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Senator Hassan, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Invest in Workforce Training to Help Relaunch the Economy

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), joined in introducing legislation to invest $15 billion in America’s workforce training infrastructure as well as career and technical education. The Relaunching America’s Workforce Act authorizes funding to help workers sharpen their skills and quickly re-enter the workforce as the economy recovers from this unprecedented public health and economic crisis.

 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need to strengthen our education, training, and employment services to help get Granite Staters and Americans the skills that they need to land good-paying jobs, while also providing our innovative businesses with the workface to help them succeed,” Senator Hassan said. “As our economy continues to recover from this unprecedented pandemic, we must provide additional resources to support job training programs and help get people back to work. I am glad to join in introducing this legislation to provide significant investments to support workforce training, and I will continue working across the aisle to support our economic recovery.”

 

The Relaunching America’s Workforce Act increases support for layoff aversion strategies that allow employers to receive partial funding to keep workers on the payroll while employees improve their job skills through training. The bill also restarts a grant program supporting partnerships between community colleges and industry, which was implemented during the Great Recession and is geared toward getting workers skills for in-demand jobs. 

 

Senator Hassan recently led her colleagues in reintroducing the bipartisan Gateway to Careers Act, her first bill of the new Congress, to help expand economic opportunity for hard-working Americans and support innovative businesses in need of a strong workforce. The Gateway to Careers Act would provide grants to support partnerships between community or technical colleges and workforce development partners such as state workforce development boards, industry associations, and community-based organizations. Last week, Senator Hassan questioned President Joe Biden’s nominee for Labor Secretary, Mary Walsh, where she highlighted the importance of expanding workforce training for those who have lost their jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic and how her Gateway to Careers Act could help address this problem.

 

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