programs, the clean energy training grant program prepared for 
eligible veterans, transitioning service Members and their 
spouses for good careers in clean energy. That's one area.
    And another area is what we would be talking about the job 
training and apprenticeship program, the 200 plus billion 
dollars that's going to be invest in. We have real 
opportunities here. You're absolutely right when you're talk 
about the boiler maker, you talk about the UA, those are 
plumbers, pipefitters and steam fitters.
    Their industry has changed in the last 20, 30, 40, 50 
years. There's an opportunity for us to retain workers into 
these clean jobs. When the President spoke about the 
environments about a month and a half ago, he talked about 
jobs, he talked about job training, and he talked about 
workforce development.
    He talked about apprenticeships. He talked about making 
those investments, so there's absolutely no reason why as some 
of these industries transition out in areas like your districts 
why we can't keep those same jobs there in a different type of 
energy use, so No. 1.
    And No. 2, the second question is you absolutely have my 
commitment. I would love to work with Secretary Granholm and 
Gina McCarthy from Jamaica Plain in Massachusetts. And Gina and 
I have actually had conversations about this already when we 
worked in the past administration, I was the mayor, and she 
would come and talk to me about creating opportunities for 
jobs.
    We talked about retrofitting as mayor of Boston, 
retrofitting housing. There's good jobs in retrofitting as 
well. There's a lot of opportunity here, so I look forward to 
working with you and keeping and building a collaboration of 
how we can keep in charge in your district quite honestly.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I look forward to 
you may be coming and visiting what we're doing here in the Bay 
Area. Thank you Mr. Chairman I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. I understand the Ranking Member 
seeks recognition. The distinguished Ranking Member is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Walsh you made 
a comment before about going to a job corps site and it was so 
beautiful, but there was nobody there. Our focus on job corps 
has been the problems with the job corps program. They predate 
your time with the administration by several decades, in fact 
the problems been listed among the top management challenges 
facing your agency every year dating back to the Bush 
administration.
    Beyond concern just for taxpayer dollars, this is an issue 
of basic safety and security for participants in the program. 
These students are among the most vulnerable young people to 
our country, and they deserve better than complacency for a 
failing program.
    What steps do you plan before beautiful facilities to 
overhaul this program, so it actually protects students safety 
in job corps, both centers that were participating in the 
program. Please tell us your plan to improve performance of the 
overall program, and will you commit to providing the Committee 
with regular updates on job corps program including 
notification of any major safety violations and incidents.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Ranking Member. I do feel that 
beautiful facilities are important. Clean facilities are 
important. Safe facilities are important. As mayor of the city 
of Boston I made it a priority to make sure that we were able 
to reconstruct our center for youth and families in the city of 
Boston.
    Our kids need to have pride and your people need to have 
pride in where they're going. We also need to continue to build 
corporate partnerships with businesses in regions and areas so 
that the participants of job corps when they get through job 
corps they have an opportunity to be able to get a job at the 
end of that, and really raise a family and support a family.
    Those young people that get married or have kids going into 
job corps. We need to make sure that we continue the supports 
inside there, that we give them the technical support in the 
substance, mental health, and any type of support they might 
have. The young people that are participating in job corps. 
Often times from what I understand they go into job corps, lots 
of challenges, and we need to make sure that as they enter in 
with those challenges they leave no challenges left behind so 
they can have a good productive, healthy lives and that's what 
I would like to see.
    I would like to do more job corps as well. I'd like to you 
know it's an area that is right in my wheelhouse, whether it's 
the mayor of Boston as a coach, or whatever experience I had in 
my life. I think job corps, we have such an incredible 
opportunity to help young people in this country.
    Ms. Foxx. Thank you. Let's talk some more about that. Mr. 
Secretary during your time as mayor of Boston the Boston Globe 
attempted to attain city records concerning a former police 
union president accused of sexually assaulting minors. A public 
records request that your administration refused to 
accommodate, even after the State supervisor of public records 
specifically questioned your decision to keep the records 
secret.
    Redacted files were finally released by your successor 
earlier this year reveal that one of Boston's major police 
unions threatened to file a grievance on behalf of the accused 
union president in 1997 after he was restricted to 
administrative duty.
    As a result he was reinstated as a patrol officer and 
allowed further contact with children resulting in additional 
incidents of alleged abuse. In light of these revelations your 
prior background as a union leader and your recent action to 
repeal a Federal rule providing for greater union transparency 
intended to fight union corruption.
    How can you assure Committee Members that you will 
faithfully and fairly administer workplace laws in your 
department jurisdiction which apply both to employers and labor 
unions, and additionally considering these revelations how can 
you diligently and effectively manage over 15,000 Dol employees 
while holding them accountable for their actions when 
necessary.
    Secretary Walsh. The way I could do that is I raised my 
right hand and I swore on a bible to uphold the Constitution of 
the United States of America and I uphold it to carry out the 
functions as Secretary of Labor, and I take that very 
seriously, and I take that obligation very seriously, and I 
take swearing in very seriously as well.
    Ms. Foxx. Well we appreciate hearing that. I want to 
followup on what Mr. Fulcher asked you about the need for us to 
protect religious liberty. And you said you didn't know about 
the rules that were being changed from the Trump 
administration. But I'll ask you a very simple question. Can 
you assure the Committee that DOL policies and practices will 
protect religious liberty which is the first liberty listed in 
the Constitution?
    And will you make sure that there is no discrimination 
against religious organizations?
    Secretary Walsh. As I said earlier to the Congressman, 
excuse me when he asked me the question. The proposed recission 
is published for public comment in the Department. I can't 
comment on it right now, and the Department will consider all 
comments received on the proposal, and this is in the Office of 
Management and Budget Office Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, so it's in OIRA, I cannot comment on it.
    Ms. Foxx. Regardless of the rule will you commit to protect 
religious liberty?
    Secretary Walsh. Again I'm not going to talk.
    Ms. Foxx. That's a simple question.
    Secretary Walsh. I'm not going to comment on it until the 
regulation comes back.
    Ms. Foxx. So you won't commit to protecting religious 
liberty of people involved with the Department of Labor?
    Secretary Walsh. You know one of the things that we have to 
do is I have to balance a lot of interest, and again I will 
comment on it when we get the rule back.
    Ms. Foxx. I'm talking about this regardless of the rule 
itself. Just religious liberty in general. If you swore to 
uphold the Constitution, then I assume you know what's in the 
First Amendment.
    Secretary Walsh. I do.
    Ms. Foxx. OK. Then you're sworn to uphold no laws impinging 
on people's religion.
    Secretary Walsh. No again I appreciate your persistence on 
this, and I want to when the rule comes back, when the comment 
comes back, when I'm able to comment on it I will talk to you 
freely about it, but as of right now it's in the Office of 
Management and Oversight.
    Ms. Foxx. Thank you Mr. Chairman I yield back, I apologize.
    Chairman Scott. OK no problem. The gentlemen from New 
Jersey Mr. Norcross.
    Mr. Norcross. Thank you, Chairman and Secretary Walsh, 
great to have you here and as a guy from Jersey I don't hear 
any accent, you sound just like us. But I love to hear the 
other side talk about how they want to get through and have 
transparency at the same time they're denying January 6. It's 
ironic. But I wasn't going to play on that.
    I want to talk about the COVID and its impact on Americans, 
the mental health and the issues. The addiction rates and death 
rates are soaring, and we have something that is called the 
mental health and addiction parity which puts so much of an 
emphasis on making sure that mental health is treated as many 
of your physical issues.
    That was put forth by Patrick Kennedy many years ago. But 
one of the challenges is I'm sure you know is the enforcement. 
There are no teeth. Can you tell us what the Department is 
looking at in terms of putting some teeth behind there? We have 
a bill that currently would give you that sort of hammer to 
make sure employers do the right thing.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman, and first and 
foremost your bill is an important bill, a piece of 
legislation. I had a conversation. I did a webinar with 
Congressman Kennedy the other day to talk about this issue, to 
talk about NSHA's role in this. The issue of mental health and 
substance use treatment is certainly very close to my heart as 
somebody in recovery.
    I have fought my entire career, whether it's at a 
legislative level, or as mayor of the city of Boston to access 
treatment for people to have access for treatment for people. 
Not just simply access but having long-term access to 
treatment. There is not a Member of this Committee that a 
family Member is not dealing with the issue of mental health or 
substance use disorder.
    It's something as a country we need to do more on. NSHA is 
working with health plans right now and health insurance to 
make sure we achieve the goal. You're absolutely right the 
pandemic was a perfect storm for people with mental health and 
substance use issues because we were telling people to isolate, 
stay in your house and don't talk to other people, and it only 
exasperated the issue of mental health.
    So I'm going to do everything I can in my time as Secretary 
of Labor. I know I probably shouldn't say this, but I think if 
it's the only thing I do as Secretary of Labor it's about 
saving lives and offering help for people, so I'm going to work 
with you, and work with any Member of this Committee and I 
think the issue of mental health and addiction equity act is 
truly a bipartisan bill that we can all work together because 
all our families are dealing with some sort of issues.
    Mr. Norcross. Thank you so much. I want to shift to 
something you know a little bit about, the construction 
industry. The ebbs and flows. There's employment at times and 
there's unemployment. And when there's unemployment we go to 
where the work is, and that's why one of the basis for 
registered apprenticeship programs.
    Because the idea having two different systems within a 
country when those workers get together chaos certainly is 
created. When we look forward to a registered apprenticeship 
program which sets standards, and that's incredibly important 
because as we all know when you're not all reading from the 
same book it becomes very difficult.
    There's nothing presently in law that prevents any company 
from creating their own apprenticeship program. They're allowed 
to go do it at any point. The difference is they want us to pay 
for it. And that's where the difference is. Talk to me about 
what the registered apprenticeship program looks like when we 
tie into it the pre-apprentice. Why is that important 
particularly in the urban areas and for those that haven't had 
the opportunity?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you. And certainly you know a lot 
about this as well as being an IBW man. A registered 
apprenticeship program provides an apprentice, an individual, 
man or woman, with not only a job, but a pathway to a career. 
And that's important to understand that. Apprentices receive a 
progressive wage tied to the scale and competency of their 
jobs, which means that when they start out in the apprentice 
program you start out in a wage and then you work your way up 
eventually to a full wage, but you work your way up to a wage.
    What that does it allows companies to be able to hire 
people that might not be as skilled as somebody that has a full 
license. The ability to learn on the job training and as you go 
through the apprentice program. It's on the job training. It's 
probably one of the most impactful programs that we have.
    We actually should probably spread this idea into more 
workforce development programs. The completion of the 
registered apprenticeship program when somebody goes through it 
and they vary, I think your industry is 5 years, some 
industries are 3 years, some industries are 4 years, and they 
vary as they move forward.
    But it conveys the apprentice brings real value and 
significance to the labor market by having somebody in that 
training skill. It allows people the opportunity. So you know I 
believe that that's key. I also believe in the public private 
partnership part of it is by bringing employers to the table to 
talk about it because employers can help understand, use the 
electricity industry.
    Employers come to the table, and they might want to go into 
you know putting solar panels on roofs or building wind farms 
and you're able to adjust the curriculum in the registered 
apprenticeship program to adjust to the industry. So that's the 
benefit to those programs of that program.
    Mr. Norcross. Thank you. Chairman, thank you for yielding 
back a little bit of time I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. I understand some people may 
have been coming in and out, so let me go through the list 
again. Mr. Thompson, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Comer, Dr. Murphy, the 
gentle lady from Iowa Mrs. Miller-Meeks.
    Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Thank you so much Mr. Chair and Ranking 
Member Foxx and also Secretary Walsh for being here. Secretary 
Walsh in 2008 the Department of Labor issued regulations 
allowing small employers and self-employee individuals to 
access quality and affordable healthcare coverage through an 
association health plan.
    And let me say since you may be unfamiliar with me, I'm the 
Second congressional District in Iowa, represent a rural 
district, a physician, a former President of the Iowa Medical 
Society, and also a former Director of the Iowa Director of 
Public Health who saw these association health plans to be very 
helpful.
    Allowing small employers and self-employed individuals to 
join together for group coverage for health insurance purposes 
allows them to purchase health plans the same way large 
employers do. Association health plans are subject to all of 
the Affordable Care Act's group coverage requirements. Data 
shows that AHB's voluntarily cover all 10 of the ACA's 
essential health benefits, and these plans typically have 
broader provider networks relative to the ACA compliance small 
group and individual market plans.
    In 2019 the AHB regulations were invalided by the DC 
District Court. But a review of that decision is pending at the 
DC Circuit Court of Appeals. If the Circuit Court overturns the 
District Court ruling and upholds the regulations will the 
Department of Labor respect that ruling, and implement the 
regulations, or does the Department plan to rescind these 
regulations through a new rulemaking process?
    Secretary Walsh. I know I'm a little familiar with the case 
because I believe my Chamber of Commerce in Boston was looking 
at that, so I have a little familiarity with it. I am not 
familiar at the moment however if the Department of Labor what 
the past practice was in 2008, 2010, 2014, and up to today.
    So I'm not aware of any move by this administration to 
rescind that. But again, I don't have the full answer on it. 
This is the first time that I wasn't aware this issue, I mean I 
knew it was pending, but I didn't know where it was in the 
court, so let me look into that. But I hear you. You didn't 
tell me your concern, but I can hear where you're coming from 
in this and let me look into this.
    Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Thank you very much. Also you were 
quoted in a Reuters article as saying that gig workers should 
be classified as employees and deserve work benefits like full 
health coverage. This statement had a significant impact on 
both the stock market and causes shares of Uber, Lyft, Door 
Dash, and Grub Hub to fall significantly. You later said that 
you were misquoted. Is this an indication that you would 
recognize this policy could destroy the business model of these 
companies?
    And I can also tell you in my little town of 25,000 people 
that having an Uber has developed as a small business and been 
extraordinarily helpful, especially to people of low income in 
my area where having a taxi service is not beneficial. So I'm 
just wondering if your position on the gig economy and gig 
workers has changed?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes thank you. I don't know if I would say 
changed. I would say that that article was at the end of the 
article, and I was asked the question about employees and gig 
workers. But what we've done since is I've had meetings with 
many companies, Uber, Airbnb, I mean sorry, Uber, Lyft, Door 
Dash, I've worked with worker advocate groups.
    We're working now to talk about this industry, so we've had 
very open dialogs. I think if you spoke to them they would be 
very pleased with the fact that we've had conversations about 
this, so yes I don't want to say I wasn't misquoted, because I 
was quoted, but it was kind of like a whole comprehensive 
conversation. I probably should have selected my words better.
    Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Well I want to thank you for meeting 
with these companies and having the open mind to engage and 
interact with them. And I firmly believe as a physician and a 
former director of an agency much smaller than yours, that 
culture starts at the top.
    So when you tell me, as I'm a 24 year military veteran who 
also swore that oath to the Constitution, when you told me you 
swore an oath to the Constitution and that's to whom you have 
fealty, but when you're asked about support for religious 
liberty and you cannot answer whether you would support 
religious liberty, that to me tells me about the culture of 
your agency, so I find those two things to be contradictory, 
and with that I'm going to yield the rest of my time to 
Representative Virginia Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Ms. Foxx. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. 
Secretary on February 25 Congressman Keller and I sent Acting 
Secretary of Labor Al Stewart a letter requesting the 
Department provide the Committee information regarding the 
rationale for issuing an OSHA emergency temporary standard on 
COVID-19. We've not received a formal response to our letter 
after more than 3 months.
    And we think this is unacceptable. Congressional oversight 
is a bipartisan priority for this Committee, and a 
responsibility I take very seriously. Do you believe it's 
appropriate for the Department to ignore legitimate oversight 
requests from this Committee? And will you commit today that 
the Department will formally respond to future oversight 
requests from Committee Members by the requested deadlines?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes, the answer is yes to the question of 
any type of recommendation or response from you, from the 
Congress I should say.
    Ms. Foxx. Thank you very much Secretary. I yield back Mr. 
Chairman.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentlelady from Washington 
Ms. Jayapal.
