I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5663 

To provide for a competitive grant program for apprenticeship and internship 

programs through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 

Mr. VEASEY (for himself, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Ms. KELLY of Illinois) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To provide for a competitive grant program for apprenticeship and internship programs through the Manufacturing 

Extension Partnership Program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bridge to Manufac5 turing Jobs Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) In 2012, Deloitte found that the United 

2 States has 600,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in 

3 the United States. 

4 (2) According to the Georgetown University 

5 Center on Education and the Workforce, the United 

6 States is likely to experience a shortage of about 

7 5,000,000 workers with technical certificates and 

8 credentials. 

9 (3) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis10 tics, apprenticeship occupations are projected to 

11 grow more than 20 percent from 2012 to 2022. 

12 (4) The Department of Labor found that work13 ers who completed an apprenticeship earn an aver14 age starting salary of $50,000. 

15 (5) Employers who support apprenticeship pro16 grams gain skilled workers, build a pipeline of em17 ployees, and reduce staff turnover. 

18 (6) Other countries, including Germany and the 

19 United Kingdom, have successfully implemented ap20 prenticeship programs. For example, Germany, even 

21 with less than one-third of the United States popu22 lation, has almost 2,000,000 apprentices with almost 

23 500,000 sponsoring companies. 

24 (7) The Federal Government can play an im25 portant role in facilitating the development of apVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Oct 04, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5663.IH H5663

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1 prenticeship and internship programs at manufac2 turing companies, in particular through the Manu3 facturing Extension Program. 

4 SEC. 3. COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO FACILITATE APPREN5 TICESHIP PROGRAMS. 

6 Section 25(f) of the National Institute of Standards 

7 and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k(f)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub10 paragraph (B); 

11 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

12 subparagraph (D); and 

13 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(C) may be related to projects designed to 

16 facilitate the development and implementation 

17 of apprenticeship programs, internship pro18 grams, or student work-based learning pro19 grams to help serve the workforce needs of con20 sortia of manufacturing companies; and’’; and 

21 (2) by amending paragraph (5)(A)(i) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(i) create jobs and recruit and train 

24 a diverse manufacturing workforce, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Oct 04, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5663.IH H5663

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1 ing through outreach to women and mi2 norities;’’. 

Æ 


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