Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2027 for the Army.

Well, good morning, Acting Secretary Sonderling. Thank you for being here today to testify for the President's twenty twenty seven budget request for the Department of Labor, appreciate it. I'm pleased to be joined here by my friend, Senator Baldwin, we were just catching up, and the ranking member uh, she's the ranking member of the subcommittee, I look forward to our continuing our bipartisan work throughout the twenty seven appropriations uh process and uh I understand Senator Collins may be coming, so we will welcome other members as as the uh hearing moves forward. Under President Trump's leadership, the Department of Labor is putting America workers first. I'm encouraged to see the department taking steps to strengthen our workforce, cut regulatory red tape, so that our nation's job creators can hire, invest and compete. The fiscal year twenty twenty-seven budget request builds on this progress by prioritizing investments that expand workforce, training opportunities, support economic growth, and keep our workers safe. I look forward to hearing more about how the budget advances the department's priorities, while ensuring that our hardworking taxpayers' dollars are well spent. The American economy continues to s- to demonstrate strong growth. Just last month the economy added a hundred and fifteen thousand jobs that that exceeded expectations, and the unemployment rate remained at four point three percent. Wages are also continuing to rise, with aver- average hourly earnings up three point six percent over last year. And thanks to the working family tax cuts, small businesses are finally gaining the confidence to expand and create jobs here at home. Yet, businesses across the country are still facing persistent workforce shortages. This challenge is particularly prevalent in my home state of West Virginia, where our workforce participation rate remains among the lowest in the country. This is why it's so important that our workers have access to robust workforce training programs especially those that provide on-the-job training and those focused on in-demand jobs. Last year the department hit a significant milestone, registering more than twenty-three hundred new apprenticeship programs and adding nearly three hundred thousand new apprentices nationwide. This is an important step in meeting our country's workforce needs, But must- more must be done. I hope to see the DOL continue to build on this success and expand apprenticeship opportunities to new programs and fields, as many valuable apprenticeship pr- uh opportunities don't fit the current registered apprenticeship model. Look forward to learning more about how this budget will support flexibility and innovative career pathways and will advance President Trump's goal of surpassing one million active imp- apprentices. While developing a highly skilled workforce is critical, it's only part of the equation. We must continue advancing common sense policies to create an economic environment where businesses can thrive and create good, family-sustaining jobs. As we saw with the last administration, excessive government regulation and overreach are major impediments to job growth. Under President Trump's leadership, the department has taken important steps to roll back these burdensome overly burdensome regulations. For example, I was pleased to see the DOL move to rescind and replace the Biden administration's harmful and misguided independent contractor rule. That rule threatened the flexibility that so many truck drivers, electricians, and other independent contractors rely on. The Trump administration recognizes that many Americans value that freedom and opportunity that come with being their own boss and choosing the work arrangements that best to fit their needs. The new proposed rule would help preserve that flexibility, while providing greater clarity and certainty for workers and job creators alike. The department has also expanded the use of opinion letters and compliance assistance to help employers better understand and comply with labor laws. I regularly hear from small businesses in West Virginia about the challenges of navigating the increasingly complex and constantly changing regulatory landscape. Most employers want to do the right thing and follow the law. but they need clear guidance and workable rules to do so. That is why it's so important to prioritize compliance assistance instead of immediately turning to enforcement action and costly litigation. This common-sense approach allows employers to invest in their workers and their local economy instead of legal fees. However, to be clear, not all regulations are bad. Appropriate protections are essential to keeping hard-working West Virginians and Americans safe, especially in West Virginia, our miners. West Virginia is the second largest coal-producing state in the nation. With President Trump taking action to restore American energy dominance, our miners will play an even greater role in powering our country and keeping the lights on for millions of Americans. We cannot lose sight of the fact that mining remains one of the most dangerous professions in this country. In West Virginia alone, six miners lost their lives last year. Every one of those losses is a tragedy. And I hope we can continue working together to prevent future tragedies from devastating our mining communities. Look forward to hearing more about the administration's plan to ensure our workplaces are safe so that every worker can return home to their loved ones at the end of the day. As we move forward in this fiscal year, twenty twenty seven appropriations process, I look forward to partnering with you to delivering real results for the American workers, businesses and taxpayers, and I thank you for being here today. And I will now turn to uh Senator Baldwin.

