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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6725 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6725
To amend the National Apprenticeship Act in order to increase and
expand the national apprenticeship system to include the immediate
recruitment, employment, and on-the-job earn as you learn training of
young African Americans, and to promote the development of equitable
hiring standards necessary to safeguard the diversity of apprentices,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 15, 2025
Mr. David Scott of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Bell, Ms.
Norton, Mr. Carson, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Clarke of New York,
Mr. Fields, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mr. Meeks,
Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms.
Tlaib, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Bishop, Mr. Doggett, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Pocan, Ms.
Strickland, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Ms. Kelly of
Illinois, Mr. Mfume, Ms. Scanlon, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Castor of
Florida, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Green of Texas,
Mr. Ivey, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Omar, Mr. Pallone, Ms.
Schakowsky, Mr. Thompson of California, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms.
Williams of Georgia, Ms. Brown, and Mr. Figures) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Apprenticeship Act in order to increase and
expand the national apprenticeship system to include the immediate
recruitment, employment, and on-the-job earn as you learn training of
young African Americans, and to promote the development of equitable
hiring standards necessary to safeguard the diversity of apprentices,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Jobs, On-the-Job `Earn-While-You-
Learn' Training, and Apprenticeships for Young African-Americans Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Young African-American men and women are the hardest
hit by economic instability. Declared and affirmed by the
Federal Reserve, African Americans face unemployment rates that
are two to three times higher than their White counterparts for
the last several decades.
(2) During economic recessions in 1974 through 1975, 1981
through 1982, 1990 through 1991, and 2008, the African-American
community faced significantly higher unemployment rates than
their White counterparts.
(3) Even during times of economic growth, African-American
communities experience prolonged financial vulnerability and
delayed recovery. Unemployment rates decline at a slower rate
for African-American men, and even a slower rate for African-
American women as compared to their White counterparts.
(4) Affirmed by the Department of Labor, diversity and
inclusion within the workforce benefits employees and
businesses across all industries, including apprenticeship
programs, which provide economic mobility to its participants.
(5) Through the combined efforts of building trades unions
and community partners at the State and local level, there have
been established more than 150 apprenticeship readiness
programs across the United States that focus on creating
pathways to Registered Programs for people of color, women, and
veterans. Overall, from 2009 to 2019, building trades unions
and their signatory contractors have invested over $100,000,000
in outreach efforts targeting underrepresented communities to
participate in apprenticeship readiness programs. Of the 4,800
individuals who have successfully completed a building trades
apprenticeship readiness program since 2016, 70 percent were
from communities of color and 22 percent were women.
(6) The disproportionately highunemployment rates, combined
with low participation rates from African Americans in
registered apprenticeship programs not only constitute a
national crisis but a national tragedy for the young African
Americans, many of whom are fathers and mothers who, without
jobs, are unable to provide for their families or home.
SEC. 3. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ADMINISTRATOR.
(a) In General.--There is established within the Office of
Apprenticeship in the Office of Employment and Training Administration
of the Department of Labor a position to be known as the ``Diversity
and Inclusion Administrator''.
(b) Responsibilities.--The Diversity and Inclusion Administrator
shall--
(1) promote greater diversity, including an increase in the
participation of individuals who are African American,
Hispanic, Asian American or Pacific Islander, or Native
American in the national apprenticeship system;
(2) engage with institutions of higher education and other
education and training providers with secondary, postsecondary,
and adult education systems, including degree and credential
requirements;
(3) employers from nontraditional apprenticeship industries
and occupations; and
(4) assist State apprenticeship agencies and sponsors in
complying with the requirements of this Act.
SEC. 4. REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP APPLICATION.
(a) In General.--The Administrator of the Office of Apprenticeship,
acting through the Diversity and Inclusion Administrator, shall require
each entity seeking to register an apprenticeship under the Act of
August 16, 1937 (commonly referred to as the ``National Apprenticeship
Act''; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), to submit, as
a part of the application to register such apprenticeship, a plan to
increase participation of individuals who are African American.
(b) Renewal of Registration.--A registered apprenticeship program
seeking renewal of such registration under the Act of August 16, 1937
(commonly referred to as the ``National Apprenticeship Act''; 50 Stat.
664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), shall include in the
application for such registration a plan described in subsection (a).
SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.
(a) In General.--The Diversity and Inclusion Administrator, in
consultation with the Secretary of Education as appropriate, shall
award grants on a competitive basis to eligible registered entities to
create or expand diversity in registered apprenticeship programs.
(b) Target Programs.--In issuing grants under subsection (a), the
Diversity and Inclusion Administrator shall target registered
apprenticeship programs in traditional and nontraditional
apprenticeship industries or occupations, such as for programs
demonstrating demand in construction, welding, electrical engineering,
plumbing, information technology, energy, green jobs, advanced
manufacturing, health care, or cybersecurity.