    Ms. Jayapal. Thank you Mr. Chairman I am thrilled to see 
that my colleagues are suddenly supporting the idea of 
responding to oversight letters. I don't think that we got a 
response to a single oversight letter in the last 4 years. So 
Secretary Walsh thank you for being with us today and thank you 
for all that you have done in your career to protect workers 
and ensure opportunity.
    And thank you also for your earlier comments regarding the 
President's commitment to urgently passing a $15.00 minimum 
wage. I represent Seattle, the first major city in the country 
to pass $15. I was on that Committee that facilitated that 
passage, and I'm also a proud lead sponsor, along with Chairman 
Scott, of the Raise the Wage Act, a bill that the House has 
passed, but we must find a way to immediately get this passed 
in the Senate and signed into law by the President.
    So I hope you and the President will use all the powers of 
the White House to get this done immediately along with the PRO 
Act, another bill that I'm proud to be a lead sponsor of. 
Secretary Walsh I also know that we share a commitment to 
protect the two and a half million domestic workers who care 
for our children, elders, people with disabilities and our 
homes.
    I'm aware that you endorsed the Massachusetts Domestic 
Workers Bill of Rights when it passed in 2014, and now despite 
high demand for these workers they have continued to be 
excluded from the basic protections of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act and are among the lowest paid with nearly 90 percent 
getting no benefits and many vulnerable to abuse.
    These workers are serving on the front lines of the 
pandemic and provided critical care, allowing people with 
disabilities and seniors to avoid congregate settings that 
frequently saw high rates of COVID-19 infection. But this 
critical workforce has shrunk by 280,000 workers at the 
beginning of the pandemic despite an increasing need for 
homecare services.
    I'm very pleased that the Biden administration has proposed 
investing $400 billion to expand the home care workforce. Can 
you speak from your experience both as mayor and now as 
Secretary of Labor to the importance of this investment as 
critical infrastructure, and the role of the Department of 
Labor in expanding this workforce and improving the 
recruitment, retention and advancement of this critical 
workforce.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congresswoman. I could speak I 
guess at different levels, but I'm just going to talk about 
this last year. Around March 2020 in Boston and in 
Massachusetts and throughout this country and Seattle as well I 
talked to the Mayor Durkan at the time. She told me to be 
prepared because what's going to the nursing homes in Seattle 
hadn't hit Boston yet, and she told me was coming.
    So we had an opportunity to go into those facilities and 
provide PPE for healthcare workers and those domestic workers 
working in those healthcare facilities taking care of our older 
fragile adults. And they had to go to work every day, and often 
times when they went to work, they didn't have the equipment 
nor the material they needed.
    They were underfunded, underpaid. They take care of our 
most vulnerable loved ones and our own families, our own 
fathers and mothers and grandfathers, and grandparents. So when 
you think about it the investment that President Biden wants to 
make into that critical industry as you know that 400 billion 
dollars is not just in the facility, but it's also in 
respecting the worker and raising their wages and give them 
opportunities to earn more money.
    Many of those folks that work in that industry that's their 
second or third job, and we entrust them with taking care of 
the most precious people in our lives, so and also in the 
community I just want to read a couple stats here if you don't 
mind. 87 percent of the home care workers are women. The 
majority are women of color.
    37.4 percent African-American, 25.4 percent are Latino, and 
5 percent are Asian. The median age of the home healthcare 
worker is over 46 years of age, 30 percent are 55 and older. If 
you look at the pandemic numbers the communities that get hit 
the hardest with the highest infection rate, the black 
community, the Latino community.
    If you look at the people that had the largest loss of 
life, people over the age of 55. The same people that we had 
working in these industries were taking care of our loved ones. 
So there is no question in my own personal experience in the 
need for the care economy. I know we want to build new bridges, 
sorry I'll stop, go ahead.
    Ms. Jayapal. No, no thank you.
    Secretary Walsh. I'm on a rampage there.
    Ms. Jayapal. No it's so great to hear you completely 
support it, but I wanted to say that I'm a lead sponsor of the 
domestic workers bill of rights in Congress, and of course my 
co-sponsor last Congress, now Vice President Kamala Harris. The 
President has said he wants to sign this bill into law. I'd 
like to ask for your help and support in continuing to push for 
a Federal standard that would reverse domestic workers' 
exclusion from the Fair Labor Standards Act and provide workers 
with the rights and protections.
    Can you assure me that you'll do everything you can to help 
me get this signed into law and get those protections for 
domestic workers across the country?
    Secretary Walsh. I have advocates in Massachusetts that are 
pushing your bill. They're pushing me to support your bill. So 
I don't have to support your bill, you have my support. I will 
do what we can. This is an important piece of legislation.
    Ms. Jayapal. Thank you so much Secretary, I yield back Mr. 
Chairman.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. I see Mr. Grothman has joined 
us. The gentleman from Wisconsin Mr. Grothman recognized for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Grothman. Yes thanks. I'm going to lead off by talking 
about a little different issue. Are you familiar with the 14 C 
certificates and sub-minimum wage?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes.
    Mr. Grothman. There have been proposals out there including 
the general minimum wage bill that I think would be devastating 
to work fairs and the people with different abilities. I think 
there is some misinformation going on around there. Have you 
ever had an opportunity to tour these work centers in 
Massachusetts or otherwise?
    Secretary Walsh. Sorry yes, I have, I have. I have one in 
my district. I actually brought a facility from Quincy, 
Massachusetts into called Work Incorporated.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Did you have a positive experience?
    Secretary Walsh. Very positive.
    Mr. Grothman. You are aware that if they got rid of the 14 
C and say everybody has to make $15.00 an hour that you in 
essence put these out of business, correct?
    Secretary Walsh. Actually the facility I was talking about 
in Boston was paying the minimum wage to the people because 
they were working basically on contracts, State, city and 
Federal contracts. So I think when the bid the work they bid it 
at a higher wage rate for the workers. But I know what you're 
talking about in the other places.
    Mr. Grothman. Do you understand the problem?
    Secretary Walsh. I do understand the problem, and I know 
that there's lots of different opinions and conversations on 
this as far as what should the worker doing the same work as 
somebody else in the same field with different skill be paid a 
different rate. I get the premise of it yes.
    Mr. Grothman. Would you make a commitment to see maybe in 
another State of these work centers that does rely on the sub-
minimum wage?
    Secretary Walsh. I absolutely want to go to a tour, 
absolutely no question about it. I would be willing to go and 
tour a place.
    Mr. Grothman. OK thank you much. Next point I want to bring 
up is I hear from my employers a lot of people sitting on the 
sidelines because of the unemployment benefits right now. In 
essence, people could make $30,000.00 a year not working. And 
examples of people saying I'll take a job, they don't show up, 
that sort of thing.
    And of course, that's not the only benefits you get. Do you 
believe we have people sitting on the sideline not only because 
of the additional unemployment, but because of other means-
based benefits out there in our society?
    Secretary Walsh. This came up earlier in the conversation. 
I don't believe that there are 8 million Americans that are 
collecting unemployment that are staying out of work because of 
a $300.00 unemployment benefit. I don't believe that the case. 
I think that there's a whole bunch of issues around the 8 
million people that are out of work today, and some of them why 
are they not back at work and some why they are going back to 
work.
    I think that we've seen over the last 4 months as I 
mentioned earlier, I apologize for repeating myself, roughly 
540,000 people going back to work over the last 4 months. We've 
seen gains in the system as far as going back into the 
workforce. I think in the coming months we're going to see more 
people going back into the workforce.
    We saw the two largest gains in the last 2 months in 
hospitality. I don't see, I think if there are reasons people 
aren't going back in the workforce it's lack of childcare, it's 
school still being hybrid, it's people that haven't been 
vaccinated. People are doing, taking care of their loved ones. 
They have medical reasons for not going back.
    But I don't believe that $300.00 is keeping the entire 8 
million people out of the workforce.
    Mr. Grothman. Well I'm not saying the entire 8 million. It 
might be 4 million, but we would acknowledge that if you're 
paying people $30,000.00 to $35,000.00 a year not to work, a 
given segment of people will say fine, I'm not going to go to 
work.
    Secretary Walsh. Yes, I don't believe that we're paying 
people not to work. I think we're paying people. We're trying 
to support people's livelihood during a pandemic, and I 
honestly feel that way. I've seen it. I know I'm in a different 
role today as Secretary of Labor, but I saw it on the ground as 
mayor of the city of Boston.
    I saw the impacts of COVID-19, what they had on the 
workforce, what they had in businesses, small business, so you 
know I do feel as a country we have to keep front and center. 
And I'm not saying this just to you Congressman, but we have to 
recognize we're still living in a pandemic, and it didn't just 
disappear.
    So I think it's important that we continue to support the 
American workers. I would love to see everyone get back to 
work. I want to see that happen. That's the reason for this 
hearing today. The WIOA funding is to get authorization to 
invest in workers. That's what I want to do.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. I don't want to go too much over in 
education here, but I do think we have a problem in which a lot 
of people are spending time getting an education, but that 
education is not leading to a job, and eventually what I find 
in Wisconsin be it the trades, be it what you would call 
community colleges, people are getting the 4-year degree and 
when they're 28 or 29 years old their reservicing at community 
colleges to learn how to get a different skill.
    Do you realize this is a problem and your position to weigh 
in can make sure that people are not getting an education that 
is not a value?
    Secretary Walsh. No I think that well I think that I know 
my mother and father would always say this. A college degree is 
important to get, but I think that the American jobs plan is 
going to be focusing on how we retrain workers for the jobs of 
today. I have friends of mine; I went to school for political 
science. I don't know what that degree got me.
    I ended up running for public office and won, so I guess it 
worked out for me, but I definitely think that we have to be 
thinking about investments in the American Job Plan, how we 
retrain and reskill workers to get into industry. And I just 
want to thank you too, I was in Wisconsin last week. You have a 
beautiful State.
    We drove around. I went to some job fairs in Madison and 
Milwaukee. You have a beautiful State there.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you much.
    Chairman Scott. The gentleman's time has expired. Next is 
the gentleman from New York Mr. Morelle.
    Mr. Morelle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for holding 
this important hearing, and Mr. Secretary I have not had the 
privilege, but I've heard so much great things about you, so 
thank you for your service and thank you for being here this 
afternoon.
    Unfortunately, I'm a little late to this meeting due to a 
hearing on the Budget Committee on which I serve on the 
President's proposal, so I apologize if some of these questions 
have been covered, but if you'll just indulge me. When I meet 
with local businesses in my district, I represent Rochester, 
New York, I regularly hear that the greatest challenge is 
finding skilled labor to fill positions ? sort of along the set 
of skills ?
    from lower skills to higher skills, but skilled workers, 
and I don't think I need to tell you this, are the backbone of 
our economy. Apprenticeships provide a good opportunity to grow 
and expand access to the workforce. My dad was a Member of 
Local 13 Plumbers and Steamfitters. They do pneumatic controls 
and went through an apprentice program out of high school.
    And the success of apprentice programs is well established. 
I'm sure I don't need to tell you. According to your own 
department, 94 percent of apprentices are employed after 
completing their apprenticeship programs earning an average 
starting salary of $70,000.00.
    So apprenticeships clearly set workers on a path to a 
rewarding and most importantly, sustainable career. It's 
essential that we make the necessary investments to bolster our 
Nation's apprentice program. So could you talk a little bit 
about what you view, and what your vision is from the 
Department of Labor currently working on ways to expand, and 
any plans in the future to enhance apprenticeship 
opportunities?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes thank you. Thank you, Congressman. 
First and foremost, I think that you have brought up an 
important point here, and almost every Member has brought up 
when you talk about job training and jobs not being filled and 
skilled workers.
    It clearly shows that we have had a lack of investment in 
apprenticeship programs, and workforce development programs in 
our country for a long time. The American Jobs Plan, President 
Biden's plan is to invest 10 billion dollars over the next 10 
years into creating two million new jobs in our country.
    Those jobs can be retrained workers, the previous 
Congressman spoke a moment ago about people going to college, 
getting 4-year degree and not being able to work. This is 
geared toward them. The Ranking Member spoke mentioned job 
corps earlier today. This is geared toward people that go 
through job corps.
    This is geared toward people in Rochester. This is geared 
to people in Wisconsin, people in Seattle, all across the 
country. So when we think about these investments, we need to 
be really cognizant and intentional about making sure that 
these investments hit the street.
    I would also say when you asked the question about the 
Department of Labor, I would also say that we have an 
obligation to work with employers as well. Employers around the 
country to find out where these skills, what skills are needed 
and how do we pair people up with jobs?
    So this isn't just simply a job/training program that we're 
throwing money at a situation. This is bringing employer 
partners to the table and working with everybody at the table 
moving forward.
    Mr. Morelle. Well I couldn't agree more with you, and you 
make some really important points as it relates to employers. I 
know the administration has endorsed the National 
Apprenticeship Act which I was proud to lead the rule on the 
floor, and which I strongly support. We passed it in the House 
earlier this year.
    Could you discuss the importance of the legislation and how 
the Department will be able to improve the administration of 
apprenticeships, both existing ones, pre-apprenticeships, and 
those in industries that typically don't have apprenticeship 
programs?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes you know first of all you know the 
President has been clear that he supports a bipartisan approach 
to real reform, so I just want to start with talking about 
that, which will create and expand a venture to apprenticeships 
and youth apprenticeships, and pre-apprenticeships. The 
Department of Labor before me, meaning since January and now 
with me and supports the goal of modernizing comprehensive 
apprenticeship systems outlined in the Bill 447 and the 
National Apprenticeship Act of 2021.
    I look forward to working with Congress and all of you to 
achieve this important reform of registered apprenticeships and 
national apprenticeship systems. I think again it's one of the 
best things we could do for the future American workforce.
    Mr. Morelle. Well very good. I appreciate your leadership 
on this. As a die-hard Celtics fan maybe I can invite you to 
Rochester and we could talk about their fortunes and also talk 
a little bit about apprentice programs and how we can continue 
to further the agenda of the Department. With that Mr. 
Chairman, I will yield back.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you sir. Our poor Celtics had a 
tough ending.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The Secretary has agreed to be 
with us long enough for everyone to have five minutes, but he 
needs a break at 2:30. We have time for one more question 
before the ten-minute break at 2:30, so we'll recognize now the 
gentleman from Utah Mr. Owens.
    Mr. Owens. Thank you, Secretary Walsh. Before I segue into 
my question about electronic delivery, I'd like to share the 
concerns of my State of over 250,000 small business owners here 
in the State of Utah. That number of small businesses 
represents 97 percent of all Utah businesses. It's also a 
number that represents with 50 percent of employees in the 
State here in Utah.
    The numbers in January 2021 show that Utah is a leader 
rebounding from the pandemic, less than 3 percent of 
employment. We are a State that takes pride in work. The No. 1 
concern in Utah is as reflected in our numbers showing us that 
our government using revenue generated from our taxes is now 
paying small business employees $17.00 an hour to stay at home 
and not work in businesses that can only afford to pay $12.00, 
$13.00, $14.00, $15.00 dollars per hour.
    There are many in my State who believe that this is a 
sideways effort by the Biden administration to force small 
businesses to pay what Congress could not force them to pay 
through legislation of $15.00 per hour.
    I want to echo my colleague's request that it makes sense 
that your Department should never ever put in place policies 
that purposely hurt and kill businesses of entrepreneurs. 
Enhanced unemployment payments should never ever be another 
option, yet it shows real time data shows what my State is 
feeling.
    Earlier you said if you look into, the data results of 
states that ended enhanced unemployment and those who didn't. 
Does that mean that you not getting the data is an option?
    Secretary Walsh. No. Nobody has ended $300.00 yet.
    Mr. Owens. Yes that end on the 26th of this month here in 
the State of Utah. So we will have time to see the difference 
when that ends. And so my question is, is it an option not to 
get the data to show the difference in those two choices?
    Secretary Walsh. No. I mean I think that if when it ends, 
when and if it ends in Utah, if you have data, I would love to 
see it.
