[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
CLEAN ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE WORKFORCE TO BUILD IT
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
FEBRUARY 27, 2019
__________
Serial No. 116-10
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce
govinfo.gov/committee/house-energy
energycommerce.house.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
36-527 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey
Chairman
BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois GREG WALDEN, Oregon
ANNA G. ESHOO, California Ranking Member
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York FRED UPTON, Michigan
DIANA DeGETTE, Colorado JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois
MIKE DOYLE, Pennsylvania MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas
JAN SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana
G. K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio
DORIS O. MATSUI, California CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS, Washington
KATHY CASTOR, Florida BRETT GUTHRIE, Kentucky
JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland PETE OLSON, Texas
JERRY McNERNEY, California DAVID B. McKINLEY, West Virginia
PETER WELCH, Vermont ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia
PAUL TONKO, New York GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York, Vice BILL JOHNSON, Ohio
Chair BILLY LONG, Missouri
DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana
KURT SCHRADER, Oregon BILL FLORES, Texas
JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana
Massachusetts MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma
TONY CARDENAS, California RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina
RAUL RUIZ, California TIM WALBERG, Michigan
SCOTT H. PETERS, California EARL L. ``BUDDY'' CARTER, Georgia
DEBBIE DINGELL, Michigan JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina
MARC A. VEASEY, Texas GREG GIANFORTE, Montana
ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire
ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
NANETTE DIAZ BARRAGAN, California
A. DONALD McEACHIN, Virginia
LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware
DARREN SOTO, Florida
TOM O'HALLERAN, Arizona
------
Professional Staff
JEFFREY C. CARROLL, Staff Director
TIFFANY GUARASCIO, Deputy Staff Director
MIKE BLOOMQUIST, Minority Staff Director
Subcommittee on Energy
BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois
Chairman
SCOTT H. PETERS, California FRED UPTON, Michigan
MIKE DOYLE, Pennsylvania Ranking Member
JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio
JERRY McNERNEY, California, Vice CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS, Washington
Chair PETE OLSON, Texas
PAUL TONKO, New York DAVID B. McKINLEY, West Virginia
DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois
G. K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia
PETER WELCH, Vermont BILL JOHNSON, Ohio
KURT SCHRADER, Oregon LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana
JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, BILL FLORES, Texas
Massachusetts RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina
MARC A. VEASEY, Texas TIM WALBERG, Michigan
ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire GREG WALDEN, Oregon (ex officio)
ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
NANETTE DIAZ BARRAGAN, California
A. DONALD McEACHIN, Virginia
TOM O'HALLERAN, Arizona
LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware
FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey (ex
officio)
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Hon. Bobby L. Rush, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Illinois, opening statement................................. 1
Prepared statement........................................... 3
Hon. Fred Upton, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Michigan, opening statement.................................... 3
Prepared statement........................................... 5
Hon. Frank Pallone, Jr., a Representative in Congress from the
State of New Jersey, opening statement......................... 6
Prepared statement........................................... 7
Hon. Richard Hudson, a Representative in Congress from the State
of North Carolina, opening statement........................... 8
Witnesses
Gilbert Campbell, Cofounder, Volt Energy......................... 10
Prepared statement........................................... 13
Answers to submitted questions............................... 141
Katie Walthall Mehnert, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Pink
Petro and Experience Energy.................................... 16
Prepared statement........................................... 18
Answers to submitted questions............................... 142
Vien Truong, President, Dream Corps.............................. 24
Prepared statement........................................... 26
Answers to submitted questions \1\........................... 146
James Simpson, Manager, Military Talent Acquisition, Pike
Enterprises, LLC............................................... 29
Prepared statement........................................... 31
Answers to submitted questions............................... 149
Leticia Colon de Mejias, Chief Executive Officer, Energy
Efficiences Solutions, LLC, and Policy Co-Chair, Home
Performance Coalition.......................................... 36
Prepared statement........................................... 39
Answers to submitted questions............................... 155
Anne R. Pramaggiore, Senior Executive Vice President, Exelon
Corporation, and Chief Executive Officer, Exelon Utilities..... 43
Prepared statement........................................... 45
Answers to submitted questions............................... 159
Submitted Material
H.R. 1315, the Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act
of 2019........................................................ 94
Letter of February 27, 2019, from Jason Hartke, President,
Alliance to Save Energy, to Mr. Rush, submitted by Mr. Rush.... 113
Letter of February 26, 2019, from Joni Davis and Stan Sherrill,
Duke Energy, to Mr. Rush, submitted by Mr. Rush................ 114
Letter of February 26, 2019, from Abigail Ross Hopper, President
and Chief Executive Officer, Solar Energy Industries
Association, to Mr. Pallone, et al., submitted by Mr. Rush..... 115
----------
\1\ Questions submitted to Ms. Truong were answered by Michelle Romero,
National Director of Green For All, Dream Corps.
Letter of February 26, 2019, from Valerie Segovia, Director for
Outreach and Development, Nuclear Power Institute, Texas A&M
University System, to Mr. Rush and Mr. Upton, submitted by Mr.
Rush........................................................... 117
Letter of February 27, 2019, from Mary Miller, President, Center
for Energy Workforce Development, to Mr. Rush and Mr. Upton,
submitted by Mr. Rush.......................................... 121
Report of the National Urban League, Washington Bureau, ``The
Digital Revolution: Electrification & Smart Communities, The
Benefits and the Barriers,'' by Donald Cravins, Jr., and Gavin
H. Logan, submitted by Mr. Rush................................ 126
Article of January 18, 2019, ``In Minneapolis, low-income
neighborhoods see influx of clean energy investment,'' by Frank
Jossi, Energy News Network: Minnesota, submitted by Mr.
McEachin....................................................... 136
CLEAN ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE WORKFORCE TO BUILD IT
----------
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Energy,
Committee on Energy and Commerce,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:30 a.m., in
room 2322, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Bobby L. Rush
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Members present: Representatives Rush, Peters, Doyle,
McNerney, Tonko, Loebsack, Butterfield, Schrader, Kennedy,
Veasey, Kuster, Barragan, McEachin, O'Halleran, Blunt
Rochester, Pallone (ex officio), Upton (subcommittee ranking
member), Latta, Rodgers, Olson, McKinley, Griffith, Johnson,
Bucshon, Flores, Hudson, Walberg, and Duncan.
Staff present: Jeffrey C. Carroll, Staff Director; Adam
Fischer, Policy Analyst; Waverly Gordon, Deputy Chief Counsel;
Rick Kessler, Senior Advisor and Staff Director, Energy and
Environment; Brendan Larkin, Policy Coordinator; John Marshall,
Policy Coordinator; Lisa Olson, FERC Detailee; Mel Peffers,
Environment Fellow; Tim Robinson, Chief Counsel; Tuley Wright,
Energy and Environment Policy Advisor; Bijan Koohmaraie,
Minority Counsel, Consumer Protection and Commerce; Mary
Martin, Minority Chief Counsel, Energy and Environment; Brandon
Mooney, Minority Deputy Chief Counsel, Energy; and Brannon
Rains, Minority Staff Assistant.
Mr. Rush. The Subcommittee on Energy will now come to
order, and the Chair recognizes--will the witnesses please take
their seat at the table? Will the witnesses please take their
seat at the table?
We want to welcome all of our witnesses to this inaugural
hearing of the 116th Congress, and we are delighted to see all
of the witnesses here.
The Chair now recognizes himself for 5 minutes.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BOBBY L. RUSH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
Mr. Rush. Once again, I would like to welcome everyone here
today. I really want to, once again, welcome our witnesses. You
brighten up the room here, and we certainly thank you for your
attendance and your sacrificing your time.
I am truly excited to hold this morning's hearing focused
on H.R. 1315, the Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development
Act. We have an excellent panel of majority and minority
witnesses, who represent me on the same diverse groups that
this bill is designed to reach.
While I am eager to hear from all of our guests, please
allow me this great pleasure to acknowledge Ms. Anne
Pramaggiore, who is here representing one of the most forward-
looking utilities in the Nation, Exelon, based out of one of
the most forward-looking cities in the Nation, my great home
city of Chicago, that only yesterday had an election, and for
the first time in history nominated two African American women
to be in the runoff for election as mayor of the city of
Chicago.
I must say that right from the outset, I want to make it
clear that the bill that we have before us today should be
viewed as a work in progress.
I am pleased that so many stakeholders have reached out to
my office, up to and including this very moment that this
hearing is commencing. My objective is to continue to work with
and incorporate constructive feedback from as many
organizations that truly share my goal of putting Americans
back to work.
And let me be as frank as possible. My primary and sole
objective is exactly that: putting as many American citizens to
work in good-paying energy and manufacturing jobs as humanly
and legislatively possible. The substance of this bill has not
changed since the bill was passed through the full committee
and through the House--under Republican control I might add--
with overwhelming bipartisan support over the last two
Congresses.
However, what we have heard time and time again throughout
these last few years is that we were not always able to truly
help the very same individuals that this bill was designed to
reach. Many potential candidates from low-income homes and
minority communities, women who serve as heads of household,
returning veterans, out-of-work coal and other energy workers,
were not always able to take advantage of training programs.
These individuals have stressed to me that they needed
assistance just to enroll in these facilities. Initially, many
of these very same candidates were not able to leave one low-
paying job or even give up their job searches simply because
they couldn't afford to go through the training if they were
not getting paid as they worked to advance their careers.
This is just the reality of many of the candidates that
this bill is designed to reach, and this is also the reason why
we needed to beef up this legislation with actual resources and
assistances to help these American citizens. So I truly hope
that moving forward we can, once again, for the third time,
make this a bipartisan bill.
My office is eager, willing, and anxious to work with any
Member on this subcommittee or beyond to address any
legislative concerns and put forward legislation that will
not--that will hit the mark and help put hundreds or even
thousands of hardworking Americans back to work in good-paying
jobs and careers.
But, once again, I want to thank all of our distinguished
witnesses for being here today, and now I would like to call on
my friend and colleague from my neighboring State, the great
State of Michigan, Ranking Member Upton, for his opening
statement.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Rush follows:]
Prepared statement of Hon. Bobby L. Rush
I would like to welcome everyone here today. I am truly
excited to hold this morning's hearing focusing on HR 1315, the
Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act.
We have an excellent panel of majority and minority
witnesses who represent many of the same diverse groups that
this bill is designed to reach.
While I am eager to hear from all of our guests, I must
acknowledge Anne Pramaggiore, who is here representing one of
the most forward-looking utilities in the Nation, Exelon, based
out of one of the most forward-looking cities in the country,
my great home city of Chicago.
Right from the outset, I want to make it clear that the
bill we have before us today should be viewed as a work in
progress.
I am pleased that so many stakeholders have reached out to
my office, up to and including the moment that this hearing
commenced.
My objective is to continue to work with and incorporate
constructive feedback from as many organizations that truly
share my goal of putting people to work.
And let me be as frank as possible, my primary and sole
objective is exactly that, putting as many people to work in
good-paying energy and manufacturing jobs as possible.
The substance of this bill has not changed since the bill
was passed through the full committee and through the House,
under Republican control I might add, with overwhelming
bipartisan support the last two Congresses.
However, what we have heard time and time again throughout
these last few years is that we were not always able to truly
help the very same individuals that this bill was designed to
reach.
Many potential candidates from low income homes and
minority communities, women who serve as heads of households,
returning veterans, out-of-work coal and other energy workers
were not always able to take advantage of training programs.
These individuals have stressed to me that they needed
assistance just to enroll in these facilities.
Additionally, many of these very same candidates were not
able to leave lower paying jobs or even give up their job
searches simply because they couldn't afford to go through
training if they were not getting paid as they worked to
advance their careers.
This is just the reality for many of the candidates that
this bill is designed to help.
And this is also the reason why we needed to beef up this
legislation with actual resources and assistance to help reach
these individuals.
So, I truly hope that moving forward we can make this a
bipartisan bill once again.
My office is eager and willing to work with any Member, on
this subcommittee and beyond, to address any legitimate
concerns and put forward legislation that will hit the mark and
help put hundreds or even thousands of hardworking Americans
back to work in good-paying jobs and careers.
Once again, I want to thank all of our distinguished
witnesses for being here today.
Now I would like to call on my friend and colleague from
the great State of Michigan, Ranking Member Upton for his
opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. FRED UPTON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN
Mr. Upton. I like that ``great State of Michigan,'' but
even better I like being called your friend, because in fact we
are. We have been very good friends for a long, long time and
share many, many things together.
Mr. Chairman, I do thank you for holding this hearing to
continue our efforts on the workforce development. This hearing
marks the first in the Energy Subcommittee under your
chairmanship, and I look forward to working very closely with
you, and your staff, and Members on both sides of the aisle.
I want to welcome our newest Member on the Republican side,
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, to our subcommittee.
Mr. Chairman, I am confident that we can continue our long
history of bipartisan cooperation and set aside some of our
differences. Working together, we have delivered some very big
wins--some would call them huge--for the American people over
the years, and I remain hopeful that we will continue in that
tradition.
Since our first hearing is billed as a legislative hearing,
I should note that under my chairmanship of the committee we
strived for regular order. In fact, you will remember that we
moved your workforce legislation in the 114th Congress to
promote a 21st century energy and manufacturing workforce, with
both background and legislative hearings and markups.
We worked together again in the last Congress, the 115th,
to pass a bill a second time, the same bill a second time, by
unanimous consent in the committee, and also on the House
floor. Sadly, the Senate didn't get it done, but that doesn't
mean that we can't keep trying.
I hope that I would take you at your word that this hearing
doesn't start a precedent of rushing to move new legislation
without thorough analysis and oversight. This new bill was just
sprung on us last week, and we haven't had much of an
opportunity to work with you. But I remain open-minded, and I
have serious concerns that this legislation unfairly picks
winners and losers and has the potential to waste valuable
taxpayer dollars.
My colleagues and I on this side of the aisle were pleased
to support your bill last Congress because it did take an all-
of-the-above approach that recognized the benefits of reliable,
affordable, and plentiful energy jobs in manufacturing
competitiveness. We both made some compromise, and in fact we
found a sweet spot.
I am afraid that this bill strays from our bipartisan
agreement from last Congress. It appears that it simply
recycles the failed Obama administration Green Jobs agenda by
promising nearly a billion dollars of new spending to retrain
workers for the so-called Green Jobs.
The record has shown that the Obama Green Jobs agenda did
waste billions of dollars and failed to deliver on its
promises. There were many lessons learned, and we should take
our time to get this one right rather than repeat the mistakes
of the past, and I look forward to working together on that.
I especially look forward to hearing from our witnesses
today, so that we can better understand the needs and
opportunities for expanding private sector workforce
development initiatives to improve diversity in the energy and
manufacturing industries. I believe that we both share a desire
to expand opportunities for minorities, for women, and
certainly our veterans, in the energy industry, although that
we may differ on the strategy to accomplish that goal.
Today we are going to hear from witnesses representing
veterans and women in the types of traditional energy jobs that
would be unfairly excluded by the legislation before us. I
would ask that you listen to the voices of those who work in
nuclear, fossil, energy, and manufacturing industries and open
this process up, so that in fact it is more transparent and
inclusive.
We should also receive testimony from the Department of
Energy and incorporate the lessons learned from the Green Jobs
Program before rushing to move this bill. I remain hopeful that
these important workforce development issues don't get bogged
down in partisan politics. As we have done in the past, when we
give all sides an opportunity to participate and adhere to
regular order, there is no limit in terms of what we can
achieve.
The bipartisan bills we passed into law last Congress are
prime examples. We streamlined the licensing process for
renewable hydro power projects. We promoted zero emissions
nuclear energy. We amended the Federal Power Act to provide
more transparency on electric rates for consumers, and we
advanced solutions to modernize our infrastructure and harden
our grid.
There is a lot that needs to be done this Congress, and
Republicans are certainly eager to go to work. We are going to
continue to put consumers first in everything that we do as we
propose solutions to encourage technological innovation and
energy, ensure a sound regulatory environment, promote American
workforce development, and foster free markets and competition.
With that, I look forward to working with you in this
Congress, and I yield back the balance of my time. Thank you,
my friend.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Upton follows:]
Prepared statement of Hon. Fred Upton
Thank you, Mr. Chairman for holding this hearing to
continue our efforts on workforce development.
This hearing marks the first in the Energy Subcommittee
under your chairmanship. I look forward to working closely with
you and the new Members who have joined the subcommittee.
I would like to welcome our newest Member on the Republican
side, Mrs. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington.
Mr. Chairman, I am confident that we can continue our long
history of bipartisan cooperation and set aside some of our
differences. Working together, we've delivered some big wins
for the American people over the years, and I remain hopeful
that we'll continue in that tradition.
Since our first hearing is billed as a legislative hearing,
I should note that under my chairmanship of the committee, we
strived for regular order. In fact, you'll remember that we
moved your workforce legislation in the 114th Congress, to
promote a ``21st Century Energy and Manufacturing Workforce''
with both background and legislative hearings and markups. We
worked together again in the 115th Congress to pass the bill a
second time by unanimous consent in the committee and on the
House Floor. Unfortunately, the Senate didn't get it done, but
that doesn't mean we can't keep trying together.
I hope, and I would take you at your word, that this
hearing doesn't start a precedent of rushing to move new
legislation without thorough analysis and oversight. This new
bill was just sprung on us last week, and we haven't had the
opportunity to work with you.
I remain open-minded, but I have serious concerns that this
legislation unfairly picks winners and losers, and has the
potential to waste valuable taxpayer dollars.
My colleagues and I on this side of the aisle were pleased
to support your bill last Congress, because it took a balanced,
``all-of-the-above'' approach that recognized the benefits of
reliable, affordable, and plentiful energy jobs and
manufacturing competitiveness. We both made some compromises,
and we found the sweet spot.
I am afraid this bill abandons our bipartisan agreement
from last Congress. Worse yet, it appears this bill simply
recycles the failed Obama administration's Green Jobs Agenda by
promising nearly a billion dollars of new spending to retrain
workers for so-called ``green collar'' jobs.
The record has shown that the Obama Green Jobs Agenda
wasted billions of dollars and failed to deliver on its
promises. There were many lessons learned, and we should take
our time to get this one right, rather than repeat the mistakes
of the past.
As you may remember, President Obama's stimulus package
included a program that sounds very similar to legislation
before us today. The stimulus included a $500 million
Department of Labor-run program to train workers for green
jobs, such as installing solar panels or insulation in homes
and buildings. As we found through committee oversight, the
green jobs did not materialize and job placement had been much
less than expected. Let's take our time to avoid the same
mistakes.
