by Laura Walling, Senior Director of Government Relations, Goodwill Industries International
While Congress continues to move the next COVID-19 package, dubbed the American Rescue Plan, through the reconciliation process, the Administration is using executive actions to continue to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. For example, President Biden extended a ban on home foreclosures for federally backed mortgages through June 30. The moratorium was set to expire on March 31. The enrollment window to request a mortgage payment forbearance was also extended until June 30. A third action allows borrowers to defer mortgage payment for another six months.
Anticipating passage of the American Rescue Plan by March 14, the Biden Administration also announced new investments in testing and vaccine distribution framed as “down payments [that] will serve as a bridge to comprehensive testing investments in the American Rescue Plan.” The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in partnership with the Department of Defense (DOD), will invest $650 to expand testing opportunities for K-8 schools and underserved congregate settings, such as homeless shelters. HHS and DOD will address supply shortages by investing $815 million to increase domestic manufacturing of testing supplies and raw materials. Lastly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will invest nearly $200 million to identify, track, and mitigate emerging strains of the virus via genome sequencing.
Following the American Rescue Plan, the Administration will shift focus towards an infrastructure plan, which will include a job creation component by investing in apprenticeships. To that end, the President endorsed the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, which recently passed the House of Representatives. The measure is expected to create nearly 1 million new apprenticeship opportunities and aims to bring more women and people of color into Registered Apprenticeship programs. President Biden also reinstated the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships. The White House notes, “The Advisory Committee will have the opportunity to focus on expanding apprenticeships into new employment industries and sectors like clean energy, technology, and healthcare to create more high-quality training and employment opportunities. The Advisory Committee must also focus on making sure that Black and brown Americans, immigrants, and women can access the training and jobs of the future.”
Local Goodwill® organizations support pre-apprentice and apprenticeship programs, which play an important role in job-training. For example, Goodwill Industries of Southern California (Los Angeles) administers the California Advanced Manufacturing Apprenticeship Collaborative (CAMAC) and works with manufacturers to identify the standards and assist with bridging the gap of vacant manufacturing jobs in Los Angeles County. They are also a founding partner of Strong Workforce Apprenticeship Group (SWAG), which helps students and employees of participating companies receive skilled training and hands-on experience through apprenticeships at local businesses. Goodwill of North Georgia (Atlanta) operates construction skills apprenticeship programs like the Highway Construction Skills Training and Women in Non-traditional Occupations by providing hands-on skills training and placement assistance through a seven-week certification program in highway maintenance and construction. The non-traditional occupations program provides pre-apprenticeship training in apartment/building maintenance, forklift, and highway construction. They also provide occupational skills training in cable repair, electrical line work, welding and energy audit.
Goodwill Industries International stands ready to support the Administration in their endeavors to create jobs and strengthen apprenticeships as the nation begins to recover from the pandemic.