    Mr. Owens. OK good. Well 26 states across the country are 
ending it. And again, Utah will be ending June 26, so we should 
have that date and if it shows what we're feeling I hope this 
will never be another discussion in terms of how we get our 
country back.
    So I want to turn the page really quick. Last year the 
Department of Labor issued a safe harbor rule that allowed for 
default electronic delivery of retirement plan documents. 
Before using this safe harbor, plan sponsors were required to 
send a one-time paper notice to plan participants notifying 
them of electronic delivery.
    Plans using this safe harbor also allow participants to opt 
into paper copies at no cost to them if they prefer paper. This 
2020 rule was finalized after it had garnered support from a 
broad range of retirement savings to stakeholders, including 
several union pension funds. The shift toward e-delivery allows 
for cost effective and convenient access to retirement benefits 
information.
    In fact, plan participants with e-delivery at higher levels 
of engagement with their investments and higher contribution 
rates, possibly impacting their retirement options. This 2020 
e-delivery rule is a balanced approach that contains important 
consumer corrections protection and harnesses the ability to 
electronic communication, to increase engagement and retirement 
averages at a lower cost.
    Would you agree that the increase in online engagement by a 
plan's participants has a positive impact on retirement 
preparedness?
    Secretary Walsh. I can't answer that because I'm not sure. 
If you would give me some opportunity to look into it and to 
see if that's the case, I'll look into that.
    Mr. Owens. I would really hope you would do that. And also 
let me just ask you this. And you might have to look into this 
again, but I understand the Department is also undergoing the 
impact of the 2020 rule on seniors and those in the rural areas 
as required by the Conciliation Appropriation Act, CAA. This 
report is due at the end of the year.
    Do you have any idea on this whether you will be able to 
meet that statutory deadline at this particular point?
    Secretary Walsh. Congressman you clearly did your homework, 
and I didn't, so let me get back to you on that one as well.
    Mr. Owens. I appreciate that, and I totally understand. So 
I want to thank you again. I'd like to yield my remaining time 
to Ranking Member Dr. Foxx. Thank you so much.
    Ms. Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Owens. Mr. Secretary we have 
noticed that you have to get back to us on a lot of issues, and 
we'll be looking forward to that. I do have one quick question, 
and maybe possibly sort of a guidance. Earlier you made the 
comment that some people are on their way to college, and some 
people are on their way to a career.
    What in the world do you think people going to college are 
getting, or are looking forward to? They're looking forward to 
a career, or are they looking forward to contemplating their 
navels when they graduate?
    Secretary Walsh. Well what I was referencing, first of all 
this is my 78th day on the job, so I'm still learning as I move 
forward, just to put in the record. And what I was talking 
about was in high school not every person graduating high 
school is on their way to college.
    They have obstacles and barriers to get there. They might 
have financial obstacles. Some aren't prepared for college. I 
went to college for a year and a half, and I dropped out. I 
ended up going back to school later in life and got my degree 
at Boston College.
    So when I was talking about pathways, when a 12th grader 
graduate high school if you're a school district you have to 
have that 12th grader on a pathway to college, which is meaning 
accepted to college or into college, or a pathway to a career. 
Is there an opportunity to get that young person to an 
apprentice program or into a career, so that that person 
doesn't end up in a job corps years later because there's no 
options for them? And that's what I meant by that.
    Ms. Foxx. OK. We'll talk some more about how we can I think 
use better language to encourage people to think positively 
about where they're going, thank you Mr. Secretary.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. At this time we'll give the 
Secretary a ten-minute break. The next questioner will be the 
gentlelady from Pennsylvania Ms. Wild when we reconvene in ten 
minutes.
    [Break]
    Chairman Scott. The gentlelady from Pennsylvania Ms. Wild.
    Ms. Wild. Thank you so much Mr. Chairman, and thank you 
Secretary Walsh for your time today. It's great to see you 
again having just seen you about a week ago when you took time 
to visit Pennsylvania's 7th District, my district, and we 
really appreciated it.
    As you know, our district really highlights the opportunity 
envisioned by the American Jobs Plan to rebuild our economy 
with a made in America grit, and to create good family 
sustaining jobs, and I just think that your presence in our 
district as the first cabinet secretary of this administration 
to PA-7 was really important.
    I just want to start with a quick question and maybe quick. 
Can you provide us with a timeline for further action on a 
COVID-19 related emergency temporary standard as well as offer 
any insight on how your department might incorporate evolving 
public health guidance into such a standard?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you Congresswoman and I enjoyed the 
trip, I really did. And thank you for that. I had a great time 
and I've been talking about it ever since, especially the tour 
of the old steel mill. The temporary standard will be posted 
tomorrow, the emergency temporary standard will be posted 
tomorrow.
    It's on hospital healthcare workers and they'll be showing 
guidance on other industries, and there will be a briefing I 
believe there's going to be a briefing tomorrow for all staff.
    Ms. Wild. OK, wonderful.
    Secretary Walsh. That was just I was able to announce that 
just at the beginning of this hearing, it just passed our wire 
and it's public.
    Ms. Wild. I must have missed that. I'm so sorry but thank 
you so much. Moving on, in my district, we have two community 
colleges. Out of the 14 in Pennsylvania, two of them are in my 
district, and they are shining stars or jewels of the district 
as I call them.
    They're great community partners. They support workforce 
programs that empower students with the skills that they need 
to succeed and contribute to our economy, and I believe that 
it's great that the American Jobs Plan outlines investment in a 
community college training partnership program, one informed by 
previous work on trade adjustment assistance programs, based in 
community colleges, as well as outlining a sectoral program, 
the sector program that builds on our previous work in the 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
    What lessons learned from these two prior initiatives, a 
sector program and a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act,. 
and what lessons learned from those have informed the 
development of the proposals of the administration? And how 
could the Federal Department of Labor support the specific 
workforce development needs of our local communities and 
economies?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you. What informs the suggested 
investment is evidence-based practices and talking and seeing 
what's working. What supports the apprenticeship investment is 
evidence-based practices, but also success and outcomes of 
those programs, and I think that that's key.
    I think that as we think about making these investments as 
you think about making these investments not only will the 
individuals that go through these programs be benefited from 
them to earn better wages against the middle class, but also 
your community colleges benefit by these investments by being 
able to administer these programs in a lot of cases.
    And I think that we have to look at as a country a stronger 
partnership with our community college system. I've met with, 
think it's National Association of Community Colleges already. 
I have had one meeting. That's a natural area to go when we 
think about investments in communities because they're in 
communities. Most of them, a majority of them are in 
communities that people are underemployed in a lot of cases, or 
don't have opportunity.
    So I look forward to working with you, but also with your 
colleagues and community colleges, no matter Democrats or 
Republicans. Let's strengthen the system. Let's make 
investments in people, and let's get people opportunities to 
get better paying jobs and opportunities for middle class.
    Ms. Wild. Well thank you. We are completely on the same 
page about this. I believe the community colleges really offer 
a wonderful opportunity. So many in my community who are first 
generation college students go to the two community colleges, 
and the community colleges have shown just a remarkable ability 
to adapt to changing needs by employers, in a way that 4 year 
colleges I don't think are geared to do.
    So we see our community colleges steering new students into 
career paths, job paths where they are very much needed and 
likely to become quickly employed, so let's keep working on 
that. Thank you so much, Mr. Secretary. And with that I yield 
back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Next is my colleague from 
Virginia Mr. Good.
    Mr. Good. Thank you, Chairman Scott, and thank you 
Secretary Walsh for being with us today. Secretary Walsh in any 
vetting process it's important to discuss a person's record and 
history of past relevant actions. I understand that Members of 
your own party are calling for your resignation, saying that 
you covered up allegations of domestic violence against your 
nominee for the Boston Police Chief Commissioner position, 
Dennis White.
    According to reports in 1993 Mr. White allegedly verbally 
abused, slapped, punch and threw his niece down a stairway 
during a fight. In 1999 Mr. White allegedly threatened to shoot 
his daughter if she ever approached him while he was asleep. 
Also in 1999 Mr. White's ex-wife got a restraining order 
against him, and yet despite this clear history of alleged 
misconduct, you still chose to appoint him to lead Boston's 
police department.
    Two days ago, the new acting mayor of Boston Kim Janey 
announced that she had fired Commissioner White due to these 
domestic violence allegations. Former Boston Police 
Commissioner William Gross sworn an affidavit that you knew 
about Mr. White's background when you selected him for the job, 
a claim supported by a local district prosecutor.
    Last week in a sworn statement Mr. White said that he 
informed you that he had been the subject of a restraining 
order related to the domestic abuse allegations. Secretary 
Walsh, simply a yes or no question please. Do you assert that 
Mr. Gross and/or Mr. White lied with these sworn affidavits and 
sworn statements?
    Secretary Walsh. Well first of all Congressman thank you 
for bringing this up. I appreciate it because nobody from my 
party the democratic party has asked for my resignation. I was 
not aware of these incidents when I appointed Dennis White as 
Commissioner of Boston. If I had known that, that would not 
have happened, I would not have appointed him.
    Mr. Good. So excuse me sir, you're asserting that Mr. 
White's sworn statement said that he had informed you that he 
had been the subject of a restraining order related to domestic 
abuse allegation. You're saying that Commissioner White is 
lying with that sworn statement?
    Secretary Walsh. Well I'm not sure. I'd have to go back and 
look at the sworn statement in the context that it was spoken 
and written. It was not that clear.
    Mr. Good. OK how about with respect to Commissioner Gross's 
sworn affidavit that you knew about Mr. White's background when 
you selected him.
    Secretary Walsh. From what I understand Mr. Gross's sworn 
affidavit said that there was a recommendation, a file 
reviewed, and never clearly stated that I got the file, and I 
never received the file on Dennis White.
    Mr. Good. Given the fact that you seem to ignore the 
critical information in appointing a person with a documented 
violent history to the highest rank of the police department in 
Boston, do you feel like you should resign?
    Secretary Walsh. I didn't ignore anything. I wasn't aware 
of the situation until after. Until quite honestly, after I 
appointed him, and it was pointed out to me in the newspaper.
    Mr. Good. Secretary Walsh the American people deserve to 
know what's happening in their government, and given your 
history as mayor of Boston I think it's appropriate to ask you 
if you're aware of any domestic violence perpetrated by your 
staff during your time and leadership at the Department of 
Labor? And if there were, what actions would you take?
    Secretary Walsh. I would take immediate actions if I knew, 
if anything came to light that I understood I'd take immediate 
action.
    Mr. Good. And so if someone on your staff.
    Secretary Walsh. Just like I did in the situation of 
Commissioner White. As soon as I found out then immediately I 
placed him on paid leave and hired an outside investigator to 
do an investigation on an internal investigation and an 
external investigation that did an investigation that led to 
his dismissal by the current acting mayor.
    Mr. Good. Thank you, sir. One would hope that a President 
would seek transparency and put capable people in leadership 
roles in his administration. However, Mr. Biden won't admit to 
the corrupt dealings of his own son Hunter, his failure to set 
high standards for his cabinet should come as no surprise.
    Secretary Walsh why should the American people trust an 
administration that has a history of covering up domestic 
violence and questionable actions with foreign entities by the 
President's own son?
    Secretary Walsh. I'm not going to comment on that. It 
doesn't justify an answer.
    Mr. Good. Commissioner Walsh, or Secretary Walsh, in the 
Labor Department your mission should be to put American jobs 
first. How do you defend the Biden administration using its 
first days in office to fire thousands of Americans by shutting 
down the Keystone Pipeline, and simultaneously endorsing 
Russia's Nord Stream 2 Pipeline?
    Secretary Walsh. What I do support is President Biden's 
American Rescue Plan that is getting millions of Americans back 
to work. What I do support is President Biden's American Jobs 
Plan, American Families Plan.
    Mr. Good. Excuse me sir do you support him shutting down 
the pipeline and approving the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline?
    Secretary Walsh. Again I think that the President made it 
very clear when he unveiled his climate goals about creating 
opportunities and equity in jobs in those areas to replace a 
new industry in our county to create opportunities in that 
industry.
    Mr. Good. Thank you, sir my time has expired. I yield back 
Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentleman's time has 
expired. The next is gentlelady from Georgia Mrs. McBath.
    Mrs. McBath. Thank you so much Mr. Chairman and Ranking 
Member Foxx for convening this hearing today. And thank you 
Secretary Walsh for joining us this afternoon and I will 
apologize on behalf of my republican colleagues. You were not 
brought here today to answer innuendo in this kind of 
questioning. You were brought here today to talk about the 
budget and agenda for the Department of Labor.
    And I will make sure that I'm asking those very kinds of 
questions, so I do apologize. It is not meant for you to be 
here being questioned and you know, and innuendo, and all these 
kinds of accusations being made toward you. But thank you so 
much for joining us this afternoon.
    I had the benefit of being able to hear from you just 
recently as you addressed the Democratic Women's Caucus earlier 
this week, and the work at the Department of Labor is vital to 
continuing to ensure that all working families in American can 
lead more productive and safer lives.
    And your record as the mayor of Boston and your work with 
the trade unions and the business community and every day 
working people leaves you with a unique perspective on the 
American workforce. And the work still needed to ensure that 
every American has access to middle class, and also you know 
middle class values and the American dream.
    And our Committee right here has been focused on that very 
work that you are ensuring happens, whether it be rebuilding 
America's workforce, or ensuring that workers have adequate 
safety standards. However, I'd really like to kind of 
transition today and talk a little bit more about the need for 
comprehensive national paid leave, creating a sustainable 
workforce, a framework for paid family leave and medical leave, 
but these programs which are essential for building a fair and 
equitable society.
    And the past year has definitely shown us that no one is 
immune to the need for care for their child or their loved one, 
and no one should lose their job simply because they needed to 
show their loved one that same kind of kindness that you know 
we all would want in a similar situation.
    And the pandemic, you know COVID-19 definitely did expose 
the costs and the consequences of gaps in these very important 
protections. Expansions of these benefits is vital to ensuring 
a safe productive and healthy workforce. I have just one 
question for you sir.
    Secretary Walsh, please just expound upon what is the 
economic benefit to workers, their families, and the overall 
economy of a national comprehensive paid family and medical 
leave program. Thank you.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you very much Congresswoman, and I 
just want to begin by saying no need to apologize. I appreciate 
your words and I thank you for that, but I appreciate that. One 
thing to answer your question that studies have showed workers 
lose about 22.5 billion dollars in wages annually due to lack 
of paid family leave.
    And when you think about the impact that that has on our 
economy, access to paid leave increases labor force 
participation for women, and paid leave reduces racial 
disparities and wage loss. So you think about those three 
things I just said and what the impact would be for paid family 
leave to the American economy would be profound in some ways, 
so I don't know if profound is the right word, but I'm using 
profound.
    It would be a great way of moving forward. When you think 
about the impacts of COVID-19 on the economy, the numbers are 
high. 4 million women have been pushed out of the workforce. 
When you look around the country and you look at cities and 
towns across the country often in a lot of cities and towns the 
wage earners, the bread winners in families are women.
    The head of the household is women. So having a strong 
comprehensive paid family program works. When I had a chance to 
meet with as I mentioned a little earlier, I met with some 
companies. Levi's was one of them. They talked about the 
importance of paid family leave in their company and what it 
meant for the workers in their company, and it meant for the 
productivity in their company.
    And all of the signs for paid family leave are positive. 
There's no negative signs. So when we say paid family leave or 
medical leave, there's no negative signs in this.
    Mrs. McBath. Thank you very much and I release the balance 
of my time.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentlelady's time has 
expired. The next gentlelady from Michigan, Mrs. McClain.
    Mrs. McClain. Good afternoon Mr. Secretary. First, I want 
to thank you for being here today. I do appreciate it. I have a 
limited amount of time, so I want to ask you just three really 
very simple questions. Yes and no answers are fine, and 
honestly, these are not trick questions.
    Would you agree that ensuring our Nation has a strong labor 
market is really paramount for our recovery?
    Secretary Walsh. I completely agree with you.
