Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) delivered a statement at the Committee's markup of several bills aimed at strengthening America's workforce. The bills discussed include the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act, A Stronger Workforce for America Act, a Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer rule, and the Small Businesses before Bureaucrats Act.
Chairwoman Foxx highlighted the importance of addressing the intersection of education and the workforce, stating that the first job out of high school or college can have long-lasting consequences on one's career trajectory. She referenced a study titled "The Permanent Detour," which found that 43 percent of young professionals enter the workforce overqualified for their job, and 29 percent remain underemployed after five years. This detour comes with a significant cost of $10,000 in lost income per year per worker.
Foxx emphasized the need for additional pathways to enter the workforce and more reskilling and upskilling opportunities to help young professionals escape the trap of underemployment. She stated, "All education is career education" and called for a true pipeline that offers multiple paths to a rewarding career.
The Chairwoman praised the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act and A Stronger Workforce for America Act as bipartisan bills that can provide offramps from the "Permanent Detour." She thanked the Ranking Member and his staff for their collaboration on these bills and noted that they are stronger pieces of legislation because of their bipartisan work.
In addition to these workforce-focused bills, the Committee also discussed two bills aimed at addressing the National Labor Relations Board's burdensome rules and overreach. Foxx mentioned H.J. Res. 98, a Congressional Review Act resolution that would nullify the NLRB's final joint employer rule. She expressed concerns about the broadened language of the rule, which holds a company liable for employees it does not employ or directly supervise. Foxx argued that this could harm franchisors, franchisees, and entrepreneurs across the country, citing the estimated $33.3 billion and 376,000 jobs lost in the franchising sector due to a similar Obama-era standard.
The final bill discussed was Rep. Bob Good's Small Businesses before Bureaucrats Act, which aims to shield small businesses from the NLRB's radical rules and decisions. Foxx highlighted that the current monetary jurisdictional thresholds have been frozen for over six decades and do not reflect the modern value of the dollar. She commended Rep. Good's bill for raising the NLRB's jurisdictional threshold for retail businesses to over $5,000,000 in annual gross volume, a number that reflects the growth of the economy and the value of the dollar today.
In conclusion, Chairwoman Foxx expressed gratitude to the Members who have worked diligently to bring forward these proposals, stating that they are considering four important, commonsense pieces of legislation for the betterment of the American people and their constituents.
To learn more, click on this link: https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=409871