Thank you. Uh, good morning and uh thank you, Chair Capito. Acting Secretary Sonderling, thank you as well for being here today. You know, President Trump promised to put American workers first, but uh that has been anything but the case. Instead, President Trump is focused on building his ballroom and now securing taxpayer, uh, funding for it. starting a war with Iran and making deals that put Trump and his billionaire friends and family first. This is all adding tens of billions of dollars and counting to the debt while raising costs for American workers and their families. Gas now costs more than four dollars and fifty cents for regular, and nearly six dollars for diesel in the state of Wisconsin. The president imposed tariffs cost the average household one thousand dollars uh last year and more this year. Those tariffs have also increased costs for farmers, manufacturers and small businesses and um have been imposed so erratically it creates uncertainty that makes it impossible for businesses to plan and invest for our economy to work at all. And uh we knew last year the job growth was less. lackluster. But D DOL recently announced that it was even worse than we thought. In February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised job growth for all of twenty twenty five, down from five hundred and eighty four thousand to just one hundred and eighty one thousand, a decrease of sixty nine percent. Then, last week we got inflation data that shows rising prices are wiping out wage gains. In April, wage growth for the last year was three point six percent and inflation was three point eight percent. Grocery prices alone increased faster in April than any month in the last four years. American workers and families are feeling this every day. You know who is not? President Trump. His net worth increased from an estimated four point three billion in twenty twenty four to seven point three billion this year. The administration has talked a big game about putting American workers first, but the administration's rhetoric is wildly inconsistent with its actions. Many of those choices lie at the Department of Labor's feet. Because of changes the Trump administration has made in the Department of Labor, It's now easier for government contractors to discriminate against female employees by paying them less than men for the same work. It's easier to misclassify a worker as an independent contractor and deny them benefits that they are owed. And workers are more likely to find themselves in unsafe working conditions, because there are fewer workplace inspections. Now we have a budget before us that doubles down on that. Instead of investing in our workforce, the budget proposes cutting the budget for the Department of Labor by more than four billion dollars, or just more than thirty percent of its current funding. That includes slashing funding for workforce training in half, including eliminating programs like Job Corps. Our economy is rapidly changing. We want our workforce development system to effectively prepare Americans for the jobs we have today and those uh not yet seen tomorrow. Cutting funding for workforce training in half doesn't help achieve that. One thing we can all agree on is the goal of expanding apprenticeships. In fact, this subcommittee has increased funding for them in a bipartisan manner from ninety-five million dollars to two hundred and eighty-five million dollars over the last decade. That has helped the number of registered apprenticeships to steadily grow over that time, from approximately four hundred thousand in twenty sixteen to six hundred and sixty-six thousand in twenty twenty four. That trend line has mostly continued, and the number of registered apprenticeships has grown modestly to seven hundred thousand this year. But unfortunately there's also evidence that growth is trailing off. Some experts think in part because terminations in infrastructure and energy projects over the past year. If we are truly going to reach one million active apprentices someday, we aren't going to get there by cutting infrastructure investments that employ these workers or slashing funding for the workforce training programs that support them. We also need to make sure that employees, employers abide by their requirement to provide a self, a safe and healthful workplace. That's why I was so disappointed that OSHA enforcement dropped last year by more than four thousand inspections, a decrease of thirteen percent, and are expected to fall by even more this year. Yet, this budget proposes an eight percent cut in OSHA's budget next year. The budget also proposes to cut the budget of the International Labor Affairs Bureau by Thirty-eight percent, walking away from efforts to ensure the jobs of Wisconsinites and all Americans, are not undercut by trading partners not living up to their labor commitments. On top of all of this, instead of working every day to help American workers, we also know that the Department of Labor is instead spending its time figuring out how to administer education programs because the administration's political crusade to eliminate the Department of Education. The Trump is- administration is transferring elementary and secondary education programs to the Department of Labor that has no business administering them. Let's be clear. The administration has never attempted to justify or explain how this will improve schools or help students or families. Shutting down the Department of Education was a tagline that the President thought landed well at rallies. And now American families, teachers and most importantly, children are paying the price for it. Chair Capito, I appreciate the work that we were able to do on last year's budget. With the support of Chair Collins and Vice Chair Murray, I am committed to working on developing a fiscal year twenty twenty-seven appropriations bill. that supports the nation's workforce and provides the Department of Labor with the resources it needs to carry out the essential functions assigned to it by law. Thank you.

