[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 129 (Tuesday, July 31, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5466-S5467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              New HOPE Act

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, last week the House passed an important 
piece of legislation, the reauthorization of the Perkins Act. It was 
sent to the President's desk for his signature and, once that happens 
today, it will become the law of the land.
  I want to take just a moment to talk about part of it because it has 
huge implications for my State and the United States. It is called the 
New HOPE Act, and it builds on other steps we have taken recently to 
strengthen our Nation's economy. Specifically, it deals with this 
phenomenon of occupational licensing.
  State licensing mandates require men and women to pay fees, complete 
training programs, and pass exams before they can enter certain jobs 
and

[[Page S5467]]

professions, but many of these licensing requirements are simply 
protectionism. They do nothing to protect consumers or ensure the 
public safety. They simply protect the incumbents' interests and erect 
large barriers to entry. They make it more difficult for new folks to 
learn and practice new trades and preserve exclusive access to those 
who have the means and the time necessary to jump through all the 
procedural and financial hoops.
  Existing licensing rules perpetuate the status quo and stifle new 
talent. Oftentimes, they are totally unnecessary, as you may have 
gathered from my comments, and certainly burdensome. When that happens, 
they need to be eliminated.
  Last year in Austin, I had a chance to meet with people in the 
cosmetology, heating and ventilation, and other industries, and we 
talked about how licensing requirements impact their industries, as 
well as job creation, upward mobility, and public safety.
  Around that same time, the Institute for Justice ranked Texas 
licensure requirements as the 17th most burdensome in the country. That 
is not a statistic I am proud of. So, naturally, we spoke about ways we 
can reduce the burden on job seekers.
  That is where the bill I sponsored comes in, the New HOPE Act, which 
is part of this Perkins reauthorization bill. It provides additional 
authority to State Governors receiving funds for career and technical 
education. It gives them discretion to consolidate or eliminate 
licenses or certifications that provide limited consumer protection or 
pose an unnecessary and sometimes insurmountable barrier to entry for 
aspiring men and women seeking to enter certain professions. If you 
want to be a hairdresser or an eyebrow threader or a roofer or a 
mortician, we should support you 100 percent. We shouldn't condone the 
erection of barriers to your entering this profession once you have 
satisfied the necessary and important qualifications and training. 
There are certain training steps that are a good idea, and I am not 
suggesting otherwise, but you shouldn't have to wait for years and 
waste thousands of dollars in order to get there. That is what this 
bill is all about.
  I am grateful to my Democratic cosponsor, the junior Senator from 
Michigan, as well as the bill's champions over in the House, 
Representative Walberg and Representative Cuellar. We couldn't have 
gotten this done without them. I look forward to the President's 
signature. I know that once it becomes law, it will work to further 
enhance the positive economic climate that we have seen under this 
administration, with the jaw-dropping announcement of last Friday that 
the economy is burning so hot that the gross domestic product has gone 
up by 4.1 percent in the last quarter alone.
  There are many steps to turning this economy around. One of the 
biggest, of course, was the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which we passed last 
year and which has had transformative effects. So I am optimistic that 
legislation like the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will continue to allow 
getting out of the way of the people who are creating opportunity and 
growing the economy and wages and take-home pay.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota.