[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 198 (Friday, November 20, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                  NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP ACT OF 2020

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                              HON. ED CASE

                               of Hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 19, 2020

  Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my colleague 
Congresswoman Titus' amendment to H.R. 8294, the National 
Apprenticeship Act of 2020, which I cosponsored.
  Our travel and tourism industry employs nearly 16 million workers 
across our nation. In my home state of Hawaii, tourism is our main 
economic pillar, with one out of five workers statewide employed within 
this industry.
  I have literally hundreds of thousands of constituents and their 
families who are dependent on travel and tourism fear for their future 
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of tourists arriving in Hawaii 
each day has dropped over 97 percent compared to a year ago. COVID-19 
has devastated Hawaii's economy and threatened the livelihoods of 
countless individuals, forcing all into uncertainty and too many into 
unemployment and worse.
  This bipartisan amendment will ensure these families and millions of 
their fellow workers and families across the country are not left 
behind by adding hospitality and tourism to the list of non-traditional 
apprenticeship industries eligible for the 21st Century Grants in the 
Modernizing the National Apprenticeship System. The amendment supports 
our workers and businesses in the hospitality industry at a time of 
great need, and it invests in this critical sector of our economy to 
help ensure a clearer path to recovery.
  I am proud to support Congresswoman Titus' amendment, and I remain 
committed to finding and pursuing opportunities that will help the 
travel and tourism industry swiftly recover from the impacts of this 
pandemic.
  Mahalo.

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