House lawmakers passed legislation Friday that would make federal welfare recipients eligible for apprenticeship training programs, part of the Republican effort to address joblessness and underemployment by expanding the training available for non-college skilled trades.
Dubbed the Accelerating Individuals into the Workforce Act, the bill would allocate $100 million in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the program that replaced welfare, to subsidize state programs that require TANF recipients to participate in apprenticeship programs in exchange for benefits. The legislation, which passed 377-34, allows states to subsidize up to 50 percent of the recipients’ wage, and the remainder is covered by the employer.
“Today in this country, there are approximately six million jobs that remain unfilled because they require technical skills or knowledge related specifically to an industry or occupation,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-S.C., chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “If we want to help participants move from government assistance and help them hold a job, then we must set them on a path to jobs and industries that will remain competitive in the evolving 21st century economy.”
The legislation had bipartisan support. “I think it is a goal we all share that this bill expands employment,” said Rep. Danny Davis. D-Ill., a co-sponsor of the bill.