Thank you. Um. Thank you very much. So we will now turn to our witness, uh, Acting Secretary of Labor, uh, Keith Sonderling. Uh, Mister, uh, Acting Secretary, you're recognized for five minutes. Thank you.

Thank you, Chairwoman Capito, Ranking Member Baldwin, and members of the sub- Thank you for having me here today. I'm honored to appear on behalf of President Trump and the hard-working team at the US Department of Labor. American workers and American businesses are the backbone of the American economy. American growth and increased opportunity for the American workforce are hallmarks of President Trump's administration. But America needs a skilled and competitive workforce to keep the economy growing at the rapid pace it's been going. The fiscal year twenty twenty seven, Department of Labor budget, is a key vehicle for the Trump administration's efforts to renew the American dream, revitalizing and reshaping the nation's workforce into a highly skilled powerhouse. Every member of this committee can agree on one thing. American workers are the best in the world. They deserve a highly effective workforce development system to help them acquire the skills they need to thrive in a booming economy. And thanks to President Trump, the American economy is the hottest in the world again. Job growth continues to accelerate in twenty twenty six. March and April's job reports crushed expectations. The investments that President Trump is making in our workforce, like the historic working families tax cuts, which many of you supported, are paying off. Over six million filers have claimed no tax on tips, with an average deduction of seventy-one hundred dollars. Over twenty-five million filers have claimed no tax on overtime, with an average deduction of over thirty-one hundred dollars. President Trump has added over seven hundred thousand jobs to the workforce so far in his administration. To support American workers getting these jobs, the department is committed to ensuring American workers have the skills they need by reimagining workforce development programs to make America skilled again. For instance, DOL registered over thirty six hundred new apprenticeship programs and added nearly four hundred and thirteen thousand new apprentices providing a debt-free pathway to high-paying and in-demand jobs. And when these workers are in these newly created private sector jobs, President Trump believes they deserve a safe and healthy workplace. That's why the Department of Labor's budget continues to protect the safety and financial security of all workers by fully and fairly enforcing the laws, through our numerous enforcement agencies. The department is also ensuring that enforcement is used to prevent American workers from being unfairly displaced or disadvantaged by foreign workers. At the same time, the Department of Labor is helping businesses grow by delivering on President Trump's deregulatory agenda by quickly removing unnecessary and burdensome regulations. The department is also supporting job creators by promoting compliance assistance programs to prevent violations from occurring in the first place. We've also engaged in common sense rulemaking to support business models, like independent contracting and the franchise industries. We are expanding retirement investment options, lowering prescription drug costs, and creating new programs to help Americans start the family they dream of. Finally, the Department of Labor, as a member of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, is working closely with the Vice President and our Inspector General daily, supporting President Trump's promise to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, ensuring that every dollar that this committee gives us will help the American worker, and not be wasted or worse, stolen. The budget reflects the necessary reforms to enable DOL to fulfill its statutory responsibilities in the most cost-effective way. Since the start of this administration, the Department of Labor has proven its ability to maximize the value of taxpayer dollars all while protecting and supporting American workers, and job creators. The budget focuses the department on its highest priority functions and disinvests in programs that are wasteful duplicative unproven nonessential, and ineffective. So from cutting red tape for job creators to defending our workers and preparing them for the jobs of the future, the Department of Labor's fiscal year twenty twenty-seven budget helps keep President Trump's promise to make the American dream achievable, building a new golden age of prosperity for all American workers. Thank you for the opportunity to share that vision with you today, and I look forward to discussing that with all of you.