(c) Use of Funds.--A grantee under this section may use funds--
(1) to establish or expand partnerships with organizations
that provide African-American participants and other
nontraditional program participants access to financial
planning, mentoring, and supportive services that are necessary
to enable an individual to participate in and complete a
program under the national apprenticeship system;
(2) to conduct outreach and recruitment activities,
including assessments of potential African-American
participants and other nontraditional participants for, and
enrollment of such participants in, a program under the
national apprenticeship system;
(3) to conduct outreach, engagement, recruitment, and
coordination of activities, for the purpose of establishing
industry or sector partnerships and opportunities under the
national apprenticeship system, with--
(A) employers;
(B) industry associations;
(C) labor and labor-management organizations;
(D) qualified intermediaries;
(E) education and training providers;
(F) State or local workforce agencies;
(G) potential sponsors;
(H) community-based organizations;
(I) communities with high numbers or percentages of
individuals who are African American and other
individuals from populations that the Secretary
determines to be nontraditional apprenticeship
populations;
(J) small- and medium-sized businesses; or
(K) rural communities;
(4) to carry out grant requirements, including program
evaluation and reporting requirements; and
(5) to conduct any activities as described in the
application that would advance the purposes of the grant.
(d) Grant Recipient Report.--Each recipient of a grant under this
section shall--
(1) submit to the Diversity and Inclusion Administrator a
report at the conclusion of the grant period, which shall
include--
(A) a description of how the funds received through
the grant were used to increase the participation of
individuals who are African American, Hispanic, Asian
American or Pacific Islander, or Native American in the
program;
(B) the total number of active program
participants;
(C) the total number that obtained unsubsidized
employment in a field related to the apprenticeable
occupation;
(D) the total number of program participants that
completed the program in which they were enrolled;
(E) the average time to completion for each
program;
(F) the average cost per participant during the
most recent program year; and
(G) the percentage of participants who received
additional support services; and
(2) submit each report under paragraph (1)--
(A) to the registration agency; and
(B) to the Diversity and Inclusion Administrator.
(e) Eligible Entity Defined.--In this section, the term ``eligible
entity'' means--
(1) a program sponsor;
(2) a State workforce development board or State workforce
agency, or a local workforce development board or local
workforce development agency;
(3) an education and training provider, or a consortium
thereof;
(4) if the applicant is in a State with a State
apprenticeship agency, such State apprenticeship agency;
(5) an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization;
(6) an industry or sector partnership, a group of
employers, a trade association, or a professional association
that sponsors or participates in a program under the national
apprenticeship system;
(7) a Governor of a State;
(8) a labor organization or joint-labor management
organization;
(9) a community organization working in partnership with
one or more registered apprenticeship programs; or
(10) a qualified intermediary.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following:
(1) Education and training provider.--The term ``education
and training provider'' means--
(A) an area career and technical education school;
(B) an early college high school;
(C) an educational service agency;
(D) a high school;
(E) a local educational agency or State educational
agency;
(F) a Tribal educational agency, Tribally
controlled college or university, or Tribally
controlled postsecondary career and technical
institution;
(G) a postsecondary educational institution;
(H) a minority-serving institution;
(I) a provider of adult education and literacy
activities under the Adult Education and Family
Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 3271 et seq.);
(J) a local agency administering plans under title
I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 720 et
seq.), other than section 112 or part C of that title
(29 U.S.C. 732, 741);
(K) a related instruction provider, including a
qualified intermediary acting as a related instruction
provider as approved by a registration agency;
(L) a Job Corps center (as defined in section 142
of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29
U.S.C. 3192)); or
(M) a consortium of entities described in any of
subparagraphs (A) through (L).
(2) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).
(3) National apprenticeship system.--The term ``national
apprenticeship system'' means the apprenticeship programs,
youth apprenticeship programs, and preapprenticeship programs
under the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly referred to as the
``National Apprenticeship Act''; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29
U.S.C. 50 et seq.).
(4) Nontraditional apprenticeship population.--The term
``nontraditional apprenticeship population'' means a group of
individuals (such as individuals from the same gender, race, or
ethnicity), the members of which comprise fewer than 25 percent
of the program participants in an apprenticeable occupation
under the national apprenticeship system.
(5) Nontraditional apprenticeship industry or occupation.--
The term ``nontraditional apprenticeship industry or
occupation'' refers to an industry sector or occupation that
represents fewer than 10 percent of apprenticeable occupations
or the programs under the national apprenticeship system.
(6) Registered apprenticeship program.--The term
``registered apprenticeship program'' means an apprenticeship
program registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly
referred to as the ``National Apprenticeship Act''; 50 Stat.
664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.).
(7) Registration agency.--The term ``registration agency''
means the State Office of Apprenticeship or State
apprenticeship agency in a State that is responsible for--
(A) approving or denying applications from sponsors
for registration of programs under the national
apprenticeship system in the State or area covered by
the registration agency; and
(B) carrying out the responsibilities of supporting
the youth apprenticeship, preapprenticeship, or
apprenticeship programs registered by the registration
agency.
(8) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given such
term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (29 U.S.C. 3102) and includes each of the outlying areas.
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect beginning on April 22, 2026.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Labor
to carry out this Act--
(1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
(2) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2027;
(3) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; and
(4) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2029.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
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