I especially look forward to hearing from our witnesses
today, so we can better understand the needs and opportunities
for expanding private-sector workforce development initiatives
to improve diversity in the energy and manufacturing
industries. I believe we both share a desire to expand
opportunities for minorities, women, and veterans in the energy
industry, although we may differ on the strategy to accomplish
that goal.
Today, we'll hear from witnesses representing veterans and
women in the types of traditional energy jobs that would be
unfairly excluded by the legislation before us.
I would ask that you listen to the voices of those who work
in nuclear, fossil energy, and manufacturing industries and
open this process up so that it's more transparent and
inclusive.
We should also receive testimony from the Department of
Energy and incorporate the lessons learned from the Obama Green
Jobs program before rushing to move this bill.
I remain hopeful that these important workforce development
issues don't get bogged down in partisan politics. As we've
done in the past, when we give all sides an opportunity to
participate and adhere to regular order, there is no limit to
what we can achieve.
The bipartisan bills we passed into law last Congress are
prime examples. We streamlined the licensing process for
renewable hydropower projects, promoted zero-emissions nuclear
energy, amended the Federal Power Act to provide more
transparency on electric rates for consumers, and advanced
solutions to modernize our infrastructure and harden our grid.
There's a lot that needs to be done this Congress, and
Republicans are eager to get to work. We're going to continue
to put consumers first in everything we do, as we propose
solutions to encourage technological innovation in energy,
ensure a sound regulatory environment, promote American
workforce development, and foster free markets and competition.
With that, I look forward to working alongside you this
Congress, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Rush. Thank you, and your comments will be considered.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Pallone, chairman of the full
committee, for 5 minutes for his opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK PALLONE, Jr., A REPRESENTATIVE
IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Mr. Pallone. Thank you, Chairman Rush. Today we are
discussing Chairman Rush's Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs
Development Act of 2019. For many years, Chairman Rush has been
Congress' champion for developing a more diverse and robust
energy workforce, and I commend him for his longtime commitment
to this important effort.
As we approach the end of Black History Month, this hearing
is an important opportunity to look at the diversity gaps in
the energy industry, why they are occurring, and what we can do
to make the industry more inclusive. Minorities are
significantly underrepresented in the science, technology,
engineering, and math, or STEM, fields. African Americans and
Hispanics represent 27 percent of the overall nationwide
workforce, but only make up 16 percent of the STEM workforce.
And it is not just a question of minorities being
underrepresented in STEM fields, there is also an earnings gap
for minority workers who hold these jobs. The average African
American STEM worker earns 81 percent of the salary of a white
STEM worker, while a woman holding a STEM job makes just 72
percent of the salary of the average man. So preparing workers
for the energy jobs of the future through training and
educational opportunities can help narrow this unacceptable
gap.
Chairman Rush's legislation takes important steps to bridge
the diversity gaps that currently exist in the energy sector.
The bill establishes a comprehensive nationwide program at the
Department of Energy to improve education and training for jobs
in energy-related industries.
The legislation provides DOE new authority to offer direct
assistance to schools, workforce development boards, and labor
organizations, and the bill also establishes a grant program to
provide funds to businesses to pay employees who are receiving
training to work in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, or
grid modernization sectors. And these are areas critically
important in our efforts to combat climate change.
Chairman Rush has been working on this bill since the 113th
Congress. Previous versions have enjoyed strong bipartisan
support, including last Congress when a version of the bill
passed the House on a voice vote. In the 114th Congress,
Republicans included his bill in the base text of the North
American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, a broad energy
bill introduced by then-full committee Chairman Fred Upton.
So I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for
recognizing the importance of this legislation and the issues
it addresses. The energy workforce in our country is growing,
particularly in the area of wind energy, energy efficiency, and
grid modernization.
Our challenge is to ensure the appropriate training and
educational opportunities are available to workers who can fill
these jobs. And at the same time, we must develop policies to
provide opportunities for minorities and unrepresented groups
to expand their participation in the energy workforce.
It is also important that we ensure participation both to
the traditional energy sector and the rapidly growing clean
energy and efficiency sectors, and the goal is to have an
energy workforce that reflects the demographics of the country
as a whole, and this bill puts us on the pathway to achieving
that objective.
So, again, I thank the chairman, and I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Pallone follows:]
Prepared statement of Hon. Frank Pallone, Jr.
Today, we're discussing Chairman Rush's ``Blue Collar to
Green Collar Jobs Development Act of 2019.'' For many years,
Chairman Rush has been Congress' champion for developing a more
diverse and robust energy workforce, and I commend him for his
longtime commitment to this important effort.
As we approach the end of Black History Month, this hearing
is an important opportunity to look at the diversity gaps in
the energy industry, why they are occurring and what we can do
to make the industry more inclusive. Minorities are
significantly underrepresented in the science, technology,
engineering and math--or STEM--fields. African Americans and
Hispanics represent 27 percent of the overall nationwide
workforce, but only make up 16 percent of the STEM workforce.
And it is not just a question of minorities being
underrepresented in STEM fields--there is also an earnings gap
for minority workers who hold these jobs. The average African
American STEM worker earns 81 percent of the salary of a white
STEM worker, while a woman holding a STEM job makes just 72
percent of the salary of the average man. Preparing workers for
the energy jobs of the future through training and educational
opportunities can help narrow this unacceptable gap.
Chairman Rush's legislation takes important steps to bridge
the diversity gaps that currently exist in the energy sector.
The bill establishes a comprehensive, nationwide program at the
Department of Energy (DOE) to improve education and training
for jobs in energy-related industries. The legislation provides
DOE new authority to offer direct assistance to schools,
workforce development boards and labor organizations. The bill
also establishes a grant program to provide funds to businesses
to pay employees who are receiving training to work in the
renewable energy, energy efficiency or grid modernization
sectors. These are areas critically important in our efforts to
combat climate change.
Chairman Rush has been working on this legislation since
the 113th Congress. Previous versions of this bill have enjoyed
strong bipartisan support, including last Congress when a
version of the bill passed the House on a voice vote. In the
114th Congress, Republicans included his bill in the base text
of the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, a
broad energy bill introduced by then-full-committee Chairman
Upton. I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for
recognizing the importance of this legislation and the issues
it addresses.
The energy workforce in our country is growing,
particularly in the areas of wind energy, energy efficiency and
grid modernization. Our challenge is to ensure the appropriate
training and educational opportunities are available to workers
who can fill these jobs. At the same time, we must develop
policies to provide opportunities for minorities and other
underrepresented groups to expand their participation in the
energy workforce. It's also important that we ensure
participation in both the traditional energy sector and the
rapidly growing clean energy and energy efficiency sectors. The
goal is to have an energy workforce that reflects the
demographics of our country as a whole, and this bill puts us
on a pathway to achieving that objective.
Thank you. I yield back.
Mr. Rush. I want to thank the chairman of the full
committee. And the Chair now recognizes Mr. Hudson, who has
been given Mr. Walden, the ranking member on the full
committee's time. So the Chair now recognizes Mr. Hudson of
North Carolina for 5 minutes for his opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD HUDSON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
Mr. Hudson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, first, let me say
congratulations to you on your chairmanship of this
subcommittee. I am optimistic that together we can do big
things.
And thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing on
energy workforce development, an important issue for me and the
constituents I represent back home in North Carolina.
I would also like to thank Mr. James Simpson, a 25-year
Marine Corps veteran and North Carolinian, for appearing before
us today on behalf of Pike Enterprises, who is headquartered in
Mount Airy, North Carolina, and has operations all across the
country.
Mr. Chairman, as has already been mentioned, this is the
first Energy Subcommittee hearing of this Congress, and we are
starting with a legislative hearing on a bill that you and I
have worked together on over the past two Congresses. I was
disappointed to learn that Republicans were cut out of the
process this time around, and the bill was reintroduced with
some major changes, including a new title and hundreds of
millions of dollars in new spending.
Mr. Chairman, the bill text was released last Friday and
has not been made widely available. This is not regular order,
and it is not the way I would have hoped to handle this bill,
given our history of working together. I was also surprised to
learn that the new language is not all of the above. In fact,
it excludes fossil, nuclear, and manufacturing altogether.
We have worked hard to make sure the bills the last two
Congresses were bipartisan, all of the above, and inclusive of
all underrepresented groups in the energy industry, including
minorities, women, and veterans. This new version falls well
short of the agreement we have had in the last two Congresses.
I look forward to working closely with you. I respect you,
Mr. Chairman, and I trust you. But because Republicans were not
included on this new draft, I am afraid we are not putting our
best foot forward. This is a legislative hearing, so we should
also have an opportunity to hear from the appropriate
Department of Energy representatives on their workforce
development initiatives to ensure that this legislation doesn't
unfairly pick winners or losers or add new layers of
duplicative programs.
In addition, this legislation would amend the DOE
Organization Act and establish a new office within the DOE.
These are significant actions that warrant examination through
a full and complete legislative process. Even if the way we got
here today is disappointing, I will try to keep an open mind
because we owe it to our constituents to put aside our
differences and work together.
With that said, I look forward to receiving testimony from
our witnesses today and gathering feedback from the Department
of Energy in additional legislative hearings. If you are
willing, as you said in your opening statement, Mr. Chairman,
to make this a bipartisan effort, I would also look forward to
offering constructive solutions to get this bill back on track.
I thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back the balance of
my time.
Mr. Rush. I want to say to Mr. Hudson, I look forward to
working with you. And I want to, just for the record to be
clear, the staffs on the Republican side received this copy of
the bill last Wednesday, not Friday. So we wanted to give you
ample time to prepare for this hearing, and so it was last
Wednesday.
The Chair would like to remind Members that, pursuant to
committee rules, all Members' opening statements shall be made
part of the record.
And now, once again, it is my great pleasure and distinct
honor to introduce our diverse panel of witnesses for today's
hearing. And they are not in--well, I am going to start with
our--from my left and your right, Mr. Gilbert G. Campbell, III,
who is the cofounder of Volt Energy. And seated next to Mr.
Gilbert is Ms. Katie Walthall Mehnert, the founder and chief
executive officer of Pink Petro and Experience Energy. I think
I got that right.
And then next to Ms. Mehnert is Ms. Vien Truong, who is the
president of Dream Corps, all right? And next to Ms. Truong is
Mr. James Simpson, who is the manager of Military Talent
Acquisition at Pike Enterprises, LLC.
And then next is Ms. Leticia Colon de Mejias, who is the
chief executive officer of the Energy Efficiencies Solutions,
LLC. And, finally, once again, Ms. Anne Pramaggiore, the senior
executive vice president and CEO of Exelon Utilities, which is
headquartered in my home State of Illinois.
And now we will have--first, I want to thank all of our
witnesses for joining us today, and we look forward to your
testimony. At this time we will now recognize each witness for
5 minutes to provide an opening statement.
Before we begin, I would like to explain the lighting
system. In front of you is a series of lights. The lights will
initially be green at the start of your opening statement. The
light will turn yellow when you have 1 minute remaining. Please
begin to wrap up your testimony at the point of the yellow
light. The light will turn red when your time expires.
Our first witness today is Mr. Gilbert G. Campbell, III,
the cofounder of Volt Energy. Mr. Campbell, you have 5 minutes
for your opening statement.
STATEMENTS OF GILBERT CAMPBELL, COFOUNDER, VOLT ENERGY; KATIE
WALTHALL MEHNERT, FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PINK
PETRO AND EXPERIENCE ENERGY; VIEN TRUONG, PRESIDENT, DREAM
CORPS; JAMES SIMPSON, MANAGER, MILITARY TALENT ACQUISITION,
PIKE ENTERPRISES, LLC; LETICIA COLON de MEJIAS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER, ENERGY EFFICIENCIES SOLUTIONS, LLC, AND POLICY
COCHAIR, HOME PERFORMANCE COALITION; AND ANNE R. PRAMAGGIORE,
SENIOR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, EXELON CORPORATION, AND CHIEF
EXECUTIVE OFFICER, EXELON UTILITIES
STATEMENT OF GILBERT CAMPBELL
Mr. Campbell. Chairman Rush, Ranking Member Upton, and
members of the committee, I am truly honored to be here today
to testify on the Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development
Act of 2019.
My name is Gilbert Campbell. I am the cofounder of Volt
Energy, a national renewable energy development firm that
finances, develops, and builds solar energy, micro grid,
electric vehicle charging station projects for governmental,
educational, commercial, and nonprofit institutions.
Our mission as a company is to uplift communities through
the opportunities and benefits that are provided by clean
technology. Some of our notable clients include The Cheesecake
Factory, Subaru, Pepco, Howard University, Wake Forest
University, KIPP Charter Schools, and the District of Columbia
Government.
We are at an exciting time in American history where our
energy infrastructure is being modernized real time by clean
technology. America's transition to a cleaner, advanced, and
more resilient energy infrastructure is a key driver of job
growth that will forever change the fabric of this wonderful
nation.
The renewable energy sector currently employs 770,000
people, roughly the same as the U.S. telecommunications
industry. Solar and wind jobs outnumber coal and gas jobs in 30
States, including the District of Columbia. Last year, energy
storage jobs surged to over 90,000. Grid modernization efforts
have created more than 55,000 jobs, and there are 174,000
Americans who develop and manufacture electric vehicles
currently.
As you can see, clean energy is one of our Nation's fastest
growing sectors, and the transition from blue collar jobs to
green collar jobs should not be viewed as a blue issue or
Democratic issue, or a red or Republican issue. Rather, it
should be viewed as a red, white, and blue opportunity for our
Nation to modernize our energy infrastructure while providing
good-paying jobs and wealth creation opportunities for all
Americans.
I am a strong supporter of this bill for the following
reasons. Number 1, in order to achieve our clean energy goals,
we need a talented, trained, and diverse workforce. Number 2,
given our Nation's history, we need to remedy the
disproportionate negative impact of energy policies on diverse
communities and double down our investments in those
communities.
We have already seen the impact of these policies
nationally, and this bill will enhance and scale the impactful
efforts to ensure that all Americans benefit from the growth of
clean energy.
In order for us to accomplish the goals set forth in this
bill, it is critical that we make investments in workforce
development training through STEM programs that cultivate the
untapped but abundant talent that resides in our
underrepresented communities and our rural communities.
As I mentioned before, we also must be honest that our
country's aging energy infrastructure was built at the expense
of minority and rural communities. Our country has picked
losers. For example, studies show that 71 percent of African
Americans live in counties that violate Federal air pollution
standards, and nearly 70 percent of African Americans live
within 30 miles of a coal power plant.
African American children are 4 times more likely to be
hospitalized for asthma, and 7.1 times more likely to die from
asthma than white children.
While the coal industry is rapidly declining, the
incidences of premature deaths continue to rise, amounting to
over 50,000 deaths per year. As we transition to a cleaner
infrastructure, it is only equitable that minorities, women,
veterans, the disabled, returning citizens, and other
marginalized Americans must be given the opportunity to thrive
in a clean energy economy that received $333.5 billion in
global investments in 2017.
Here in the District of Columbia, Mayor Bowser and regional
utilities Pepco, WGL Energy, and others, have supporting things
like the DC Infrastructure Academy, where the mission is to
train a diverse and underrepresented workforce.
Additionally, I serve on the board of the Energy Advisory
Board of the Faunteroy Community Enrichment Center that serves
low-income residents in DC. In a community stricken by extreme
poverty, high unemployment, and high incarceration rates, we
were able to launch a solar training program, enrolled 71
students, but more importantly, employed 48 of those students
into full-time jobs.
My company is also developing numerous solar installations
at Howard University, one of our Nation's most prominent
historically black colleges and universities. But we are also
working with each school and university to make sure our future
leaders and students are learning the career paths in
alternative energy.
In closing, I support this bill because it would help us to
achieve our clean energy goals and restore our standing as a
global leader in energy, remedy the wrongs of our past, and
continue to enhance the lives of all Americans around the
country.
Thank you for my time.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Campbell follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Rush. I now recognize Ms. Mehnert for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF KATIE WALTHALL MEHNERT
Ms. Mehnert. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Upton, committee
members, and fellow witnesses, my name is Katie Mehnert, and I
am the founder and CEO of Pink Petro and Experience Energy. It
is an honor here today to be with you to have my 8-year-old
daughter, Ally Rees Mehnert, present to see what is possible
for women in American.
After two decades of working for global oil and gas
companies, notably Shell and BP, in safety, environment, and
culture change, I left the corporate path to become an
entrepreneur to fill unmet needs I saw in our workforce.
Pink Petro is working on four fronts to address the gap. We
help women inside the sector network to understand career paths
and connect to role models. We funded the nonprofit mentoring
program, Lean In Energy, to provide mentors for women across
the energy value chain. We are marketing the energy industry
through personal storytelling, career opportunities on our
Experience Energy careers site, with the aim to attract new
recruits, women, minorities, and millennials for all forms.
We help companies to shape culture by bringing peers
together to learn from each other. My company and our community
of members believe that it is critical we bring all forms of
energy and talent together to look at the workforce of the
future to make necessary investments to position America to
take a leading role in the global energy transition.
I launched Pink Petro in 2015 amidst a sharp drop in crude
prices. Our community connects oil and gas members to share
around best practices and storytelling. We have a Web site, we
have an app, and we also have a global corporate Community
Council which provides a neutral platform for dialogue and
actions to address gender equality and inclusive culture.
In January of 2016 when oil plummeted to $29, the World
Economic Forum and 22 oil and gas and energy CEOs publicly
published a call to action to end the gender gap. Pink Petro
gathered stakeholders and prepared a response and action plan
for consideration that you can look at on our Web site.
After extensive research, we determined that oil and gas is
not the only part of the sector with projected job growth, as
well as gender and minority gaps. We are extending our
Community Council presently to connect with other energy firms
in utilities, renewables, and diversity organizations to
develop a wider network of resources to address these gaps
together.
In 2017, when we launched Experience Energy, a careers site
geared at helping energy companies to connect to diverse
candidates, my thought and vision is we need to educate new
recruits on the exciting benefits and social impact one can
achieve in a career in energy.
In 2018, in an effort to address those mentoring needs at
scale, Pink Petro, Hess Corporation, Emerson, FedEx
Corporation, Worley Parsons, and Vantage Energy supported the
formation of a nonprofit, Lean In Energy, which uses technology
to match mentors across the world and across all forms of
energy.