Thank you, uh, very much, and, uh, I am going to turn, uh, the first questioning over to the, uh, chair of the full committee. We're very happy she's here. Uh, Senator Collins, thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Welcome to our our witness. Last year the department paused operations job course centers across the country and halted them, halted enrollment for a time completely at Maine's two job centers. This caused significant uncertainty, distress, disruption for both the students and the staff. I am very familiar with both of the job course centers in the state of Maine. One is in Bangor, where I live. The other is in Loring and Limestone in Northern Maine, where I'm from. I know that they have a record of preparing students well to go directly into the workforce by giving them the skills that they need, or to pursue higher education, or to go directly into the military. In short, Job Corps provides young people with life-changing opportunities to develop workforce skills, earn credentials, and build a pathway to a successful future. I wanna give you an example today. Joe's uh Josh was a chef who came to the Loring Job Corps Center in Limestone, Maine to pursue advanced cyber security training. After graduating from Job Corps, Joshua went on to the Northern Maine Community College, where he was recently named Student of the Year in recognition of his academic excellence, leadership, and service to the campus. Following graduation, Joshua will return to Loring Job Corps Center, where he has accepted a full-time position as the Job Corps Center's IT Administrator. Stories like Joshua, who came from a very difficult background, shows the effectiveness of Job Corps in helping students turn around their lives and pursue successful careers. While Congress rejected soundly on a bipartisan basis last year's budget which proposed elimination of Job Corps, the administration's actions have hurt Job Corps. For example, enrollment at Job Corps centers has fallen to roughly fifty-five percent. These disruptions raise serious concerns about the department's ability to fairly and to accurately evaluate the programs When operations are paused and enrollments are halted, naturally participation rates, outcomes and overall performance metrics are inevitably affected. I am very disappointed that the department's twenty twenty seven budget request once again proposes eliminating Job Corps and part of the department's justification is the performance data that has been distorted, that have been distorted by the department's own actions. You talk about eliminating ineffective wasteful programs, none of us wants to find ineffective wasteful programs. But I know that that is not an accurate description of Job Corps. In light of the disrupt, the disruption that the department caused in the uncertainty about the future of job corps how can you use the metrics of decreased enrollments to fairly and accurately evaluate this program

Well uh thank you Senator for that story. I mean that's a really important story and it's it's touching it and those from our workforce development programs, those are the stories we wanna hear. We wanna see students get into these federally funded programs um from all different diverse backgrounds, Job Corps specifically sixteen to twenty four and have success. And your centers in Maine, especially with shipbuilding um which is coming back um to Maine, it's coming to Connecticut, it's coming to uh Rhode Island, uh that's the stories we wanna hear, how students are getting into these federally funded programs and being efficient. Um but a lot of the statistics that we've seen on Job Corps don't show that specific story that um you've told us and we want more of those stories so the president's budget while eliminating job corps is moving money into the make america skills program to be able to still help students like that get into the specific programs they want and have that very specific successful outcome and that's what we wanna see in all of our programs across the board

well i'm glad that you mentioned the ship building pipe fitter program that has been extraordinarily successful And believe me, Batharm Works and other employers in Maine are so grateful for Job Corps, providing that training. And those students go directly into the workforce, filling a gap. So, I really think we need to take a second look at this. Let me just switch to one other issue in the time I have remaining. Uh, and that has to do with the H two B. I realize the role of the Department of Homeland Security, but the Department of Labor plays a critical role here as well. Last year in the state of Maine, we had more than thirteen million tourists visit the state. We are a state of one point three million people. So ten times the population of Maine uh visited our state. And naturally, when you have that kind of disparity, employers in Maine simply cannot find the workers to meet the demand during peak months. And these tourists spend nine point four billion dollars in our state last year alone. This is incredibly important to our economy. So H two V visas are absolutely critical to fill this gap. But just this morning I met with two hotel owners who described the problems that they had. I continually hear from employers about the delays in the processing of H two B applications and for many of these businesses, timing is critical and delays can have serious economic consequences. I think personally that an employer who has a good record of five years of complying with all the laws, that we shouldn't count that employer um against the numbers. And I also think we should bring back the Bush administration's returning worker program where someone who had worked one year, gone back home, came back, gone back home doesn't count against the cap. And it's my understanding the administration is open to those changes. But what steps is the Department of Labor taking to improve the timely processing of H two B visa applications so that employers in Maine can access the workers they need in time to meet the seasonal demand?

