IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 159 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that infrastructure 

spending bills should include development programs that recruit and 

train individuals from communities with high unemployment rates. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2017 

Mr. MEEKS (for himself, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. 

WALZ, and Ms. PLASKETT) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

infrastructure spending bills should include development 

programs that recruit and train individuals from communities with high unemployment rates. 

Whereas America would need to spend approximately $1.44 

trillion over the next 10 years to close the infrastructure 

gap; 

Whereas the infrastructure workforce is aging at a rate 

where approximately 3,000,000 workers will need to be 

replaced over the next 10 years, compounding America’s 

infrastructure crisis; 

Whereas infrastructure jobs include a wide range of employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors, 


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•HRES 159 IH 

including design, construction, operation, governance, and 

maintenance of America’s assets; 

Whereas infrastructure jobs provide competitive wages with 

low barriers to entry, many of which require on-the-job 

training in lieu of formal higher education; 

Whereas in spite of rising income inequality, infrastructure 

jobs paid approximately 30 percent more to low-income 

individuals than other occupations between the years of 

2005 and 2015; 

Whereas in the fourth quarter of 2016, African-Americans 

and Hispanics between the ages of 25 and 34 had the 

highest unemployment levels at 8.6 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively; 

Whereas the unemployment rate for military veterans serving 

in conflicts since September 11, 2001, has remained 

above the national unemployment rate, with the Federal 

Reserve of Chicago highlighting how wartime deployment 

can limit the types of training veterans receive that are 

transferable to the civilian labor market; and 

Whereas the Federal Government should make concerted efforts, by coordination with State and local governments, 

workforce development agencies, educational institutions, 

including Historically Black Colleges and Universities 

and Hispanic Serving Institutions, to recruit, train, and 

retain America’s next generation of infrastructure workers to close the workforce gap: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) any infrastructure spending bill enacted 

4 during the 115th Congress should include robust inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:44 Mar 01, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR159.IH HR159

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•HRES 159 IH 

1 vestments in workforce development programs that 

2 take meaningful actions to recruit and train individ3 uals from communities with high unemployment 

4 rates, including African-American communities, His5 panic communities, and American Indian tribal 

6 areas; 

7 (2) any infrastructure spending bill enacted 

8 during the 115th Congress should include robust in9 vestments in workforce development programs that 

10 take meaningful actions to recruit and train unem11 ployed veterans that have served in a conflict since 

12 September 11, 2001; and 

13 (3) any infrastructure spending bill enacted 

14 during the 115th Congress should include meaning15 ful outreach efforts geared toward underrepresented 

16 contractors, including minority- and women-owned 

17 businesses, veteran owned small businesses, service18 disabled veteran owned small businesses, and 

19 offerors that employ veterans on a full-time basis. 

Æ 


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