    Mrs. McClain. Thank you so much. And then historically 
economies that have millions of job openings, typically that 
would mean low unemployment would follow correct?
    Secretary Walsh. You're right correct. In a normal 
circumstance when we're not dealing with a pandemic, yes.
    Mrs. McClain. Thank you. My third question is would you 
agree that it is best to have American citizens working and 
making a positive contribution to our economy, rather than 
receiving unemployment benefits?
    Secretary Walsh. As a former mayor absolutely. I wanted to 
get my unemployment rate as low as possible, and I wanted to 
create as many good jobs as possible in the city of Boston in 
my time there.
    Mrs. McClain. Thank you so much. I'm glad you agree with me 
on these basics. Now I continue to hear from employers and 
businesses in my district that they are unable to find people 
who are actually willing to work due to this administration's 
enhanced unemployment benefits.
    You testified that you agreed with me that it is best to 
have Americans working rather than relying on the government. 
The facts are clear that the enhanced unemployment benefits are 
hindering our recovery, especially here in my district. So I 
ask you when, and I am looking for a timeframe, when will it be 
necessary to end these benefits if the recent jobs reports 
aren't enough of a sign?
    Secretary Walsh. Let me thank you, I'm just writing some 
notes down. First, thank you for this line of questioning. I 
think it's an important conversation to have, and I think we 
need to continue to have this conversation.
    Mrs. McClain. It just seems like there's a reverse, or 
we're missing cause and effect.
    Secretary Walsh. Well I think that just you know one thing 
I think we have to be again remain cognizant enough we are 
still in or coming out of a global pandemic that the likes of 
which we haven't seen in the United States of America in 100 
years. In saying that the benefit, the unemployment extension 
benefit expires in September.
    And when you look at President Biden's Recovery Plan, we've 
added in the past 4 months over 2.1 million jobs have been 
added to our economy. And as we think about, as we see the 
connection between the CDC release, or reducing some of the 
restrictions on masks, and restrictions, as we see states and 
cities around the country reduce and cut back on some of those 
restrictions on COVID, we're seeing more and more people enter 
into the workforce.
    And as we start seeing childcare facilities open, and 
schools open, and hopefully summer camp's open, that's going to 
be key. We're going to see more and more people go back into 
the economy.
    Mrs. McClain. And are you optimistic that at the end of the 
September these enhanced benefits will be done?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes, I mean they expire then. They do 
expire then.
    Mrs. McClain. OK.
    Secretary Walsh. And I'm also hopeful and optimistic that 
our economy, and more people will be working by the end of 
September.
    Mrs. McClain. Yes, I mean that's my, we're on the same 
sheet of music. I mean we have 9.3 million jobs, and we don't 
have people to fill those jobs. My concern is if we don't keep 
the businesses open, by the time the enhanced unemployment 
benefits run out and expire in September, they won't have any 
businesses to go back to work to, so I think you and I are on 
the same sheet of music.
    By why do you and President Biden remain so committed to 
the unnecessary spending of the taxpayer dollars on these 
benefits? Do you really think they're needed?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes, I do honestly think they're needed. I 
really do.
    Mrs. McClain. Even with the numbers and the data we have?
    Secretary Walsh. Well the numbers and data is how people 
read them quite honestly, and I think that there's still a lot 
of pain in this country. People have lost their job. People 
have lost the industry they worked in. Many of the restaurants 
that are looking for workers now, about 25 percent of our 
restaurants roughly, at least I could speak for Boston. I can't 
speak for the country, are out of business not because of not 
having workers.
    Mrs. McClain. Sir I think you and I are close on this. One 
last question before I yield my time back. Am I hearing you 
correctly that you will commit to this Committee to ending 
these unnecessary benefits as soon as possible, hopefully in 
September?
    Secretary Walsh. No I won't commit to ending them as soon 
as possible, but they expire in September. So for all intents 
and purposes in September they expire, so I guess you could say 
at that point they end.
    Mrs. McClain. Thank you for time sir I yield back.
    Secretary Walsh. I appreciate it thank you.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentlelady from Connecticut 
Ms. Hayes.
    Mrs. Hayes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Secretary 
Walsh, for being here today and for your testimony. In 
Connecticut and across the country, and even in this hearing 
today, we've heard a lot about underemployment and jobs that 
are unable to be filled. I think where we disagree is on some 
of the reasons.
    What I'm hearing from my constituents is that it's 
everything from childcare to low wages, to you know we keep 
hearing just belabored, the unemployment plus up, which is not 
the only reason that people are not returning to the workforce.
    Yesterday a former Reagan official stated on Fox News, and 
I quote, ``The poor, the minorities, the disenfranchised, those 
with less education, young people who haven't had the job 
experience, those people are not worth $15.00 an hour in most 
cases.''
    So we are so far apart on where we stand on these issues, 
so I'm so happy to hear your support today for the $15.00 
minimum wage, and the fact that every person is worthy of a 
living wage despite their labor or contributions to the 
economy.
    I have two questions today and I'm going to ask them both 
just so that I can yield the rest of the time to you to answer. 
I'm from Connecticut, so you have to know I'm going to ask you 
a question about registered apprenticeships. We need long-term 
strategies to support the creation of high-paying jobs for all 
workers.
    Once such opportunity is registered apprenticeships. My 
question though is about pre-apprenticeships. I was a high 
school teacher and in high schools around the country we 
commonly refer to college and career pathways, or college and 
career readiness. That's an accepted term that everyone 
understands and that we deal with.
    My question for you Secretary Walsh is how will the 
investments in registered apprenticeships that are called for 
in the Biden American Jobs Plan, help individuals afford to 
participate in these apprenticeships? We see so many of these 
programs that are unpaid apprenticeships, and for many of the 
children in my class they wouldn't have been able to access 
those opportunities.
    And then my second question is there's another segment of 
the workforce that we haven't really heard a lot about. The 
formerly incarcerated who have long faced barriers to economic 
stability. How can Congress support the Department of Labor in 
your efforts to expand services for returning citizens to 
ensure they are not underemployed, or unemployed, and can 
become productive citizens?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you very much. First of all if I run 
over my time Mr. Chairman just stop me because this is an area 
that I'm pretty passionate about. In my time, in my whole lived 
experience whether it was a worker, as the head of the building 
trades, as a State representative, or as a mayor of Boston.
    First and foremost your first comment you didn't ask me a 
question. $15.00 an hour minimum wage is something that we need 
to advocate for. Every single American deserves it. Every 
single American deserves it regardless of their status, where 
they're from what their work history is. We need to make sure 
we put people on level playing fields, and that's what the 
President's intention is about, that's what my intention is 
about, and that's what we need to do moving forward.
    And I think if you talk to most employers in America they 
would agree as well. As far as registered apprenticeships and 
pre-apprenticeships it's incumbent that we make sure that 
people that enter into those apprenticeships that they get paid 
No. 1, that they have an opportunity. We talked a little about 
Congressman Norcross asked me earlier, a little bit earlier, 
about the building trades.
    Once you're in the apprenticeship program you're getting 
paid. We also have to be more cognizant and more intentional 
about creating opportunities for people of color and women to 
get into those building trades, into those pathway programs. I 
didn't see the TV interview by the Reagan official, but I'd be 
willing to be that the people that he was talking about never 
had an opportunity in their live to get into some type of 
apprenticeship program.
    The people he labeled as people of color and not working. 
So that's what we need to do. We need to be more intentional 
about creating pathways. And then when it comes to formerly 
incarcerated, I will go one step further. Not just formerly 
incarcerated, but I think we have to do a better job in America 
of going to urban America, and going to see America where young 
people quit school, they're hanging on the corner, they're 
involved in activity, and they might be involved in the 
criminal justice system.
    And how do we create pathways before they get incarcerated 
into apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs? Because 
what a lot of people just need is an opportunity and a chance, 
and I believe in second chances, and I believe in third changes 
because I was given second chances in my life.
    And I'm sitting in front of you as a person that was given 
a second and a third chance many times. So I certainly think we 
need to be more intentional about the work we do. The 
investments in the WIOA reauthorization, we have investments in 
apprenticeships, we have investments in work training, in 
workforce development, and we have investments in reentry as 
well.
    So those dollars are tied into the WIOA reauthorization, so 
I hope that we can have the authorization in time quickly, so 
we can start to make those investments, including the American 
Jobs Plan.
    Mrs. Hayes. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. You're a breath of 
fresh air. Mr. Chair, I yield back. Thank you.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Next is Harshbarger, Miller, the 
gentlelady from Indiana Mrs. Spartz, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin Mr. Fitzgerald?
    Mr. Fitzgerald. You're good thank you Mr. Chair. And thank 
you Mr. Secretary for hanging in there today. I know it's kind 
of a long process here. I wanted to just take maybe a 30,000 
foot look at some of the issues that are you know somewhat 
similar to what's been discussed, but and I know you just 
mentioned again that you were a Member of the assembly, of the 
House in Massachusetts.
    And I just came out of the Wisconsin legislature after 25 
years, so I'm just newly elected in November to Congress. And 
in Wisconsin you know just like it is in many other states, 
unemployment insurance is sometimes set by kind of a non-
partisan council.
    So you've got labor, you've got management, they sit in a 
room, they iron things out, set the rate that employers will 
pay into the unemployment fund, and like I said I have a long 
enough tenure that when I was in Wisconsin in the State Senate, 
just like many of the other states when we hit a downturn in 
the economy in 08-09, that fund was in trouble because there 
were so many individuals that actually were collecting the 
unemployment insurance compensation.
    We were able to fix that, and like I said in a non-partisan 
way, in a uniform way. They were able to fix that by tweaking 
some things related to unemployment. And then we were doing 
fine. We were doing fine right up until the pandemic. So you 
know what I find right now is that this is having a detrimental 
effect I think State by State by State.
    And as you see these unemployment funds diminish, and I 
want to put it on your radar screen because I think we're going 
to find ourselves at a point in time, it could be 6 months, it 
could be a year from now, it could be longer, where suddenly 
it's going to be states saying, OK, you know we still need an 
unemployment fund in this State, even though you know the 
enhanced benefits are gone and COVID hopefully is being 
managed. It's never going away.
    It's going to be managed. And you know this is going to 
fall I think squarely back on the Federal Government to try and 
figure a way out of this because you know the ways things look 
right now the economy is strong, but I don't know that you can 
go to a small business and say listen, we're going to have to 
increase the unemployment insurance compensation rate to fill 
the red ink that's probably going to emerge in a lot of these 
situations.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman. I can't disagree 
with anything you just said. I will say this I spent 16 years 
in the Massachusetts House, and I was in like you in the 
legislature in 2008-09 when we had the recession. I was there 
in 2001 and 2002 when we had a dip in the economy as well. And 
you're right the rate was set by a bipartisan group of folks.
    It was funded by the legislature and by businesses. I think 
that what we've experienced, and I don't want to be critical of 
any states, but what we're seeing is a consistent underfunding 
of the fund in certain states, and also this year the pandemic 
obviously came on 30 plus million Americans out of work 
literally overnight, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, all over the 
country people are applying for unemployment because their job 
was gone.
    And when President Biden got elected, one of the first 
things he did in the American Rescue Plan was put a 2 million 
dollar investment there for us her at Department of Labor and 
ETA to take a look at the systems across the country and to 
make investments.
    Now that 2 million dollars is probably not going to fix the 
problem that you pointed out that probably is going to happen, 
but what we have to do is come up with a reform of the UI 
system that works. In some states they have old technology 
they're using, in some states it's the benefit levels are all 
over the place.
    So we really have to have a comprehensive unemployment 
insurance reform package here, and then we have to work with 
the states and the territories carrying that out. So again, 
everything you said, I'm not going to argue with anything you 
said. Some states have pointed out to me that their funds, 
they're in trouble because they're draining down on it and they 
don't have kind of a way to build those funds back up.
    We also had the issue of fraud that came up, breaking into 
our system, so all of these issues you know if at the end of 
the day we a system have that's reformed and that works. A UI 
system that works for states, for people, for businesses, for 
employers, then we would have done our job. So it's incumbent 
upon us here at the Department of Labor to make sure that we 
work collectively with other states and territories to get this 
right.
    Mr. Fitzgerald. OK very good. Mr. Chairman just really 
quick I want to put in a good word. I always try to talk about 
the tech college system, you know, I know it varies from State 
to State, but in a lot of instances it's been the one group of 
educators that have been nimble enough to try and respond to 
crises like we're having right now.
    And so anything we can do for the tech colleges I think 
makes sense and is also going to be a great investment for the 
Federal Government. Keep your eye on the ball because I think 
that's another thing that's going to have to change very 
quickly, but thanks for being with us today.
    Secretary Walsh. I agree with you there too, thank you.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentleman's time has 
expired. Next is the gentleman from Michigan Mr. Levin.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks for your 
persistence, Mr. Secretary, and for fighting for justice for 
American workers. It's great to see you. And I certainly want 
to followup on the words of my colleague there, your buddy 
Secretary Cardona was in my district yesterday at a community 
college.
    And the President's plan and our bill--The America's 
College Promise Act--two years of free community college for 
everybody is such a cornerstone of what we've got to do, so I 
appreciate your leadership on all of that.
    Let me try to ask you a couple things that people haven't 
talked much about. You know the Federal Government maintains a 
lot of purchasing power right, be it numerous programs 
throughout the executive branch. And I strongly believe that 
the Federal Government should not provide taxpayer money to 
employers who do not respect their workers or shift jobs 
around.
    How can we ensure that money spent goes only to entities 
that implement and abide by strong labor protections? And how 
does the Department of Labor coordinate with other Federal 
agencies in that regard? And are there ways that we can make 
interagency coordination stronger, or labor protections for all 
of our workers who are working on these Federal dollars that we 
gave them.
    Secretary Walsh. Yes thank you Congressman. I mean I think 
one of the ways of doing this across cabinet is President 
Biden's Buy American Plan. And how do we make sure that we make 
those investments not just in the contracts that are given out, 
but how do we make sure there's equity in it?
    We are working internally here at the Department of Labor 
on the equity executive order the President signed. We want to 
make sure that not only are workers paid a fair wage, but it's 
also that we increase the amount of spending that's in 
businesses of color, women, veterans-owned businesses, so we 
can actually create more equity there as well.
    So I think that this is going to be conversations that will 
be ongoing as we continue to move forward here with the 
Department of Labor and with the administration.
    Mr. Levin. Outstanding. I hope we can you know advance also 
the workers on Federal contracts are free to form unions, you 
know, without interference and all that. So I really look 
forward to supporting your work on that. And let me mention 
also the role, the crucial role of ILAB in the USMCA situation.
    Allegations of vote tampering came to light during a union 
election in General Motor's assembly plan in the Mexican State 
of Guanajuato. And subsequently, the Mexican Labor Ministry had 
to invalidate that election, and the U.S. filed a complaint 
under the U.S. embassy rapid response labor mechanism, which is 
a new thing.
    This is one of a number of problems with Mexican 
implementation of USMCA's labor provisions and the ILAB, the 
International Labor Affairs Bureau, in DOL has to take 
responsibility for ensuring our trading partners meet their 
labor obligations, but especially this new power under USMCA.
    So I know you've appointed a person to run that, and I 
wonder if you could speak to your efforts with the U.S. trade 
representative to ensure that Mexico meets its labor 
commitments under USMCA, and whether you've had contacts with 
your counterparts in Mexico on this, and just basically 
anything we can do to support your work on this because it's 
super important that those new labor provisions succeed.
    Secretary Walsh. Yes, no thank you for that. The ILAB 
regularly engaged with the Mexico's Minister of Labor, and 
others in Mexico to support the compliance with the labor 
commitments to the USMCA. Mexico's new labor institutions have 
started to resolve disputes and register unions, and collective 
bargaining agreements.
    Obviously, the pandemic has worsened the challenge involved 
in Mexico's ambitious labor policy, but we're going to continue 
to work. In support of ILAB, the USMCA's mission they're 
working to hire new staff from monitoring enforcement including 
five labor attaches in Mexico.