I was able to travel with the Vice President to Maine last week, so I saw how beautiful it is uh this time of year and I understand the economy um really relies on those H two B's uh B visas especially in the summer. Uh the President's budget does propose a new office at the Department of Labor called the Office of Immigration Policy. It pulls some of our immigration work out of other agencies to have one centralized source to not only be able to process faster but really have that customer service um for workers for employers who need these temporary uh work visa so we're very committed to that it's been a big effort of ours in this administration to make sure that seasonal workers have a process and have a dedicated office to be able to move that forward

i look forward to working with you on that

thank you

thank you madam chair

thank you senator baldwin

thank you madam chair um my question is also sort of about coordination uh and efficiencies um acting secretary sonderling the trump administration's america's talent strategy from last year stated, and I'm gonna quote from it, " America's workforce development programs are spread across multiple federal agencies, funding streams and statutory authorities, resulting in a system that is confusing to navigate, inefficient to operate, and difficult to manage." The Trump administration is at the same time taking education programs administered currently by one agency and spreading them now across multiple federal agencies and multiple grant systems. How is that going to simplify, coordinate, or improve anything for states and schools?

Well, uh, thank you, Senator, and, uh, I do appreciate our conversations and our offices being worked together, and I look forward to that continuing. Um, as - as far as - as the question you're answering, we believe that this is the most, uh, efficient way, um, for our federal dollars, uh, in the WIOA programs. um to get out to states what we found is that a lot of the stakeholders at the states

yeah

um work with the department of education and work with the department of labor through so so through the inter-agency agreements under the economy act um our systems at the department of labor are are very sophisticated already dealing with these stakeholders and we're working with the education

well

department to help them administrate them so that that dollar not going down

i'm gonna give you another opportunity to address one of these but let's be clear this has nothing to do with improving schools or helping students and families. Roughly two thirds of special education students spend eighty percent of the school day in a regular classroom. Nearly twenty percent of American Indian and Alaska native students are served under the IDEA uh act. Um, yet this administration is scattering these programs across multiple federal agencies and creating just what you are arguing plagues the workforce development system. Now, on to um, a a a another issue. I'm I'm also deeply concerned that Department of Labor does not have the expertise or capacity to administer many of the programs that are being uh moved there. Um, uh, more than one thousand school districts serving Native American students and students from military families receive critical funding through the impact aid program. Does the Department of Labor have any experience with the impact aid program, or its grant system, through which the school districts apply for that critical funding, yes or no?

I can tell you for all the programs that we have IAA agreements with the Department of Education and the Department of Labor staff working with the Department of Education has the systems to administer these grants uh more efficiently, and faster than before. We have newer technology

You know, I I you're incorrect on that account and in fact impact aid uh school districts have been saying you created a special uh interface for us to uh uh request and and uh get the impact aid um in the department of education now you propose to substitute it with something that is not customized for that purpose so the department of labor just doesn't have any expertise in using critical systems that our school districts, serving military families and Native American students are relying on. I asked Secretary McMahon this question three weeks ago. Um, are you aware that the Department of Labor Inspector General has consistently noted challenges, that Department of Labor has in administering its own, uh, existing grant portfolio?

Uh, I am, uh, in contact with the Inspector General to make sure that all of the recommendations from that office. are reasonably um dealt with. And uh all I know from the current systems that are administering and actually moving some of the Perkins five and WIOA to uh money under the OCTE uh office have been going smoothly, states have been getting their money, um states have been able to apply and um come together into one plan, and we'll see where it falls upon the

But but earlier this year on on the point that I made about the Inspector General, um they said this about the Department of Labor's top management of performance challenges and I quote, "Navigating shared program management with the Department of Education may present operational challenges for the Employment and Training Administration." As identified in previous audits, ETA is challenged in effectively managing its grant portfolio. The OIG has consistently found issues associated with grant oversight, performance results, and ensuring grant funds are used effectively to achieve outcomes.

there we've been administering the CTE programs and we've had four thousand one hundred and eighty-two process payments with over one point two billion to fifty-seven unique states and territories so from our end we're seeing our systems working, and we're seeing that the states and workforce agencies and education systems are getting their money through one source, working together with the department of labor and the department of education. And from our perspective it's working, it's ultimately gonna help the students and those in workforce development. Thank you, Miss.

Thank you.