This work is all addressing opportunities the industry
faces in creating a diverse workforce. First, we need to make
the industry a more highly sought-after career choice. Billions
of people are being lifted out of low incomes and helping to
drive economic growth and the demand for energy. And the
transition to a lower carbon energy system is opening up a wide
range of economic possibilities. These are all reasons to
involve women and underrepresented populations.
Second, we need to increase understanding around the
diversity of jobs and skill-sets. There is a mind-set in
America that everyone needs a 4-year college degree. While that
is desirable, it is not necessary. Workforce development
programs in welding, electronics, technical operations, safety,
go unfilled because of the perception of these roles.
The Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act of
2019 recognizes these needs and the government role. I agree
with the recommendation to language develop a comprehensive and
detailed understanding of the workforce skills needed in the
energy-related industries.
Finally, diversity is critical to energy, but we need to be
inclusive and work across all forms and all people. It truly is
the use case for diversity and inclusion--the energy sector.
I am very happy that you, as leaders in Congress, are
looking to take action and welcome any questions you have.
However, for us to accelerate this work, we must work together,
join forces, all aspects of energy and all people to progress.
Thank you for having me a part of this discussion.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Mehnert follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Rush. I want to thank you, Ms. Mehnert. And is Alice in
the room? Is Alice----
Ms. Mehnert. Ally.
Mr. Rush. Ally. Is she in the room? I want to recognize
her.
Ms. Mehnert. She is sleeping.
[Laughter]
Mr. Rush. She is sleeping. OK.
Ms. Mehnert. She actually was having a meltdown right as we
were starting, so I was----
Mr. Upton. Maybe we should have a few more opening
statements over there.
[Laughter]
Mr. Rush. Absolutely. All right.
Now we will recognize Ms. Truong.
STATEMENT OF VIEN TRUONG
Ms. Truong. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for having
me. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the subcommittee,
for this hearing.
My name is Vien Truong. I am the president of the Dream
Corps and here on behalf of Green For All, our national
initiative. We are working to build an inclusive green economy
strong enough to lift people out of poverty. We are facing two
major crises in this country: poverty and pollution.
And for too long we thought about and addressed these
issues separately, developing programs and tackling our
economic and environmental issues in separate silos, even
though they have been deeply connected, and that has been a
problem because low-income communities are hit first and worst
by pollution. It is for many reasons: our proximity to
pollution, our increased vulnerability to climate disasters,
our increased cost because of increased living resulting from
scarce resources.
It is for this reason that working families stand to gain
the most from moving towards a cleaner and more sustainable
economy. As a mom of 6-year-old twins, I have fought for
policies and programs that have prioritized families, the
economy, and the environment for over a decade.
Our team at Green For All have launched a Moms Mobilize
campaign, where we mobilize hundreds of thousands of moms to
lobby to protect the Environmental Protection Agency, to unify
the country around the health, safety, and security of our kids
and our families and our communities.
Thankfully, the EPA's budget was secured because people
across this country stood up, and we did so because we
understood the EPA's main reasons to protect to health and
children, our topic priority, but also that protecting the
environment and supporting our economy are not contradictory.
The clean energy sector is a pool for potential job growth,
larger than any other in the United States. As we heard earlier
from Mr. Campbell, we can already see this growth in both the
solar and the wind power industries. Solar panel installations
and wind turbine technician jobs are increasing at a faster
rate in this country than most others.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency,
jobs in the solar industry increased by 24 percent between 2015
and 2017 alone, while the rest of the economy experienced only
a 2 percent job growth rate. In 2017, the solar employment
expanded 17 times faster than any other industry.
If we invest in clean and renewable energy, we can and will
protect this planet, our families, our future, and we can
revamp our economy at the same time, creating millions of jobs.
Investing in clean and renewable energy means investing in a
new job market, including jobs to retrofit existing buildings,
meet increased energy efficiency standards of new buildings,
and install and manufacture solar panels, wind turbines, and
other needed materials.
These jobs have the potential to pay good wages, provide
benefits, that helps working families meet ends, and to help
improve health outcomes by advancing renewable and energy
efficiency sectors.
These new jobs have the potential to employ workers in
places where bias has been prevalent, where we see exclusion
and sustained disinvestment has been producing communities with
concentrated poverty.
To reach our goals of a clean energy economy, we have to
challenge the two problems of job access and job quality. We
must ensure that our investments result in robust, fulfilling,
and career-oriented job pathways. We must take proper measures
to prevent low quality, seasonal, or temporary jobs that fail
front-line communities and fossil fuel workers, too.
A transition to a clean energy economy has to mean a just
transition, including uplifting those most impacted by fossil
fuels and most in need of well-paying, secure jobs.
Finding and training the workers are going to have to begin
long before the jobs are filled. That process must begin with
our young people, our students. We must begin developing the
job skills and a career pathway now, and that is what this bill
will help to do. Helping to make sure that traditional and
nontraditional educational platforms, ensuring that energy-
oriented skill sets become fiscally, educationally, and
culturally accessible.
Apprenticeship and internship programs have to provide
opportunities for young people to begin these job skills
processes early and to gain mentors, compensation, and career
visioning in the process.
This bill is going to help us do that by outreaching to
minority-serving institutions, nonprofit organizations, and
State and local organizations at the same time.
I am here because we have to begin transitioning to a new
energy economy. And as we do so, we must develop and bring on
new communities at the same time. Our communities depend on
across the country.
We are facing economic and environmental peril, and this is
the time for bold leadership, for us to take America forward to
a more cleaner and sustainable future, and supporting this Act
will help to do so.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Truong follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Rush. Mr. Simpson, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF JAMES SIMPSON
Mr. Simpson. Chairman Rush, Ranking Member Upton, members
of the committee, thank you for the invitation to participate
in today's hearing and allowing me the opportunity to discuss
Pike's initiatives in hiring underrepresented populations into
the energy sector, and in particular our commitment to hiring
and training veterans to join the energy field.
My name is James Simpson. I am manager of Military Talent
Acquisition at Pike Corporation. Pike Corporation is a
privately owned and operated business founded in 1945. The
principal business of the company is power line construction,
both overhead and underground, and maintenance, gas line
construction, and also engineering.
Pike offers turn-key solutions for customers, and our
customers range from the largest energy producers in the
country to the smaller local cooperative utilities. In my
opinion, this hearing is perfectly timed. In today's market, we
are seeing about a 14 percent growth in the industry, resulting
in a need of several thousand new employees annually for the
foreseeable future to keep up with demand.
As a lot of other industries today, the energy sector has
struggled to find willing and able employees to fill the
thousands of current openings throughout the country, let alone
the thousands of new jobs I just referenced that will be needed
on an annual basis.
The jobs at Pike are hard work. There can be long days and
most work is done outside. One of the biggest things we are
known for, you all here in Northern Virginia are probably
familiar with seeing our blue and white trucks out in the
community after storms. We do storm restoration work. When
citizens are speeding out of the path of a hurricane or an
incoming storm, our crews are rushing in to face that crisis
and battle the storm and restore your power as quickly as
possible.
Pike realized not long ago that our retention rate for
veteran employees was higher than our nonveteran retention
rates. We studied deeper. We realized that our veteran
population was an untapped pool of diverse talent, carrying the
same vision and work ethic as our primary workforce today.
They desire to serve others. They desire to run headlong
into the face of adversity, and the ability, the desire to work
in teams, are all fundamental tenets of our workforce. Many
veterans bring out of the military with them that desire, that
need to serve others.
I was honored with the opportunity to spend 25 years as a
Marine, and recently retired from the military service. I was
approached by Pike and hired in July of 2018 with the sole
purpose of expanding our outreach, training, and ultimate
hiring of our Nation's veterans.
While there is a lot of confusion and naivete about what
exactly alignment is or what the skills are that are required,
linemen are very intelligent people. They have to have math
skills, the STEM skills that we have talked about today, in
order to perform the jobs, identifying the type of transformers
and fuses that are required, the type of wire.
The gauge of wire used to deliver the electricity from
production to your home or business is critical, and they have
to have the knowledge to know how to work with those things.
Pike has developed and been approved to administer a
Department of Labor veterans' apprenticeship program. Our
apprenticeship program allows new employees to enroll in the
program, document their work history and training toward
attaining a journeyman-level certificate or credential.
Veterans with GI Bill benefits are eligible to draw a housing
allowance from their GI Bill while they participate in the
program.
Some of those veterans also use their military
apprenticeship program skills from their service in the
military to boost their performance in our program. Pike is a
participating member of a group called the Center for Energy
Workforce Development. CEWD has developed a career roadmap for
veterans to identify a path into the energy industry.
So we have a roadmap. They have a jobs database. We have
access to the jobs. It is simply gaining access to the service
members.
In our Talent Acquisition Program, we go to all of the
military installations. We engage the service members as they
are in their transition process. And what we run into is
differing rules and regulations to access that transitioning
workforce as they leave the military and enter the civilian
workforce.
What we run into is each base has their own criteria for
gaining access. We also work with the Department of Labor. The
Department of Labor has programs such as WIOA, the Workforce
Innovation Opportunity Act, which allows us funding to train
service members for jobs.
The issue we run into is that workforce development boards
determine how that funding is used in each local area. So some
States have a workforce development board. In other areas--in
North Carolina, for instance--we have 23 workforce development
boards determining how to use the funds for our programs.
You can see with 23 different groups setting rules on their
own in individual regions how hard it would be to access that
funding. Community college programs are often continuing
education programs, and, therefore, aren't allowed in some of
these other programs because they are not curriculum
development. So resolving those issues would be key.
We also work with the DOD Skill Bridge Program. DOD Skill
Bridge allows service members to train while they are leaving
the military, which is a great benefit to us because ewe can
get some access to their services and skills.
Anyway, I would like to thank you for your time today.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak, and I look forward to
your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Simpson follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Rush. I want to thank you, and the Chair now recognizes
Ms. Colon de Mejias for 5 minutes for purposes of an opening
statement.
STATEMENT OF LETICIA COLON de MEJIAS
Ms. Colon de Mejias. Honorable Chairman Rush, Ranking
Member Upton, and members of the subcommittee, I am Leticia
Colon de Mejias of Energy Efficiency Solutions, policy cochair
of the Home Performance Coalition.
I founded Energy Efficiencies Solutions in 2010 in Windsor,
Connecticut. My company has completed weatherization and
comprehensive energy efficiency upgrades to over 12,000
Connecticut homes and over 10 million square feet of
multifamily housing. In addition, we have served churches,
schools, and municipalities, and reduced energy demand and
consumption in those buildings and communities.
As the policy cochair of the Home Performance Coalition, I
helped to identify policies and opportunities to advance the
energy efficiency and home performance industries. We create
local and well-paying jobs across every State in the Nation
while simultaneously making our building stock more efficient,
safe, and comfortable, and affordable by reducing the energy
bills for millions of Americans in businesses.
In addition to my work in the building science and energy
sector, I have also worked as a workforce consultant for 22
years. I have been the recipient of national awards for the
Department of Energy and the Department of Education. And I
have worked in engaging urban and minority populations and STEM
education as it relates to energy literacy, civic engagement,
and fiscal responsibility.
I have personally trained over 150 people for jobs in the
green industry in relationship to efficiency and renewable
resources. I am honored to be here to testify in front of you
today in support of the Blue Collar and Green Collar Job
Development Act of 2019.
As a female minority contractor and a small business owner,
I am here to tell you that the energy efficiency doesn't have a
jobs problem. We have lots of jobs to fill. The problem that we
have is finding workforce that are ready and trained and
certified to work in our industry.
Efficiency, while not as sexy as solar and wind, is simply
efficient. It gets the job done. And conservation is simply a
conservative way to reduce our energy demands and lower bills
for all Americans.
We need the resources to help train our existing employees
and to keep them up to date on their certifications and
technologies and health and safety measures to make America's
building stock great. What we need is a comprehensive
nationwide program to improve education for the workers and
efficiency and clean energy industries, including
manufacturing, engineering, construction, and building
retrofits. This is exactly what the Blue Collar to Green Collar
Jobs Initiative would do.
The energy efficiency and renewable energy industries
represent a growing workforce, and in 2018 the energy
efficiency jobs in America, the E4TheFuture report, reports
that over 2.25 million Americans work in the energy efficiency
industry. Efficiency is literally the fastest-growing job
sector, adding new jobs which outnumber elementary and middle
school teachers, nearly double, and law enforcement--and double
the law enforcement officers that we have.
More importantly, these jobs are local and cannot be
outsourced, and 99 percent of U.S. counties have energy
efficiency jobs. We have a real need to ramp up the
implementation of workforce programs and prepare career
changers like myself--women and veterans that I employ--and
underrepresented minority and at-risk populations for the jobs
that exist already today. We need to fill these roles to meet
our Nation's demand for reliable and resilient energy
production.
I have served as the policy cochair for the Connecticut
Workforce Consortium for 5 years. In this role, I have heard
countless business owners explain the difficulties in hiring
staff which have proper credentials and training to work in
this industry. Many of these businesses are small. In fact, the
majority of efficiency businesses across the country have fewer
than 20 employees. I myself employ 22.
These small businesses are the backbone of our country, and
they are the ones that are in need of assistance when it comes
to making new hires and investing in education and training for
these employees and incumbent workers.
One of the main pillars of the Blue to Green Collar Jobs
Act is an energy workforce grant program which would provide
assistance to businesses seeking to educate and train new hires
or help existing employees move into higher level jobs. By
covering the wages for these workers during the time they are
receiving training, the program will significantly help small
and medium-sized businesses invest in their employees.
These are considered OGT training funding jobs, and I have
personally myself participated in these programs and hired
people. I have some people who still work for me 10 years
later.
Of particular importance, it is--I am pleased to present
this legislation which gives priority to businesses who recruit
employees from local communities, minority groups, women, and
veterans. These are often hardest working people in our
society, and they have already vested interest in bettering
their communities. With the proper training, they can excel to
positions in our economy and get off of things like subsidy,
but we need to do this broadly as a nation.
In addition to helping the businesses invest in their
employees, we need to take action to engage young people and
today's youth who will be tomorrow's workforce in the STEM
education fields. As a contractor, I have spent 22 years
encouraging underrepresented groups and ethnic minorities and
women to enter the science and technology, engineering, and
math fields.
Through the Green Eco Warriors, which I serve as the
president and cofounder, I have helped over 10,000 children in
over 100 United States schools participate in these programs.
It is important that we continue mentorship and training to
increase emerging clean energy and efficiency in our economy.
We must work together nationally on these goals, and I
fully support the objectives embodied in the Blue to Green
Collar Jobs Act. The goals in this program included will
support economic growth and energy security in our Nation, and
we will enhance the ability of businesses to invest in
employees. And when we invest in our youth and employees, we
prepare them meaningfully to contribute to our economy and our
Nation, and that is a win for all of us.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Colon de Mejias follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Rush. Now I recognize Ms. Pramaggiore for 5 minutes for
the purposes of an opening statement.
STATEMENT OF ANNE R. PRAMAGGIORE
Ms. Pramaggiore. Thank you, sir. Good morning, Chairman
Rush. Thank you for the warm welcome. Exelon is delighted to
serve the great city of Chicago, as well as our other great
cities and communities, including the District of Columbia now.
Good morning, Congressman Upton, and members of the
committee. Exelon operates 6 utilities, is the largest operator
of nuclear plants in the United States, and participates in
retail energy markets in 48 States. I lead Exelon's 6 utilities
which deliver electricity and natural gas to approximately 10
million customers.
We appreciate very much the opportunity to share our
perspective today as your committee explores expanding
opportunities in the energy field through the Blue Collar to
Green Collar Jobs Act. We see tremendous opportunity in our
industry as we transform the electric grid for the 21st
century, and we are enthusiastically committed to creating
pathways for the diverse people of the communities we serve.
The electric power industry is a major economic engine for
America. In addition to its role supporting every other sector
of the economy, electric power generates significant economic
activity in its own right, providing some 2.7 million jobs and
$880 billion of economic impact.
This is a snapshot of our industry as it exists today, but
this industry is anything but static. In fact, it is
reinventing itself to the traditional tenets of reliable, safe,
and affordable power. The advances of the 21st century require
we add the features of clean, resilient, and connected--
connected to more and more devices and uses to meet the
country's needs.
This is nothing short of a transformation that will require
both retooling our current workforce and cultivating a
workforce of the future with new skills and talents. In the
next 10 years, job requirements in the electric power industry
will include a need for more engineers to design a new grid to
accommodate solar, wind, storage, and other clean technologies;
information technology experts, skilled high voltage
technicians who understand digital as well as analog
technology; solar installers, wind turbine technicians, and
energy efficiency experts and technicians. In other words, we
need STEM workers, and increasingly we need skilled craft
workers, particularly in clean energy.
At Exelon, we are committed to diversity in our company and
industry, and that commitment drove us to launch Chicago
Construct, a unique job training program that increases skilled
labor employment opportunities in the utility and construction
arena for minorities in the Chicago region.
More than 500 participants have completed the construct
program in its 6 years of existence, and 80 percent of those
participants were offered jobs by our utility or other
construction companies that work with us and participate in the
program.
Right here in Washington, Pepco recently partnered with the
district leadership to launch the DC Infrastructure Academy,
similarly preparing District residents for well-paying careers
in the electric utility industry. PECO has a similar program in
Philadelphia, in partnership with the community colleges for
gas industry workers.
Another aspect of our commitment to developing the
workforce of the future is increasing educational opportunities
for women and minorities in STEM fields. Six years ago, we
launched the Ice Box Derby, a summer program in which teams of
young ladies from our communities are given the engineering
task of turning recycled refrigerators into electric race cars
and racing them at the end of the summer project.
Delmarva Power has worked with Delaware State to create a
renewable engineering program, and BG&E in Baltimore has
launched a successful internship program for high schoolers in
Baltimore City.
As we work to build the workforce of the future, we welcome
the support offered in this bill. The national effort laid out
in the Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Act will help to ensure
we have a diverse workforce with the right skill sets to help
build this bold, new energy future.
Innovation of necessity requires diversity. A diverse group
of people sharing ideas and innovating together is truly the
21st century's competitive edge. The transformation of this
industry creates the need. The technical nature of the
transformation means the jobs have a future, and the fact that
this is occurring in the ubiquitous electric energy industry
means the impacts will be seen in every U.S. community.
Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Pramaggiore follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Rush. I want to thank all of the witnesses for their
opening statement. We have now concluded opening statements,
and now we will move to Member questions. Each Member will have
5 minutes to ask questions of our witnesses, and I will begin
by recognizing myself for 5 minutes.
Ms. Pramaggiore, Exelon is one of the leading companies
that have not only talked the talk but have actually invested
its own money and resources into making sure that there is
diversity in the ranks of a skilled labor workforce. Thus,
Exelon knew the concept of training historically overlooked and
underserved segments of the population, as our bill does, as
solely a moral or social issue. Or is it preparing qualified
minority women, veterans, and other targeted candidates in a
way that is--for you is just good business sense?
Ms. Pramaggiore. Thank you, sir. At Exelon, we believe that
diversity in our workforce is all of the above. It is the right
thing to do for our communities, but it is also smart business.
We are entering, and in actually, a knowledge-based economy.
Innovation is the coin of the realm. It is what will allow our
economy to excel in the future.
You don't get innovation without diversity. If you put the
same people in a room together who have the same perspective on
the world, you are not going to create and innovate. And so we
think it is critically important to have this diversity in our
workforce. And when we think about innovation, it is not just
about creating technology, it is about the very smart people,
as Mr. Simpson indicated, who are out climbing poles and on the
line who can figure out a smarter, more efficient way to do
something to improve a process.
So we need innovation in every part of our business, and we
think diversity is crucial to that.
Mr. Rush. As I stated in my opening statement, Exelon is
one of the most forward-looking utilities in our Nation. And
you mentioned in your statement the connected communities of
the future, which is located in my home district. And I look
forward to highlighting this activity and this project.
And you will host the Nation's first microgrid cluster, if
I am not mistaken. And this project, the connected community
project of the future, will help example the effectiveness of
micro grids as a means for enhancing grid resiliency while also
utilizing what you have termed to be community energy
empowerment zones.
Can you briefly discuss the concept of utilizing local
talent, such as the Ideathon, where scholarships are awarded to
prize winners at local schools as a way to foster excitement
around energy and STEM fundamentals?
Ms. Pramaggiore. Yes. Thank you. We view that our industry
has not only technical and economic impacts but social impacts
as well. And we have a project in the Bronzeville neighborhood,
south of the Loop in Chicago, to build the world's first micro
grid cluster. We actually have a grant from the Department of
Energy. We are building a micro grid, which is a small self-
sufficient grid, in the Bronzeville neighborhood.
It will connect to a campus micro grid at Illinois
Institute of Technology. The two micro grids will actually be
able to dispatch generation back and forth, and it is a very
new and innovative project. The idea is that if you have
disruptions on the grid, you can actually isolate portions of
the grid to make the grid more resilient.
We looked at this project as very much an exciting
technical project, but we also wanted to involve the community.
So we worked in a number of different programs. We have a ride
sharing program for seniors, electric vehicles, partnered with
electric vehicle company to do that. We have used diverse
engineering talent to help us design this micro grid from the
local Chicago community.
And we launched an Ideathon at one of the local schools
involving about 8 of the area high schools, bringing in high
schoolers to form teams, working with teachers as well as ComEd
and Exelon engineers to create projects and compete for
scholarship money.
So we have already created a curriculum at Dunbar High
School around the micro grid. It is a 70-hour curriculum. So we
are really looking to take this exciting technical project that
is occurring in the community and involve the whole community
and be able to bring--you know, bring our kids into this new
energy world.
Mr. Rush. My time is up. The Chair now recognizes the
ranking member, Mr. Upton, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Upton. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I want to
thank all of you for your testimony. There is no question that
we need to increase STEM education. We know the real need to
increase diversity, and we also know the opportunities that
should be there as we look to jobs in the future and the need
for qualified folks to be able to tackle those jobs and to earn
good wages for their families.
A couple of questions. Mr. Simpson, I was prompted by your
introduction. I know that your company, Pike, was not
associated at all with Whitefish, but there were a number of us
on this committee on a bipartisan trip that went down to Puerto
Rico shortly after the hurricane, and we saw firsthand the
devastation that was there. I think we were all appalled by the
lack of progress to really connect people back with the
difficulties that I think still remain there.
You talked a little bit about Pike being a company that
works with putting lines underground as well, and I think for a
number of us that witnessed what went on in Puerto Rico, you
know, this is going to probably happen again at some time in
the future. And wouldn't it be a lot smarter to actually build
these lines underground than having them exposed to the
elements that we saw with the devastation that was there?
Did you all actually do any underground work in trying to
put Puerto Rico back together again as it related to the power
structure there?
Mr. Simpson. Sir, to my knowledge, no. We were rebuilding
the grid that was already in existence, so we weren't doing
modifications or changes necessarily.
Mr. Upton. Did anyone ask, or did you all raise your paw
and say, you know, this is something that might be worthwhile
to do?
Mr. Simpson. I am not aware, sir.
Mr. Upton. OK. Maybe if you could come back to us?
Mr. Simpson. Absolutely.
Mr. Upton. And I know this is a little bit--was out of
bounds from your testimony today. In your testimony, you gave
an example about commercial driver's licenses where veterans
could get a waiver based on their military experience. I think
that is a very good idea as we try to encourage vets to get
into this sector.
What are some of the other areas perhaps, beyond that, that
we might be able to make a difference that would involve and
encourage more veterans to be involved?
Mr. Simpson. Sir, I think if you look at the educational
system itself, if you look at the Workforce Innovation
Opportunity Act, and the uses of those funds, and identify
specifically that veterans entering into an energy type of a
curriculum would be allowed to use those funds whether it is at
a curriculum-based program or a continuing education program,
that the funds would still be available, that that would make a
huge difference. And it is money that is already set aside
through the Department of Labor to fund this training.
So it is just tweaking the way we use the funds that are
already available. Other things, the GI Bill. The GI Bill
doesn't currently allow the use of funds from the GI Bill for
continuing education type courses. They have to be degree-
granting types of courses. So our GI Bill is actually forcing
people to go to college for a degree that they don't
necessarily want, just to attain the job skills to get into the
workforce.
And then, of course, with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, the waiver that you discussed for the CDL, that
waiver is only good for 12 months. If I drove a truck for 10
years in the military, it is very doubtful in the 12 months
that I am going to forget how to drive that truck, yet my
skills have to be qualified very quickly or I lose the
opportunity to attain that CDL.
So I think expanding the opportunity to get the CDL not
only to different populations in the military--I was supply
chain. My job is not truck driver, but I assure you most of my
guys had CDL-type licenses to operate equipment because it was
required to move things around in theater.
Mr. Upton. Thank you. Ms. Mehnert, congratulations on what
you have done, and your daughter is waking up now. What are
some of the greatest challenges that you see to try and
increase women in the workforce in this field? You--as one that
has gone from a really large company to what you are doing
now--what are some of the things that we can do to encourage
more women to participate?
Ms. Mehnert. Really, the number one answer is visibility. I
am often struck by the lack of knowledge around what
opportunities exist, what skills are required. So the joke is,
everyone thinks I am an engineer. I am actually educated as a
journalist by background, so I tell people I am a people
engineer, and I make it my business, you know, to learn, to
show, you know, curiosity, to ask questions.
It wasn't until I went to an offshore rig, lived in a man
camp literally, and had been to petrochemical facilities and
sites all over the world that I truly had an appreciation for
what it takes out of a very complicated value chain to get
energy to live, and why I did a study not too long ago that
looked at perceptions, positive perceptions of industries as a
whole.
And it is probably no surprise to anyone in this room that
the tech industry is seen as the most popular place, you know,
for anyone to work. But at the end of the day, energy drives
those things. And I just think that when we talk to young
people, when we talk to just--you know, the population at large
does not understand what it takes to get energy to the
doorstep, and the more technology we use, the more we expect,
you know, the more things we do, people need to really
understand that.
So I think visibility of the opportunities and really
driving people to understand that this is a great place to work
and it is a meaningful place to work.
Mr. Upton. Thank you. I know my time has expired. Thank
you.
Mr. Rush. The Chair now recognizes the chairman of the full
committee for 5 minutes for questioning.
Mr. Pallone. Thank you, Chairman Rush. And I want to stress
how important this hearing is, and I am pleased we are able to
continue--can you hear me? All right. Well, let me just--I just
thank you, Chairman Rush, for continuing--starting and
continuing the committee's efforts to expand training and
promote diversity. I know we have done this on a bipartisan
basis always, and he has always been out front on it.
But let me start with Ms. Pramaggiore. In your testimony,
you discussed the need to focus on clean energy jobs, and I
thought it was interesting when you mentioned that consumer
preference is driving companies like yours to make cleaner
energy choices. And as a result of those trends, the vast
majority of job growth in the energy sector currently comes
from clean energy jobs.
So just a few questions. Where are you currently seeing the
largest share of job growth at your company? How is that
focused on newer and expanding technology, such as renewable
energy or grid modernization, for example?
Ms. Pramaggiore. Thank you, sir. We have clean energy,
distributed energy, coming on to our systems across all of our
6 utilities, and that requires us to rethink how we are
designing the system. The system has to be much more dynamic.
It has to be much more automated as we think about having
variable resources on the system that are not always there, and
so you have to adjust the grid to take them when they are there
and adjust when they are not.
And so to answer your question, we are looking for--we
always have job growth in the skilled craft areas, and skilled
craft who understand analog as well as digital technologies is
going to be important in the future. Data scientist is a huge
area for us. We now have sensors all over the grid that tell us
what is going on in a way that we didn't before.
We have to be able to take that information in and do
something with it in a very short order. And so data scientists
who can help us crunch that data are very important, and there
is a shortage of data scientists in the United States. We need
power systems engineers who also understand information
technology. Those are some of the big areas from the utility
side of the business that we are in need of as we bring on
these new types of resources onto the system.
Mr. Pallone. And I assume that you will tell me, but those
are the areas where we need the--we should focus the training,
correct, in those areas you just mentioned?
Ms. Pramaggiore. For our business as the utility, but you
have a tremendous number of companies out there who are in the
business, in the solar business, in the storage business, in
energy efficiency.
My company, through our multiple utility, spends $600
million a year on energy efficiency programs that help
customers reduce their bill and control their energy usage.
They are hugely important. We don't do that work ourselves. We
hire other companies who bring in those workers. So there is a
whole universe of connected companies that will need--you know,
need workers who can do the installation of solar, energy
efficiency work in homes, and that sort of work.
Mr. Pallone. Now, is that a different challenge to build
the workforce for--you know, for offshore wind or more
efficiency, you know, the efficiency jobs that you are talking
about as opposed to, you know, more established technologies
like coal and natural gas? Does that involve a different
challenge?
Ms. Pramaggiore. Well, I think because they are new, you
know, we have got a pretty good, you know, track record in the
industry of producing the kinds of skill sets that serve the
grid that we have and the kinds of resources that we have--
nuclear, you know, coal, gas. These new resources, they are
new, so you just need to develop that pipeline. I would say
that is the only difference. I don't think the skill sets are
particularly unique, but they just--we haven't had that
pipeline in the past.
Mr. Pallone. But is it important for us to--because my time
is running out--is it important for us to focus in building a
workforce on those newer industries, renewables, efficiency, as
opposed to emphasizing, you know, the legacy sectors at this
point in order to be successful and create a workforce?
Ms. Pramaggiore. Well, I think you need both. I think there
is momentum in the legacy sectors. You have got that sort of
foundation. I think the new sectors, you know, require some
momentum, a push behind them, and that would be--you know, that
would be the difference.
Mr. Pallone. OK. Thanks so much.
Ms. Pramaggiore. Thank you.
Mr. Pallone. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rush. The Chair now recognizes Mrs. McMorris Rodgers
for 5 minutes.
Mrs. McMorris Rodgers. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you,
everyone, for being here. I appreciate the witnesses and
hearing each of your perspectives, especially on the importance
of green energy and the infrastructure and the workforce
necessary to meet our Nation's energy needs.
I am a proud supporter of a wide variety of clean energy
initiatives, including hydro power, which is--it plays a
dominant role in my district in eastern Washington, as well as
all across the country. And clean, renewable, reliable hydro
power I believe needs to remain part of the solution as we have
these discussions moving forward. It also is very important in
many of the rural communities that I represent.
I also appreciated hearing your thoughts on how we improve
diversity in the energy sector, and I wanted to ask a question
of Ms. Mehnert. Really applaud your leadership at Pink Petro.
It was great to hear of your work, and really focusing on
addressing the lack of diversity within the energy companies.
Appreciate you working also on an all-of-the-above energy
approach. So I know that we would like to have--we are not
going to hear from DOE today, and I think that we should have
included them. I am hopeful that my colleagues across the aisle
will open up this process as we consider this legislation to be
more inclusive of women in energy.
As a woman that works every day to make her mark in a
traditionally male-dominated field, I believe it is crucial to
support those who serve as role models and encourage young
women in this country to strive for jobs that are typically
found in the male-dominated fields.
So to Ms. Mehnert, as a woman with a background in oil and
gas, how do you recommend--I know you have spoken some to that,
but I just would like to give you some more time. Any specific
recommendations on how we open up traditionally male-dominated
fields to women? And especially those in the rural areas. What
kind of approach do you believe is most valuable in targeting
women and other minorities who are underrepresented in the
energy sector?
Ms. Mehnert. Thank you so much for the question. I believe
engagement is key, having face-to-face conversations. A number
of years ago when I worked for Shell, we did a 50-city tour,
and we had conversations with Americans. We had conversations
with people to try to understand their perceptions.
I think the way to reach people, too, is through social
media. We live in a world where information is ongoing.
Information is more readily available today than it has been in
the past. And so I think that it is key that we use digital to
reach folks, but also have real, honest conversations about
these opportunities and make those opportunities available and
visible to those communities.
Mrs. McMorris Rodgers. You spoke about the importance of
role models and mentors and the work that you are doing there.
I have two young daughters. They are 8 and 5. And part of what
I have learned is the importance of reaching our girls younger
and introducing them to what is available much younger.
I really applaud your work to create this Lean In Energy
mentorship program, which is really trying to reach women and
partner them with the mentors. I would like to just hear you
talk a little bit more about how you have gone about recruiting
both the mentors and the mentees, how do you go about
identifying individuals to serve as mentors, and those that
wish to be mentees.
Ms. Mehnert. So thank you for the question. When I launched
Pink Petro, what we found was that women wanted access to
mentors and mentees, and we--I decided that because I am a for-
profit company that mentoring was not something that I was
going to, you know, commercially monetize.
And so we sought to develop a nonprofit organization that
all companies could participate in funding, and what we did was
we flew to Silicon Valley, I met with a number of technology
companies, and through my own experience with Pink Petro what
we learned was that technology can connect.
So we have been able to use social media to get the word
out. What we have found, interestingly enough, is we have--10
percent of our community are male mentees. So it is kind of
interesting when you use technology to harness the power of
diversity, bringing people together, accessibility. It is a
pretty powerful outcome to be able to bring folks together.
So we just launched the platform a few months back, and we
are in our first round right now and I look forward to getting
more results as we progress.
Mrs. McMorris Rodgers. That is great. Great to hear. I,
first of all, appreciate that my parents always encouraged me
that I could be anything that I wanted to be. But I am also
grateful for the male mentors in my life and believe that we
need both, and we need those role models and those that
dedicate to that next generation. So thank you all very much.
Mr. Rush. The Chair now recognizes Mr. Doyle for 5 minutes.
Mr. Doyle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you and
Ranking Member Upton for calling the hearing today. Boy, I tell
you, workforce development in Pittsburgh, we have 9,000 jobs
open that aren't being filled because we don't have people with
the skill sets that are needed to fill those jobs. And I can't
tell you how frustrating that is when we see this disconnect
between what--you know, the jobs that are out there and the
skill sets people need, and we are not making those marriages.
I had convened a group of 30 CEOs in my city, and I asked
them what kept them awake at night, you know, taxes, government
regulation. It was none of those things. It was--one CEO
pointed at another and said, ``I am afraid he is going to steal
my employees.'' That is how desperate the situation gets.
But we also realize, you know, we have universities like
Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh that have these
great programs in technology, but you have got to get to these
kids in grade school. That is what I think especially in the
underrepresentative communities. Young people don't understand
what a career in STEM looks like because maybe nobody in their
neighborhood or in their house is in that field.
So how do we expose young people, especially in
underrepresentative communities, to STEM? And what can we be
doing--and maybe I will start with you, Ms. Pramaggiore. What
can businesses like yours do to partner with early education
centers to start to introduce these kinds of programs at the
grade school level, so that as children go through the
process--because a lot of STEM, you know, starts with very
simple things at an early age, that it keeps building upon it,
and it--you know, it puts more people into that track where
they can be trainable.
So what can business--because that is what I said to the
CEOs. I said, ``This is a problem. What are you doing about it?
You know, how are you reaching out into these communities and
getting them?'' So I am just curious. You have got a very
progressive company that has done a lot of these things, and I
am curious to hear what business can do to expand those kind of
programs.
Ms. Pramaggiore. I think we absolutely have a
responsibility here. You know, we have done a lot of research
on why women and people of color aren't in the STEM field. I
call it the three A's--awareness, access to educational
opportunities, and what I call attitude, which is really about,
do I see myself in that industry? Do I feel like I have the
confidence to make a step into that kind of an industry? And
those are the three things that tend to develop that we see
that you have to--you know, you have to cut through.
And I absolutely agree it starts very young. One of the
things that, you know, we have studied is the fact that
summertime is so critical for young people, that kids who get
experiential learning and opportunities and spend their
summers, you know, being stimulated do so much better than kids
who don't have those opportunities.
One of the reasons why we started some of the summer
programs that I referred to, the Ice Box Derby, it is for girls
a little bit older. We start in middle school into high school,
but to bring these kids in in the summer and give them an
experiential learning, that access to experiential learning
awareness that there is these jobs out there.
And then, finally, the confidence. They meet with other,
you know, professionals, who they can relate to and work with
them. So we are doing that at the high school level, middle
school level. We have educational programs that get out into
the elementary schools. We work to help develop curriculum that
we then train teachers and provide to elementary and middle
schools.
So we are looking to--you know, to encourage--you know,
raise awareness, provide educational opportunities for younger
and younger people, and I completely agree you have got to get
to them early, and the summertime becomes critically important.
So we do--you know, we work on programs that keep these kids
engaged over the summer.
Mr. Doyle. Yes. And I think they need to see what a career
in these fields looks like. I remember the first time I went
into Google in Pittsburgh. They have a large presence in our
city, and the first thing I noticed when I walked in there,
they had a pool table and a pinball machine, and they ate for
free. And I was thinking, this is a cool place to work.