    So that's one of the first meetings I had after I got sworn 
in was with ILAB, and they were talking about the attaches, and 
we had two on the ground, and there was three that weren't, and 
it makes a big difference, particularly with a pandemic. So 
we're in the process right now I think there's a bit of a 
process hiring up, but we're in the process of hiring, and I 
know it's been posted, and I think we're interviewing in there.
    And ILAB was also awarded more than 80 million dollars in 
projects funding to support labor reforms in Mexico, so that's 
another important step that we take to reduce workplace 
discrimination, address child labor, forced labor, human 
trafficking and making sure to ensure other successes of 
efforts related to implementation of the USMCA.
    So we're going to work closely with all of our partners 
here so that we can make sure that this is a successful 
relationship.
    Mr. Levin. Outstanding. I'm glad you're there to drive all 
that forward, am looking forward to helping any way we can, and 
I think my time has expired Mr. Chairman and I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentleman from North 
Carolina Mr. Cawthorn.
    Mr. Cawthorn. Thank you very much Mr. Chairman Scott, and 
thank you very much Secretary. You know I believe that these 
last 7 months have taught us anything throughout the Biden 
administration it's that the Biden agenda, the democrat agenda 
puts the interest of union bosses over the interests of union 
workers.
    The Biden administration pro union boss agenda has been a 
death knell for the American worker in my district and across 
the country. With the flick of his cufflink bedazzled wrist, 
our monarch in chief has demolished 4 years of pro-worker, pro-
business initiatives enacted by the previous administration, 
including updated regulations on joint employer status, 
independent contractors, industry recognized apprenticeships, 
religious liberty and union transparency.
    Perhaps most striking is the current administration's 
callous disregard for industry recognized apprenticeships, 
which create a powerful employment pathway for young American 
workers. I believe that on February 19, 2021, President Biden 
rescinded the executive worker which created the IRAP program 
and asked the DOL to consider new rulemaking to reverse 
apprenticeship programs.
    The gloves have come off. The blindfold is being ripped 
from the eyes of the American people. We are now seeing that 
democratic policy where it truly is, a full-scale war on the 
blue-collar worker. I will not be silent while thousands of 
blue-collar workers in my district are questioned and meet the 
boot heal of white-collar liberal lawyers here in Washington.
    Secretary Walsh industry recognized apprenticeship programs 
combines workforce training with paid work component in an 
educational or instructional component, and results in industry 
recognized credential. It is the most cost-efficient way to 
give participants the chance to learn skills and make a wage in 
time.
    In an industry where they will get a good paying job as 
soon as they finish the program. In 2021, a year from the last 
final rule, President Biden rescinded yet another one of 
President Trumps initiatives, the IRAP program.
    My question for you is why were IRAP's rescinded before 
even having the chance to show how valuable they are.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman, for your comments 
and question. I'm concerned that the IRAP's are a duplicate 
system that doesn't require worker protection and quality 
standard of registered apprenticeships. And I think that while 
our review is currently ongoing, I just want to reiterate my 
commitment I made during my confirmation process, that we'll 
ensure that voices of all industries are heard, including and 
obviously we have a hearing today, I've love to talk to you 
more outside of this hearing.
    The rulemaking process that we do regarding IRAP's will be 
transparent. We're going to go through public notice and 
comment period, and there will be an opportunity for people to 
explain how successful they are and what the benefits have 
been, and the Department intends to issue spring regulatory 
agenda shortly.
    Mr. Cawthorn. Right, but as I understand with you all 
rescinding the final ruling on this, it does keep in place the 
ongoing IRAP program to people who are already enrolled in this 
program, but how does that help people in my generation, the 
new workforce? People returning from the military, people who 
are just graduating college, people who are just entering the 
workforce from high school, how does that help us in the 
future, and why are you halting that?
    Secretary Walsh. Because the President in the American 
Job's Plan is making a 10 billion dollar investment over 10 
years to create 2 million new apprentices, and the folks in 
your generation and older generations, younger generations, 
will have opportunities in those generations, and those are 
long-standing apprenticeship programs that show benefits and 
success over the years.
    Mr. Cawthorn. Thank you very much Secretary and I yield 
back one more time.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentlelady from Minnesota 
Ms. Omar, is she on the present? The gentlelady from Michigan 
Ms. Stevens. Ms. Stevens we're having trouble hearing you. It 
didn't look like you were muted.
    Mr. Jones. Hayley, do you have an external microphone 
possibly?
    Chairman Scott. We're going to ask the staff to get in 
touch with Ms. Stevens to get her online, and then meanwhile 
we'll go to Ms. Leger Fernandez, the gentlelady from New Mexico 
Ms. Leger Fernandez.
    Mrs. Leger Fernandez. Thank you very much Chairman Scott, 
and thank you Secretary Walsh for addressing you know how the 
American Rescue Plan has already created more jobs than during 
any other presidency, and how we'll build on that with the 
American Jobs Plan.
    Loved hearing what we plan to do with the apprenticeships 
and the work with community colleges, to just name a few of the 
two initiatives you've talked about. Secretary Walsh I want to 
focus on how the Department of Labor can help two specific 
groups ? our artists harmed by the pandemic, and our fossil 
fuel workers as we transition to a cleaner economy.
    As we discussed last week at the congressional Hispanic 
Caucus meeting the creative economy is essential to the U.S. 
economy, and especially in New Mexico, but at the height of the 
pandemic 63 percent of those in the creative sector were 
unemployed. Do you agree that creative workers as a group have 
been severely impacted by the COVID pandemic?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes. As I said in the caucus the other day 
there's no question about it. And you know I saw in my city, 
but all across this country. Other than the extension of 
unemployment benefits, many people in the creative economy had 
nothing. They lost everything. There was no relief for their 
space. There was no relief for studios. If you had a studio, 
they had nothing.
    So I absolutely agree with that, and when you think about 
the creative economy the impacts it has in our economy in a 
positive outweighs, I mean is astronomical as well in a 
positive way.
    Mrs. Leger Fernandez. Thank you and I think you're right 
about--I love Amanda Gorman's poem where she calls upon us to 
repair our Nation right, that the power of that poem tells us a 
lot. So I am working on legislation to help the creative 
economy to address those kinds of things that will go under the 
Department of Labor where you'll consult with the NEA, and it's 
intended to put unemployed artists and creatives to work on 
those public art experiences for communities.
    You know we recognized that back when we did the WPA coming 
out of the depression. We recognized that in New Mexico where 
we have a 1 percent of public capital funding for arts 
projects. You know, and those WPA arts are still inspiring us 
today. I would ask whether you would support a program like 
this to help get creative workers back into jobs for operating 
arts and programs to our communities.
    Secretary Walsh. No absolutely. When you think about 
workforce boards across the United States, they're there to 
support workers and partners with employers and industries and 
jobs and regions, and so we have when you think about it we 
have it for our youth partnerships in Boston, and now we should 
be thinking about it a little differently when we talk about 
you know creative economy artists and independent folks that 
are working. I absolutely agree with that.
    Mrs. Leger Fernandez. OK great. And now you know I'm going 
to turn to our transition. I really appreciate Congressman 
DeSaulnier bringing up the need to help workers as we 
transition to a clean energy economy. You know we don't have 
steel workers and boilermakers in New Mexico, but what we do 
have are the fossil fuel workers who helped supply the energy 
to our Nation for decades.
    These workers are often rural, and in my State they're 
Native American and Latino as well. And I invite you to New 
Mexico to visit these areas. We go from creatives to our fossil 
fuel areas. But I did want to ask you how the Department of 
Labor planned to assist fossil fuel workers as we transition to 
a clean energy economy to combat climate change, and what we 
can do in Congress to help serve this workforce.
    Secretary Walsh. Well first of all thank you for the invite 
and I look forward to getting to New Mexico. I really am 
looking forward to that. A little earlier I was asked a similar 
question, and I think there's two things. One is there's a 
major reauthorization in WIOA for veterans to be able to get 
into the clean economy if you will, and there's also job 
training, workforce development, apprenticeship programs as 
well for retraining.
    I shouldn't say retraining, enhancing their skills of 
workers that understand the fossil fuel industry that can work 
into the new environmental industry. And I think that you know 
you don't have to train them, they already have the skills. 
What you have to do is expand their skills, expand their 
understanding of this industry.
    So I think we have a unique opportunity right now at this 
moment in time in this country to really, with a President that 
is making major investments and willing to make major 
investments in this industry while we're able to do two things.
    One is we're able to combat climate change, we're able to 
reduce carbon emissions, we're able to make our environment 
cleaner and safer and healthier for the next generation of 
young people, but we also get a chance to take the workers that 
are currently working in the fossil fuel industry, and other 
industries, and help them to be able to earn good living, good 
wages in the same industry that's converting our environment 
into a safe place.
    Mrs. Leger Fernandez. Thank you so very much. My time is 
expired, and I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentlelady from California 
Mrs. Steel.
    Mrs. Steel. Thank you, Chairman Scott, and thank you 
Ranking Member Dr. Foxx, and Secretary Walsh thank you for 
being with us today, such a long time. I started at 7 here in 
California and you know we are still on, so thank you very 
much.
    Let me get just straight to the question. In California 
we've been seeing that ABC has to reclassify independent 
contractors as employees has been a failure. It limits, and in 
many cases prevents Americans looking for jobs from finding 
flexible options for work. It hurts workers. It hurts business, 
and it hurts consumers.
    The blanket approach in California has proved to a disaster 
and is now riddled with exemptions. Following these policies 
it's guaranteed to cause more harm to workers at the national 
level. We saw a push for the California ABC test in the PRO 
Act, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, and now you are 
on the record supporting the reclassification of workers who 
choose to be independent contractors.
    Why would you continue to push for a failed policy that 
limits the flexibility and opportunity offered by independent 
contracting?
    Secretary Walsh. So thank you Congresswoman for your 
concern. I know my home State of Massachusetts the ABC test has 
proven to be helpful, but misclassification of workers are 
deprived of a long list of legally mandated benefits and 
protections such as minimum wage, overtime pay, excuse me, 
workplace health and safety protections, unemployment and 
worker's compensation insurance, and the right to organize and 
collective bargain.
    The policy of the Biden administration is to create and 
support good quality union jobs in the place with a union and 
strengthen workers power. A comprehensive solution to workers 
misclassification is a key part of that agenda.
    The President strongly supports Protecting the Rights to 
Organize Act which would establish the ABC test, and in the 
National Labor Act we support a comprehensive approach to 
addressing this classification to protect workers, and we look 
forward to engaging with congressional leaders and stakeholders 
to determine the appropriate path forward, and that includes 
I'd love to have a followup conversation with you after the 
hearing, not today, after the hearing, but within the next 
whenever you want in the next couple of weeks to talk a little 
bit about the experience that you've had in your district.
    Mrs. Steel. Thank you very much. Since I don't have much 
time then I want to move on to the second question that we need 
to ensure that there is a transparency in use of union funds. 
It's not just union funds, but other areas too. But for the 
specifically for the union funds, your agency just announced a 
proposed rule to rescind the T-1 form, which requires union 
trusts reach our organization such as strike funds, and 
apprenticeship programs to file their own separate financial 
disclosures.
    Congressman Walberg and I introduced a Union
    Transparency and Accountability Act to turn these 
transparency rules into law. Our bill would require the T1form, 
and LM-2 form which requires unions to disclose a name of any 
party buying or selling union assets over $5,000.00 and more.
    And LM-30 form which requires union officials to declare 
whether they receive any income or economic benefits from an 
entity that does business with the union and employs union 
Members to avoid conflict of interest.
    With the recent scandals in the media why would you repeal 
additional and needed transparency. What message does that send 
to American people that you are rolling back transparency and 
union financial integrity? What misdeeds are being hidden from 
rank and file union Members and the American people?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you. Actually we're not rolling back 
anything that's hiding. The Department of Labor collects that 
information, has it. What the T-1 rule does was redundancy, was 
a second set of the same type of reporting. So there's nothing 
being hidden here, the reports still have to be filed with the 
Department of Labor, and we're collecting that information, 
that data.
    It's a transparent process. The T-1 rule is just a second 
redundant employer requirement that really didn't do anything.
    Mrs. Steele. Really? You know what, I hope that you're 
going to read the rules, the bill that I introduced with 
Congressman Walberg and maybe in a while we can have a little 
more discussion about that, and thank you for coming out today 
and thank you and I yield the balance of my time to Ranking 
Member Foxx.
    Chairman Scott. I think your time is already over, so 
there's no time to yield.
    Mrs. Steel. Thank you, Chairman Scott,
    Chairman Scott. OK. Thank you. The gentlelady's time has 
expired. I understand that the gentlelady from Michigan is back 
on, so we'll recognize Ms. Stevens.
    Ms. Stevens. OK can you hear me?
    Chairman Scott. I can hear you now yep, yep.
    Ms. Stevens. OK fabulous. Well thanks to the Secretary for 
this very informative hearing, and what an honor to be with you 
and just what an honest to God delight it is to have you in the 
cabinet role you are in. I'll just say it's early, but the 
ratings are out and you're doing an incredible job.
    And I particularly coming from southeastern Michigan want 
to let you know Mr. Secretary, I love what I've heard today. I 
think that articulation of how little we are investing in 
workforce training and development in skilled trades is one of 
the best articulations I have heard.
    I have asked every trade association, training group, you 
know, our unions, you know, and you have it distilled down, and 
have a direction and a vision aligned with the President, by 
the way, who actually wants to address the problems that have 
come up today which is a workforce shortage. As someone who has 
come out of manufacturing and has dedicated my career to the 
profession of getting people into skilled jobs, getting them on 
to factory floors connected to innovation channels, career 
growth and on.
    I believe this plan is going to get us there. And so what I 
wanted to do Mr. Secretary while I'm privileged to be with you 
over this Zoom hearing today with our Chairman Bobby Scott is 
maybe tease out a little bit more of what we could do to get in 
front of some of these you know, build out these workforce 
development initiatives because I think getting more funding in 
there will do us right by addressing our workforce shortages, 
our skills gap, you know 2 million jobs projected in 
manufacturing, the technology sectors.
    We've got this churn and burn going with the supply chain. 
We want to get people back to work, get them back to work 
safely. But have you thought about Mr. Secretary the creation 
of kind of like an Army Corps of Engineers that would be for 
our skilled trades workforce, dovetailing off of our 
partnership with our great union apprenticeship training 
program?
    So what I'm getting at is I go every week and visit a 
manufacturing company. I have a program called Manufacturing 
Monday. I get to geek out, I get to see their cool machines, I 
get to meet with a bunch of incredible workers, and plant 
operators. And I just heard this my entire career. You know we 
have problems getting people in. I've got an aluminum foundry 
up in Waterford, you know, the top guy who has been here for 25 
years. He'd turn on the furnaces.
    He'd get there at five in the morning, he'd turn on the 
furnace. An incredible individuals who lost his life to COVID-
19. My owner is now telling me, Chuck Julian, he can't get that 
job replaced. So I'm trying to think about more. I don't know 
if it's creativity, but just the call to action right, we want 
you, we need you, we need truck drivers, we need manufacturers, 
we need people working in construction.
    And teasing this out right, of what you're cooking out at 
DOL, you know, is it tuition assistance? Is it guaranteed 
tuition assistance for your offspring? What can we do to 
inspire people to move into these careers of the future and 
continue to respond to our incredible challenges and 
opportunities of advancing Buy American, by making it in 
America, and growing these industries to scale in places like 
where I call home right here in southeastern Michigan.
    Secretary Walsh. Well first of all thank you for your 
opening comments. Thank you for your energy and passion that I 
can see right now. Thank you for what you do going around to 
your manufacturers in your district because you understand 
first-hand those manufacturers. Some are representing union 
employees, and some are representing non-union employees, and 
you understand the needs that they have.
    And I think the answer to your question is everything that 
you talked about we should try. I think we need to start by 
passing the American Jobs Plan because the investment is in 
there. We need to make sure we pass the WIOA authorization that 
we're talking about today because it's in there.
