[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 13, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1896-S1897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mr. Portman):
  S. 1078. A bill to require the Secretary of Labor to award grants for 
promoting industry or sector partnerships to encourage industry growth 
and competitiveness and to improve worker training, retention, and 
advancement as part of an infrastructure investment; to the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, The U.S. Infrastructure system is in 
critical need of an upgrade. In February 2021, the American Society of 
Civil Engineers (ASCE) graded 11 of 17 infrastructure categories a D+ 
or worse. Systems across the Nation are in dire need of repair, 
including our bridges, public transit, roads, and schools.
  A recent study by the Center of Education and the Workforce at 
Georgetown University estimated that a $1.5 trillion infrastructure 
investment would create 15 million new jobs. Nearly half of these would 
require training past the high school level. Even without a significant 
investment, though, infrastructure industries are already struggling to 
meet workforce demands. Though the need to invest in infrastructure 
goes back decades, there's renewed momentum today, especially as more 
than 10 million people remain unemployed across the country as a result 
of COVID-19, exacerbating the already historic inequities that have 
limited women and people of color from accessing these jobs. 
Investments in infrastructure skills training must serve people of 
color, women, and other communities who have historically been excluded 
from good careers in infrastructure.
  Industry and sector partnerships are a proven strategy for helping 
workers prepare for jobs that lead to strong career pathways and 
helping businesses find skilled workers. Congress requires states and 
local areas to support the development of these partnerships under the 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), but no dedicated 
funding has been provided for these activities.

[[Page S1897]]

  For workers, especially those underrepresented in infrastructure 
industries, support services like career counseling, child care, and 
transportation can often be the key to succeed in work-based learning 
programs. Providing these services may be outside the capacity of a 
business. Industry partnerships bring business together with community 
and human service organizations that can make these connections for 
workers and drastically improve their ability to succeed in training 
and meet business demand for skilled workers.
  This is why I am pleased to introduce with my colleague, Senator 
Portman, the Building U.S. Infrastructure by Leveraging Demands for 
Skills Act, or BUILDS Act. The BUILDS Act creates a grant program that 
would support industry and sector partnerships working with local 
businesses, industry associations and organizations, labor 
organizations, state and local workforce boards, economic development 
agencies and other partners engaged in their communities to encourage 
industry growth, competitiveness and collaboration to improve worker 
training, retention and advancement in targeted infrastructure 
clusters. Additionally, businesses and education providers would be 
connected to develop classroom curriculum to complement on-the-job 
learning and workers would receive support services such as mentoring 
and career counseling to ensure that they are successful from the pre-
employment to placement in a full-time position.
  As we prepare to tackle critical infrastructure needs nationwide, 
it's vital we also support a skilled workforce that can take on this 
task. This bill will help foster strong industry partnerships and 
career pathways in infrastructure fields to ensure we can train and 
upskill workers for millions of good-paying jobs and also strengthen 
our economy as we begin to recover from COVID-19. I hope that my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle consider the BUILDS Act as a 
necessary component to any investment in our nation's infrastructure.
                                 ______