So what do you have to know to work at a place like this? I
will tell you, if grade schools were taking kids through
companies like that, a lot of kids would be saying, ``What have
I got to do to work at a company like this?'' And I do--I think
that is so important that we start to reach down at the lower
grade levels and make these matches.
And it also seems to me that, you know, community colleges
and other institutions in the area I think need to do a better
job talking to employers and saying, you know, what are you
looking for? A lot of these jobs don't require a graduate
degree of Carnegie Mellon, but they do require some specialized
training that some people can get in a 2-year program, and then
go outside and actually get a job that pays a family-sustaining
wage.
I see a lot of kids going to college with bachelor's
degrees in journalism--just kidding--and, you know, $30-or-
40,000 of student loan debt on them, and they can't get a job
that pays any money is the problem.
Ms. Pramaggiore. If I can respond, I think businesses are
becoming more and more aware of community college
opportunities, to have those, you know, more truncated degrees,
but that actually end up with some sort of certificate that
allows somebody to go out and get a good-paying job. I think we
are getting better at that. I think we have got a ways to go.
Mr. Rush. The Chair now recognizes Mr. Olson for 5 minutes.
Mr. Olson. I thank the Chair. To start out the first
subcommittee hearing in a very bipartisan manner, I want to
thank Mr. Doyle. He is a proud cosponsor with myself of a bill
that will be dropped tomorrow that is designed to help FERC
fill some very needed open positions for pipeline safety.
We are doing this, but I gave them a chance to charge
market salaries, give market salaries to FERC employees, so
they don't lose them to the private sector. This will be
dropped tomorrow, so thank you, Mr. Doyle.
Also, congratulations, Chairman, on your ascension to the
chairmanship of this committee.
Welcome to all the witnesses. A special welcome for Mrs.
Mehnert. You and I have a same bond--Rice University. I know
you are hearing some tough times. November, LSU 72, Bill
Flores' A&M 74 in seven overtimes. January, uncalled mugging
that cost the Saints a chance to play the Patriots in the Super
Bowl. And now you are here in the primetime for crawfish boils
back home.
So thank you very much, and thank you, Ally, for joining
your mom this morning. She dropped off one more time.
[Laughter]
Mr. Olson. This bill is important for me because I
represent the most diverse district in America, Texas-22. The
census that will come out in 2022 after the census is taken in
2020, we expect my home county of Fort Bend to be 25-25-25-25
percent divided equally between Asians, Hispanics, African
Americans, and Caucasians. And that is why I want everybody,
regardless of creed or religion or race, to have a good, high-
paying job in the energy sector.
And I am proud to have local partner schools, like Wharton
County Junior College, Alvin Community College, and San Jacinto
College, involved in this endeavor to open those jobs up to all
colors. These schools are running 2-year programs that give all
Texans a chance to learn key skills and get work without going
to a 4-year university.
For example, for this upcoming fall 2019 enrollment, about
58 percent of STEM majors at Alvin Community College are
minorities. Minorities, 58 percent. At San Jacinto College this
past fall, that was almost 80 percent. That is incredible. That
is Texas-22.
But, of course, Mr. Chairman, we have some work to do here
in DC. I am still reviewing your new bill. There were big
changes from the last Congress, but I hope we can come together
and get something done on this important issue.
I want to ask you all--I will start off with you, Mrs.
Mehnert--one theme here is over and over to get kids into STEM,
we have two challenges. First of all, they don't think it is
cool. It is cool to go to Wall Street. It is cool to go to
Silicon Valley. It is not cool to go into energy. It is low
tech. It is not low tech. We all know that.
Also, as was mentioned, we try to capture them at the
college level. That is way, way, way too late. So my question
is: have you all talked to local school districts, local--kind
of get them engaged, try to catch maybe middle school, maybe
elementary school.
Mrs. Mehnert, you are up first, so just go around the table
there.
Ms. Mehnert. Great. So I absolutely agree we need to reach
sooner. My daughter is 8. I talk about energy all the time. I
think the two DOEs--the Department of Education and the
Department of Energy--need to talk together about elementary
level education, right? We need to look at what we are
teaching, how we are exposing kids.
We have great schools in Texas, the energy high school. We
have a number of ISDs that have STEM-focused education. It is
too late, though. It is way too late to reach kids in high
school. We have got to get to kids much earlier if we think
that we are going to be successful at getting them in energy.
Mr. Olson. Mr. Campbell?
Mr. Campbell. Yes. I was just going to add, kids love
technology, and once they--I think the biggest thing is access.
We work with a lot of schools. I do a lot of mentoring with
elementary school and middle school students. And once you can
do the tie-in to say, you know, this is how your iPad is
powered, this is how your PlayStation is powered, they get it.
I think the biggest thing is showing up.
And to your second part, we have to make it cool. And one
of the things, we work very closely with the Dream Corps, and
they have done an excellent job of doing unique events where
they will bring in diverse artists to reach a younger
population, and there is emerging things like the Broccoli City
Festival in DC, which brings over 100,000 people yearly to talk
about sustainability in energy.
So I just think there is a tremendous amount of
opportunity, but we have to show up, and kids need to see role
models and really break it down to them. And once they get
that, they are very engaged.
Mr. Olson. And one form, too, back home is robotics
competitions. Kids do these amazing things with robots. They
get involved in science, technology. I played a banana peel
piano, banana peels, dried banana peels wired up with wires. I
played Chopsticks at a local elementary school.
So thank for your time. I am out. I yield back.
Mr. Rush. Mr. McNerney is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. McNerney. Well, I thank the chairman. It is always
tough to follow the gentleman from Texas, but I will give my
best at it there, Pete.
I thank the witnesses this morning. Ms. Pramaggiore, given
the lack of new nuclear construction, can we ensure that there
is a trained workforce for advanced nuclear such as small
modular reactors?
Ms. Pramaggiore. So we are, obviously, quite interested in
that as a business--our nuclear skill sets--and we do fund
nuclear scholarships for engineers to ensure that, you know, we
have got a strong pipeline. But it is something that concerns
us. It concerns us as the nuclear power industry wanes.
I don't think that that is a skill set that we want to
concede to the rest of the world. I think that we want to
maintain our dominance, our leadership, in nuclear skill sets,
and I think it is a very important area. As I said, we devote a
significant amount of dollars to scholarships to bring people
through the nuclear programs and the nuclear engineering
programs, but I think it is something that we should pay
attention to.
Mr. McNerney. Thank you. Well, in California, the wildfires
are an increasing threat, and I would like to expand the
definition of workers in the energy to include jobs that make
sure our system is resilient, such as clearing out underbrush
around our transmission lines. Can you speak about the
diversity in that sort of job?
Ms. Pramaggiore. So vegetation management is, you know,
what we would call that, and it is very important to manage,
you know, the vegetation around our lines and our systems.
Obviously, California has felt that, you know, quite acutely,
but we see that across the United States.
You know, there is a fair amount of diversity in those
ranks, but I do think there is opportunity there as well, and I
think that we will see those businesses grow also. One of the
things we have looked for in the vegetation management ranks is
to find additional--there are some companies that are quite
strong and quite large that do this, and, you know, we would
like to see--you know, we like to help companies grow. So the
opportunity to grow small businesses, diverse businesses, I
think that is an area of tremendous opportunity.
Mr. McNerney. Thank you. Ms. Truong, do you have any data
on the number of jobs per unit of energy produced in the
renewable or clean energy fields versus the fossil fuels?
Ms. Truong. That is a level of metric I don't have access
to. But I will say to your question around, how do we actually
begin to address the opportunities that we are seeing in
California where we literally saw Paradise burning, and the
opportunities for us to diversify the workforce for a State as
diverse as California.
I think what we need to begin thinking about is really, how
do we create the supply and demand that we need in order for
this to happen? In the policy realm, we really need to think
about diversifying our supply from grade school on to on-the-
job experience with employers to others. We can create a demand
for diverse workforce.
But having policies that actually incentivize that, at the
school level, with on-the-job employment, with on-the-job
internship and opportunities, to making sure that we are really
demanding that through policies, having a demand for renewable
energy, having a demand for clearing the underbrushes around
the grids, having a demand for those, actually creates the
opportunities for the people who actually get trained to get
jobs that are going to be created by these employers.
Mr. McNerney. Thank you. Ms. Colon de Mejias, what does
certification in energy efficiency look like? Is that sort of a
degree, or what does it--what do you mean when you say
``certification''?
Ms. Colon de Mejias. So there are multiple careers in
energy efficiency. HVAC is a career, an insulator is a career,
energy assessment is a career, and each of those has their own
set of certifications. So, for example, there is a Building
Performance Institute that certifies building scientists as
analysts or envelope specialists. That ensures that when you
are running a building that you take into account all of the
factors that it requires.
Energy is something that, like air, we don't really think
about, but we are using it from the moment that we are waking
and even while we are sleeping, right? It is a huge demand as
every part of our daily life. And so what my industry does is
look at the way that those things work together and ensure
safety and high performance. So there are all kinds of
certifications you could get in my industry.
Mr. McNerney. Thank you. Mr. Campbell, what is the match up
of employment opportunities in the energy field versus the
geographic available potential employees?
Mr. Campbell. Can you repeat the question?
Mr. McNerney. Yes, sure. What is the match up between job
opportunities in the energy field and the geographic
availability of workers to take those jobs?
Mr. Campbell. Yes. Very good question. So, I mean, there is
parts of the country that when you look at renewables that you
see more, for example, in solar, and that is more driven by
State policy, renewable portfolio standards. In California, for
example, you have a very aggressive renewable portfolio
standard. But then as parts of the country in the south, like
North Carolina, South Carolina, where they have passed better
renewable portfolio standards, that you are seeing solar there
as well, too.
But if you just take a step back and look at energy jobs in
general, you have got generation, which is all across the
country, whether it is natural gas, solar, wind, geothermal,
biomass. We have resources all throughout the country. The
delivery as far as getting that energy to consumers and
businesses, that workforce is all throughout the country.
And then we talk about storage and micro grid, and one of
the things that we haven't talked about is electrifying our
transportation sector. And that is one of the biggest sources,
if not the biggest sources, of carbon pollution. And most
utilities across the country are now looking at how to
electrify the transportation sector.
So I think all of these opportunities are geographically
constrained, I think the opportunity across the board.
Mr. McNerney. Thank you. I will yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rush. I thank the gentleman, and now will recognize Mr.
McKinley for 5 minutes.
Mr. McKinley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is something
you have been interested in I know for years, and I really
welcome having this discussion. If for no other reason, it
helps to underscore the diversity or the differences we have
between urban and rural settings, because this panel primarily
is all from urban centers. I see them from District of
Columbia, from Connecticut, California, but I have not seen it
from the coal fields.
And so my concern here is when I think about--in the
corridors of--in West Virginia, in Kentucky we have got Harlan,
Kentucky. In West Virginia, we have Gary, West Virginia, Welch.
We could go on. We could say--War, Big Chimney, Thurmond, all
of these little communities. All of you have ignored this
transition. All of you.
Where are we going to put--where are we going to train
these people for--it may be, indeed, a movement into the
renewable energy field. But are we going to do for those
communities? Companies for years have ignored them. They are
not investing in Thurmond or Welch or other--all across, not
just West Virginia, but Kentucky and Wyoming and elsewhere.
There is a reason that companies haven't located there, despite
the incentives that might be out there, as promulgated or put
forth in this legislation.
So I was hoping that we would hear how we help those
communities, because I know the chairman and I have talked
about that. How do we reach out to those people to help them
make this transition? And that transition may be, as it was in
the '50s after the war, they left and they went someplace else.
That may be the solution. They have to abandon war in Thurmond
and Big Chimney and Harlan.
I want to know who is going to buy their homes. I want to
understand what we are doing with this, because for the coal
miners and their related industries their biggest asset is
their real estate. And so when we tell them, you can get a job
in creating solar panels, but it is just not going to be in
Thurmond, so you will have to locate someplace else. What
happens to them? What happens to the community? What happens to
the school systems, the churches, the fire departments,
anything else that occurs with them, when we abandon those
communities to do our retraining for someplace else.
And we can--I know it is a noble idea to talk about the
transitioning over to the renewables, and the possibilities for
that. But I am enormously frustrated with that. I don't
understand why we are not helping to transition using the
resources and assets that we have to be able to make a better
transition from fossil fuels to that later on by doing
innovation, finding out how we use what we have cleaner and
more efficiently, but that is not the program. That is not what
I am hearing coming up in this discussion.
All of it seems to be--I know you are chomping at the bit,
and maybe I could soften it. I am just looking at a little
county, Pleasants County, West Virginia. That because of rules
and regulations that have been promulgated here, they are going
to lose a power plant there that represents 30 percent of all
of the revenue generated for that county. Thirty percent. What
are they going to do for their education system? It is just
going to collapse.
Or you can go out to Arizona to the Navajo and the Hope
Tribe, where they have a generating plant out there that is
being threatened. And we are saying they can be trained. That
is fine. But if they--what they are doing right now is 30
percent for the Navajo Tribe comes from that power plant; 85
percent the operation of the Hopi Tribe.
Folks, let's be realistic about it. These people like being
in their communities. They like being there. That is why they
are there. What are we doing to train them there? What jobs are
going to go there for them? Are we making--by this, are we
saying you have to leave your town?
I have run out of time, but, Ms. Mehnert, do you have some
thoughts?
Ms. Mehnert. I have a thought, and I think the thought is
this is the group that needs to think about that, because we
are all--we all come from a different place. We all come from
different parts of the sector. The oil and gas industry is a
boom-bust, OK? I see this all the time. We rush into an area,
right, and when prices collapse we leave.
And so I think it is something we need to think about,
working together, because over time we are going to have these
challenges of displaced workers, and we need a way to solve
that problem. But I think this is a group to ask of thinking
about what that might look like.
Mr. McKinley. You see, I am--how do we do them, train them,
so that they can work in Thurmond or War or Big Chimney, not
abandon their towns to go someplace else? That is what I have
not heard. And I hope somehow in this--as this legislation
matures over the next year or so that we will have more of an
opportunity to talk about how we take care of the folks that
are living in those towns, not about the future.
Ms. Colon de Mejias. I would like the opportunity----
Mr. Rush. Do you want to answer?
Ms. Colon de Mejias. Yes. I would love the opportunity to
respond. I haven't had much opportunity to say anything, and I
am a minority, and I am a female, and I am a business owner,
and I have trained people in workforce. It is what I do.
And the intention of this bill, to my understanding having
read it, and the summary, is that we would be looking to train
people in their communities. So Connecticut actually isn't an
urban center. It is quite suburban, and we do serve the entire
State of Connecticut. But I am not the only State that does
that. These jobs that we are talking about creating training
for, they exist already, and those people who work in
Pennsylvania or West Virginia absolutely could participate in
working in this industry and make really good earning wages.
And so the intention of this would be to engage people,
one, at a younger age in the public school system and introduce
them to science-based concepts to prepare them for the jobs;
and, two, the people who are displaced workers, it is to train
them to take the positions that are available right now today,
to be part of the community and work and engage in active----
Mr. McKinley. Ms. Colon de Mejias, I am sorry. I have run
out of time. They are already making a good wage. They are
making $80,000 a year, but because of regulations and things we
are imposing on them in Washington, they are losing their jobs.
That is why the decline in the fossil fuel industry across this
country. We are taking those wages away, and we are going to
replace them with something that is a hope that something will
happen for them.
I yield back.
Mr. Rush. Mr. Loebsack is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Loebsack. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am going to have to
look around my colleague, Ms. Barragan here, because I want to
direct my first question at least to Mr. Simpson. But before I
get to that, I would like to brag about Iowa and how well we
are doing when it comes to wind energy. We are at almost 40
percent of our electricity generated by wind.
We have got 66 solar companies, over 800 jobs. We are doing
a pretty darn good job in the State of Iowa when it comes to
renewable energy, and we do take an all-of-the-above approach
to it. We have a nuclear plant, coal-fired plants. A new
hydroelectric plant is going in in my district as we speak,
too.
But these are great jobs that get created by all of these
different approaches, you know, to our energy portfolio, but
especially in that renewable field, we are very proud of the
thousands of jobs in wind energy and solar and what have you,
as I mentioned.
Workforce development is a big issue. We started up in
northwest Iowa in 2004 at Iowa Lakes Community College. They
have a wind energy program up there, and other community
colleges throughout the State have adopted that program as
well. Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids has a big wind turbine on its
campus, and so they do train folks there.
But I want to go to Mr. Simpson to begin with. Thank you
for your service, first of all, in the Marine Corps. I did not
have the honor or privilege to serve in the military myself,
but I have a stepson and his wife who are both active duty
Marines still at Camp Pendleton, so I want to thank you very
much for that service, and your focus on veterans.
You brought up a couple of things in your testimony today.
You mentioned a veterans apprenticeship program. Can you
elaborate on that a little bit, what that is exactly?
Mr. Simpson. Yes, sir. So there are a couple. So the
military has several occupations that are recognized already by
the Department of Labor through the U.S. military
apprenticeship program where your job you do in the military
gains credited hours toward an apprenticeship.
Mr. Loebsack. As should be the case.
Mr. Simpson. So that is one of the things that already
exists. And as industries, we have the ability to implement VA
and Department of Labor approved apprenticeship programs to
train our new workforce as they come on board. So that is what
Pike has done is establish a training program approved through
Department of Labor and the Veterans Administration.
Mr. Loebsack. And you mentioned one of the roadblocks that
you face is that when you go to these different bases, each one
has sort of its own rules and regulations as to how you can
gain access; is that correct?
Mr. Simpson. That is correct, sir. As I mentioned in my
testimony, you know, as simple as North Carolina, Fort Bragg
has one set of rules, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base has
another, Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base has a different set of
rules, and then Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, 50 miles
down the road that falls under the same command, has different
rules.
Mr. Loebsack. Yes. I was on Armed Services for 8 years. I
understand your concern about the different rules, and I don't
want to put you in the hot seat too much here. It is not really
your job to figure out how the DOD should deal with this, but
do you have any thoughts about how we can standardize access
across bases? Any thoughts at all on that?
Mr. Simpson. I do, sir. I think if--when you look at the
transition program as a whole, the transition program was
developed in these halls.
Mr. Loebsack. Right.