    We need to sit down with our employers. Are employers in 
this country are great. We need to sit down with our employers. 
We need to sit down with our employees. We need to sit down 
with organized labor, and we need to collectively, not at one 
table, but we need to have conversations about how we create 
pathways for people into these good-paying jobs.
    Last week I was in Pennsylvania. I stopped at a 
manufacturer that did rebar. They did reinforced rebar that is 
the foundation of a building, and they were talking about the 
need for skilled workers. Skilled workers meaning they'll train 
them on the job, but how do we get the basic skills to those 
workers.
    So I was thinking as I was out there, and I was out there 
with some congressional people and the mayor and things, there 
are thousands of companies in America that need this, so all we 
need to do is make sure we create a space for them to come to 
the table to talk about what it is that they want to see.
    And as we make these job training investments the outcome 
will be a job. And the outcome, so we can all look back and say 
how proud we were of making the investment in 2022 Fiscal Year 
budget and this is what it did for the American worker in the 
future. So I do think there's lots of opportunity there.
    Ms. Stevens. Well thank you Mr. Secretary, and whatever you 
need in that charge I am full force behind you and with you in 
getting that done, and with that Mr. Chair I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentlelady from Louisiana, 
Mrs. Letlow.
    Ms. Letlow. Secretary Walsh thank you for taking the time 
to discuss the administration's policies and priorities for the 
U.S. Department of Labor. Much of the 5th District of Louisiana 
is rural which has its unique set of challenges, as well as 
opportunities. It's important that Congress and the 
administration continue to invest in rural communities and 
create Federal avenues to help these areas flourish and grow.
    I was especially pleased to see the Department's Fiscal 
Year 2022 request of 50 million for the Workforce Opportunity 
for Rural Communities Initiative. This workforce program has 
boosted rural community workforce development efforts across 
the State of Louisiana, and within the 5th District.
    As I've traveled the District I've heard from farmers and 
business owners about the importance of the Department's H2A 
and H2B programs. Seasonal workers are vital in helping farmers 
process their crops and keep businesses running, which in turn 
benefits the local economy.
    While I've heard of significant delays and inconsistency in 
processing these visa requests, I've been informed of a recent 
issue that our farmers and seasonal business owners have been 
facing. It's my understanding seasonal workers are using 
waivers to abuse the system, leaving farmers and producers who 
have followed all the rules in a bind.
    For example, a farmer may go through the complex approval 
process, pay many fees to bring a worker to his or her 
business, and then the worker decides to abandon the original 
worksite to go to another company. Now the original employer is 
out of an employee that they were counting on and left footing 
the bill for someone else.
    This practice is fundamentally unfair and is significantly 
hurting farmers and businesses in my district. One suggestion 
to address this issue is to allow employers to report seasonal 
employees who do not show up to their original worksites to the 
Department of Labor. Then next year as these employees apply 
for H2A or H2B Visas they will be flagged as deserting their 
worksites and not be granted a visa for the upcoming season.
    I believe denying applications of unreliable seasonal 
workers will help curb this abuse. Secretary Walsh, what do you 
think about his proposal, and what can the Department do to 
curb this abuse of the seasonable worker system?
    Secretary Walsh. We definitely are going to look into it, 
and I'd like to maybe work with you and your office about some 
of the concerns that the farmers have in your area and I'm 
assuming you're not the only district in the country where this 
is an issue, so I'd love to work with you there, and thank you 
for supporting the 50-million-dollar investment as well.
    I appreciate that, but for me rural American farming 
country is new, and I certainly want to do everything I can. My 
family is from Ireland and my family were farmers, so I 
certainly have a place in my heart for farmers and farming so 
thank you.
    Ms. Letlow. Thank you, Secretary. As I've spent the past 3 
weeks in Louisiana, I've seen numerous hiring signs and have 
been hearing from business owners that no matter what they do 
they cannot find people to work. In fact one business had a 
sign on their door saying they are doing their best to restaff, 
but they cannot complete with the Federal Government's expanded 
unemployment insurance benefits.
    These additional payments now pose a significant roadblock 
for the recovery of our small businesses. As our Nation 
recovers, we should be doing all we can to encourage Americans 
to get back to work. Mr. Secretary what would you say to those 
small business owners who point to the expanded Federal 
unemployment insurance benefits as a specific reason why they 
are struggling to find employees to come to work?
    Secretary Walsh. I mean I think one of the things I would 
say is that President Biden's economic recovery plan is 
working. We're seeing more and more Americans go back to work 
every month, an average of about 540,000 last month we saw the 
second highest 1-month average increase in the last 4 months.
    We're seeing more and more people looking for work every 
month, and I think that you know as we get more people 
vaccinated, as we get more beyond the pandemic and seeing you 
know hopefully our economy return back to the way it was, I 
would hope over the course of the next several months were 
going to get more and more people back to work and getting more 
and more people, get this pandemic behind us.
    I mean at the end of the day the employers that are talking 
to you probably would also tell you in the beginning of the 
pandemic they were concerned about you know paying payroll, 
they were concerned about keeping the doors open, the lights 
on. This has been a tough time for everyone. It's been a tough 
time for our businesses in this country, it's been a tough time 
for our workers in this country.
    Quite honestly, it's been a tough time for everyone, so 
hopefully we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and 
we're getting close to the end of that tunnel with regards to 
the pandemic.
    Ms. Letlow. Thank you, Secretary. I yield back my remaining 
time.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Jones is away 
from his camera right now, so we'll go to the gentlelady from 
North Carolina Ms. Manning.
    Ms. Manning: Thank you so much Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. 
Secretary, for your patience and your tenacity and sticking 
with us today. I am from the State of North Carolina, and I 
want to pick up on what Representative Letlow asked you about 
because I was visiting our semi-annual furniture market in 
Highpoint just this weekend, and I have to tell you how 
thrilled everybody was that we were able to have a furniture 
market.
    It was canceled last year. It's incredibly important to the 
people in my district. Highpoint has one of the largest 
furniture markets in the world, and we were thrilled to see so 
many people there, not only coming back to do their work, but 
also to be there without masks on, and that is really a tribute 
to the ability of this administration to get the vaccine out 
and get shots into arms, so that people could go back to work.
    Now I did have an interesting conversation with the owner 
of the largest showroom, the largest furniture company I 
understand in the world, and he did talk about how he can't 
find people to work in his factories. He is stunned by the 
inability to get supplies from the containers that are not 
being unloaded at the docks.
    What I did ask him about when he first noticed the labor 
shortages, he admitted that actually he has having trouble 
finding truckers and other people before the pandemic started. 
So I'm wondering if you can talk about other issues. Are you 
hearing about people unable to come back to work because of 
childcare issues, because of kids not being in school? And is 
there a component of this problem that the labor shortage that 
pre-existed the pandemic, it's just we're seeing in a fuller 
light with what's going on today.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congresswoman, good to see you 
again. I think the second part of your question I think the 
lack of serious investment in workforce development, job 
training and apprenticeship programs has definitely put a 
strain on the supply of American workers, in the training of 
American workers.
    And I think that this investment in the reauthorization in 
the American Jobs Plan is going to help us. It's an 8-year plan 
moving forward, a 10-year plan in some cases. It's going to 
help us and help employers in this country get employees that 
are better trained and better equipped to work in these 
different industries, I think that's the question, yes.
    The second piece is you know I think that we can't forget 
that we've been living for the last 15 months in a worldwide 
pandemic that we haven't seen in this country in 100 years. 
That we literally shut down our economy, industry and business 
and people working from home, and it's not just a quick turn on 
the light and everybody comes back.
    I think that when you think about different cities and 
towns in America, I mean up until the last month most 
restaurants in this country weren't at 100 percent capacity. 
They were at 50 percent or outside. When you think about 
workers that were working in those industries that didn't have 
an ability to get childcare and think about well you know I'm 
not getting paid.
    I think that there's a lot of factors that's going into 
people coming back to work. However in saying that, in the last 
4 months we're seeing 2 million people come back to work, over 
2 million people. We're seeing that change. We're seeing money 
from the American Rescue Plan that's able to get down to 
childcare facilities.
    Many childcare facilities in this country might have been 
supported by states and localities for a couple months, but 
they weren't supported after that. These childcare facilities 
depend on having people in them, and children in them to stay 
open. They lost that ability. So the investment 39 billion 
dollars is important.
    The restaurant industry 16 billion dollar investment from 
the Federal Government in one plan as well as others. So I 
think there's lots of reasons, but as we think about moving 
forward here, I think we're seeing ourselves climb a steep 
hill. We're getting to the top of that hill, we're not quite 
there yet, and I would say if we had this hearing 3 months from 
now, we're in a very different situation in America with 
workers than we are today.
    Ms. Manning. Thank you. I want to very quickly ask about 
the fee that is used that H-1B workers generate. There are a 
lot of registered apprenticeship opportunities, and with it is 
a fee to create registered apprenticeship programs. Do you know 
how the fees are actually used when people get H-1B visas, are 
those fees actually used to create apprenticeship programs?
    Secretary Walsh. What they're used for is competitive 
grants. We use them as competitive grants. The H-1B grant 
enables the Department to respond to the needs of skilled 
workers for emerging sectors and help them gain the skills they 
need for employment in high growth areas, high growth 
industries. That's where the money is going to those grants.
    Ms. Manning. Thank you. My time is expired I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The gentleman from Indiana Mr. 
Mrvan.
    Mr. Mrvan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary thank you 
for your testimony today. I appreciate your dedication to the 
labor movement. Northwest Indiana are extremely proud to see 
you lead our Department of Labor and trust that you will stand 
up for the American workers. Before I begin, I simply cannot 
miss this opportunity to share that my district has the largest 
oil refinery and the largest concentration of steel production 
in our nation
    You know where I'm going, I believe. My district has two 
significant labor locals, 41 and 81, President Mike Campbell 
and Kevin Roach remind me every time they see me how proud they 
are for you to be in this position, and I just wanted to share 
that with you, so you understand their pride here locally in 
Northwest Indiana.
    As you know, there has been a race to the bottom as 
industrial jobs have fled the United States. And as employers 
have chased low wages, poor working conditions and the 
restrictions on workers to exercise basic rights such as 
joining a union of their choice. Violence against trade union 
leaders also persists in many countries.
    Our trade agreements have not leveled the playing field and 
when other countries have flouted those arguments, or those 
agreements, or trade preference programs, the U.S. Government 
has for the most part been slow to enforce the labor standards 
to which the parties agree.
    The bargain Congress strikes is that in exchange for the 
free trade deals, U.S. workers are told that there is trade 
adjustment assistance. That is a good program, but it is not 
the answer to leveling the playing field. What is the DOL's 
agenda to protect good jobs, good paying jobs, and what is the 
International Labor Affairs Bureau planning to do to address 
the race to the bottom?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you for that Mr. Congressman. Thank 
you for your question and your comment and tell my two friends 
I said hello when you see them again. First ILAB. ILAB is not 
the core function, but one of their functions is to make sure 
that they raise standards everywhere in this world. And that's 
something that they continue to work on.
    And you know I've had several meetings with ILAB here and 
really and I've had some international calls as well to make 
sure that we're raising the quality of worker's life and 
standard of living for workers around the globe, so that's 
something that's really important to do.
    I think the Department of Labor's mission is also at home 
to initially continue to advocate on behalf of the American 
worker. I think that there's been in some cases you talked 
about people working in industries that are underpaid, 
underrepresented, don't have opportunities to get into those 
industries.
    And I think that you know the conversation we're having 
today about the reauthorization of WIOA is important. The 
conversation we had, you know, with the American Rescue Plan 
was important. To be able to staff back up the Department of 
Labor over the last 3 years. In some cases the Department of 
Labor has been decimated in wage and hour. In OSHA there's real 
worker protection, so and many other areas as well.
    So we're working now to staff up so that we can get those 
safety precautions and wage and hour in those places up so the 
American worker is not taken advantage of. And I look forward 
to working with the many pieces of legislation that you and 
other people in Congress have filed, and I look forward to 
working with you and getting some of that passed.
    Worker Rights Bill, and also respecting companies and 
corporations in this country. So we have to be collectively 
working together in my opinion. And that's why you know 
Secretary Armando and I have made a commitment, Secretary of 
Commerce and Secretary of Labor, that you are now we went to 
watch a boat together in Groton, Connecticut. We went out there 
to send a strong message that it's about the American worker. 
It's about the American industries, and how do we collectively 
work together to move the agenda, so the worker has an 
opportunity to get into the middle class.
    Mr. Mrvan. Mr. Secretary I thank you very much and I just 
want to close by saying I believe strongly, not only in my 
district, but in the State of Indiana and in the Nation, that a 
great part of our divide in our Nation has to do with workers 
feeling left behind and uncertainty.
    And as we chip away from that with your leadership and 
President Biden's leadership in bringing our Nation together by 
focusing on the workers, we'll make a great impact in bringing 
us together, so I appreciate your efforts and look forward to 
working with you and look forward to a potential visit in the 
future to our district. With that, I yield back my time.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. The next person I see on the 
screen is the gentleman from New York, Mr. Bowman.
    Mr. Bowman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you Mr. 
Secretary for your work thus far. I represent New York's 16th 
District. I'm going to piggyback a little bit on Congresswoman 
Hayes' question about returning citizens.
    In my district, I represent the Bronx and Westchester which 
includes Yonkers, New York. And I met with constituents 
recently at Graystone Bakery. They have successfully 
implemented an open hiring model. I don't know if you are 
familiar with it which means they don't conduct background 
checks. They don't require resumes, none of the conventional 
requirements typically involved in seeking employment.
    If a person is seeking employment and there's an opening, 
then there's a job for that person. This approach has meant 
returning citizens can access employment without the usual 
barriers that contribute to recidivism.
    Given the system challenges faced by returning citizens 
seeking stable employment, how will you lead the Department of 
Labor in meaningfully improving reentry employment 
opportunities, and specifically what can the Federal Government 
learn from Graystone and other employers carrying out an open 
hiring model?
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you. Well first of all this is an 
issue that as I said a little earlier today, I'm passionate 
about. We have a similar bakery shop, sandwich shop in Boston 
called the Haley House in Roxbury that has been operating for I 
think over 10 years in the city of Boston that does some 
amazing work there as well.
    As mayor of the city of Boston I helped create a pre-
apprentice program called Operation Exit through the city 
partnering with the building trades a couple years ago. We have 
been able to get I think about 100 and I think four people that 
have been previously incarcerated, or court involved, or 
whatever the situation is into the trades, working in the 
trades.
    It's incumbent upon us that we make sure that we create 
opportunities for people returning from incarceration. It's 
good for the individual, it's good for their family, it's good 
for a city, it's good for a region because many of these folks 
that come back from prison, whether short-term or long-term 
prison, they need an opportunity.
    And if they don't have an opportunity, they go right back 
to the corner. I use the word corner, maybe the Bronx and 
Boston it's the corner they came from, and nothing good is 
going to come of that. So in this reauthorization we do have 
money for returning citizens, and also when I talk about job 
training, I don't separate who should be eligible for these 
training programs.
    We need to be more comprehensive when we think about these 
retraining programs as we move forward. So you have certainly 
my commitment and I'd love to go visit the bakery and I know 
I'm not the mayor of Boston, but I'll take you to Boston and 
let you see some of the programs that we created there and make 
a model of it, and make a model in the country.
    Mr. Bowman. Appreciate that. Second question. The hardships 
brought on by COVID-19 have made the obvious painfully clear. 
Caregiving is essential at every stage of life. We know 
caregivers are predominant black and brown women, and immigrant 
women, and that, on the whole, their work conditions and 
compensation are in great need of improvement. That's why I 
introduced the Care for All agenda earlier this spring to call 
for raising pay, benefits, protections and standards for all 
care workers and to ensure pathways for unionization by 
creating millions of new care jobs over the next decade.
    Secretary Walsh, the President's American Jobs Plan 
proposes an expansion of home and community-based care under 
Medicaid to support caregivers with the ability to collectively 
bargain. That's a good start, but we need to ensure this is 
implemented well.