Thank you, Senator.

Uh, thank you. Uh, Acting Secretary, I I I'd mentioned about coal miners in my opening statement. Uh, I know that the minor injury, you just released the uh sta- uh statistic that mining and injury rate hit hit a record low in twenty twenty five. But of course, when you lose six in one state um who lost their lives, that's that's six too many as I'm sure you agree. Um, can you discuss how this budget prioritizes mine safety? I notice, I know you have some cuts at MSHA or maybe some redistributions. If you could explain that to me.

Yeah, and obviously, uh, mind health safety is one of our top priorities at the Department of Labor, especially with the President's commitment to bringing energy and energy manufacturing uh back to the United States. In this administration, um, we are really proud that in two tw- twenty twenty-five, um, the injury rates were the lowest. And that's really what matters to us and we're gonna continue to do that by really working with miners, really working on compliance assistance. And although there are some budget cuts related to MSHA's operations, that's really related to efficiency. Seven offices have gone to five. We're investing in technology, in these helmets that use AI and heat mapping and can actually see violations and transcribe the violations. That's gonna make our investigators thirty percent uh more efficient, but more importantly, we are hiring uh mine health, safety and inspectors and investigators. Um, we expect a hundred and sixty new inspectors and that's really our top priority. So, even with the President's budget, how it's framed, it's more on efficiency, it's more on technology, while continuing to make sure that the mines in West Virginia and around the country are safe and we're seeing that by the all injury rate um being at a record low.

Well, thank you for that and thanks for the emphasis on that, that is exceedingly important, not just in coal mining but all those uh other mining jobs that are very very difficult but to keep the keep the country moving. Um I wanted to ask about uh unemployment insurance waste fraud and abuse. Um the GAO report said that uh the Department of Labor uh had an uh improper payment rate of about fifteen percent, which is well above the federal compliance threshold. I did note in my uh statement in my um preamble to my statement, I I don't think I knew this, but there is a federal compliance threshold of ten percent, I personally think it's too high. That means one of every ten dollars that goes out is an acceptable rate if it's improperly used. And this has been a big emphasis for the president. So, um, what are you doing about this to improve programs' integrity, tamp down improper payments? What do you do when you fi- do you go to an enforcement mechanism? Uh, do you recoup any of the dollars, and and what do you do with those dollars? I really think this is an area that, uh, we could have much improvement. From the DOL and other areas as well.

And in my opening statement I brought this up, we are a member of the White House Task Force, um, related to fraud, and this is our top priority of the Department of Labor. And we're working, it's a two-prong approach, number one, from the Department of Labor's perspective, to make sure that improper payments stop. And that the states have the proper identity verification systems to make sure that not a single dollar goes out. And what we saw during the pandemic, uh, as this committee knows very well, up to a hundred and thirty-five billion dollars, um, occurred um related to ui fraud and now we're looking at our systems we've asked for additional funding to make sure that our integrity systems um can help us with the identification and other tools so that's on the front-end really working um within the department with the states um to make sure that no money goes out improperly that there's proper identification system on the back-end it's working with our inspector general's office who has that criminal authority to go after bad actors who stole this money and that's what we're doing So it's it's it's working to stop money from going out and making sure the verification systems are there. And then on the back-end, aggressively prosecuting unemployment insurance fraud. We've deployed uh strike teams to high-risk states. So we're really looking on ways to use technology and programs to work with our state partners to make sure that they have the tools they need for identifying the intruders.

Are you finding that the states are up in their game here? I mean, because ov- ultimately the information comes from the states, correct?

We're working very closely with all states and territories to make sure that they're using the identity verification systems. We've created unemployment dot gov um in a in a pilot program to get states to start using that to send um the information to us first so then we can work and verify the claims and then also the data sharing on states is what's most important, to see um where those payments were.

Are there any penalties to states that don't that exceed certain amount of uh non-compliance?

There are certain administrative remedies we can take. And we are we are looking into that um right now and we

Have you been doing that? So you're not doing it now but you're looking into it?

We are um in the process of of doing everything we can to make sure that the States um are using all of our systems and our significant remedies if they don't.

