{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-touts-key-investments-in-closing-the-skills-gap-strengthening-us-workforce", "Blunt Touts Key Investments in Closing the Skills Gap, Strengthening U.S. Workforce", "2019-12-16", "2019", "2019-12", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Roy Blunt", "B000575", "www.blunt.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S.\r\nSenator Roy Blunt (Mo.), Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor,\r\nHealth and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor/HHS), today\r\nannounced that the fiscal year 2020 Senate Labor/HHS appropriations bill\r\nincludes several investments in key\r\nworkforce development programs. The bill was filed today and is expected to be\r\nconsidered by the Senate later this week. There are over a million more job openings than people\r\nlooking for work, said Blunt. I hear from employers all the time who are\r\nstruggling to find candidates with the right education, skills, and training to\r\nfill open jobs. By strengthening workforce development programs, including the\r\nApprenticeship program and Career and Technical Education, we'll help Americans\r\nget the skills they need to take advantage of the opportunities that come with\r\na growing economy. This year, we've also started a new initiative to ensure\r\nthat high-school age kids have the ability to pursue a full-range of\r\npost-secondary options  whether it's attending a four-year university, a\r\ncommunity college, or entering an apprenticeship program  to help them not\r\njust get a job, but build a career. Following Are Some\r\nof the Key Workforce Development Priorities Included in the Labor/HHS Bill:  Career Pathways\r\nInitiative: Too many students leave high school without a clear\r\nunderstanding of the full range of post-secondary options, from apprenticeship\r\nprograms to advanced degrees, that can lead to good, high-paying careers.\r\nCreating these connections for students beginning when they are high school-age\r\ncan be critical to improving educational and employment outcomes. The bill\r\nprovides $20 million to establish new initiatives at the Departments of Labor\r\nand Education: o $10 million for a new initiative at the Department of Education to help school districts, institutions of higher education, and area CTE\r\nschools implement a wide-range of activities, such as aligning curriculums with\r\nacademic standards and occupational licensing and credentialing, and providing\r\ndirect services to students, with the goal of improving pathways for students\r\nbeginning in high school that can lead to the full-range of post-secondary\r\ncollege and career options.  o $10 million for a new youth career\r\npathways demonstration program at the Department of Labor to improve workforce\r\nreadiness, employment and training opportunities, and provide early exposure to\r\nmultiple career pathways.  Apprenticeship\r\nProgram: The bill includes a $15 million increase for the Apprenticeship\r\nprogram, bringing the overall funding level to $175 million. That marks an $85\r\nmillion increase since Congress began funding this program in FY2016. Blunt has\r\nadvocated\r\nfor increased apprenticeship opportunities to close the skills gap.     Veterans Employment\r\nand Training (VETS): The bill provides $311.3 million, an $11.3 million\r\nincrease, for VETS. VETS provides intensive employment services to veterans and\r\neligible spouses, transitioning service members, and disabled veterans. This\r\nincreased funding will support veterans in the transition assistance program as\r\nthey move into the civilian workforce, and allow the Department of Labor to\r\nimplement reforms required by the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act and\r\nassist military spouses in addressing occupational and credentialing\r\nbarriers.     HIRE Vets Medallion\r\nProgram: The bill continues to provide resources to carry out the HIRE\r\nVets Act, a bill authored by Sen. Blunt which established a tiered\r\nrecognition program within the Department of Labor to award employers based on\r\ntheir contributions to veteran employment. In November, the department\r\nannounced that seven\r\nMissouri employers received HIRE Vets Medallion Program Awards.  Rural Workforce\r\nTraining Initiative: The bill provides $30 million in continued funding for\r\nthe dislocated worker training initiative, Workforce Opportunity for Rural\r\nCommunities, to provide reemployment and training assistance to dislocated\r\nworkers in rural areas of the country hit hardest by the recession and\r\nrecovering more slowly. Funding is\r\ndevoted to training those who have lost their jobs in the Appalachian and Delta\r\nregions to ensure they can adapt existing skills and learn new skills demanded\r\nby other growing industries, and return to work as soon as possible.  Strengthening\r\nCommunity Colleges Initiative: The bill provides $40 million for a new\r\ninitiative to better align workforce development needs for in-demand industries\r\nwith post-secondary education.  Workforce Training\r\nGrants: The bill includes $2.8 billion in grants to states, an increase of\r\n$30 million. These funds are distributed by formula to states and localities to\r\nmeet each state's unique workforce training and development needs. Missouri\r\nreceived $38.2 million in training and employment services grants in 2019.  Youth Workforce\r\nTraining: The bill increases funding for several other programs to provide\r\nat-risk youth with the opportunity to gain educational and occupations skills: o Youth Grants to States: $913\r\nmillion, an increase of $9.7 million;  o YouthBuild: $94.5 million, an\r\nincrease of $5 million. Missouri has\r\nfour current YouthBuild grantees located in Columbia, St. Joseph, and St.\r\nLouis; and o Job Corps: $1.7 billion, an\r\nincrease of $25 million. Missouri has\r\nthree Job Corps centers located in Excelsior Springs, Puxico, and St. Louis.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-touts-key-investments-in-closing-the-skills-gap-strengthening-us-workforce"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7089089378714561, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}