    Recognizing that it's under the Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services, how would you understand the Department's 
role in supporting the successful implementation of their 
proposal for a workforce that has historically been un-or 
under-represented by unions?
    Secretary Walsh. Well the first step is we need to pass it, 
and the 400 billion dollar investment is key. And then we're 
going to work. I mean the President has been very clear across 
the cabinet talking to people's interest in their areas of 
interest here, so Department of Labor will be very involved in 
that making sure it's carried out.
    As you mentioned we've seen it during the pandemic. I saw 
it at, and I mentioned earlier in the hearing about workers 
that these are essential workers that went to work every day. 
In the beginning of the pandemic they didn't have gowns, they 
didn't have N-95s. They had high rates of infection. Many of 
them got sick. The rate of, or the age of the average person is 
55 years old working in these facilities.
    Many of them it's their second or third job. So this only 
makes sense in the care's economy. And then on top of it all if 
you're not interested in the worker's side of it, think about 
the care side of it. They're taking care of our loved ones 
inside of there. And you want to make sure our loved ones that 
are in there are getting the best care they possibly can get, 
so I think that's important.
    Mr. Bowman. Thank you so much Mr. Secretary. I yield back 
Mr. Chair.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Mr. Jones is back. Mr. Jones of 
New York, Mr. Jones.
    Mr. Jones. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And Secretary Walsh it 
is a pleasure to speak with you today and hear about the 
important work that you're doing at the Department of Justice. 
I'm pleased that the priority set forth in the President's 
budget.
    Chairman Scott. Department of Labor.
    Mr. Jones. Department of Labor, I'm sorry what did I say?
    Chairman Scott. Justice.
    Secretary Walsh. You had me in a whole different category.
    Mr. Jones. I've got a hearing tomorrow with the FBI 
Director, so I apologize. As you know today's workers face many 
steep challenges that have never been more apparent than during 
the COVID-19 pandemic. A Federal minimum wage that in no part 
of the country is a living wage.
    A lack of paid family and medical leave that makes workers 
choose between their pay and their well-being. A lack of 
affordable childcare that has decreased labor force 
participation, these challenges can be met with both solutions 
that meet the needs of American workers and families.
    And with the American Jobs Plan and the American Families 
Plan I'm optimistic that together Congress and the Biden 
administration can pass the transformative change that our 
country needs. I also want to take a moment to make note of 
your efforts to address issues impacting communities of color. 
As you mentioned in your testimony, many communities continue 
to be marginalized as a result of systemic racism and economic 
inequities.
    I appreciate your commitment to ensuring vulnerable 
disadvantaged and underrepresented communities are a priority 
for the Department of Labor and the Biden administration as we 
work to build back better. My colleague from North Carolina Ms. 
Manning brought up childcare which is an issue for which I had 
introduced legislation with Senator Warren, the Universal 
Childcare and Early Learning Act.
    The American Rescue Plan provided 39 billion dollars to 
stabilize the childcare sector, effectively saving the 
childcare system from the brink of collapse. This critical 
funding also makes childcare more affordable for families. 
However, for too many families the high cost of childcare 
prevents parents, especially women from participating in the 
workforce.
    Can you describe why bold investments in childcare are good 
for the labor force?
    Secretary Walsh. Absolutely. I mean I think first of all 
everything you talked about I agree with, and bold investments 
in childcare; well there's two things I think they benefit. No. 
1, a benefit for family. It benefits to get more women into our 
workforce, the women that have been pushed out of our 
workforce, creates opportunity.
    But also investment in childcare helps the child. If you 
look at the studies of young people that are in high-quality, 
high-quality childcare or universal pre-kindergarten, their 
pathways to success to high school and college are well 
documented in the benefit of having high-quality pre-
kindergarten, high-quality childcare.
    So I think when you think about the investment, I think 
today we're thinking about the benefit of getting women back 
into the workforce, but the benefit goes so much beyond that. 
Because if you get young people into those programs and you 
have better outcomes, not only does it strengthen their 
outcome, it also strengthens school district's outcomes, it 
strengthens community outcomes.
    It allows us the opportunity to not have as many 
conversations about re-entry and preventative measures. There's 
a whole bunch of benefits from making that investment today. 
And I think that right now is the time to do that. Right now 
coming out of a pandemic we see how the system works. In some 
parts of the country it's working, in some parts of the country 
it's not.
    What this is the investments in the America's Job Plan, the 
investments in the America's Family Plan, it is a universal 
United States investment for all people, so I think it's 
incumbent upon all of us to make sure that we do everything we 
can to pass these investments, but also then it's going to be 
our job, incumbent upon us and governments and states and 
cities to carry those plans out to make real investments in 
their communities, so they have real good outcomes.
    Mr. Jones. Thank you so much for that. I noticed today 
nearly 2 months after the March 15 deadline we will have 
finally an emergency temporary standard for COVID-19 covering 
healthcare facilities. But you are now I have to ask why wasn't 
the March 15 deadline met, and why doesn't the emergency 
temporary standard cover other high-risk workplaces such as 
meat packing plants and correctional facilities?
    Secretary Walsh. Yes you know one of the things it's the 
nature of the Coronavirus. It's working with the different 
departments we had here, you know. We've gone through this 
virus, obviously as we all know, I'm not saying anything that 
no one understands, it's not predictable. And you know when I 
got sworn in, I think I got sworn in March 23, they were 
working on a standard. I wanted to get the most up to date 
information.
    I was working with the CDC and working across departments, 
and when we finally got the information as we sent it over for 
a review, then the CDC actually made some changes as far as the 
workplace in mass and things like that. So what we did was we 
made sure some of the most vulnerable workers we have in our 
country are the healthcare industry where people are still 
going in with COVID, getting COVID, being treated by COVID.
    We put down some other regulations around, or some 
recommendations around other industries, and if we need it God 
forbid, we see other spikes, we'll be able to go back and take 
a look at these other industries if we need these standards 
enhanced in other areas.
    Mr. Jones. I yield back.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman.
    Chairman Scott. The gentleman's time has expired. Mr. 
Pocan, Mr. Castro, Ms. Sherrill. The gentleman from Kentucky 
who is fresh off of his own hearing at the Budget Committee Mr. 
Yarmuth.
    Mr. Yarmuth. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We missed 
you, but I understand it's been a long day. Mr. Secretary, 
welcome and thank you very much for the work you do. I have to 
make a comment before I ask my question, and that is that 
listening to some of my republican colleagues it seems to me 
they think the mission of the Department of Labor is to defend 
our workers from the unions, and not from the employers.
    And I understand why they get that impression because of 
the last 4 years of the Trump Labor Department that seems like 
what they were focused on. But clearly, if you read the mission 
statement of the Department of Labor as I have, it's to protect 
the rights of workers and the interests of workers and thank 
you for your dedication to that.
    About 50 years ago I grew up in my district in Louisville, 
Kentucky and 50 years ago there was a series of articles in the 
Louisville paper that won a Pulitzer Prize talking about black 
lung disease. And I don't think anybody in our country, and 
certainly in my community which is a couple hundred miles from 
coal country, had ever thought about black lung disease or knew 
what it was.
    And so there was a lot of attention focused on it then. I 
think the Mine Safety and Health Administration was created 
largely to deal with that issue and others similar to it. And 
we thought we had black lung disease under control, but 
apparently not. And over the last few years we've seen a 
resurgence and the hearing we had for the Committee at the last 
Congress, and the research that was done by National Institute 
of Occupational Safety and Health had decided that this is 
really miners? exposure to crystal and silica.
    So my question is after 50 years we need to finally put the 
end to black lung disease, and I wonder if the Department has a 
strategy for doing that.
    Secretary Walsh. You know we're certainly committed to 
finding ways to make sure that workplace is safer, and that 
black lung doesn't impact and affect people. My father was a 
construction worker. He didn't work in a mine, but he came out 
to this country in 1956. He worked on projects. Toward the end 
of his life 25 percent of his lung capacity was working.
    He had emphysema. He was on an oxygen machine for the last 
10 years. That was a direct result of working with asbestos and 
other types of dangerous materials at constructionsites. At 
this point in 2021 there's no reason why we don't have better 
technology to be able to make sure that workers are safe when 
they go mining, and that their family Members have them around 
for a long time.
    So we are definitely committed here at the Department of 
Labor to work with you and other Members of Congress, but also 
coming up with better measures to keep workers safe.
    Mr. Yarmuth. A followup question. The black lung trust fund 
is now about 6 billion dollars in debt, and the tax rate on 
coal that finances the trust fund is set to drop by 55 percent 
the end of this year. I think about two-thirds of black lung 
claimants receive their benefits from that trust fund. Do you 
support extending the black lung excise tax rate? And if so, or 
if not, what is DOL's plan to bolster the solvency of that 
fund?
    Secretary Walsh. No thank you. This is an area that one of 
the first briefings I had as the Secretary of Labor was talking 
about black lung, talking about the first part of your question 
about safety measures, and the second part of your question a 
trust fund that is running out of money and that continues to 
operate with a deficit.
    And in most recent years as you know you just said that the 
tax revenue has been insufficient to cover the current benefit 
payments. The fund must continue to borrow to pay its financial 
debt from the inception, looking at this the tax revenue has 
been insufficient to meet the fund's expenses.
    So I'm committed in any way possible finding ways to 
protect miners in the cause of black lung. The Department of 
Labor also recognizes that coal operators should contribute 
additional funds to ensure that miners and coal community 
impacted by black lung disease should be protected without 
shifting responsibility to taxpayers.
    However, no determination yet has been made as to the best 
mechanism for ensuring the trust's insolvency, and protecting 
the miners and their families, so I would love to I guess as 
Secretary of Labor, but I think about some other ways of 
creating opportunities to make some investments in this trust 
fund.
    Mr. Yarmuth. Appreciate that and look forward to working 
with you on that. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I yield back.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Next, we have the gentlemen from 
New York Mr. Espaillat.
    Mr. Espaillat. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Secretary, 
for this long day. And I want to thank you for taking all the 
questions from our Members. My first question is I know that we 
can all agree that we need to do transportation infrastructure. 
Transportation infrastructure will be great to give a facelift 
to the country, to the roads, bridges, and tunnels, broadband, 
and public housing and the rest.
    But it's also a great job producer. However, transportation 
infrastructure agenda is different than it was decades ago. And 
that requires building green enough, requires building smart, 
it really requires a different workforce, a differently trained 
workforce.
    My first question is do you think we have that workforce 
ready if and when we pass a transportation infrastructure bill? 
The second question is for many years communities of color feel 
that when we have these mega projects, they're totally left 
out. They see the projects going on beautifully around their 
neighborhoods, but they don't get the jobs.
    And so I want to know what's going to be different now from 
OFCCP that will guarantee that these transportation 
infrastructure mega projects are successful not just in 
rebuilding America, but in creating jobs for the community that 
we need them the most.
    Now I'm working with City College, and we have the Charles 
Lee Wrangle Transportation Infrastructure program there going, 
and I'm hopeful that there could be partnerships between an 
entity like that, academic institutions and labor to make sure 
they come down to the communities that are really hurting.
    So those are my two questions for now.
    Secretary Walsh. OK, no, thank you. Both questions are very 
related OK. On your first question I do feel that we have the 
skilled workforce available to do the work of infrastructure 
work, whether it's roads and bridges, whether it's the clean 
drinking water, whether it's the broadband, whether it's 
electric grids.
    But the second part of my answer is we have to be real 
intentional about making sure that equity and inclusion is part 
of that, so everyone has an opportunity to get on those jobs. 
And President Biden and Vice President Harris from the very 
beginning of their administration they say what they mean.
    The center point the President has done executive orders to 
make sure that equity inclusion if part of each cabinet and 
department and the President also in my conversation with him 
and with all of us about the American Jobs Plan, this has 
created opportunities for everybody.
    And we need to make sure that the communities of color, the 
black community, the Latino community, the Asian community, 
women have access to these jobs. So yes, which we have the 
workers ready for it. B, we don't have in my opinion, enough 
diversity today, but we have an opportunity with the 
investments that we're making that we're talking about today in 
WIOA in the investments in the American Jobs Plan to get people 
opportunities for pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeship 
programs to get them into the trades, to get them into 
industry, so we have to be really focused on that, and we 
can't.
    Mr. Espaillat. I hear you but there is a long-standing 
distrust right that they will be included in these projects. 
And although there may be a good part of the workforce ready, 
the fact of the matter is that in communities of color we need 
the training, but we also need labor and the unions to be able 
to open up to these new memberships, and new communities.
    What's the model? What are you proposing to do that will 
dramatically change that?
    Secretary Walsh. When I say training, I meant opportunities 
for jobs. But I'll tell you what the model is. The model is a 
program called Building Pathways in the city of Boston. In 2011 
the American recovery plan that Congress voted on you allocated 
money, they allocated to retrofit housing authorities across 
the country.
    That housing development in the city of Boston was a 
project labor agreement on that project. We created a program 
called Building Pathways, that program was for housing, it 
started out as housing tenants that were living in housing 
developments that would have an opportunity to get into the 
building trades. It was 100 percent guaranteed placement into 
the building trades.
    87 I think percent of the people, roughly the number that 
are in that program are people of color. The program is still 
going. It started under a project labor agreement. Fast forward 
a bunch of years later suddenly, over 500 plus people have 
gotten into, people of color, have gotten into the building 
trades through that program.
    So again when I talk about, we have to be intentional about 
the program. We have to make sure that it's not just written. 
It can't just be a pre-apprentice program. There needs to be an 
outcome. It needs to be connected to a job. So if there's a 
road job there needs to be a connected that you're doing a pre-
apprentice program, but that job, that person that's doing the 
pre-apprentice program needs to get access to that job.
    We have to be thinking about mandating a certain amount of 
percentage of people to make sure they're working on that 
project. We have to create pathways for people of color to get 
into those jobs, into the trades, into our workforce for good 
paying jobs.
    Mr. Espaillat. Thank you. I look forward to working with 
you. Mr. Chairman just a shoutout for the $963 million 
appropriation appropriations for youth activity programs. It's 
very important for East Harlem my district. Thank you, Mr. 
Chair.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, Congressman.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you.
    Mr. Pocan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You froze up a little 
bit, but I believe you've already had the republican gentleman 
from Wisconsin up, so a couple of them so I'm going to assume 
this is me. First of all Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for 
your recent visit to Wisconsin. I hope it was helpful as you're 
looking at the programs you're doing.
    I know to the person that I talked to people were extremely 
appreciative and really got a lot out of your visit, so I just 
want to say thank you for doing that and getting to so many 
parts of our State.
    You know specifically I guess I wanted to talk to you about 
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. You know you've 
been such an outstanding advocate for working men and women 
around this country. As we're considering making changes to the 
existing law, what are some of those proven programs and 
strategies in your view that could be replicated nationwide to 
better support workers through that program?
    Secretary Walsh. I think there are lots of programs. I've 
spent a lot of time talking to congressional Members, your 
colleagues in the house and senate. I've had the chance to 
serve on the U.S. Conference of Mayors Executive Committee and 
talking to mayors. I think there's best practices all over the 
country that you know I don't want to start naming programs, 
but I think that we have to start thinking about how do we do 
the alignments of this proposal so we can create real 
opportunity and make investments.
    So let me just give you a couple that I think might be 
helpful. One is sector-based training and partnerships. I think 
that's key. I think it's come up several times on the call on 
the meeting today, community college training partnerships, re-
entry training opportunities, expanding quality training and 
access aligned to quality jobs.
    And I think we have to look at all of this to an ends of 
equity. I really do. I think we have to continue to be 
equitable in this. If you know the President's intention behind 
the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan, this 
slogan is Build Back Better.
    But it's creating pathways into the middle class, and those 
pathways in the middle class need to be for all Americans, not 
just a subset of certain Americans.
    Mr. Pocan. And one of the things I guess some unions do, 
and particularly my union of painters and allied trades that I 
belong to, is some of our apprenticeship programs around the 
country actually also are doing some of the community college 
work, and they're allowing you know people to be able to take 
advantage of that while they're getting their apprenticeships.
