U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800

Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001

96–084 2016

TITLE II: 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND POWER 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND 

COMMERCE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

APRIL 23, 2015 

Serial No. 114–33 

( 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

energycommerce.house.gov 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 

FRED UPTON, Michigan 

Chairman 

JOE BARTON, Texas 

Chairman Emeritus 

ED WHITFIELD, Kentucky 

JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois 

JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania 

GREG WALDEN, Oregon 

TIM MURPHY, Pennsylvania 

MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas 

MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee 

Vice Chairman 

STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana 

ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio 

CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS, Washington 

GREGG HARPER, Mississippi 

LEONARD LANCE, New Jersey 

BRETT GUTHRIE, Kentucky 

PETE OLSON, Texas 

DAVID B. MCKINLEY, West Virginia 

MIKE POMPEO, Kansas 

ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois 

H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

BILL JOHNSON, Ohio 

BILLY LONG, Missouri 

RENEE L. ELLMERS, North Carolina 

LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana 

BILL FLORES, Texas 

SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana 

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma 

RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina 

CHRIS COLLINS, New York 

KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota 

FRANK PALLONE, JR., New Jersey 

Ranking Member 

BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois 

ANNA G. ESHOO, California 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

GENE GREEN, Texas 

DIANA DEGETTE, Colorado 

LOIS CAPPS, California 

MICHAEL F. DOYLE, Pennsylvania 

JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois 

G.K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina 

DORIS O. MATSUI, California 

KATHY CASTOR, Florida 

JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland 

JERRY MCNERNEY, California 

PETER WELCH, Vermont 

BEN RAY LUJA ́ N, New Mexico 

PAUL TONKO, New York 

JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky 

YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York 

DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa 

KURT SCHRADER, Oregon 

JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, III, Massachusetts 

TONY CA ́ RDENAS, California 

(III) 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND POWER

ED WHITFIELD, Kentucky 

Chairman 

PETE OLSON, Texas 

Vice Chairman 

JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois 

JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania 

ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio 

GREGG HARPER, Vice Chairman 

DAVID B. MCKINLEY, West Virginia 

MIKE POMPEO, Kansas 

ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois 

H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia 

BILL JOHNSON, Ohio 

BILLY LONG, Missouri 

RENEE L. ELLMERS, North Carolina 

BILL FLORES, Texas 

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma 

RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina 

JOE BARTON, Texas 

FRED UPTON, Michigan (ex officio) 

BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois 

Ranking Member 

JERRY MCNERNEY, California 

PAUL TONKO, New York 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

GENE GREEN, Texas 

LOIS CAPPS, California 

MICHAEL F. DOYLE, Pennsylvania 

KATHY CASTOR, Florida 

JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland 

PETER WELCH, Vermont 

JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky 

DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa 

FRANK PALLONE, JR., New Jersey (ex 

officio) 

(V) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hon. Ed Whitfield, a Representative in Congress from the Commonwealth 

of Kentucky, opening statement ......................................................................... 1 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 2 

Hon. Bobby L. Rush, a Representative in Congress from the State of Illinois, 

opening statement ................................................................................................ 3 

Hon. Gene Green, a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas, 

opening statement ................................................................................................ 4 

Hon. Fred Upton, a Representative in Congress from the State of Michigan, 

prepared statement .............................................................................................. 64 

Hon. Bill Flores, a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas, 

prepared statement .............................................................................................. 65 

Hon. Joe Barton, a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas, 

prepared statement .............................................................................................. 65 

WITNESSES

Tracy Brundage, Vice President, Workforce Development and Continuing 

Education, Pennsylvania College of Technology, on Behalf of Shale Net ....... 5 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 8 

Rick Jarvis, Vice President of Field Construction, Morrow-Meadows Corporation, on behalf of National Electrical Contractors Association ......................... 18 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 20 

Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Chief Energy Officer, University of Houston ............ 25 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 27 

Monica Martinez, President, Hispanics in Energy ............................................... 36 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 38 

Charles Wilson, Senior Reactor Operator Trainer, Managing Partner, CW 

Consulting Group, LLC ....................................................................................... 46 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 48 

(1) 

TITLE II: 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE 

THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND POWER, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE, Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:05 a.m., in room 

2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ed Whitfield 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Members present: Representatives Whitfield, Shimkus, Pitts, 

Latta, Harper, McKinley, Johnson, Long, Ellmers, Flores, Mullin, 

Hudson, Rush, McNerney, Green, Doyle, Castor, Sarbanes, and 

Loebsack. 

Staff present: Nick Abraham, Legislative Associate, Energy and 

Power; Gary Andres, Staff Director; Charlotte Baker, Deputy Communications Director; Will Batson, Legislative Clerk; Leighton 

Brown, Press Assistant; Allison Busbee, Policy Coordinator, Energy 

and Power; Patrick Currier, Counsel, Energy and Power; Tom 

Hassenboehler, Chief Counsel, Energy and Power; Brandon Mooney, Professional Staff Member, Energy and Power; Caitlin 

Haberman, Democratic Professional Staff Member; Rick Kessler, 

Democratic Senior Advisor and Staff Director, Energy and Environment; and John Marshall, Democratic Policy Coordinator. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ED WHITFIELD, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY 

Mr. WHITFIELD. I would like to call the hearing to order this 

morning. Today we are having a hearing on a draft bill, Title II of 

the 21st Century Workforce, and we have a distinguished panel of 

witnesses with us this morning. And I am not going to introduce 

you now, but I am going to introduce you just prior to your 5- 

minute statement. But we do thank you for joining us this morning. And I would like to recognize myself for 5 minutes for an opening statement. 

First, I want to thank Bobby Rush as well as Bill Flores, Gene 

Green, and Richard Hudson for sponsoring the bipartisan discussion draft that we will be talking about today entitled the 21st 

Century Workforce. This discussion draft will become part of our 

larger energy legislation that we will be rolling out in the weeks 

ahead. I have already complimented you, Bob, and thank you for 

coming. 

As we all know, the domestic energy sector is undergoing dramatic changes. Thanks to American innovations, our decades of deVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:22 Jul 14, 2016 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\MY DOCS\HEARINGS 114\114-33 CHRIS
2 

clining oil and natural gas production have given way to tremendous increases in output. The Energy Information Administration 

recently projected that the United States will eliminate net energy 

imports by the year 2030. This abundant and affordable energy is 

sparking new manufacturing activity in the United States. 

America’s energy and manufacturing renaissance is also leading 

to a jobs renaissance. Energy and energy-related employment has 

been one of the few economic bright spots in recent years, everything from those employed discovering and producing energy to 

those constructing and operating the infrastructure to transport it, 

to the new factories that are powered by it. 

But America’s energy transformation has some problems because 

we are now finding that we need more trained workers in these 

areas, skilled workers. So there are many opportunities out there, 

and this is what this legislation is all about, trying to assist in the 

development of these new job opportunities. 

As you know, we have also had a lot of people lose their job as 

we make this transformation in energy. Certainly, in the coal sector they have been hit very hard. And so we have a great opportunity here. I know the Department of Energy has already expressed an interest in developing a jobs program, but we feel like 

it is important to provide some guidance in that, and as I said earlier, Bobby Rush has been talking about this for some time, and 

actually, his draft was the basis for this Title II. 

So we have a unique opportunity here in our broader energy bill 

to address this issue, and that is what we hope to do. And we hope 

that your testimony will provide us some insights on your thoughts 

on this important subject. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Whitfield follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. ED WHITFIELD

I would like to thank my good friend Bobby Rush as well as Bill Flores, Gene 

Green, and Richard Hudson, for sponsoring the bipartisan discussion draft that we 

will be talking about today, entitled 21st Century Workforce. This discussion draft 

will become part of our larger energy legislation that we will be rolling out in the 

weeks ahead. I also thank our witnesses for appearing before us today. 

As we all know, the domestic energy sector is undergoing dramatic changes. 

Thanks to American innovations in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, decades of declining oil and natural gas production have given way to tremendous increases in output. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently projected 

that the U.S. will eliminate net energy imports by 2030. This abundant and affordable energy is sparking new manufacturing activity in the U.S. 

America’s energy and manufacturing renaissance is also leading to a jobs renaissance. Energy and energy-related employment has been one of the few economic 

bright spots in recent years—everything from those employed discovering and producing energy, to those constructing and operating the infrastructure to transport 

it, to the new factories that are powered by it. 

But America’s energy transformation has taken the job market by surprise. Many 

in need of work do not have the skills required to fill these high-paying opportunities, and the Department of Energy’s job programs do not fully reflect current realities. 

That is the problem the 21st Century Workforce discussion draft seeks to address. 