Mr. Simpson. You all approve legislation that created a
transition program to ensure that veterans had the appropriate
skills entering the workforce to be able to attain a job or go
to college, whichever they chose to do. So those things were
created here. I think that establishing a set of core
foundational rules that allows contact between employers, the
commercial sector, and the DOD sector is the key.
Mr. Loebsack. Right.
Mr. Simpson. The opportunity to go in and present my
business to those service members as they transition, so that
they understand that you don't necessarily have to work in a
bucket truck out in the weather and all of the elements that we
work in, that you can also be an engineer, that you can be a
work management technician going into our customer's database,
pulling jobs out, and then sending those jobs to our crews that
are in the field. There are so many other opportunities than
just line work.
Mr. Loebsack. We politicians are really good at
expressing--on a bipartisan basis at expressing our concerns
for veterans and our support for veterans, but we have got to
find better ways, so that folks like you can interface with
them and get to them and have that access to them.
I am a strong supporter of community colleges. I already
mentioned some of the colleges in Iowa. I have my own saying
that community colleges are the principal intersection between
workforce development and education. Any thoughts on that? I
hate to just focus on Mr. Simpson here, but I have limited
time.
Mr. Simpson. Absolutely. I worked in workforce development
with the State of North Carolina for 2 years running a veterans
program, and in that process interacted a lot with the
community colleges, with their folks that go out and integrate
with business to identify training areas that are needed and
develop a new workforce.
So I believe that community college is a great place to
obtain the education. I think, again, the funding issue is the
problem, making the funding available so that continuing
education is acceptable as well as curriculum education.
Mr. Loebsack. Well, thank you. And thank you, Mr. Chair. I
don't want to abuse my time. I yield back. Thanks to all of the
participants here.
Mr. Rush. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Griffith is recognized
for 5 minutes.
Mr. Griffith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that.
This is an interesting and valuable topic, and I hope that we
have the opportunity to work through regular order to learn
about this bill and other workforce development programs that
already exist at DOE and other agencies. I will have some
questions for DOE when the time is right, and hopefully they
will be at another hearing and I can ask them at that time.
I also would note that if we are going to look at workforce
development in a holistic way, we should look at populations
that have seen a decline in industry jobs, such as many
localities in my district, and we need to make sure that
economic development is a part of this as well, so that we can
train folks for local jobs.
You may be hearing, you know, Mr. McKinley and I come from
States where coal has been king--or for areas where coal has
been king, so you are hearing a similar vent. I do appreciate,
Mr. Chairman, that you did include so many areas in your
development skills section of the bill, including energy
efficiency.
We actually have a group out of Christiansburg, Virginia,
that I represent, Community Housing Partners, that I toured
recently where they are going into homes and helping the people
who are doing the HVAC systems and doing the energy efficiency
at the homes, actually understand getting the certifications
that you mentioned earlier. And Ms. Colon de----
Ms. Colon de Mejias. de Mejias.
Mr. Campbell [continuing]. Mejias. Thank you. And they are
doing that there. Chemical manufacturing is listed in the bill,
and I appreciate that because just outside of my district in
Kingsport, Tennessee, we have Eastman, also in Martinsville,
but they do--in Eastman they do chemical manufacturing using
coal and natural gas as their feedstocks to make all kinds of
different plastics that we use every day.
Likewise, I would be remiss if I didn't mention oil and
natural gas, and of course the bill does include coal and
training folks for coal jobs. Mr. Olson said we have got to
convince folks that it is cool to get into energy. Folks in my
district, because of the money, if you can find a job--and they
are better today than they were a couple of years ago, but they
are paying anywhere from 75 to 90. If you get overtime, and you
work overtime, you can make $120,000 a year.
Wind and solar is great, but we have to recall that wind
and solar are paying roughly 40 to 60 if you are not one of the
top folks in the industry. So it is important to remember that.
But, still, even at that amount of money, the folks want to
stay in their communities. They love the mountains. They don't
want to leave, and they will be looking for jobs. So I am going
to ask you all how you feel this bill in particular can help,
because we have some opportunities at surface mines for wind
and solar, depending on the wind. Every mountain is different,
so you can't say you would do it on every mountain, but wind
and solar.
And then we got some bills passed last year, and I think
most people are supportive in a bipartisan fashion, for doing
closed loop pump storage inside abandoned mines. They already
have the electricity. They already have the vertical built into
a lot of the mines, and you could use the mines to use water
that is already--you don't have to look for critters. It is
already water that you are bringing in from the outside, and so
that is an opportunity.
But how do you think this bill might help that? And I will
open it up to whoever wants to answer. Mr. Campbell, you seem
rather interested, but I may have gone off topic for you.
Mr. Campbell. I am happy to start. I agree with both you
and Congressman McKinley that rural areas have been overlooked,
but I think we also have to have better public-private
partnerships, and it also includes stronger policy. Some of the
reasons in, you know, places and States that you don't see as
much solar and wind is at the State level, not being in----
Mr. Griffith. What in this bill do you think would help my
region get some of those things?
Mr. Campbell. Sure. One of the things I think directly is
not just segmenting to solar, wind, or picking winners in
technology, but training people to understand energy. What is
an energy job? When you look at utility companies, they have an
aging workforce.
Mr. Griffith. My folks understand. They understand energy
because we have natural gas, coal bed methane, and we have
coal. They understand energy, and they understand energy jobs
pay good. What we have got to do is find them a job.
Mr. Campbell. So I think we have to work together. I think
we need better policy. But on the other hand with the training
component, you also have to take a long-term view. So I talked
about like the transportation sector is coming around the
corner, so there is real-time changes that we have to prepare
the workforce for the future. Some of those jobs might not be
there now, but I think it would be shortsighted not to train
people for the jobs that are going to be there 3 years, 5
years, 10 years down the road. So----
Mr. Griffith. And I appreciate it. Can anybody else tell me
how this bill in particular might help my region on the areas
that I have touched on? Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Colon de Mejias. I would absolutely love to help you,
because efficiency is applicable to absolutely any type of
energy use.
Mr. Griffith. Everywhere. Absolutely.
Ms. Colon de Mejias. Not just buildings, not just cars, our
lights, every single thing, our heating, our cooling, our
cooking, our refrigeration. Efficiency is something that draws
down demand. It is literally the concept of using less to do
more, right? So it applies to everything.
And anyone can be trained in my industry. And so there are
entry-level jobs, and there are high-level jobs. There are jobs
at the public utilities and demand reduction in energy
efficiency, and those people can make up to $250,000 a year.
Many people don't know the industry exists and don't understand
energy.
It is great that people in the community do understand
energy, but there are so many people that have no idea where
electricity comes from. They don't understand their heating and
cooling systems, and so there are real opportunities for people
who are needing jobs to find entry-level jobs and high-level
jobs.
Mr. Griffith. And I will agree that energy efficiency is a
conservative idea, because we are conserving the energy.
I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rush. I want to thank the gentleman.
Now I will recognize Mr. Veasey for 5 minutes, and let me
take a moment to welcome you as a new member of this
subcommittee.
Mr. Veasey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the
welcome, and I just want to, again, thank the chairman, the
committee, and the witnesses today. I am really glad that we
are here discussing this bill today. I think it is very timely.
Last Congress, myself and Congressman Brendan Boyle of
Pennsylvania, we founded the Blue Collar Caucus, and there are
several members of E&C that are members of the Blue Collar
Caucus. And one of the goals that we have is to bring attention
and solutions to the dwindling career opportunities that we see
in some spheres of manufacturing and the building trades, and
see how we can increase those.
And I clearly think that there is an opportunity to
leverage our need to transition to a more sustainable energy
mix and to rethinking what a blue-collar job is. We know that a
green-collar economy is here in many aspects today, and that
that is going to continue to grow. And we have heard from
witnesses today that it is not the lack of jobs, that there are
already green-collar jobs here. We see some of those in the
Dallas/Fort Worth area.
One of those companies, Encore, is one of our electric
utilities in Dallas/Fort Worth, and the largest utility in
Texas. And right now they are preparing for the challenge of
forming a new electric fleet of vehicles. These are large EVs,
Class 6 or 8 trucks, that are going to be used for delivery
that would operate during the day and return to a central depot
to charge at night.
This overnight time capitalizes on the cheap and clean wind
energy that we have in Texas. A lot of people think of Texas as
an oil and gas State, and indeed we are, particularly in the
Permian Basin, but we are also one of the leaders on wind.
Our wind story in Texas is absolutely and unbelievably
incredible, and we have the space, obviously, to be able to
achieve a lot of that. But a lot of these vehicles are going to
be charged at night, which is when the wind is more likely to
be utilized into the grid.
The challenge, which is really the opportunity of our time,
is ensuring that we have a diverse and trained workforce that
is ready to work in these jobs. And, again, I am going to
remind everybody that a lot of these jobs are already on the
horizon, and my question to the panel is that you have all been
at the forefront of efforts to reduce the gap in training and
representation of minority groups in the clean energy
workforce.
I want to know what kind of impact could funding and
programs in a bill like Representatives Rush make in ensuring a
diverse workforce in our growing green economy.
Anybody that wants to jump in and answer could.
Ms. Colon de Mejias. Investing in education for
underrepresented populations or all people of America opens the
doors to opportunity for employment. You know, it is very hard
to get a job if you don't have the right skill set, and there
are many areas of America that currently don't offer strong
STEM courses in public schools, and there are areas in the
community colleges where there are not programs for green jobs.
And I do agree that, you know, earlier Mr. Simpson and also
Mr. Campbell mentioned that, you know, energy, basic skills and
STEM skills are applicable to any job, right? So by investing
the money on the front end, we are allowing the opportunity for
people who are not able to find employment to have access to
those jobs. And I think that is what the key part of this bill
is, is opening those doors for opportunities through education
and training.
Mr. Veasey. And I want to also remind everybody as well,
and something that I don't know--I have to leave momentarily,
and it may have been touched on, but we were in Seattle,
several members of the Congressional Black Caucus were in
Seattle a couple of years ago.
And because of the evolution in technology that is going on
right now, not only are we talking about many of these blue-
collar jobs transitioning to more green-collar type jobs, but
they are going to be white-collar positions because of
technology where people are going to see those jobs move to
blue-collar, green-collar, gray-collar type status because of
the technology, and that is something that we also need to
focused on as we talk about the various challenges and bringing
more of this technology onto the grid.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance
of my time.
Mr. Rush. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding back.
Now the Chair recognizes Mr. Bucshon for 5 minutes.
Mr. Bucshon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the
panel. It has been interesting. A couple of things quickly. Mr.
Simpson, the CDL driver's license for veterans, you probably
don't know but I had a bill many years ago that actually put
the current situation into law to streamline the process for
CDLs for veterans, and so I would be interested in the pitfalls
of what we have in place and how we can improve it. I mean,
just briefly, because I have a number of questions. I mean, we
want to--we can revise what we did years ago to improve it.
Mr. Simpson. Thank you for the question. I think that,
really, if we look at it, it is the timeline that has been
established, the 12 months in order to get certified. If you
miss that 12-month window, then your license, basically you
start over from scratch as if you had never driven a truck
before.
Mr. Bucshon. So that is the biggest----
Mr. Simpson. That is the biggest.
Mr. Bucshon [continuing]. That is the biggest deal?
Mr. Simpson. And then the MOSs, having specific MOSs
associated, the original--the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration form doesn't indicate MOSs, but when you get to
the State level in a lot of States they have indicated specific
MOSs.
So in the Marine Corps I have got one truck driver MOS, but
I have got many more people that drive trucks than just that
MOS.
Mr. Bucshon. So let me--yes. Please contact my office if
you would at some point.
Mr. Simpson. Yes, sir.
Mr. Bucshon. And send out that information to us, because
we can hopefully expand that. So thank you.
Mr. Campbell, you were talking about solar, somewhat about
solar. Many of the panelists have. But what are we doing in
trying to advance recycling of solar panels who are--that are
at the end of life? Because Europeans, for example, have that
in their process, you know, through the manufacturing of the
panels, a plan for end of life, because if you look at where we
are now, and we are going to continue to expand solar--and I am
an all-of-the-above energy supporter, even though I am in coal
country.
Is there anything anybody on the panel knows about what we
are doing for 20 to 30 years from now because with all of these
solar panels as they end their life, because right now in the
U.S. we put them in landfills. Did anybody have any--I will
start with you. Do you have any idea about what we are looking
at there?
Mr. Campbell. I am not as well-versed on the recycling, but
I can definitely circle back and find out for you.
Mr. Bucshon. Does anybody on the panel have any input on
that at all? I think that kind of proves my point, because I
have been looking at this--I mean, starting to look at this,
and I want--you know, I think if we look at the environmental
impact of any industry, right, we need to look at the industry
in total, and that includes the production of panels and the
end-of-life what we do with panels. That is true with electric
cars, too, with the batteries and all of that, and I think that
is important.
I support those industries, but we just need to recognize
that we are going to landfill hundreds of millions of tons of
solar panels, probably 25 or 30 years from now. So I support an
all-of-the-above energy. In fact, I mean, Indiana is a big
manufacturing State per capita, and I was a little disappointed
to see the new bill as introduced did not include some of the
bipartisan language we worked on regarding the fossil fuel and
industry and nuclear energy and some manufacturing.
Ms. Mehnert, who are we potentially leaving out with this
limited focus on the green-collar jobs, I mean, in this bill?
Are we leaving out anyone in what we are trying to do?
Ms. Mehnert. Yes. I believe we need to look at oil and gas,
and I also believe--when I went to research this, I actually
went to this committee's Web site page, and I didn't see the
words ``oil and gas'' even listed on the front page.
Mr. Bucshon. I think that kind of answers----
Ms. Mehnert. No. And I am glad you asked the question,
because let's face it, the word ``oil'' and the word ``gas''
and the word ``climate,'' there are all of these terms that in
our language, right, they create visceral responses when I look
back and say to myself, ``We are here because of those
things.''
And I think everyone in this room recognizes that we are in
an energy transition, and it is a great economic opportunity,
but we absolutely have to make sure that we are inclusive,
particularly when we are talking about diversity and inclusion,
you know, of folks. We have got to have folks and forums.
Mr. Bucshon. Understood. Ms. Colon de Mejias, is that
right?
Ms. Colon de Mejias. Thank you. That is perfect.
Mr. Bucshon. Yes. I would really--the energy efficiency
thing is really important, and why can't we convince some of
our citizens to look at their house and do things that improve
our energy efficiency, because we--that is struggle, right?
People just--I mean, they just won't do it. I mean, is it
money? What is--is it knowledge? What is it?
Ms. Colon de Mejias. I would love to answer you, and I have
no seconds left. But I will answer you anyway.
Mr. Bucshon. Well, with some discretion from the chairman I
think. Go ahead.
Ms. Mehnert. Is that OK? So it is a great question. Energy
efficiency is something that is very--is not talked about,
right? It is not sexy like wind or solar. It is not as cool as
an EV car. It just gets the job done. I call it the unsung
workhorse of America.
Just in my State alone, energy efficiency in the last 10
years has removed the need to build two new power plants. The
other thing about efficiency is it is comprehensive, and it is
collaborative with any type of energy source. I like to talk
about energy efficiency in a very simple way.
I say that when we create energy policy, we are not really
making sausage; we are making rice and beans. And the
efficiency is really the rice with a long-acting carbohydrate
that would sustain us as a society. And the beans are the
proteins or the energy. It is like nuclear, fossil fuels, or
renewables.
And you can write energy policy with any type of beans,
right? But if you create a dish and you have the parts that you
need, it is going to sustain you longer than if you don't think
about how you are creating the dish.
Mr. Bucshon. Thank you. My time has expired. I would like
you to expand more, but it is a very important subject. Thank
you very much for your answer.
Ms. Colon de Mejias. Thank you.
Mr. Rush. The Chair now recognizes Mr. Kennedy for 5
minutes.
Mr. Kennedy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the
witnesses for appearing today and to the committee for holding
this important hearing. I want to thank you also as well for
your perspectives and for your leading efforts to develop,
promote, and employ a diverse labor force and a growing green
economy.
I am particularly interested in the development of offshore
wind resources. We know offshore wind holds an immense
opportunity for abundant renewable energy, and that offshore
projects are in the development pipeline. Some report that ISL
New England has around 10 gigawatts of offshore wind project
development in the interconnection queue, and the lease results
from December show a significant interest in potential,
particularly off the south coast of Massachusetts, an area that
I represent.
Locally, there is already active economic mobilization from
businesses to education institutions to civic organizations, to
ensure that our region is poised to capitalize on that
potential.
Folks, it is hard to overestimate how promising this is for
cities like Fall River and New Bedford, Massachusetts, and for
communities like them around the country that have too often
been afterthoughts in a modern economy and deserve to have a
central seat at the table as these new industries emerge.
But domestic offshore U.S. wind development is in its
infancy, and as a result we don't have the robust offshore wind
workforce that is needed. I know this is a challenge that we
have to tackle locally, and we have tried to tackle locally,
and I have a few questions on that piece specifically.
So, first, this bills seeks to address the critical need
for a diverse labor force, and I want to focus on that for a
second. Ms. Truong, is that right? Close?
Ms. Truong. Yes.
Mr. Kennedy. Thank you. Forgive me. How do we ensure that
our workforce training and development efforts in this emerging
sector are inclusive, and intentionally target populations that
most need and most stand to gain from access to these new good-
paying jobs?
Ms. Truong. Well, that is a very good question. And, first,
I think what we want to start with is, how far away are we from
developing the offshore wind? We want to time the development
and the training of the workforce with the demand of the
employers that is going to be upcoming, right?
And so once we understand that, how do we make sure, then,
we are reaching out to where the diverse workforce will be?
Whether it is in schools, whether it is in middle schools, or
high schools, how to begin to provide the on-the-job training,
the internships, the apprenticeships necessary as the
employers, the offshore wind projects, are being developed at
the same time.
We want to make sure that we actually match the demand with
the supply itself. We don't want to train young people,
especially in diverse communities, for jobs that won't exist,
especially if they are going to be sacrificing other
opportunities, the opportunity costs that will entail. At the
same time, we don't want them to miss the opportunities that
will be presented in itself with the offshore wind projects. So
I think matching the supply and the demand of the employers and
the employees would be really important there.
Mr. Kennedy. And building off of that a moment, ma'am,
targeting amongst the groups that you indicated, minorities,
women, lower income communities, and other populations
currently underrepresented in the energy sector, how do we
assure that they have access to the training and employment in
that offshore--as we try to bring offshore wind to market?