    So it's not just our earn and learn, it's actually even an 
earn and learn plus. Is that something that you think we can 
further enhance and see those programs expanded?
    Secretary Walsh. Absolutely Congressman. And thank you. I 
mean when we were in Wisconsin we went to the training 
facility, and we saw the instructors that were training 
apprentices and other people from outside in the area of 
glazing in carpentry, and when I say carpentry, it was a 
painter's union, but they were showing people how to use the 
tools.
    I mean those programs work. I mean there's no question 
about it. And to be honest with you I've seen in Boston when 
these training instructors get an opportunity to kind of 
interact with folks from the community that might not be 
apprentices, they get excited about it because they're showing 
off their skill, they're showing off their profession, and 
they're showing off an opportunity of what's possible for 
people.
    So I think that we should be taking some of the ideas 
behind the different training centers that we have around the 
country and use them as the models. I agree with that, as 
models of success because they are successful. You get to an 
apprentice program. You get a Members, you're on the jobsite, 
you get laid off you go back to the union hall, they send you 
back out to work, they work with employers all day. There's 
relationships.
    You know it's not a battle between labor and management. 
They work collectively together. That's a model we should be 
looking more and more in this country.
    Mr. Pocan. Just one thing I will add, and I will yield back 
Mr. Chairman, is that here in Wisconsin right before former 
Governor Scott Walker kind of forced our State to become a 
right to work State, there was a coalition of over 400 private 
contractors who opposed it because of the great relationship 
through these registered apprenticeship programs there are 
labor and management, they help train workers. That helps 
companies who are trying to hire people right now.
    It helps the workers because they're getting those skills 
while they're able to work and earn money, and I'm just a huge, 
a huge proponent of registered apprenticeships, and you know 
however we can try to continue that work. I know you've been a 
huge proponent yourself.
    I really love this incorporation with community college 
model, and if there's some way we can continue to work on that, 
count me as someone who would like to work with you on that Mr. 
Secretary. And with that I'll yield back Mr. Chair thank you so 
much.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you, my friend.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Is there anyone on the platform 
that has not been recognized? If not, I'll recognize myself for 
5 minutes. Mr. Secretary, you've heard a lot about the impact 
of the $300 and the hardship that that's inflicted on employers 
trying to hire people. You haven't heard a word about the PPP 
assistance we've given employers, hundreds of billions of 
dollars to help them with their payroll.
    I thought we ought to just say a word about that. And also, 
the extra $300you've been coerced into committing to making 
sure that you don't let it extend past September. Is it my 
understanding that you don't even have the authority to let it 
go past September is that right?
    Secretary Walsh. No I don't. Actually you do.
    Chairman Scott. OK. So you would need legislation, so you 
can't. It's gone in September unless the Congress passes a 
bill, and the President signs it. Second on the 
apprenticeships, the registered apprenticeships, I think we 
need to emphasize one major advantage in that is that you get a 
nationally recognized credential.
    That if you go and do a registered apprenticeship in 
Boston, you can come to my district in Norfolk, and they know 
exactly what you can do, and what qualifications you have. You 
don't get that with the IRAP is that right?
    Secretary Walsh. That's true.
    Chairman Scott. On the faith-based programs you said you 
couldn't comment, so you don't have to comment, but the 
question on the participation of faith-based organizations 
participating in major labor programs is not whether they can 
participate, but how they participate.
    And what they want to do is discriminate in hiring and 
discriminate in giving benefits so they can say on a job 
training program we're not going to train Jews, or we're not 
going to hire Catholics. I thought we had gotten past that in 
the 1960's, but apparently, they still want to do it. That is 
the issue. If you can get passed that, there's no controversy.
    So I would hope that you would be strong on that and not 
allow people to run State and federally funded programs and 
discriminate against people based on religion. On the emergency 
temporary standard, I appreciate your telling us that it's been 
finalized as of last night, but we know that it was due March 
15, and also note that Virginia issued an ETS nearly a year 
ago, so there's no reason why it couldn't have been done first 
in the previous administration, or why it's lasted so long.
    Even with that announcement, we still have questions about 
the scope and the decisionmaking process. As you know, I sent a 
letter to you on June 2, 2021, asking for specific information 
and documents relating to the implementation of the executive 
order which required the ETS to be done by March 15. I ask 
unanimous consent to introduce that letter into the record at 
this time.
    Without objection so ordered.
    Chairman Scott. Can we get a commitment that you will 
respond to the letters by producing the requested documents and 
provide the answers that are asked for in that letter?
    Secretary Walsh. Tomorrow we're going to have a briefing, 
so if we could have a conversation after that and let me know 
what you think about the standard after we do the briefing 
tomorrow before we get into a conversation on the documents and 
how it came to.
    Chairman Scott. There are problems with the standard. 
Apparently, it doesn't include employees at correctional 
facilities, homeless shelters, meat packing plants or nursing 
homes, just healthcare. So we'd like to know specifically how 
we got to where we are, and those documents and questions are 
proposed in the letter. So whatever you say we still want 
responses to the letter.
    Secretary Walsh. What I'd like to do Mr. Chairman if it's 
appropriate is to set a meeting up with myself, the team from 
OSHA and talk about how we got to where we got to in the 
process. And then if that's not sufficient then we'll take the 
next step.
    Chairman Scott. Well we have a letter pending, and we 
expect answers to letters that we send.
    Secretary Walsh. We'll respond to that.
    Chairman Scott. OK. Well I'm running out of time, so let me 
just ask you to submit for the record what the plan is to 
implement the administration's $15 an hour minimum wage, how 
that's to work out, and also the youth employment. We know that 
youth that they get summer jobs, it's a lifetime benefit. 
Furthermore, the summer jobs program has been shown to reduce 
crime so much that the reduction in criminal justice expenses, 
that reduction exceeds the cost of the programs in some cities, 
so we want to know what you're doing for summer jobs and other 
youth opportunities in terms of employment.
    Also we know that due to lack of funding, 30 percent and 
another question for the record, 30 percent of the individuals 
who interacted with the workforce system last year couldn't be 
served. Only 30 percent could be served, and we're wondering 
whether or not there ought to be some fund that could be 
triggered when regions, or maybe even the entire country suffer 
large scale unemployment with the idea that the counter 
cyclical spending.
    These things would automatically be available for those 
areas with the very high unemployment, or even on a national 
scale without having to wait for Congress to respond. If you 
could comment on that. And finally if you could provide a plan 
that you have. I know you have significant increased funding, 
what your plans are for the Office of Federal Contract 
Compliance Programs, that is a program which can be very 
important for equal employment opportunities, even in my 
judgment, stronger than the EEOC because you don't have to wait 
for claims to be made to make sure that equal opportunities 
will be available.
    If you can provide what, you'll be doing with the increased 
funding so that we could see how the equal opportunity mandate 
of the OFCCP will be provided. My time is expired, so at this 
point I'll remind my colleagues that pursuant to Committee 
practices for materials for submission for the hearing record 
must be submitted to the Committee Clerk within 14 days 
following the last day of the hearing, so that's by close of 
business June 23, 2021 preferably in Microsoft Word format.
    The materials submitted must address the subject matter of 
the hearing, and only a Member of the Committee, or an invited 
witness may submit materials for inclusion in the hearing 
record. Documents are limited to 50 pages each. Documents 
longer than 50 pages can be incorporated into the record by way 
of an internet link which you must provide to the Committee 
Clerk within the required time but recognize that in the future 
that link may not work.
    Pursuant to House rules and regulations items for the 
record should be submitted to the Clerk electronically by 
emailing submissions to [email protected]. 
Again Mr. Secretary, I want to thank you for your participation 
today. Members of the Committee may have additional questions 
for you, and I ask that you respond to them in writing.
    The hearing record will remain open for 14 days in order to 
receive those responses. I remind my colleagues that pursuant 
to the Committee practice, witness questions for the hearing 
must be submitted to the Majority Committee Staff or Committee 
Clerk within 7 days. Questions submitted must address the 
subject matter of the hearing.
    At this point I will recognize the distinguished Ranking 
Member for any closing statement that she has.
    Ms. Foxx. Thank you Mr. Chairman I appreciate that. And 
once again Secretary Walsh I want to thank you for coming to 
the Committee today and responding to our questions. I believe 
you have some sincerity in what you want to do. We disagree on 
the way to approach some of these issues, and probably the way 
to approach most of them, but I don't think that you have 
nefarious motives.
    I think you do want to help the situation in the country, 
and I think you want to help others. But we do have some 
differences of opinions about how we might go about the solving 
of some of these problems. I listened closely to the things you 
said today. I'm pleased to hear your positive comments about 
the potential of community colleges.
    Having been a community college president, I left the 
university to go to a community college because I believed so 
strongly in the potential of the community colleges, and I 
still do. And I'm sure the community colleges are very happy 
for the attention they're getting from you, and from other 
people in this administration.
    Since President George W. Bush's administration community 
colleges have been getting a lot of positive attention. In my 
experience it's a good one, to have met the needs of their 
community over the years and will continue to do so without a 
whole lot of help from the Federal Government because they know 
what they need to do, and they'll do it if they're pushed at 
the local level to do it.
    I'm also happy, very happy, to hear your interest in 
bipartisan WIOA. When WIOA was first passed I had the 
opportunity to work on it a lot, and it was bipartisan. And I 
very much want it to be that way again. Chairman Scott has 
expressed the same opinion, and thus far, he and our democrat 
colleagues and we have been working together in a bipartisan 
manner, and we certainly hope that's going to continue.
    To have effective programs, to pass good legislation it 
must be bipartisan. And all that we regret is that we're so 
often pushed aside when the ideas that we have are not 
considered because we think we can do a lot when we work 
together. I also heard you say Mr. Secretary that you want OSHA 
to be helpful to employers, and not come in only at emergency 
time.
    I think that's going to be big news to most employers in 
this country that you want OSHA to be helpful because that's 
not the reputation of OSHA unfortunately. Go back to the issue 
of bipartisanship. The American people were sold a bill of 
goods by the Biden campaign. They expected bipartisanship. They 
did not expect hard line partisanship from the Biden 
administration, and that's what they've been getting.
    I also appreciated by the way you're saying that you think 
most employers want a safe working environment and want their 
employees to be safe. We've talked about that a lot. Our 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle I think, think that 
employers are all evil people, but having that attitude is a 
very different attitude from previous democrat administrations 
so I'm so, so, happy to hear you say that.
    Again, what we hope is that this bipartisanship attitude 
will extend to other areas where we like to work together with 
Democrats. We believe that we have good ideas to reduce 
healthcare costs, unleash the resourcefulness of job creators, 
and prepare individuals for in demand good paying careers.
    And by the way Mr. Secretary, I didn't mean to give you a 
hard time about what you said about college versus going 
straight into work, we think everybody wants a good career, no 
matter what way they decide to go. But where we differ 
primarily, we believe with the democrat party is that we 
believe the democrat party wants to exert maximum power over 
people's lives.
    We believe the pandemic is in the rear-view mirror, but by 
putting out these emergency temporary standards I think you are 
holding on to the fact that you said in one of your comments 
that we're still in the middle of a pandemic. We don't believe 
that we are.
    People want to get their lives back, and a healthy economy 
is a pre-requisite to a return to our normal lives, but I think 
economic recovery we believe is at a crossroads. We don't think 
we need trillions of borrowed money for the recovery. We 
basically need the Federal Government to get out of the way. 
Our country has responded to economic catastrophes before. 
We've always found a way to bounce back stronger. This pandemic 
is not innate, and in the past, we haven't relied on the 
Federal Government to bring us back.
    The languishing recovery we believe is uniquely listless 
and it's contrary to the Secretary's view that the Biden 
administration's policies are working. What makes the economic 
response different we believe now is President Biden's 
administration's job killing agenda, and the democrat enablers 
in Congress.
    The Democrat's agenda puts special interest ahead of the 
interest of the ordinary Americans. This agenda rewards the 
political supporters over American workers. The agenda pays 
people to reject job offers and stay at home. The agenda works 
against small businesses. The agenda takes wages from American 
workers and distributes the money to union bosses.
    The agenda discourages entrepreneurs and drowns American 
businesses with onerous regulations and superfluous guidance 
letters. We're very pleased to hear you say you're going to go 
through the rulemaking process and that guidance letters are 
only suggestions.
    Mr. Secretary we're going to hold you to that. The agenda 
undermines worker's privacy rights. The agenda eliminates 
individual's ability to find flexible work in the gig economy. 
And the agenda discourages employers from offering innovative 
earn and learn models such as IRAP.
    But you want to put people into a program that has only a 
43 percent graduation rate, but that the Chairman calls a gold 
standard. I've never heard anybody say 43 percent passing rate 
is a gold standard. The agenda bankrupts not just us but our 
grandchildren.
    The agenda does not promise to protect religious freedom, 
our first freedom in the Constitution. I'm happy to hear the 
Secretary say over and over that he'll get back to us with 
answers. I'd like to contrast your response Mr. Secretary, and 
the response of republicans to your saying that with the way 
our colleagues treated Secretaries in the Trump administration.
    They were hounding when they made comments like that, and 
not given a chance to act like human beings as you have done, 
and we respect. They were treated very, very rudely. We believe 
that it's important that we respect all people, even if we 
disagree with you on political terms.
    So we're just going to politely remind you Mr. Secretary of 
your commitments and look forward to hearing back from you on 
those. We the American people are waiting to see how the Biden 
administration is going to allow our freedoms to remain, allow 
this economy to come back to life as it was in 2019, and to 
show us that the policies that you have will work for us. And 
again Mr. Secretary thank you for coming today. And we look 
forward to working with you. God bless you.
    Secretary Walsh. Thank you very much. I look forward to 
working with you as well.
    Ms. Foxx. I yield back.
    Chairman Scott. Thank you. Secretary Walsh thank you again 
for being with us. Let me first say that in terms of a college 
education I believe there's a value to a college education, 
independent of future employment. I think there's inherent 
value in a 4-year on-campus liberal arts degree, and maybe we 
just have to disagree on that.
    But I want to thank you for joining us and sharing your 
vision on how the Department can support our Nation's workers, 
job seekers, retirees, and families. Today's hearing made clear 
how critical your leadership and the leadership of this 
administration have been for workers in the economy. As we have 
discussed, the American Rescue Plan was a monumental step in 
our recovery effort, resulting in record number of jobs 
created.
    I can understand why the republicans want to criticize that 
policy because none of them voted for it, but the jobs were 
created and it's continuing to show benefits. But we need to 
continue. With this enactment we promised the country that help 
was finally on the way, and with this historic investment the 
package is paying off and helping communities get back on their 
feet, businesses are reopening, students are returning to 
classrooms, workers affected by the pandemic are gradually 
rejoining the workforce.
    The policy is working. Yet today's hearing also highlighted 
that we still have a lot of work to do, even as our recovery 
continues far too many workers, including those who have fought 
on the front lines of the pandemic were still having trouble 
providing for themselves and their families.
    The Department's budget request as well as the American 
Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan represent the next 
steps we have to take to address these challenges, and making 
smart and targeted investments, these proposals will help 
ensure that all workers in the country can benefit from the 
strong and shared recovery.
    Secretary Walsh we look forward to continuing our efforts 
to keep workers safe and build back an economy better than what 
we had and one where everyone can succeed. I think we're well 
on their way, and I want to thank you for being with us today. 
It's been a long day, and I thank you for your patience and 
tolerance. You've faced some tough questions, but I think you 
have presented an agenda that we can be optimistic about the 
future.
    So thank you very much and if there's no further business 
to come before the Committee without object the Committee 
stands adjourned.
    [Additional submissions by Chairman Scott follow:]
    
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    [Additional submission by Mr. Fitzgerald follow:]
    
    
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    [Questions submitted for the record follow:]
    
    
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    [Responses by Secretary Walsh follow:] 
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    [Whereupon, at 4:44 p.m., the Committee adjourned]