It updates DOE’s energy training programs to better serve today’s energy market 

and today’s job seekers. Just as America’s energy situation is changing, so is its 

workforce. We have growing numbers of minorities participating in labor markets, 

but these groups have been historically underrepresented in the energy sector. The 

21st Century Workforce bill would strengthen the outreach to these potential energy 

workers. Our goal is nothing less than to have the best trained and most diverse 

energy industry in the world. 

3 

In addition, there are displaced workers, such as those once employed in the coal 

sector, who are now looking for new opportunities in energy. Of course, my hope is 

to get as many of these men and women employed again in the coal industry, but 

for the others the discussion draft has programs to help them transition into other 

energy careers. 

The discussion draft does not create new programs out of whole cloth, but builds 

upon the base that already exists at DOE. And it applies to a wide variety of programs and partnerships with 4-year colleges, community and technical colleges, and 

high schools as well as other governmental and private institutions involved in energy. 

Now, I know that on this subcommittee we don’t always agree on which energy 

source is the best. We have proponents of wind and solar as well as proponents of 

fossil fuels and nuclear power. However, this discussion draft is fuel neutral—it 

does not seek to target any particular energy source, but rather gives DOE the flexibility to allocate its resources to wherever the job opportunities are. And the focus 

goes well beyond energy production to also include downstream opportunities such 

as those in infrastructure that were highlighted in DOE’s recent Quadrennial Energy Review as well as those in the manufacturing sector that are made possible 

by affordable domestic energy. 

Energy and energy-related jobs are critical to American economic growth in the 

years ahead. The career opportunities are many, and the 21st Century Workforce 

discussion draft will go a long way towards ensuring that we have qualified Americans to fill them. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. And with that, at this time I would like to recognize the gentleman from Illinois for his opening statement. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BOBBY L. RUSH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 

Mr. RUSH. I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this 

important hearing, and I must commend you and your staff for 

working with my office on the 21st Century Workforce bill. That is 

the focus of what we will be discussing here today. 

Mr. Chairman, I hope that the same spirit of goodwill and negotiations that the minority and the majority sides that have displayed in working on this discussion draft can be carried forth as 

we continue to work on the remaining sections of a broader bipartisan comprehensive energy bill. The Nation is in need, waiting for 

it, and a Nation in need deserves a comprehensive energy bill. 

I am also optimistic knowing that both sides continue to work 

diligently at a good faith on hammering out some of the more contentious outstanding issues so that hopefully we can bring forth a 

bill that helps move our Nation’s energy policy forward and restores this subcommittee’s reputation as a true model of what bipartisanship can accomplish. 

Mr. Chairman, the 21st Century Workforce legislation addresses 

an issue that is neither partisan nor bipartisan, but rather it is 

non-partisan because this is an issue that benefits communities, 

benefits industry, and benefits the overall American economy. This 

bill brings together government agencies including the National 

Labs, the energy and manufacturing industry, unions, schools, community colleges, and universities among others and promotes collaboration to make sure that we are tapping into a wealth of 

under-utilized talent and training and preparing workers for the 

energy and manufacturing jobs both presently and of our future 

also. 

Mr. Chairman, this bill is important because it matches up the 

needs of an industry and a willingness and able workforce, and in 

the process it helps start new cycles of hope, new cycles of opporVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:22 Jul 14, 2016 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\MY DOCS\HEARINGS 114\114-33 CHRIS
4 

tunity for groups who have in many cases been overlooked and underserved. In fact, Mr. Chairman, it is my hope, my sincere hope, 

that if and when this bill is enacted, it would be instrumental in 

helping to create individuals with similar stories so that those we 

hear from today, their stories will be repeated time and time and 

time again, stories I might add like Mr. Wilson’s from the Englewood community that is located in my district in Chicago, Mr. Wilson, who beat the odds and turned his life into an inspirational 

profile that can serve as a motivation to this Nation and to this 

Nation’s young men all across this Nation. 

Mr. Chairman, this legislation can help to open new pathways to 

jobs, new pathways to careers, new pathways entrepreneurial opportunities for women, for minorities, and for our veterans while 

also helping to move our overall economy forward by promoting 

STEM education as well as developing educational guidelines for 

institutions at all levels, from elementary to post-graduate university programs. This bill would help to ensure that we are training 

individuals with the skills necessary to work in the energy and 

manufacturing-related jobs including energy efficiency, energy conservation, from blue-collar workers to managers to supervisors up 

to and including new entrepreneurs and business creators. 

So Mr. Chairman, again, I applaud you for holding this hearing 

today as well as working with me to make this issue a priority in 

what we hope will be a broader bipartisan, non-partisan energy 

and infrastructure bill. I look forward to engaging the witnesses 

that we have here today, and I welcome the witnesses. And with 

that, I yield back the balance of my time. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Thank you. The gentleman yields back the balance of his time. Mr. Upton is not here. Does anyone on our side 

of the aisle, they would like to take any of his time. OK. I see the 

gentleman from Texas is recognized for an opening statement. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. GENE GREEN, A 

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS 

Mr. GREEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you and 

the ranking member for holding the hearing today, and I want to 

thank our witnesses for coming and testifying today. Specifically, 

I would like to acknowledge Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, the Chief 

Energy Officer at the University of Houston. Being a graduate of 

University of Houston College of Business and going back there to 

law school, I can’t say too many nice things about it because it gave 

me the education I have. And what Dr. Krishnamoorti and his colleagues are doing in the energy field are amazing. I stated before; 

we can’t say it enough. Texas is leading the Nation producing results. This time it is our energy workforce development. Thanks to 

the University of Houston, San Jacinto Community College, 

ExxonMobil, and other stakeholders, Houston is launching a pad 

for efforts like these contained in this legislation today. The University of Houston partnered with the Energy Institute High School 

to engage high school students and get them interested in working 

in the energy field. The Texas Gulf Coast Community College Consortium is addressing the workforce need of our industries. The 

Community College Petrochemical Initiative is a public/private 

partnership that is unique to the industry. Through programs like 

5 

the University of Houston Partner, the TGCCCC and CPI, industry 

job opportunities become realities. 

I look forward to working with my colleagues on this legislation 

to ensure that success that we have in East Harris County where 

I represent the refineries and chemical plants continues and is duplicated nationwide. And I yield back my time. Thank you, Mr. 

Chairman. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. The gentleman yields back, and that concludes 

the opening statements. So now we will get to our panel of witnesses. Once again, thanks for being with us this morning. I will 

introduce you individually and give you each opportunity for 5 minutes for an opening statement. 

So our first witness is Dr. Tracy Brundage who is the Vice President of the Workforce Development and Continuing Education at 

Pennsylvania College of Technology on behalf of Shale NET. So Dr. 

Brundage, you are recognized for 5 minutes, and the little red 

lights will come on when your 5 minutes is up. There are two little 

boxes on the desk, but we do look forward to your testimony. And 

thanks for being with us, and just be sure to turn the microphone 

on so we all can hear. 

STATEMENTS OF TRACY BRUNDAGE, VICE PRESIDENT, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION, 

PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY, ON BEHALF OF 

SHALE NET; RICK JARVIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF FIELD CONSTRUCTION, MORROW-MEADOWS CORPORATION, ON BEHALF OF NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION; RAMANAN KRISHNAMOORTI, CHIEF ENERGY OFFICER, 

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON; MONICA MARTINEZ, PRESIDENT, 

HISPANICS IN ENERGY; AND CHARLES WILSON, SENIOR REACTOR OPERATOR TRAINER, MANAGING PARTNER, CW CONSULTING GROUP, LLC 

STATEMENT OF TRACY BRUNDAGE 

Ms. BRUNDAGE. Good morning. Thank you, subcommittee members, for the opportunity to speak about the need for workforce development and training in energy and related industries. My name 

is Tracy Brundage. I am the Vice President for Workforce Development at the Pennsylvania College of Technology, a special mission 

affiliate of Penn State committed to applied technology education. 

My testimony today will focus on Shale NET, a partnership of 

training providers, economic development, the public workforce system and employers who responded to the call from the energy industry for a trained workforce. 

When we ask executives in the gas and oil industry what keeps 

them up at night, many will respond by expressing their concerns 

regarding the great crew change. The energy industry is facing a 

mass exodus of talent and experience. In order for the industry to 

succeed in the 21st century, it must continue to recruit and retain 

talent from a more diverse labor pool. The industry must be prepared for the inevitable departure of a large number of workers 

who are retiring. 

To address these challenges, industry, government, the public 

workforce investment system, economic development agencies, eduVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:22 Jul 14, 2016 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\MY DOCS\HEARINGS 114\114-33 CHRIS
6 

cation, and training providers must create the kind of educational 

infrastructure that will provide a qualified workforce the industry 

needs. Our work, through Shale NET, over the last several years, 

has focused on building this infrastructure. 

In 2010 Penn College, Westmoreland County Community College 

in Pennsylvania, and 18 other training providers across Ohio, 

Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York came together to create Shale NET. We were awarded $4.96 million from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Community-Based Job Training Grant Initiative to develop and implement a 3-week training program that exposes students to expectations of the industry related to job readiness skills, safety, and technical awareness. 

The curriculum was designed from input from industry, stressed 

consistency of content, and awarded competency-based in industryrecognized credentials. Though the program was open to all, special 

efforts were directed to recruit veterans, the unemployed, and underemployed. The results for Shale NET are stellar. Over 14,000 

individuals explored the Talent Match Web site which provides realistic job profiles of energy occupations and information about the 

industry. Over 1,100 completed practical training, and almost 3,500 

obtained job. The placement rate was 79 percent, and retention 

three quarters after placement was 82 percent. 

In October 2012, Shale NET was awarded a U.S. Department of 

Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance in Community College and Career Training, known as TAACCCT, Round II grant for $14.96 million which combines the short-term programming of the initial 

Shale NET grant with stackable college credit offerings. 

Shale NET is a best-practice model that can be deployed and implemented in other areas because the curriculum is competencybased, developed with input from industry, consistent, easily replicated, and flexible, dependent upon industry needs. The success 

of Shale NET is a direct result of strong partnerships with employers and trade associations, workforce investment boards, one stops, 

economic development agencies such as the Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Conference on Community Development, and local governments who share a common desire to place qualified candidates 

with employers and family-sustaining careers. 

Several innovative strategies are being deployed by Shale NET 

to bring blended technical curriculum to remote areas, veterans, 

and underserved populations. One strategy uses state-of-the-art 3D 

immersive technology and artificial intelligence to assess and teach 

more advanced technical skills related to natural gas and oil production in a simulated environment. These methodologies create 

enormous cost savings for educational institutions, embrace leading 

edge technology honed by the U.S. Department of Defense to train 

and assess competencies and make capacity-building more feasible 

and efficient. 

For future programs that are introduced to meet energy workforce needs, there are several factors that are imperative: to establish public/private partnerships that become the backbone of developing a broad array of training options across the geography of the 

United States; to target federal funding in promoting regional collaborations that align with industry’s multi-state operations; and to 

7 

direct funding where the impact is greatest to support energy 

training initiatives that secure jobs for America’s workforce. 

Our job is not yet done. Thanks again for this opportunity to 

speak on Shale NET’s behalf. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Brundage follows:] 

8 


96084.001
9 


96084.002
10 


96084.003
11 


96084.004
12 


96084.005
13 


96084.006
14 


96084.007
15 


96084.008
16 


96084.009
17 


96084.010
18 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Thank you, Dr. Brundage. And our next witness 

is Dr. Rick Jarvis, who is Vice President of Field Construction, 

Morrow-Meadows Corporation, on behalf of the National Electrical 

Contractors Association. So, Mr. Jarvis, you are recognized for 5 

minutes. 

STATEMENT OF RICK JARVIS 

Mr. JARVIS. Thank you, Chairman Whitfield, Ranking Member 

Rush, and members of the subcommittee for inviting me here to 

testify today at this important hearing. On behalf of the National 

Electrical Contractors Association, the nationally recognized voice 

of the electrical construction industry, thank you for holding this 

important hearing regarding the workforce development needs of 

the energy and manufacturing sectors. 

My name is Rick Jarvis, and I serve as Vice President of Field 

Construction for Morrow-Meadows Corporation, a premier electrical 

and data communications contractor on the West Coast. I am 

pleased to be here on behalf of the National Electrical Contractors 

Association, also known as NECA. NECA is comprised of over 

60,000 electrical contracting firms employing over 750,000 electrical workers and producing an annual volume of over $130 billion. 

Growth and diversification in the energy economy have created 

unprecedented opportunities for the electrical construction industry. A record 60 percent of electrical contractors are currently performing work on energy construction projects. Unfortunately, the 

availability of skilled labor and an aging workforce threatens our 

ability to continue to meet the demands of the market. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the anticipated number of job openings for electricians due to growth and retirement 

from 2012 to 2022 is roughly 224,000. Recruiting new talent to our 

apprenticeship training program is crucial to the success and future of our industry, and we are working hard to recruit new talent 

to join the trade. 

For over 70 years, the electrical construction industry has been 

investing $100 million annually in its successful privately funded 

apprenticeship and training program. This joint venture between 

NECA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 

the IBW, which I am still a member, gives participants the opportunity to learn the electrical industry while getting paid and without a college education. We are proud of the opportunities offered 

by our apprenticeship training programs around the country. 

I for one am an example of what an apprenticeship program can 

do for a person. After high school, I worked several different jobs 

before entering a 4-year IBW–NECA electrical apprenticeship program in 1982. During the course of my training, I earned college 

credits and learned the difference between a job and a career. After 

completing my apprenticeship, I rose from journeyman electrician 

to foreman, then to general foreman. In 1991 I was promoted to the 

general field superintendent for the Morrow-Meadows San Diego 

branch office. Four years later I was promoted again, this time to 

the general field superintendent of their corporate division in Los 

Angeles, California, where I now hold the position of Vice President 

of Field Construction. 

19 

The IBW–NECA apprenticeship program has trained over 

375,000 electricians like myself including an increasing number of 

minorities, women, and veterans, a focus that we have today. Attracting young talent to this program and others like it is key to 

meeting workforce demands across the energy sectors. 

NECA is proud to support this committee’s discussion draft and 

the committee’s efforts to address the workforce development needs 

of the energy industry. I hope my own experience in this apprenticeship program can serve as a testament to the opportunities for 

upward mobility that learning a skilled trade can present. We are 

hopeful that as the Federal Government works to address the 

workforce development needs on the energy and manufacturing 

sectors, it assists our industry by actively promoting apprenticeships as a well-paying career option. 

We appreciate the committee’s interest in collaborating with electrical contractors as mentioned in the draft language. Our training 

programs are all about skill development for the 21st century 

workforce. I am happy to take any questions, and we look forward 

to continued work with this committee as it moves forward with 

this worthwhile process. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Jarvis follows:] 

20 


96084.011
21 


96084.012
22 


96084.013
23 


96084.014
24 


96084.015
25 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Well, thank you, Mr. Jarvis. And our next witness is Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti who is the Chief Energy Officer at the University of Houston. And I am excited you all have a 

Chief Energy Officer down there at the University of Houston. But 

thanks for being with us, and you are recognized for 5 minutes for 

an opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF RAMANAN KRISHNAMOORTI 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTI. Chairman Whitfield, Ranking Member 

Rush—— 

Mr. WHITFIELD. And be sure to bring the microphone up close 

there. 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTI. My name is Ramanan Krishnamoorti, as 

the chair recognized. I am the Acting Vice President and Vice 

Chancellor for Research and Technology Transfer and the Chief 

Energy Officer at the University of Houston. The University of 

Houston is a leading Tier 1 public research university that offers 

undergraduate and graduate programs on campus and online to 

more than 41,000 students. The University of Houston is a designated minority-serving institution, a Hispanic-serving institution 

and was rated the second-most racially and ethnically diverse university in the Nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2010. 

UH takes full advantage of our location in Houston, the energy 

capital of the world, to offer undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs in all facets of the energy industry. As the committee considers ways the Federal Government can foster education and training for energy and manufacturing jobs, I am 

pleased to speak with you today to share some of the innovative 

ways the University of Houston is working to train our workforce 

for high-skilled jobs in the energy industry. 

The oil and gas industry in particular is experiencing a massive 

misalignment of workforce needs and student education. It is a significant challenge to recruit and retain a qualified, stable workforce. The technology and skill requirements are rapidly changing 

in the industry. It is estimated that the skills of oil and gas workers become obsolete after 3 to 5 years, and the much talked-about 

crew change of the baby boomers is happening now and it is significantly impacting the industry’s workforce. 

So what does this look like? Between now and 2017, there is a 

projected shortage of 75,000 mid-skill workers and 10,000 highly 

skilled workers, and these numbers are expected to double over the 

next 5 years. That is a shortage of 20,000 highly skilled workers. 

We need to rapidly upscale the mid-skill workers to meet this deficit. 

The University of Houston has, over the last 7 years, embarked 

on a transformation to become the energy university in research, 

technology transfer, and most importantly, student education. We 

have already developed successful programs at the undergraduate 

level, like petroleum engineering, and at the graduate level, such 

as the Nation’s first and only subsea engineering program. 

Our success is due in large part by how we have engaged the industry, K through 12 education such as the Energy Institute High 

School in the Greater Houston area, and community college education including the nine community college systems in the Greater 

26 

Houston area. Through advisory boards and adjunct faculty, we 

have developed strategies to address actual workforce realities, to 

find quick wins for continued business engagement, and to recruit 

and retain women and minority students. One of these strategies 

is a focus on upscaling through certificates and stackable credentials. 

So how does stackable credentials meet workforce needs? Two 

ways: speed. It accelerates skill enhancement of workers and their 

re-deployment in areas of critical need. Second, volume. The 

stackable format provides rapid portability and scalability of the 

program. Basically, it is more high-skilled workers in less time. 

The stackable credential model has seen success in other areas 

of higher education, like healthcare. By stacking a series of certificates, a professional gains higher level credential or degree to advance their career. Our innovation is to apply this model to the energy industry’s needs. 

UH has developed stackable credentials that can quickly scale up 

energy workers to earn undergraduate degrees in organization, 

leadership, and supervision. This program is competency based and 

requires, one, the completion of two out of three certificate programs in advanced petroleum technology, advanced process technology, and advanced safety technology; and second, the completion 

of two certificate programs in project management and organizational leadership and supervision. 

To launch this program, we thought creatively and strategically 

about what population to target. One of the most significant needs 

in the Greater Houston area is the scaling up of mid-skill workers 

in the process technology industry where over the next 3 years over 

$120 billion of investment will take place to grow the infrastructure and adapt to the cheap availability of unconventional oil and 

gas. The first cohort in the advanced process technology certificate 

in Fall 2015 will demonstrate the scalability and portability of our 

upskilling program and will let the Energy University build on the 

significant achievement of the entire education pipeline including 

K–12 education and community college education. 

The Committee’s focus on workforce development in the energy 

sector is well placed. We are very proud of the initiatives the University of Houston has undertaken in our region and are encouraged by the Committee’s efforts to consider ways to scale workforce 

development programs in the energy sector on a national basis. I 

thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony today and look 

forward to answering your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Krishnamoorti follows:] 

27 


96084.016
28 


96084.017
29 


96084.018
30 


96084.019
31 


96084.020
32 


96084.021
33 


96084.022
34 


96084.023
35 


96084.024
36 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Thank you very much, Dr. Krishnamoorti. Our 

next witness is Monica Martinez who is the President of Hispanics 

in Energy. So thanks for being with us, and you are recognized for 

5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF MONICA MARTINEZ 

Ms. MARTINEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman Whitfield and Ranking 

Member Rush and members of the subcommittee. I want to thank 

you for the opportunity to testify today on Title II: 21st Century 

Workforce. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Would you mind just pulling the microphone a 

little bit closer? 

Ms. MARTINEZ. Oh, sure. I commend each of you for taking the 

time to focus on ensuring that America has a strong, diverse energy and manufacturing workforce. It is a privilege to be here 

today to support the bipartisan draft legislation that is aimed at 

accomplishing this critical priority. 

I am Monica Martinez, President of Hispanics in Energy. Hispanics in Energy is a non-partisan, non-profit organization whose 

mission is to engage Hispanic and other diverse communities in our 

Nation’s energy policy dialogue and workforce. And thank you, 

Congressman Flores, for being a continued supporter. 

Our population is over 54 million, making people of Hispanic origin the Nation’s largest ethnic or racial minority. At 11.9 million 

Hispanic households, we comprise roughly 10 percent of our Nation’s total households. 

For 2012, the median income of Hispanic households was $39,000 

whereas the median income of U.S. households was $51,017. The 

poverty rate among Hispanics is roughly 25.6 percent, whereas the 

national poverty rate is at 15 percent. 

I mention these figures to make sure I am illustrating the disparity that exists. But I also find them useful in the debate when 

we discuss jobs and economic opportunity. The best way to help alleviate poverty and to grow household income is to expand the outreach and availability of good paying jobs. And I believe that for 

Hispanics, African Americans, American Indians, women, and all 

Americans, access to economic opportunity in the energy field can 

be crucial for helping boost those earnings and bring about greater 

standards of living. 

We have heard about the shale revolution and even more so even 

when we talk about green energy economy. We know that there are 

job opportunities available. Recent reports, even ones by HIS, 

project that there are up to 408,000 jobs available that can be held 

by African Americans and Hispanics by 2030 in the oil and gas sector. IHS estimates that 63 percent of all job opportunities will be 

blue collar jobs. This is a truly bipartisan and energy technology 

neutral opportunity. We know that even the green sector is growing, and they are moving as well. And I think we need to take advantage of it. 

Hispanics in Energy over the last year has held community conversations across the country discussing this very opportunity. 

From that effort we have learned several things. General dissemination of energy opportunities to a variety of stakeholders is key. 

37 

Recent research indicates that the number one obstacle to 

women considering employment in the oil and gas industry is lack 

of awareness and understanding of the job opportunities and career 

development available. Just by outreaching and making sure we 

are sharing the message, we can overcome this obstacle. 

Engagement of students at all levels from when they are young 

sprouts, early age in elementary and beyond, is critical to engaging 

them. When we think about it, of the 70,000 undergraduate engineers, only 12 percent represent all under-represented groups, and 

the pool of under-represented engineers gets even smaller at the 

graduate level. We must do something to change this. 

We also need to expand the network of engagement by energy 

providers and companies to create a pipeline of prospective networks, and this includes working with various groups—veterans 

workforce development associations, other associations like our 

own—to create that partnership within that non-profit and public/ 

private sector is key. 

The fourth principle is really thinking about pathways that need 

to be developed for different demographic groups and segments of 

the population. I recognize the Center for Energy Workforce Development that can attest that the education and skills needed are the 

same for everyone, but the best way to prepare individuals may in 

fact be different. And this may include different wrap-around services or other items to help ensure their success. 

The last principle I mention, and this is because I was a former 

regulator within the State of Michigan, and my question always 

was, we have to look at the data and analyze, just making sure everything that you do—and I know this is mentioned in the draft 

legislation—look at the analysis and create benchmarks. We need 

to assess the performance and also find and discover best practices 

so that what we are doing in one region can be replicated in other 

regions as appropriate. Those are key. 

In closing, I just really want to thank the committee for their 

work. If we do not take action today to improve the opportunities 

for under-represented communities in the workforce, we will be 

only adding to the current disparity that exists between the energy 

industry and the community it serves. The energy industry can be 

more reflective of the characteristics of our population, and by 

doing so, our whole economy will benefit. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Martinez follows:] 

38 


96084.025
39 


96084.026
40 


96084.027
41 


96084.028
42 


96084.029
43 


96084.030
44 


96084.031
45 


96084.032
46 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Thank you, and our next witness is Mr. Charles 

Wilson who is the Senior Reactor Operator Trainer and Managing 

Partner of CW Consulting Group. Thanks for being with us, and 

Mr. Wilson, you are recognized for 5 minutes as well. 

STATEMENT OF CHARLES WILSON 

Mr. WILSON. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Rush, and the 

other members of the committee, my deepest gratitude. 

I am a 36-year-old black man who was raised in the South Side 

Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. I was born to a single, teenage 

mother, Elizabeth Wilson, and have two younger siblings, Natasha 

and Tabitha Wilson. My mother’s parents died while she was in 

her teens. My father played no role in our lives. Today I don’t know 

if he is dead or alive. 

We were poor. My family received SNAP benefits, and a small 

amount of money that my mother received afforded us a very humble apartment during a period in Chicago where the murder rate 

was nearly twice the rate it is today. Despite my impoverished circumstances, I matriculated through the Chicago Public School System and graduated from Lindblom Technical High School. In 1996, 

my joy of having survived to the age of 17 and graduating high 

school displaced my need to put together a long-term life strategy 

and plan of execution. That lack of having specific goals contributed to me becoming a teenage husband and father, ready to repeat 

the cycle that is commonplace amongst those in communities similar to mine. The walls of hopelessness and poverty waited to trap 

yet another tenant and disrupt the generational foundation necessary to break this destructive cycle. 

The birth of my firstborn, Erin Wilson, provided me an opportunity to be a man whose values and principles would be the polar 

opposite of the man responsible for my birth. That opportunity 

came in the form of a career serving in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear 

operator and submariner. My 6-year career provided me the base 

knowledge and unique skill set that was attractive and needed by 

the commercial nuclear industry. 

Exelon Nuclear gave me my first opportunity as an IBEW union 

chemistry technician and instructor. That opportunity set a trajectory which allowed me to obtain my senior reactor operator certification for training in December 2013. Since Exelon, I have worked 

at various commercial sites. Every job I have had in the industry 

has provided me with at least $100,000 annual income. The new 

awareness of this life-changing career path inspired me to partner 

with my best friend, Dion Clark, of TCI Solutions, also a Navy nuclear operator and senior reactor operator certified trainer. Though 

Dion served as part of the Navy surface fleet, we won’t hold that 

against him. Dion, a product of Chicago’s South Side Robbins 

neighborhood, and I decide that we wanted to share the opportunity we had been given with our community, the under-represented, disadvantaged, and underserved. Our philosophy was 

simple: If we could make it, so could they. 

And here is how: We created the Legacy Initiative, a program 

that is rooted in the concept of teaching young people how to think 

critically. Our youth span from elementary through high school, 

and we challenge them to take a moment and ask, with this deciVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:22 Jul 14, 2016 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\MY DOCS\HEARINGS 114\114-33 CHRIS
47 

sion, is what I am about to gain worth what I might lose? We 

incentivize this intrinsic behavioral change by using ourselves as 

muses, making them aware of the opportunity and educating them 

on how to attain these opportunities. 

From 2008 until now, we have taught our character development 

and logic curriculum to more than 4,000 youth in Chicagoland, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. We have partnered with the Center for 

Energy and Workforce Development. We are now implementing the 

second phase of our strategy to pipeline these young people to those 

post-secondary institutions that have 2- and 4-year STEM degrees. 

These individuals in turn will become the qualified, skilled workforce that the energy and manufacturing industries need. 

This bill would make what were a series of chance encounters 

and good timing for me into a template for deliberate, rewarding 

strategies for those demographics I represent and more. As evidence, I offer that my daughter, who graduates in June from 

Kenwood Academy in Chicago, will be entering the historically 

black university, Howard, majoring in nuclear engineering. My oldest son, Willie Hampton, graduates next year and intends on obtaining his 2-year technology degree, getting a job as a nuclear operator, taking courses while he is utilizing his company’s tuition reimbursement benefit, and then graduate with his undergraduate 

degree at the same time as his high school classmates. But he will 

have 2 years of work experience, having enjoyed a six-figure income 

and having no debt. 

Our paths like the ones funded and supported by this bill ensures that my 5-year-old son, Charles Wilson II, and others in his 

generation don’t have to experience poverty and can start to build 

the generational wealth and opportunity that evaded the generations before them. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Wilson follows:] 

48 


96084.033
49 


96084.034
50 


96084.035
51 


96084.036
52 


96084.037
53 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Thank you, Mr. Wilson, and I thank all of you 

very much for your testimony. I will recognize myself for 5 minutes 

of questions, and then we will give everyone up here an opportunity. 

Many of you have talked about programs that are already in existence, and Ms. Brundage, with Shale NET and Mr. Jarvis with 

the NECA labor union apprenticeship programs in which you all 

are doing at the University of Houston. And I was wondering, on 

the Hispanics in Energy, do you all have a training program or a 

program that is helping workers get into the energy sector? 

Ms. MARTINEZ. We don’t have a training program, but we are 

doing the outreach. And what we found from our tour across the 

country last year was that in many ways, many of these programs 

are operating but they are not interconnected. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. They are not interconnected? 

Ms. MARTINEZ. Right. So when we think about the engagement 

of many things, we know that there are different groups that are 

out there working and trying to aim towards this goal, but a lot 

of times the agencies and the entities are not communicating. And 

so, by part of this legislation, I do believe, is to make sure that you 

have that efficiency and that collaboration, because with that collaboration you can achieve better success. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Yes. 

Ms. MARTINEZ. So many groups work within their own silos. And 

so our goal is to try to help bring those things together and make 

those connections. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. And Mr. Wilson, you and Mr. Clark, in your program, do you all have training programs or is it more of a mentoring or how does it exactly—— 

Mr. WILSON. Combination of both, Mr. Chairman. What we found 

in our time was that we have to change the behavioral process and 

thinking of the young people in some of these communities. We 

can’t put them in front of an employer and they don’t know how 

to make better decisions for themselves. So we wanted to instill 

things like self-concept and self-respect, accountability. And then 

with that, we can instill leadership. So that is the first part, is to 

change that behavioral attitude and decision making. 

Secondly, yes, we do want to then train them with those 

stackable credentials that the doctor mentioned and also the wraparound services that Ms. Martinez also spoke to. So there is a collaborative aspect that has to come with this. So there is the training, not only with the mentoring but also with the skills that they 

need to—into the energy sector. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. So do all of you agree that this type of legislation 

would really be beneficial or does anyone have any suggestions on 

ways we could improve it? I am assuming all of you have read it. 

Mr. JARVIS. Mr. Chairman, if I could, our apprenticeship program addresses the exact things the other panel members are talking about today with our outreach programs. We have many programs where we reach into the communities for the underserved 

and undereducated and offer these career opportunities. And so we 

think this legislation speaks exactly to that, and we look for your 

support. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. OK. Dr. Krishnamoorti? 

54 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTI. Thank you. We agree with that observation. 

There is no silver bullet. It has to be a combination strategy. We 

need to look at apprenticeship programs. We need to look at 

stackable credentials. We need to look at mentorship programs. 

And clearly, these programs have to be scalable, but in the end are 

individually focused. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. I think Ms. Martinez touched on a good point because it is awful easy to kind of be isolated out there and not have 

interconnection. So that is one. I am sorry, Dr. Brundage, did you 

want to make a comment? 

Ms. BRUNDAGE. Yes. Thank you. No, I agree with you, and I 

think, one of the things that I tried to reference in my verbal testimony was to try to target some of that federal funding in promoting those regional collaborations. And in the example of Shale 

NET, we set up a lot of hubs in areas where there is a lot of activity, and it began in the upstream side. But as we moved forward 

realized that there are more opportunities to spread that out into 

scale in the midstream and downstream. So it is taking that successful model and those stackable credentials and trying to build 

that continuum and that pathway for people to continue in being 

able to move into those types of career opportunities. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Yes. 

Mr. WILSON. Mr. Chairman? 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Yes. 

Mr. WILSON. To also ask you the question about other areas, 

there are two other areas that I think that we should concentrate 

on as well and that is the wrap-around service aspect. Groups like 

the United Way, if we can utilize those non-profits that will take 

care of the things that children have to consider or youth have to 

consider, if you are wondering about eating, you are not going to 

concentrate on your math and physics. So if we have those things 

that sort of take those concerns off the table, I believe that will 

help strengthen that pipeline. 

Secondly, when they get to these schools, do they have adequate 

housing? That is something that I had one of my youth contact me 

about and say though he can get into the school, which was Linn 

State, he didn’t know where he was going to live. So that is another concern is when they get there, how do we make sure they 

are taken care of when they get to these collegiate levels? 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Thank you very much, Mr. Wilson, and my time 

has expired. So Mr. Rush, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. RUSH. Again, I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman. This has 

been so far a very exciting hearing for me. Mr. Wilson, as I read 

your testimony and listened to your testimony, I couldn’t help but 

be moved by your story which is a story that has been shared thousands and thousands of times among youth across the Nation. It 

reminded me also of my own life story, and I was also raised by 

a single mom with five children on the South and West Sides of 

Chicago. And I am a high school dropout. I dropped out of high 

school, but now I have two bachelor’s degrees. So overcoming the 

odds is something that I am real familiar with. And so your story 

reflects and is parallel not only to my story but to others. 

I applaud you for not settling for the life that was right around 

you, the life that you observed day by day, getting up in the mornVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:22 Jul 14, 2016 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\MY DOCS\HEARINGS 114\114-33 CHRIS
55 

ing and going outside and seeing the negativism that is around 

you, and somehow you had to dream bigger and dream further and 

dream the impossible. And so I applaud you for not only dreaming 

the impossible but you believed in the impossible and believed that 

you can overcome the odds and make the impossible possible. So 

I really congratulate you. I know the path and the steps that you 

have gone through. 

And I just want to take a moment. Ms. Martinez, it is so good 

seeing you again. We were on the same panel some months back, 

and welcome. But Mr. Wilson, in your testimony you stated that 

success came from unexpected and unplanned manners. Tell me 

what did you mean by that? Explain that more. How do you think 

that provisions of this bill can help other young men and young 

women through real-life conditions and help them to realize that 

similarly evasive but real nearby American dream if we only had 

the courage to step out? How do you think this bill will assist in 

that manner? 

Mr. WILSON. For me, it is important for me to think about the 

fact that there is more, there is more to it. And sometimes it is just 

a matter of exposure. When I was in Chicago and those neighborhoods, I wasn’t exposed to anything. I could only see what was in 

front of me, and I didn’t have many role models around for me to 

see what was possible. So when I speak to the unexpected, I didn’t 

script this. I spoke to my mother the other day, and I said who 

would have thought in this small bedroom on 56th and Hermitage 

that I would be sitting here in front of Members of Congress? That 

is what I mean. It is not about where you are from. It is are you 

going to use it as a crutch or are you going to use it as fuel? And 

once you are exposed, once you have access, I believe that these 

young people that we are talking about, they will see what they 

need to become. We will incentivize that behavioral change. We 

will see that there is something to lose. And when you feel like 

there is something to lose, it changes your behaviors. 

So for me, that is what did it. I looked at my daughter, and I 

did not want her to have to repeat the cycles of not having a father 

in her life. He became, my father became, my fuel. If I do the opposite of what he does, he has given me my blueprint for me to be 

successful and hopefully raise successful children. And I want to 

speak to a legacy. This is what it is about for me. My children saw 

me and how I did what I did, and now their efforts are deliberate. 

They are planning it. It is not happenstance, which is what happened for me. If I didn’t have a friend, Brady Fox, that went to the 

Navy and said, hey, do you want to come? I looked around. Why 

not join the Navy? And with that, I was selected to be a part of 

the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program, and I am able to now say 

that that gave me the foundation that I have right now. And with 

these institutions, these educational opportunities we have now, 

this can now again be another pathway that wasn’t expected and 

now exists. And I believe this bill will allow more of these type of 

stories to again be delivered. 

Mr. RUSH. In a similar way, I dropped out, and I was 17 years 

old on my next birthday which was about 3 months later. I pleaded 

with my mother to sign. Let me go into the service. Three of my 

friends from the neighborhood, two of them went to the Marines 

56 

and I went to the Army. And that is what gave me the wherewithal 

and to turn my life around. So again, parallel circumstances. 

Thank you so very much. I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. At this time I recognize the gentleman from 

Pennsylvania, Mr. Pitts, for 5 minutes. 

Mr. PITTS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me continue with you, 

Mr. Wilson. You have a compelling story. I really appreciate hearing it. And you went in the Navy, and that was the key. What were 

your skills before you went in and how was the Navy effective in 

changing your skill level? 

Mr. WILSON. My skills from an educational standpoint came from 

Lindblom High School. It was a technical high school. And it was 

very rigorous in the sciences and the math. I was unaware that I 

would need to use algebra or understanding what velocity and force 

and anything meant. And it is funny. There is an exam that is required once you take what they call the ASVAB for the military. 

I was then selected to take this nuclear entrance exam. I recall one 

of the questions talking about speed, and it happened to be something I paid attention to with my teacher, Mr. Robinson, in physics. 

I needed a 50 to pass, and I had a 52. And there were five of us 

that took it, and I was the only one that actually passed. And when 

I looked around, they took me into a room and they said, we want 

to talk to you, Charles. I said, what is that? You are the only one 

that passed. And I looked at people who were college educated 

around me. They were speaking about this nuclear program as if 

it was something that they knew that they were going to get. I 

looked around and I was the only one that passed. 

So I would say that that time in high school, that education, that 

math and science focus, is what gave me the foundation. Any other 

skills came from just truly survival, being in Chicago. And I was 

a pizza delivery guy. I don’t know if that had anything to do with 

it. 

Mr. PITTS. What were the key components? You have a real compelling story. I want to drill down a little bit. What are the key 

components to your behavioral change? 

Mr. WILSON. My mother first. Elizabeth Wilson represents fortitude, strength, and more importantly resiliency. You have to understand, a teenage mother having three children and not planning 

her life to be that way and not having her own parents to fall back 

on because both of them died while she was a teen. 

And so she literally was trying to write the book as she was moving forward. She inspired me. She gave me the belief in myself as 

well. She encouraged me to be free. I used to enjoy bringing As 

home to her because she smiled, and that inspired me to want to 

do that more. 

When I got to high school, my classmates, watching how they got 

up every day to come to school, despite the odds, gunshots, three 

or four different gang neighborhoods that we would walk through, 

and I saw them come every day. And there was a joy to come to 

school with everyone from Lindblom. Those things, that relationship, is what caused me to say I want to do more. I want to do better than what I am seeing. 

Mr. PITTS. Now, in talking about working with people who need 

a second chance, how do you teach and how do they emphasize the 

57 

right character qualities for behavioral change to get them so they 

do show up on time, you know, that they are the type of employee 

that employers want to hire. Would you develop that a little bit? 

Mr. WILSON. I believe the first thing is we have to be transparent 

and honest about what opportunities exist. Very many times we 

speak very vaguely about what an opportunity is. So someone from 

let’s say my neighborhood, when I would go speak to the young 

people that we had in Chicago and other places, I would literally 

take them my paycheck, and I would pass it around and I would 

tell them to look at the number on my paycheck and let them see 

me tangibly and give my story and say I am nothing but you. 

There is no magic pill except focus and having specific goals because after you have these specific goals, the map to get there will 

lay itself out. 

So I think when you are honest and transparent—the other thing 

is you have to be very transparent about your errors. We typically 

try to gloss over the errors and only get to those good things about 

us. So being transparent is what allowed me to now have people 

that trusted me, and when I give them now these suggestions, they 

will take it for face value initially, and then when they see the results, they are bought in. So it actually becomes intrinsic because 

I first show them that it is possible, and then secondly, here is 

what it takes to get there and then they will believe it. 

I think that is what it is. All people need is an opportunity, and 

if they see that it is possible and they see someone in front of them 

that looks like them that can speak to and articulate a message for 

them that is palatable, I think they will get it from there. 

Mr. PITTS. And you are obviously teaching that to your children 

so you can replicate success. 

Mr. WILSON. That is correct. 

Mr. PITTS. You are a real inspiration. Thank you very much. My 

time—— 

Mr. WILSON. Thank you, Mr. Pitts. 

Mr. PITTS [continuing]. Has expired. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. I wanted to make an announcement that we anticipate that there will be votes on the floor at about 11:15 or 

11:20. And of course, we have 15 or 17 minutes to get over there. 

I think if we break for these votes, a lot of people will end up not 

coming back. So would you all object if everyone was given 3 minutes for questions? That way we would have maybe an opportunity 

for everyone to ask questions. Is that suitable with everybody? OK. 

Then Mr. McNerney of California will be recognized for 3 minutes. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. I enjoy being the first one with 3 minutes, Mr. 

Chairman. No, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking 

member for their work on this and the panelists. They have very 

good testimony. We have the Labor Statistics’ unemployment rate 

for African Americans at 10 percent, more than twice that for 

whites. Hispanics, almost as bad, some of the statistics that Ms. 

Martinez raised. And then on the other hand, we have all these opportunities in the energy industry. Solar industry grew 86 percent 

since 2010. Wind industry, 73,000 full-time workers. Energy efficiency, 1.3 to 1.9 million new jobs by 2050. So we have it and we 

have opportunity. What are we going to do about it? Well, we have 

some ideas up here on the panel. I thank you very much for that. 

58 

Dr. Brundage, I am very excited by Shale NET. I haven’t heard 

anything about it before. I am going to ask my staff to get a copy 

of a description of that, see how applicable that would be. Could 

you give me some idea how Shale NET is funded? 

Ms. BRUNDAGE. Yes, absolutely. Right now I mentioned in the 

verbal testimony it was funded by the Department of Labor. a 

TAACCCT Round II grant, which was a capacity-building grant to 

help with infrastructure. This particular grant does not pay for tuition. On the short-term workforce side, we have these 3-week programs, sort of like boot camps, and we have active case managers 

that help the students understand the expectations and the culture, the work environment. We start classes early, we end later, 

so that they have a feel for what the expectations are, and we have 

been able to raise local dollars through Pennsylvania’s Act 13 and 

to help with scholarships and also through corporate engagement. 

Chevron has pledged $460,000 for the initiative over the next several years. And so we are trying to help offset some of that tuition 

because unemployed and underemployed folks, you know, if they 

don’t have access to those dollars, it is difficult. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. OK. Thank you. Mr. Jarvis, you said the government should promote apprenticeships. Do you have any ideas on 

how that should be done? 

Mr. JARVIS. By supporting apprenticeship programs through the 

different grants that are available, and by supporting our trade 

groups, it allows us to do more outreach into the community. I am 

also moved by Mr. Wilson’s story. I have many employees that 

work under me that have come up through our programs, outreach 

programs, and some of the other questions about what does it take 

to make people understand these opportunities and what skills. We 

teach life skills, things as simple as you have to get to work on 

time, you have to show up every day. Our outreach programs teach 

those things first, which makes these people, as they come into our 

apprenticeship programs, successful in the program. If you can’t do 

those things—— 

Mr. MCNERNEY. Well, I have been to the YouthBuild program in 

my district, and IBW is there promoting apprenticeships. So that 

is good. I would like to ask Mr. Wilson a question, but I have run 

out of time. So I will yield back. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Well, thank you, and they called this vote a lot 

earlier than we thought. They have already called the vote, but at 

this time right now, the gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Harper, 

for 3 minutes. 

Mr. HARPER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks to each of you 

for being here on a very important topic, and I, too, would like to 

say, Mr. Wilson, thank you for the inspiring story. And I am not 

one who wants to brag on my academic accomplishments, but I did 

graduate in the top 100 percent of my class. So I wanted to go 

ahead and throw that out. It was close, too, by the way. 

Mr. Jarvis, you talked about the importance of having a flexible 

workforce available to adapt to emerging trends. Can you give me 

an example of what you mean when you say it is unnecessary and 

short-sighted to train someone in a single technology? 

Mr. JARVIS. Yes. Thank you. We train electricians to be able to 

do all sectors in the electrical industry so a very common example 

59 

today is the solar industry. There are groups that believe that we 

should be training a solar worker which is just one small piece of 

being able to do electrical work. Our 5-year apprenticeship program 

teaches a career opportunity. Markets change. The solar industry 

will change. Our training program trains a person for a lifelong career to be able to earn not only top wages but top benefits as well. 

So you need to have a diverse training that takes a lot more than 

just one sector in the energy industry in our opinion. 

Mr. HARPER. And if you do that, whether we call it cross-training 

or giving them the different options here, what does that do as far 

as the additional time needed for the training program? 

Mr. JARVIS. Well, the training program that we have is a 5-year 

program, but you work as you—— 

Mr. HARPER. Within that curriculum for the 5 years, OK. 

Mr. JARVIS. Correct. 

Mr. HARPER. Great. Thanks. I will yield back in the interest of 

time, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. JARVIS. Thank you. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Thank you, Mr. Harper. Mr. Loebsack, you are 

recognized for 3 minutes. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and our ranking member. 

This really is a really great opportunity to hear from you folks. It 

has been kind of an eclectic panel I think to say the least, a lot 

of different things that have been mentioned here. 

I might ask just one question. I do want to just make some comments about workforce development more generally, and I do want 

to kind of throw a question at you folks that may be unfair and 

probably should be directed more at my colleagues and as we work 

through this bill and do what we can to make it better eventually. 

But I was on the Education in the Workforce Committee for 8 

years, and we dealt with a lot of these issues on that committee. 

We passed the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act last year 

which was the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. 

There is a huge overlap between what we are talking about today 

here with respect to the Department of Energy and the various 

things that have been talked about today and what the Department of Labor does. And I know the Administration is trying to 

interface some of the agencies and what they do. 

And again, Mr. Chair and Ranking Member, this is something I 

would like to be working with you folks on down the road, sort of 

how can we get some of these agencies to talk to one another and 

work together and streamline some of these programs, maybe combine some of the efforts if possible? But I do want to ask, and it 

is kind of an unfair question, I admit, to all of you, because you 

are nodding. If you will, Doctor, any thoughts about how we might 

be able to do that instead of reinventing the wheel every time, having one department do something, have another department do 

something that might be similar to what that department is doing. 

Any thoughts about that at all? I know it is throwing you folks for 

a loop here, and maybe I am doing the same thing to my colleagues. 

Mr. WILSON. Is there a way to make effectively a liaison within 

each department that is meant to sort of see what the overlaps 

are—— 

60 

Mr. LOEBSACK. I think that would be a great idea. 

Mr. WILSON [continuing]. With the Department of Commerce, 

with the Department of Labor, where there is a person that looks 

and sees, OK, what active efforts do you have? 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Right. And the Department of Energy perhaps—— 

Mr. WILSON. Exactly. 

Mr. LOEBSACK [continuing]. In the states. 

Mr. WILSON. Then they all just effectively maybe do like a sitdown once a month or whatever any new legislation that comes out 

specifically for their groups. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Right. 

Mr. WILSON. Is there a way to have maybe a liaison or person—— 

Mr. LOEBSACK. That is a real possibility. 

Mr. WILSON [continuing]. To reach out—— 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Thank you, Mr. Wilson. I appreciate that because 

again, there are going to be a lot of things. Yes, Doctor? 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTI. I would like to add there are modes of operations where there are collaborations between agencies, interagency collaboration. Interior and Energy collaborate, for instance—— 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Right. 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTI [continuing]. In the off-shore space. And 

that makes a big difference in being able to double-up training programs for off-shore workers. Similar things can be done with 

Labor. They have the data. Energy needs the data in order to actually bridge that skill gap. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Right. I think that is great. We have a lot of community colleges in Iowa, and we have got a lot of connections between the community colleges and the wind energy program for example, too, and we can do more with populations who are underrepresented in these areas. I have no doubt about that. 

And so I am going to look forward to trying to find a way to 

interface these different departments and the different programs so 

we can move forward on these issues. And my time is up. Thank 

you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. The chair recognizes the gentleman from West 

Virginia, Mr. McKinley, for 3 minutes. 

Mr. MCKINLEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I had probably 5 minutes of questioning. We are going to try to cut it back down to 

three. The first observation I had about this whole issue—I was 

really looking forward to be educated about this, and I think some 

of you have touched on it. But the primary issue is about rural 

America. I think we struggle. Coming from West Virginia in a 

small community is how do we have an educated workforce, ready 

for manufacturing, energy, when we don’t have a critical mass? So 

I am applauding—what we did last year in the last Congress, we 

introduced a bill. It was 3524 that tried to focus funds going into 

economically deprived communities to help out, to plus them up 

some in the grants and programs for education. I think we ought 

to be looking at that as well. I don’t know whether any of you are 

familiar with that bill that was introduced last year, but I know 

that Tracy, you got something going at Penn College that is also 

61 

at Pierpont where we have a training program there for Shale 

NET. 

Ms. BRUNDAGE. Correct. 

Mr. MCKINLEY. Can you explain some of the advantages of how 

that has helped out? Because there at Fairmont is a small community that is struggling. So this program may be helpful. Can you 

share a little bit about some of the advantages and how we might 

be able to spread that broader for other rural communities? 

Ms. BRUNDAGE. That is an excellent question. We have had a lot 

of discussion about that within the consortium. Pierpont recently 

became an affiliate of Shale NET. So they are kind of a newcomer 

to the scene, and they are beginning to offer training there because 

of our relationship with Chevron wanted to have a hub in West 

Virginia to be able to have this consistent training so that people, 

you can have that consistency flexible program to meet industry 

needs. 

Your question about—I think it is important to be able to scale 

these, and I think I talked a little bit about the stackable credential model and how that model is mobile and can be moved to other 

locations depending upon the geography. If they didn’t want to do 

the training in the upstream side, you can target it to other sectors 

of the energy industry. The model with the stackable credentials 

and the various pathways and continuums really work to make 

sure that you have that consistent career pathway for individuals 

to move into. 

So I don’t know if that answered your question, specifically? 

Mr. MCKINLEY. Well, as much as how we just need to keep going, 

are you familiar at all with the bill that was providing grants for 

economically depressed areas? Were you familiar with that last 

year? 

Ms. BRUNDAGE. No. 

Mr. MCKINLEY. I would like to get your feedback from that, from 

an academic standpoint or so, how that might work. It was 3524 

during the last Congress. And see whether or not there are some 

advantages of us being able to focus on economically deprived 

areas, particularly those in rural America. Thank you very much. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Maybe you could look at that, and then Mr. 

McKinley’s staff could be back in touch with you—— 

Ms. BRUNDAGE. Absolutely. 

Mr. WHITFIELD [continuing]. To get your views. At this time I 

would like to recognize the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Green, for 

3 minutes. 

Mr. GREEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank our 

panel again. In fact, Ms. Brundage, our Natural Gas Caucus a couple of years ago had a hearing in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, at 

the facility there, talked about it. And coming from Houston, I was 

surprised to see the technology in the middle of Pennsylvania that 

we are actually doing at the University of Houston in East Harris 

County, our community college. So thank you. 

Ms. BRUNDAGE. I remember you said a few words. I was in the 

audience when you were there. 

Mr. GREEN. Yes, great facility. 

Ms. BRUNDAGE. Thank you. 

62 

Mr. GREEN. Dr. Krishnamoorti, as I stated earlier, I feel like 

Texas and Pennsylvania are doing a lot of things in the energy industry, but what steps has the University of Houston taken to create the outreach and provide access to the different communities 

to provide information about energy jobs? I have the College of Engineering in our district, and our district is 70 percent Hispanic, 

Mexican American. You have to reach out to those high schools in 

those communities there to provide that training. 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTI. Thank you so much, Congressman Green. 

The Energy Institute High School is a new high school close to the 

university, within a mile from the university. Seventy percent of 

the students there are Hispanic, 15 percent of them are African 

American, and we have got an active collaboration with them. We 

work with them developing curriculum. We share with them labs 

at the University of Houston with them. But also we are able to 

send our students, our undergraduate students and graduate students as peer instructors in that school. And that makes the biggest difference for them, having role models who can come into the 

schools, show them by example. As Mr. Wilson mentioned, examples of people who have succeeded, who have learned and developed. 

We have also taken the same strategy, worked with the whole 

range of community colleges, nine community college systems in 

the Greater Houston area, 60-plus community colleges across the 

State of Texas, all of them focused on taking these stackable credentials, finding ways of actually scaling them and deploying them. 

Mr. GREEN. I only have a few seconds left. Can you tell us how 

can this bill and the Department of Energy further the goals of the 

universities and the colleges and community colleges that are already engaged in these projects? Is there anything we could do that 

would make this bill better? 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTI. I think the bill is right on the mark in 

terms of helping the universities work with community colleges 

and K through 12 education. I think getting that pipeline set up 

is the critical piece, and this bill addresses that in a big way. 

Thank you. 

Mr. GREEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. The gentleman from Ohio is recognized 3 minutes. 

Mr. JOHNSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. Brundage, thanks 

largely to the oil and gas industry, coupled with programs like 

Shale NET that is in our state there at State College, unemployment in shale counties in my district in Eastern and Southeastern 

Ohio has fallen 66 percent since 2010. In fact, these shale counties 

are the economic impacts, the positive economic impacts. So the 

shale plays—that is what is driving the unemployment rate down 

for our entire state. 

And because of this, we have got to continually look for opportunities like Shale NET to prepare our students for the jobs that are 

here today and that are coming tomorrow. 

Quick question. If the goal of Shale NET is to increase capacity 

in terms of qualified workforce to meet the needs of the industry, 

how successful in your view has Shale NET been? Can you give us 

some specifics? 

63 

Ms. BRUNDAGE. Absolutely. I think many factors contribute to 

the success of Shale NET, and I think the successes are strengthened by the knowledge of partners. It is the strong partnerships to 

place these qualified candidates with employers and families sustaining careers. But we have the robust selection, assessment process in place, evaluating student candidates—all of these things can 

be transferred to other areas, other institutions. 

When we look at a success measure for employers is the retention in employment a year after placement, which is demonstrated 

by participation in Shale NET. And with that return on investment, we almost take on some of the role of on-boarding because 

we are helping to vet those people and have them understand the 

expectations and give them the appropriate skill sets so that they 

know what to expect as they move into those jobs, hopefully retaining and allowing them to have greater career mobility. 

Mr. JOHNSON. Great. Well, I appreciate that. I am going to be respectful, Mr. Chairman, and yield back the remainder of my time. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Thank you very much. Mr. Sarbanes, you are 

recognized for 3 minutes. 

Mr. SARBANES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank all of 

you for your testimony. Ms. Martinez and Mr. Wilson, I wanted to 

ask this question. Obviously in the STEM arena we want to make 

sure that the academic curriculum that is offered in the classroom 

for young people in that K–12 space is as rigorous and holistic as 

it can possibly be. But I am also interested in the opportunities to 

connect young people with the experiences outside the classroom, 

in a sense, get them out of the classroom in various ways so maybe 

their horizons are broadened and they can see the connection to 

that pipeline opportunity that exists. 

So if each of you could just very briefly comment on that idea of 

how we get young people in the K–12 space out of the classroom 

and connected to these career horizons, that would be helpful. 

Ms. MARTINEZ. Absolutely. And that was an excellent question. 

In Michigan, there are certainly some schools that work and partner with various companies, especially in the Detroit region, and 

in those areas they do have mentorship and sort of on-the-job activities that are happening. Part of that is they are getting the students out of the high schools and out of the middle schools and 

doing sort of a 1-day job shadowing, job mentoring so that they actually can see what is happening. DTE Energy, Marathon Oil, others are taking part in that opportunity, so kids are able to see that 

real hands-on opportunity and actually get that job shadowing 

while they are in school, and they are also able to see that just as 

you can say it, really who that person is and who they are. And 

it gives them a real goal to achieve. 

Mr. SARBANES. Thank you. 

Ms. MARTINEZ. We find those have been successful. 

Mr. SARBANES. OK. 

Mr. WILSON. For example, specifically in Phoenix, we have created a program called Legacy I–3, and its purpose is to partner 

with these community colleges and some of these apprenticeship 

programs and such. There is a specific partnership that is created 

with APS in Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, and they have 

created an ambassador program. So what they do is they actually 

64 

come to the client schools that we have in Phoenix, in the Phoenix 

Union District, and takes the students from the class to different 

job sites so that they are exposed to seeing that this is really what 

we are telling you theoretically in the classroom. So I think that 

is an example. If you partner with these member companies, they 

will have volunteers and those within their organizations that 

would love to come and then bring those students to their worksite. 

Mr. SARBANES. Great. Thank you. I yield back. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Thank you. At this time I recognize the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Flores. 

Mr. FLORES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you and 

also Ranking Member Rush for hosting this hearing today. I also 

want to thank each of you for your testimony. Given the timing 

and how little time we have left to vote, I am going to commend 

each of you for the jobs that you have done. I commend you for the 

quality of your testimony. Mr. Wilson, all I can say is wow. What 

an awesome piece of testimony. Ms. Martinez, thank you for what 

you are doing. 

I think given the lack of time we have, I will just submit my 

questions in writing. Thank you. 

Mr. WHITFIELD. Well, thank you very much, and I am sorry we 

were interrupted by these votes, but I think everyone had an opportunity to ask some questions. And thank you all for being with 

us, and we look forward to working with you as we try to put this 

package together in an effective way. We will keep the record open 

for 10 days for any additional submissions, and thank you once 

again. And we will adjourn today’s hearing. 

[Whereupon, at 11:20 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

[Material submitted for inclusion in the record follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. FRED UPTON

I am very excited about the ‘‘Title II: 21st Century Workforce’’ discussion draft 

that we will be examining at this hearing. I am even more excited about the bipartisan process that led to it as well as the other titles in the new energy bill that 

this subcommittee is working on. I want to particularly thank Bobby Rush, Gene 

Green, Bill Flores and Richard Hudson for their efforts to collaborate on a positive 

energy agenda on which I hope we can all agree. 

Creating jobs remains my number one priority as it does for most of us, and 

America’s energy boom offers a major opportunity to do so. The good news is that 

the energy sector continues to create a wide variety of jobs, and even if the drop 

in oil prices has temporarily reduced some types of upstream positions, there are 

still many others like those in manufacturing that benefit from affordable domestic 

energy prices. Manufacturing is making a comeback in Michigan and across the 

country, and skilled workers are now in high demand. 

The energy and energy-related jobs are there to be filled, but job training has 

struggled to keep pace. There is often a disconnect between the young men and 

women ready to launch their careers and the skills necessary to take advantage of 

the opportunities in energy. 

The 21st Century Workforce bridges the gap. It takes the existing Department of 

Energy job training programs and redirects them towards the market needs of today 

and the future. One important component of this discussion draft is to make sure 

that more women and minorities can acquire the skills needed to participate in 

America’s energy and manufacturing boom. 

Affordable and plentiful supplies of American energy offer long term employment 

opportunities for millions seeking well-paying careers, and the 21st Century Workforce discussion draft helps make sure that these opportunities are available for all 

who seek them. 

65 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. BILL FLORES

Mr. Chairman, 

Thank you for holding today’s legislative hearing on the 21st Century Workforce. 

I strongly support promoting this important issue along with Mr. Hudson, Ranking Member Rush, Mr. Green, and the rest of my colleagues on the committee. Our 

domestic energy security greatly improved as a result of the American energy revolution; and we now lead the world in oil and gas production. Increased American 

energy security translates in to improvement in our own economic and national security. The Energy Information Administration forecasts increased energy production through 2020, and that will result in increased demand in the workforce. Meeting these growing needs in all aspects of the energy industry, including oil and gas, 

nuclear, coal, and renewables provides hardworking Americans significant opportunities for well paying jobs. 

This bill ensures that we have the skilled workers to continue to fuel our American energy revolution for years to come. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. JOE BARTON

Mr. Chairman: 

I am pleased that we are beginning our discussions with an area I believe we can 

all embrace and that is jobs and the economy. My colleagues Mr. Flores, Mr. Green, 

Mr. Hudson, and Mr. Rush have worked in a bipartisan manner to bring this issue 

to the forefront. 

Earlier this week it was reported in a Wall Street Journal blog that while the 

US economy continued to add jobs last month, states that rely heavily on the oil 

industry experienced significant cuts. 

•Texas has lost 25,400 jobs 

• Oklahoma has lost 12,900. 

• North Dakota has lost 3,000. 

• All told, 31 states and Washington, D.C., saw a drop in employment in March, 

and only 18 states saw employment rising. 

Michael Feroli, the chief U.S. economist for J.P. Morgan Chase JPM, said Monday 

that the scale of job losses in Texas is so large that the state may be in recession. 

The purpose of the bill before us is to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish 

and carry out a comprehensive program to improve education and training for energy and manufacturing-related jobs in order to increase the number of skilled 

workers trained in energy and manufacturing fields. That is a great goal. 

Of particular interest to me are the provisions creating a clearinghouse because 

this could potentially streamline the process for those seeking training and help 

eliminate duplication. In light of the recent downturn in my home state, I also 

strongly support the provision that directs the Secretary to give special consideration to increasing outreach to unemployed energy workers. 

Although it is not the subject of this hearing, I do believe a have part of the solution to the downturn in jobs. I have proposed legislation to get rid of the ban on 

crude oil exports. I believe that simple act alone could greatly help our producers 

reverse the trend of job loss. I’m happy to discuss this with anyone who would like 

to. 

Again, I appreciate all the work that has gone into this draft legislation and I 

look forward to working on the entire package of the Architecture of Abundance. 

Æ