Ms. Truong. Education and outreach, making sure that we are
going to where the people are, making sure that we are engaging
the community-based organizations, the workforce investment
boards, and the local communities, making sure that we are
connecting the investment in the pipelines that the potential
employees will be to the jobs, to the job market, and making
sure----
Mr. Kennedy. When you say ``we,'' do you mean through the
design of that legislation and the implementation thereof?
Ms. Truong. Absolutely.
Mr. Kennedy. OK.
Ms. Truong. Yes.
Mr. Kennedy. And forgive me, Ms. Pramaggiore?
Ms. Pramaggiore. Yes.
Mr. Kennedy. Close? Forgive me. From the utility and
resource planning perspective--and, Mr. Campbell, from the
project financier and development perspective--how do we,
simply put, make these jobs a reality?
Ms. Pramaggiore. Thank you. So we are actually thinking
about that right now. We have a utility in New Jersey, and
there is some discussion in that State of offshore wind, and
that is not our job to build the turbines. We are a utility
transmission and distribution.
But we are thinking through what it takes to take
transmission out to those assets, and what that looks like from
an economic standpoint, what that looks like from a job skill
set standpoint.
So I think the industry is thinking about this. I think
those projects are becoming real. We have the skill sets in the
utility or, you know, can build them. They are for us the, you
know, the traditional transmission technician skill set and
transmission engineering skill set.
We just, you know, I think to the point that Ms. Truong was
making, you know, to continue that pipeline, make these
projects and great opportunities accessible, create awareness
around them, and just, you know, ensure that we are supporting
that pipeline.
Mr. Kennedy. Thank you. Mr. Campbell, briefly?
Mr. Campbell. Yes. Currently, we don't have the
capabilities in wind. We have the access to capital. As, you
know, that market matures a little bit, I think the
partnerships and/or acquisition would be an area that we could
look at, but right now we are not currently operating in wind.
Mr. Kennedy. And what can we do to help? In four seconds.
Mr. Campbell. Products. And the partnerships will come. And
I know we talked a lot about job creation, but also small
businesses are the backbone of our country. And I think part
of, you know, once you train and learn energy, an opportunity
like what I did, to be able to create your own companies as
well, too.
Mr. Kennedy. Thank you, sir. I yield back.
Mr. Rush. The Chair now recognizes Mr. Johnson for 5
minutes.
Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I want to thank
our panel for being with us today. You know, the world has
changed, I think, because I spent 27 years in the Air Force,
joined in '73 and retired in '99. And I can remember the day
when employers were clamoring to get military folks to come and
work for them.
It was a big deal at every base that I was stationed at
over that nearly 27 years. Employers would offer you a part-
time job, whether it was in technology or food service or
manufacturing, you name it. How we got into this situation
where we are no longer able to tap into that huge talent pool
with veterans, with military folks that are exiting their
active service, is beyond me, and I think Congress should be
doing everything that we can do to make it easier for those
veterans to utilize resources and to get into the job market.
I really wish that we were hearing from the Department of
Energy also today, because I know that Secretary Perry has
really worked hard to expand veterans programs and increase the
communication and collaboration between the VA and the
Department of Energy, and that is an issue that I have worked
on myself with him.
So, Mr. Simpson, as you alluded to in your written
testimony, there are already many Federal programs for
veterans. DOE also works with partners on training and
certification programs to assist veterans and active duty
service members on their transition into civilian jobs. Do you
support this idea of a clearinghouse to consolidate these
resources and make them easier to use?
Mr. Simpson. I think, sir, if you look at it for us, we
support anything that develops a better workforce for industry.
I think if you look at the existing platforms that are already
available, what has happened to the resources that are there,
and then after doing that look at how the industry has
responded, how people have responded about getting into the
industry, then you look at those things. That would make sense.
Mr. Johnson. OK. All right. Despite the great work already
occurring, both in government and in the private sector, do you
believe specific barriers remain to companies successfully
tapping the unique skills and abilities of our veterans within
the energy industry?
Let's see, yes, such as issues involving transitioning from
the military culture to private sector culture, issues with
private sector certification requirements or the need to
supplement veteran skills with additional training. In other
words, what gaps remain or could be improved upon to make this
transition from the military to the private sector most
successful for veterans in your industry?
Mr. Simpson. So I am going to answer that in a couple of
different directions. I am going to start with something I have
been meaning to say the majority of the day. Education has been
something that we have talked about at this table pretty
consistently, and I think that as we educate our educators on
interacting with young students teaching them--right now
Department of Education grades our school systems and our
educators on how many kids we send to college.
As long as we are evaluating the performance of a counselor
on how many kids he sends to college and how many kids get into
top tier schools, we are taking people away from the other
workforce that may have entered that workforce. So educating
people about all of the jobs that are available, and all of the
careers that are available, that would triple into the military
side.
But on the military side, it is access. Give us more
access. Give us the opportunity to be on the base, in the
community of the veterans, and educate them on what our careers
are.
Mr. Johnson. I think we--and I was going to get into it,
but I see I am not going to have time, I think it is definitely
a problem that we have convinced many young people that their
only pathway to success is a 4-year university. Many of them
don't want to do that, don't need that, and we need workers in
all of the different areas.
I am limited on time. So, Mr. Simpson, one final question
for you. Why do think jobs in your industry are attractive to
veterans, and do you think it is shortsighted to limit Federal
programs to only green-collar jobs?
Mr. Simpson. I think that anytime you limit funding to
specific industries or jobs you limit opportunity. So I do
think that we look at all of the opportunities that are
available. But as far as the industry being attractive to
veterans, a lot of us joined the military because we didn't
want four walls and fluorescent lights.
It is great to be able to work outside and in the elements
and with a small team, and we continue that when we leave the
military by entering into the energy workforce.
Mr. Johnson. I was raised on a tobacco farm. I love the
four walls and the bright lights. So I get that, but thank you
very much.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Mr. Rush. I thank the gentleman. The Chair now recognizes
Ms. Barragan. And before she begins, I want to welcome you as a
new member to this subcommittee.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rush. Thank you.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, for having
this discussion today and everybody who is here. I have heard a
lot just sitting here, and I represent a district in southern
California that includes areas like Compton and Watts, where
not everybody is going to college.
So bills like this are so critically necessary and
important because there is a lot of folks in parts of the
country, including my district, who want to have opportunities
for jobs where they may not go to college. And so, Mr.
Chairman, I want to thank you for having this conversation, and
I think this is a bill that is desperately needed.
And, you know, the focus of the bill is obviously to move
toward clean energy, and that is why the bill language is the
way it is. It is because we have a climate change crisis. It is
because communities of color and low-income communities are
suffering health impacts. There is really a public health
crisis.
And so that is why the language isn't there talking about
the oil industry, and that doesn't mean we don't include them
in the conversation. As a matter of fact, when I meet with them
oftentimes my conversation with them is, what are you doing to
transition? How can we help you transition?
And that is the great part about this bill. One of my
colleagues from Virginia asked, what is in the bill for people
where he is, and Section 202 of the bill is very clear. It
prioritizes who is going to benefit from this. So the question
is, do you have women in your district? If it does, if you do,
this benefits you.
If you have persons who are transitioning from fossil fuel
energy sector jobs, are they in your district? Well, then they
benefit you. Do you have veterans in your district? Because if
you do, this bill is going to benefit you and your district. I
don't see anything in the bill that restricts money from going
to rural areas. I haven't seen anything.
Ms. Colon de Mejias, have you seen anything in a bill that
restricts money to rural areas?
Ms. Colon de Mejias. Absolutely not. I think that the bill
is very competently written to ensure that it supports people
in urban and suburban areas, and I agree that it would
specifically support women and minorities and career changers
and veterans. That is the way I read the bill.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you. Now, Ms. Colon de Mejias, can you
provide an example from your experience where you have had
difficulty hiring staff for an available job and how this
legislation would help small businesses like yours?
Ms. Colon de Mejias. I currently have 7 positions that are
open. Oftentimes, I hire people from those populations, and I
train them, and then they actually end up leaving about 2 years
later to go work for the public utilities, because they become
such highly skilled workers that they are sought after by other
companies and other industries, including solar, electric
vehicles.
Many of the skills are transferrable. So once someone is
trained, they would have the opportunity to work in other areas
as well, including public utilities.
Ms. Barragan. Right. And how--rather, why should small
businesses get more robust incentives than maybe larger
businesses? And do you have an example that supports the
distinction?
Ms. Colon de Mejias. Yes. Specifically, I hired a veteran 2
years ago who I absolutely loved, but he didn't come with the
right skill set because the programs that are available for
vets do not allow them to participate in the noncredit
education or continuing education.
So I had to invest in those courses to allow him to get the
certifications he needed, and then after he got the
certifications he was rightfully hired by a much larger entity,
the Department of Energy and Environmental Protections, and he
works there now. But I invested a lot of money in his training,
and I also paid him for the job for the 2 years, and then I had
to start from the beginning to retrain.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you. Ms. Truong, if I can ask you a
couple of questions. What are some of the key barriers to equal
minority representation in the energy workforce? And a follow
up, what types of obstacles have you come across, and how can
smart Federal policy help address those challenges?
Ms. Truong. Training and access. Oftentimes minority and
communities in low-income communities don't get access to these
jobs. A lot of times the energy companies and utilities
interview and hire people who they may know in their
communities, and they may not have outreach to the communities
that have not been traditionally seen as candidates in this
industry.
And so outreach and education, both from the employer's
side to the communities that otherwise are not included in the
conversation, but also investing in the communities that
hasn't--that has seen a traditional disinvestment in education
and training programs and making sure that they are connected
now to the new industry that is growing and booming.
Ms. Barragan. Great. Well, thank you. And I want to thank
you for making the connection between poverty and pollution
earlier in your remarks.
With that, I will yield back.
Ms. Truong. Thank you.
Mr. Rush. I want to thank the gentlelady, and the Chair now
recognizes Mr. Walberg for 5 minutes.
Mr. Walberg. I thank the chairman, and thank you for--the
panel for being here today. I am pleased that the committee is
holding a hearing on workforce development for the energy
industry. As a senior member of the Education and Labor
Committee, I have been passionate about and working on these
issues for a long time.
The Education and Labor Committee actually has primary
jurisdiction. So I will be following this issue closely in the
days ahead.
Also, my district is the number 1 district. It is the
energy district of the State of Michigan, with over 35 percent
of all of the energy produced in Michigan produced in the 7th
district. It is an all-of-the-above district, everything from
wind to solar to natural gas, coal, and Fermi, the only plant
recently to receive a license for a third facility. So we are
appreciative of this issue.
Ms. Pramaggiore, I was taken with the ice box challenge,
the refrigerator electrification, and racing those
refrigerators made me think, with what is going on in my
district, with self-driving vehicles, that maybe we ought to
have a self-driving refrigerator, so when I am watching
Michigan beat Ohio State, hopefully in the future, I don't have
to leave and have the refrigerator brought to my--let's forget
that.
Ms. Pramaggiore. I think you will have some takers for that
science project.
Mr. Walberg. Good deal. Let's move that on, with the young
ladies or with the young men as well, putting that together.
When I was back visiting just this last week our ISD in
Jackson, Michigan, and their career center, I saw firsthand
what our communities are doing to promote hands-on learning
opportunities and create high-schooled, high-wage jobs. I wish
this hearing had been held before that. We could have talked
about this as well in the energy industry.
At Exelon, are you partnering with your local communities
similar to the career center to collaborate on the workforce
development training this bill discusses?
Ms. Pramaggiore. Yes. Thank you, sir. Yes, we are. We have
a number of different programs. We have programs that are
designed around workforce development and training where we
partner with community colleges and other community groups to
develop these training programs. We also have educational
programs, dollars that go to different entities to create
educational programs through elementary schools, middle
schools, high schools.
So we overall in our company spend about $10 million a year
on education alone, and then there is a separate funding for
training programs themselves.
Mr. Walberg. OK. Thank you. With that in mind, from my
understanding, it appears that a lot of what this bill proposes
already exists either by private sector companies like the one
Ms. Mehnert leads, for instance, or through existing DOE
programs.
Do you see a need to duplicate these efforts with Federal
funding? And then, second, if so, what should be the role of
the Federal Government?
Ms. Pramaggiore. So what I described was efforts that my
company makes, and many large companies and particularly
utilities have experience in. Our industry is changing pretty
dramatically, and so what we are seeing is that more and more
aspects of the industry are being served by smaller businesses,
different kinds of businesses. Mr. Campbell's is one. Ms. Colon
de Mejias has another business that works in our industry.
Traditionally, this was done by the utility industry, but
no longer. These are businesses that need support. These are
businesses that don't have the capacity to develop training
programs like we do, and yet I think they have a tremendous
impact on communities, particularly smaller communities. A
small business in a particular neighborhood or community can
have an enormous impact, economic impact, on that community if
you can get them up and running.
And so I think that it is--as our industry becomes more
fragmented, segmented, and there is more actors and players of
different sizes and capacity and capabilities, that this is
very important to ensure that those businesses can develop and
find workforce and add value.
Mr. Walberg. OK. Thank you. Let me just jump to nuclear
power. The Fermi plant in Monroe provides important baseload
generation with zero carbon emissions. Is Exelon already
partnering with any local career centers or private
organizations to ensure skilled workers are prepared for the
innovations in the nuclear industry? And is your company
leading that way?
Ms. Pramaggiore. Yes, we do. We, as you know, have a number
of nuclear plants. We think maintaining nuclear skill sets is
absolutely essential to the United States economy, to the
United States leadership in nuclear power in general. We fund
scholarships for nuclear engineering. We have training programs
for nuclear craft skill sets as well.
Mr. Walberg. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
Mr. Rush. I want to thank the gentleman, and now I am going
to recognize Mr. McEachin for 5 minutes.
Mr. McEachin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and let me start off
by thanking you for----
Mr. Rush. Let me take a moment just to welcome you to this
subcommittee. I want to thank you, and we look forward to
working with you. And you are now recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. McEachin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I am
appreciative of being on this committee, as well as this
subcommittee. And let me start by thanking you for your
leadership in introducing the legislation that we are
discussing today.
In my judgment, nothing is more important than speeding our
transition to a sustainable green-collar economy. As we make
that change, we can and must work to ensure that the benefits
are widely and fairly shared. We need to ensure that the most
direct benefits of our transition--cleaner air, cleaner water,
better health--accrue to all Americans, but we also need to
ensure that the opportunities in the form of new jobs,
community development, and economic growth are broadly shared.
And I will just also say to my good friend of 30 years from
southwest Virginia that I feel you. You and I have worked
together for many, many years, and I look forward to that
continued relationship and partnership and would suggest to you
that whether it is Petersburg or southwest Virginia, we are all
in the same boat when it comes to trying to get investments in
this new collar, this new green-collar economy, into our
districts.
Commendably, this bill keeps both of those goals in sight,
and I look forward to working with everyone here to ensure that
we make the most of this strong foundation and ultimately pass
a bill that reflects both the scale of the needs we face and
the urgency of the moral imperative to help our most vulnerable
friends and neighbors.
Mr. Chairman, along with the work that you have been doing,
I discovered an article talking about investment in low-income
neighborhoods. Of course, your bill addresses that. It also
seeks to prevent gentrification, which is a thing that I think
we need to keep our eye on, because as we improve these low-
income neighborhoods, we want the people who have been there
all their lives to be able to stay there and can afford to stay
there, and are just being handled with a certain caution in
this country through some green jobs.
So I would submit this article, if there is no objection,
as part of the record.
[The information appears at the conclusion of the hearing.]
Mr. McEachin. And as far as my questions are concerned, Mr.
Campbell, as you have already stated, the transportation sector
is now an even bigger source of greenhouse gas pollution than
the energy sector, and auto emissions powerfully affect air
quality and public health. Can you speak to how we continue to
green our transportation system, for instance, by helping
facilitate a greater use of electric vehicles? And how does
this bill help or could it help advance that work?
Mr. Campbell. Great question. So I will start, first--
again, I go back to collaboration. So utilities around the
country are now seeing the benefits of building out the
electric vehicle infrastructure that our country desperately
needs.
I was on a panel recently that Pepco hosted with some of
the ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft, and even FedEx.
They all want to swap their vehicles to electric vehicles, but
they can't do so until the infrastructure is put in place. So
we need some more policy that will allow for that
infrastructure to put it in place.
Now, what do the jobs look like, and how does this bill
directly correlate to that? You are going to need electricians
to install the EV charging stations. Once that infrastructure
is put in place, who is going to service these new cars that
are different from the past?
So part of this training that we haven't really talked
about today is also providing grants, because it is hard for
people to leave for 5 or 6 weeks, however long a training
program is, with no income. And having some level of a grant or
subsidy to be able to allow you to go to training is critical,
and I commend you all in the way this bill was drafted to be
able to provide that support.
But I do strongly believe that the greening or the
electrification of our transportation sector is one of the
biggest opportunities that we are going to see, and it is a lot
of work that is being done real time. GM, for example, has 20
new electric vehicles they are rolling out over the next 5
years.
Mr. McEachin. Thank you. Ms. Truong, this bill is designed
to help vulnerable communities, in large part by helping
individual members of those communities. But we need to guard
against the danger that in helping certain individuals we do
not simply help them out of their communities, such that their
neighbors' lives get better even as their friends and neighbors
get left behind.
If we do not guard against that possibility, we will be
simply repeating past injustices. We can't do that. So as an
example question, how do we ensure that creating clean energy
jobs in a given neighborhood does not just lead to that
neighborhood being gentrified? What can we do to maximize the
extent to which the bill really truly has its intended effect?
Ms. Truong. I think we can incentivize and prioritize smart
development that has transit-oriented development, clean green
jobs, that pays good wages. So that even as people are getting
into those jobs, they are able to afford the costs of living in
their community.
And we can prioritize the investments in helping to create
sustainable communities that invest in things like public
transit, which is actually good for the environment, actually
reduce the cost of living, and at the same time improve the
ability for people to pay for the cost of living in their
community. So reducing the cost of living, improving the
quality of life at the same time.
I will say that we do run major campaigns across the
country on electric vehicles in the transition to
transportation. I am happy to answer questions on that, too.
Mr. McEachin. Thank you very much. And thank you, Mr.
Chairman. I yield back.
Mr. Rush. I thank the gentleman. I now recognize Mr. Hudson
for 5 minutes.
Mr. Hudson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And as I said in my
opening statement, I have been proud to work with you on this
issue for many years.
Mr. Rush. So have I, Mr. Hudson, and I look forward to
working with you as closely in the future.
Mr. Hudson. Great. I appreciate that. And, you know, I am
committed, just as you are, to making sure that we are
preparing our workforce, particularly women, veterans, other
minority groups, for the future jobs that are going to be out
there, making sure that our education systems are in line, so
that our folks are in place to take advantage of this new
economy, but also to help bring this economy about, because we
have those skills.
And I do want to respond to my dear friend from California
when she said that the scope of this ought to be narrowly
focused on green jobs only, because of the crisis with climate,
and so forth and so on. And I certainly look forward to these
new technologies coming forth, but I would just hate for us to
miss out, the people in the workforce, the folks coming into
the workforce looking for jobs, and we have got industries with
jobs looking for people.
And I would just hate for us to narrow the scope on this
legislation so much that we miss those opportunities in the
meantime. So I look forward to working with you on that, Mr.
Chairman.
And I will start my first question to Mr. Simpson, who I
would like to begin again by saying thank you again for your 25
years of service to this country is because of men and women
like you willing to serve that we get to enjoy the freedoms we
have. So I thank you for that.
And I am proud of the work Pike is doing to hire veterans,
and I want to commend you for that. It is a great service to
our Nation to take care of our veterans because of their
sacrifice. As many members of this committee know, I represent
Fort Bragg, the epicenter of the universe, one of the largest
military installations in the world. The Marine is laughing
because we also have a large Marine base in North Carolina. But
I look forward to any opportunity to support our men and women
in uniform, both during and after their service.
With that in mind, Mr. Simpson, in your testimony you
stated that we are seeing growth of about 14 percent in the
industry, resulting in a need for several thousand new
employees annually for the foreseeable future, just to keep up
with that demand. With the growth you all are facing--and
Pike's hire veterans initiatives--I think you have touched on
this a little bit before, but could you describe some of the
barriers you are facing on the front lines to find potential
veterans to hire and train them for the workforce?
Mr. Simpson. Yes, sir. I can. So as I mentioned several
times earlier, the access issue is huge, just being able to get
to the veterans and make sure that they understand what the
career opportunities are. But when you look at this as a
workforce development issue across the board, gaining access
and being able to get into the institutions, I have got
veterans that tell me ``I would really like to do this, but I
have got to support my family.''
So there is that gap that several people have talked about
today that is big. But for us, if we can get into the
installation, access the service members earlier, establish the
skill bridge programs on the base where they can train through
that program while they are still active duty service members
and being paid by the military with benefits, then we can
transition them directly into the industry.
Right now, the issue is there aren't enough training
programs to do that effectively, and that we don't have access
to the veterans to get them into the programs.
Mr. Hudson. Got you. Now, you mentioned in your testimony
the Center for Energy Workforce Development. Could you please
elaborate on what that center does, and is that what you are
talking about now as part of this transition and sort of talk
about what Pike's role is with the center?
Mr. Simpson. So Pike is a member of the Center for Energy
Workforce Development. It is a national program, and I think
when you look at it they address several issues. They have got
a program called Get Into Energy, which gets into the
elementary schools and the lower grade levels to start teaching
people about industry jobs at the earliest stages of their
education.
Later on when folks leave the military, we have the Troops
to Energy jobs that are available. So that program, again,
addresses how to attain those jobs at that point in time. So
there are a couple of places where the Center for Energy
Workforce Development has really done a really good job of
developing pathways and educational programs that can be
delivered at any school to teach kids how to get into the
industry and get specific certifications to attain industry
jobs immediately upon graduation.
Mr. Hudson. Got you. Now, are there other specific programs
that you have undertaken to access veterans?
Mr. Simpson. Of course, with ours, the apprenticeship
program is huge, being able to tap into a veteran and give them
a housing allowance while they are learning the skills to
attain our jobs is very beneficial, so we use that.
Mr. Hudson. I guess--well, I am about out of time, so I
will just, again, say thank all of the panelists for being here
this. This has been a very worthwhile discussion. I appreciate
your help.
Mr. Chairman, with that, I will yield back.
Mr. Rush. I want to thank the gentleman. The Chair now
recognizes Mr. O'Halleran.
Mr. O'Halleran. I would like to thank----
Mr. Rush. Mr. O'Halleran, I want to welcome you also to the
committee, and look forward to working with you.
Mr. O'Halleran. Same here, Mr. Chairman. I would like to
thank you and Ranking Member Upton and other witnesses before
us today to join us in this important conversation regarding
our Nation's energy resources, and to discuss the Blue Collar/
Green Collar Jobs Development Act, which is an important first
step toward this critical issue for my district.
About my district, talking about jobs is important. I have
the largest Native American population in the United States in
my district. The Navajo Nation has a 50-plus percentage
unemployment rate, Hopi are about 80 percent, the White
Mountain Apache 60-plus percent. One of their towns is at 95
percent unemployment, San Carlos 60-plus percent. This has a
profound impact on rural America also, since our unemployment
rate is higher than urban areas.
It has an impact on our schools, our fire districts,
police, anybody that is concerned with our tax base. We are
losing--I have 4 power plants in my district. We are likely to
lose one here in the next few months.
And so it also is a situation where it affects people that
are already in such hardship across Indian land and rural
America in general.
I hope this hearing is the first of many actions we as a
committee take, and a key priority of mine, supporting economic
opportunity across rural America and Indian country.
It is important to note, Mr. Simpson, that with the
veterans issue, as a per capita--I base it on per capita--
Native Americans have the highest per capita of service to our
country than any other population.
Rural America is at a crossroads as market forces in the
energy sector and beyond have drastically changed, and economic
realities in communities like those I represent. We must ensure
energy workers of all trades are not left behind as the energy
marketplace continues to evolve.
I cannot understate the unique and dire circumstances and
the intimate closures of coal-fired plants like the potential
for the Navajo generation station. It is one of the largest
coal generation stations in America. What it presents those
communities--the potential loss of hundreds of jobs, the best-
paying jobs, in my district by far, along with loss of
operating revenue for those rural and tribal communities has
had devastating implications.
This decision today has real implications for real people
and real families, and I want to make sure we know that it just
isn't theoretical. If we fail to help energy workers, such as
those in my district, transition to new opportunities and pay
competitive salaries, if we fail to boost economic
diversification efforts, then we have failed at our jobs.
Whatever the future holds, and for the energy realities of
today, we must act now to make sure workers in rural America
and across Indian country have every tool to compete and thrive
in the new economy.
Why is that so important to rural America? I think we, as a
country, take it for advantage. I think urban America has to
start to understand what rural America is about, and it is
about water, where the electricity comes from, natural
resources. This is the foundation of our urban centers.
They wouldn't survive without what comes from rural
America, and rural America can't survive without having the
appropriate education, the appropriate jobs available, the
appropriate quality of life to keep people there.
The transmission lines alone--if we are talking about
energy, it is not going to come from the core of our urban
centers right now. It is going to come from those areas. And so
we have to address that accordingly.
I will move along here quickly. Mr. Simpson, I see in your
testimony that Pike Corporation is very engaged in employing
and encouraging veterans to contribute to the energy workforce.
I thank you. How do you view this legislation's potential to
further increase opportunities and flexibility when it comes to
energy workforce training for veterans?
Mr. Simpson. As I mentioned earlier, sir, I think any
program that gives us the opportunity to educate a workforce
and develop a workforce is beneficial, but I do think that we
have to look at this against all of the other programs that
already exist. The Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act
provides a lot of funding for education. It is simply how that
funding is applied in reducing the limitations on that funding
to apply to energy programs.
I feel like there may be opportunities already in existence
to fund some of this, and we may be duplicating an effort, but
I love hiring folks into the energy industry. So if you will
train them, we will hire them.
Mr. O'Halleran. I think there is a lot more work to do, and
I look forward to working with my colleagues on that effort,
which I believe builds on the important work we have discussed
today.
Again, I thank the witnesses. I hope we continue this
important conversation. Rural America is counting on it.
I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rush. I want to thank the gentleman. The Chair now
recognizes Mr. Flores for 5 minutes.
Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to echo
the concerns of my colleagues on this side of the dais that we
are not following regular order with today's hearing. We were
able to work together on a great bill in the last two
Congresses, and I hope that your side of the aisle will
continue working with us in a bipartisan manner to address this
critical issue for the American people.
At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask for
unanimous consent to insert into the record a statement from
the Nuclear Power Institute, which discusses nuclear power
education jobs and careers.
Mr. Rush. Without objection, so ordered.
[The information appears at the conclusion of the hearing.]
Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Nuclear Power
Institute is located in my district and is a joint center of
the Texas A&M experiment station and the Texas A&M University.
This institute works on important workforce issues within the
world's leading emissions-free baseload energy technology
industry, that being nuclear power.
As I mentioned in our last Environment Subcommittee
hearing, if we are serious about the threats of climate change,
we need to accelerate the deployment of more emissions-free
next-generation nuclear power. In the near term, we should also
continue to highlight the climate benefits of lower emissions
fuels like natural gas, which have contributed immeasurably to
our country's global leadership in emissions reduction.
Ms. Mehnert, I want to thank you for your testimony and for
everything you do for women and increase diversity in the oil
and gas industry. And as a fellow Texan, and a former member of
the oil and gas industry, I am pleased for my colleagues to
hear your perceptions about our industry and to dispel some of
the myths about our industry, and also to talk about the great
opportunities it creates for job opportunities and career
development.
Over the last two Congresses, I have worked on a bipartisan
basis on legislation to streamline the permitting process to
modernize our infrastructure, including pipelines. This is good
for jobs and paychecks and careers. And if you think about what
we are talking today, there is two elements to this. One, we
have to educate the workforce; but, two, you have got to make
sure there is a job for that workforce to go to after you have
educated them.
And so, Ms. Mehnert, I am going to ask you this question on
the second part, and that is, having the jobs available, do you
agree that it is important for Congress to remove out-of-date
permitting barriers so that we can amplify workforce growth,
development initiatives, and employment opportunities?
Ms. Mehnert. I do. And I think as my colleague to the left
here, Mr. Simpson, has talked about, it sounds like it is very
difficult and complicated, the processes and procedures we have
put in place for veterans. So I would echo support for
elimination of complicating the process. If we are going to
spend a lot of effort to engage and get people engaged, we
absolutely need to make it easier for them to take those jobs
and for us to accelerate that process. So, yes.
Mr. Flores. I totally agree with you on both points. That
is great. It seems that we could and should do both, so we are
creating the right environment where companies can have the
confidence to invest in new jobs, in new projects, and invest
in their workforce.
You are not just oil and gas. You are talking about
expanding to renewables and all forms of energy; is that
correct?
Ms. Mehnert. Absolutely. Experience Energy is about
experiencing our energy, truly in the fullest form, and it
sounds like I need to connect with my colleague to the left
here about efficiency because it is not an area that I was
aware of. So----
Mr. Flores. Yes. Efficiency is a critical part of an
emissions control strategy. How would you compare the business
climate for energy jobs in Texas along the Gulf Coast compared
to the rest of the country?
Ms. Mehnert. It is pretty significant. Right now, we are in
a--in Texas alone, I speak often to industry about a middle
skills gap. We have initiatives already in place in Houston and
other areas of Texas where we are trying to find folks to put
into jobs. We do have a number of jobs that go unbilled.
Mr. Flores. OK. And what would you attribute the difference
in opportunity to between Texas and Gulf Coast and the rest of
the country? I will let you think about that.
Ms. Mehnert. I am going to have to think about that.
Mr. Flores. OK. I am going to go to Ms. Pramaggiore, right?
Would you also agree on the importance of an efficient
permitting system for energy infrastructure projects, whether
it is for pipelines for natural gas or for transmission lines
so that you can get the electrons from where they are generated
either by nuclear or other emissions-free sources like wind and
solar to the consumer?
Ms. Pramaggiore. Yes. Thank you, sir. Absolutely. I think
that we--you know, we have an interest in moving forward more
quickly on infrastructure buildout. We are very interested in
enhancing the infrastructure, modernizing the infrastructure,
and extending the infrastructure where need be. And, you know,
there are certainly--we could certainly be moving faster on
that.
Mr. Flores. Thank you. I think infrastructure is really a
4-letter word. That's jobs.
Thank you. I will yield back.
Mr. Rush. I want to thank the gentleman. And now, lastly,
we want to recognize Ms. Blunt Rochester. And I just want to
make sure that you know that we really are looking forward to
working with you, and we welcome you to the subcommittee.
Ms. Blunt Rochester. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman, and thank you to this incredible panel. Mr. Chairman,
I am pleased to be here at my first Energy Subcommittee
meeting, and really to be discussing a real bold and ambitious
plan to invest in America's energy infrastructure, with a
specific focus on ensuring a well-educated and trained diverse
workforce.
As the former Secretary of Labor in the State of Delaware,
and also the founder of the Future Work Caucus here in the
House, there is no more important issue at this time for me.
And I wanted to also highlight Ms. Pramaggiore--I want to say
the whole--Pramaggiore and the work of Exelon and Delmarva in
Delaware, because you are working with the Boys and Girls Club,
our community colleges, and our HBCU, Delaware State
University.
And my question is really going to be--the whole panel can
pick one. In Delaware, we have a saying, ``It is good being
first,'' because we are the first State. Today it is tough
being last, because I am the last. So I am going to just give
you the 3 questions I have, and if each of you can take a
minute or a second to give an answer. And if not, we can follow
up afterwards.
So the 3 questions are: How can we best support small
businesses, particularly MBEs and DBEs, as we are looking at
the green-collar energy, you know, future? That is number 1.
The second is, we talked a lot about different groups that
are impacted, but not a conversation about individuals coming
out of prison. And I am really curious about both the
challenges and opportunities in the energy sector for
individuals coming out of prison.
And then the last question--and I am going to start with
Mr. Campbell--you can pick any of those, but for those of you
who have gone into this, these fields, what great programs did
you personally participate in that might become models that we
need to, you know, expand on?
So it is really small business, prison, and your personal
journey, things that you would recommend. And will start with
Mr. Campbell.
Mr. Campbell. I will try to be as brief as possible. So I
have been blessed with wonderful mentors. Green for All/Dream
Corps was one of our first mentors when we launched our company
through a partnership with then Accenture. It now became our
corporate mentor, and we are doing work across the country with
Accenture.
Exelon/Pepco is a mentor company. You would think that, you
know, the electric utility and a solar company would be
aligned, but we share the same goals as far as making sure our
community is moving forward and people have jobs.
As far as what are some of the things that this bill and
this body can do to support small businesses, I think it is
providing procurement opportunities, but holding our feet to
the fire. So if we have procurement opportunities, making sure
that we are hiring the local community and we are providing
mentorship opportunities and creating other small businesses
that come behind us.
And then, lastly, with returning citizens, that is a huge
emphasis and something I am working on. I think a big part of
that is just reach-back support as well. So once--you know,
really preparing people when they are coming out and returning
to the society to be successful in jobs, not just to get the
job but to stay in the job. And so that is definitely something
that I would hope maybe there would be some consideration to
include returning citizens as part of this bill.
Ms. Blunt Rochester. I am going to jump to Ms. Colon--I
have got to get it right, too.
Ms. Colon de Mejias. Colon de Mejias.
Ms. Blunt Rochester. Colon de Mejias.
Ms. Colon de Mejias. I am going to shorten my name for the
next hearing.
[Laughter]
Ms. Colon de Mejias. My answer is that in order to help
small businesses and women-owned businesses, OJT funds are
phenomenally helpful. Training support programs are extremely
helpful because as a small business one of the biggest
expenses--and I think--I don't know who said it earlier today--
that, you know one of our biggest issues is filling those
roles, and then filling them and worrying about someone taking
those people because they need to fill their roles. That is a
big problem.
Ms. Blunt Rochester. Thank you. All right. Ms. Truong?
Ms. Truong. We talked about earlier about wanting to get
more women into these industries. Getting my personal journey,
I talked to women across this country, women who have a lot of
credentials, and they are so intimidated by the STEM barriers.
They think they can't talk the science or the math, and they
can't get into these areas.
So I think demystifying that, I think if we want to
increase diversity in small businesses we can require reporting
of how many of our large utilities and businesses actually
subcontract or subgrant to small or diverse businesses. We can
also set targets to improve percentage-wise every year. Can we
improve 5 percent every year?
And then, finally, around prison, we can start training
inside of prisons now. We have a shortage of labor, dire
problem around the country. We can start training programs
inside of prison. We can make sure we provide wrap-around
services to employers to encourage them to hire people coming
out of prison, to stop the gap between the hiring processes and
then provide wrap-around services so that they stay in the
jobs.
Ms. Blunt Rochester. Thank you. I have 5 seconds. I want to
thank Mr. Simpson so much, especially for talking about the
workforce investment boards and making sure that we have some
coordination across.
And also, Ms. Mehnert, I want to also say hi to Ally, and
thank you for bringing her.
Thank you so much. I yield back.
Mr. Rush. I want to thank the gentlelady. The matter before
the subcommittee now is the unanimous consent request for the
submission of articles and items for the record. And those
items include a letter from the Alliance on Safe Energy, a
letter from Duke Energy, a letter from the Solar Energy
Industries Association, a letter from the Texas A&M University
System, a letter from the Center for Energy Workforce and
Development, and a letter from the National Urban League, and,
finally, a letter--an article, rather, from my colleague Mr.
McKinley, an article entitled ``In Minneapolis, low-income
neighborhoods see influx of clean energy investment.'' Or it is
Mr. McEachin, I am sorry. Mr. McEachin is the one who requested
the unanimous consent decree.
Hearing no objection----
Mr. McKinley. We would like to see--we would have preferred
seeing a few of these in advance to review them. But, yes, of
course we are going to accept, in cooperation with you on this.
But we would like to see in the future more--to have a chance
to review them.
Mr. Rush. Well, certainly. The chairman will adhere to that
request. Thank you so very much. Without objection, so ordered.
[The information appears at the conclusion of the hearing.]
Mr. Rush. And we want to make sure that we thank all of the
witnesses for your participation in today's hearing. You have
given us some very informative, insightful, and exciting
testimony, and we certainly want to thank you.
And I want to remind Members that, pursuant to committee
rules, they have 10 business days to submit additional
questions for the record to be answered by the witnesses who
have appeared before us today. And I ask each witness to
respond promptly, if there are any such questions that you may
receive.
And so, again, thank you, thank you, thank you for your
participation.
At this moment, the subcommittee now stands adjourned.
Thank you so much.
[Whereupon, at 1:25 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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