Yeah, I would say the States the States are uh always uh responsive when there's money on the line here, and and they're the ones that are gonna be held responsible for this. Uh and uh and I think in in reference to you know increasing um apprenticeships, training new students and new young adults or even retraining others that have been in the workforce, those extra dollars are gonna be critical.

And that's a big part of the Vice President's task force and there'll be many announcements coming up on this exact issue what we're we're doing to, not only prevent the fraud, but to prosecute.

Thank you. Uh, Senator Murphy.

Uh, thank you very much, uh, Madam Chair. First, uh, let me just make a comment on job core. Uh, I think this is a grave mistake. We have two programs in Connecticut, uh, Hartford and New Haven, that have served kids very well. These are, um, kids who have just hit enormous dead ends and struggles in their life. Uh, a large percentage of these kids have pretty significant disabilities come from very difficult backgrounds. Um, a- and what I guess makes me the maddest is that inside this budget is just a really false narrative about what's happening inside these programs. Um, you have created an impression that these programs are rife with sexual abuse and unsafe care. And that is just fundamentally not true. In fact, a GAO report noted that to the extent that there are kids in these programs who pass away, that happens in their communities, in part because they live in pretty unsafe places. Job corps tends to be the safe place for them. Um, so, um, I I I just think it's really important that we set the record straight on what's happening. Um, the question I want to ask you is about, uh, our defense industrial base. So you mentioned that there is a surge in shipbuilding in certain parts of the country. Connecticut is one of those places. Um, we are being asked by the federal government and the Department of Defense to dramatically increase the number of submarines that we are making, um, a long overdue investment, um, but this budget is a killer for us because you are proposing a record decrease in funding for DOL, a twenty-six reduction, there is absolutely no way that that doesn't result in fewer job training slots. Um, in Connecticut we just can't make these submarines, we can't make the helicopters, we can't make the jet engines without a significant contribution from the Department of Labor. And writ large in our economy, um, the only way we are going to be able to keep up with China, um, which is always gonna be able to make stuff cheaper, is to have a highly educated and trained workforce. So let me just ask you a pretty simple question. Um, you're proposing a twenty six percent overall cuts and asking us to endorse that. I think it's highly unlikely that we will do that. But if we were, if the department was to shrink by a quarter, would you end up funding more or less training slots than you do today?

Well, thank you, Senator, and you bring up an an incredible point on shipbuilding. and that has been one of the priorities of this administration for workforce development. We believe ship buildings are prime for the registered apprenticeship program, um which we're doing everything we can to get more students in. We have a thirty five point eight million fund, um related to manu manufacturing which includes ship building. And we've also have two cooperative agreements for thirteen point eight million to send a US workers overseas to get that training from South Korea and Finland that are experts in this and especially like places in Connecticut where shipbuilding is coming back.

But

So you have our absolute commitment that we are using the federal dollars to make sure that we have a skilled workforce in shipbuilding and they get them through registered workers.

But just to answer the basic question, with - with a - with a record decrease, a - you're requesting a twenty-six percent reduction. Y- you are asking us to train less workers in this country with DOL dollars. Correct?

No, we are asking you to m- put the money in more programs and we believe

Well, but that's, but I,

our

but just, but just, but just, I mean, that's not credible.

To the state.

I mean, I, I, I respect the job you have and I know you've inherited this position, but it's not credible to come before this committee and say that you are asking for a twenty-five percent reduction and you are gonna train more workers and provide more training value. That's just not credible.

Our Make America Skilled budget portion of this moves a lot of these, uh, programs into one place where we can give the states the money, um, not restricted like it has been before into certain programs that are in effect and earmarking that money versus the general ability to give a state, and then Kinetic can decide how they're gonna train their workforce and use that in shipbuilding,

OK, th- but that's a different i- but that's a different issue.

opposed to how they were before.

So,

But the the per- they can

you're gonna give, you you're gonna give the states the money and allow them to decide, but y- but the overall amount of money that's gonna be dedicated to training is going to be a quarter lower than it is today. And I just think it's important that you just tell us that we're gonna train less people with federal dollars and you're gonna ask the private sector and states to pick up the difference. I mean, that's just true.

The programs we're seeking to eliminate are not necessarily effective in not training the workers we want. We believe we can train more workers more efficiently and effectively by moving to the budget program that's proposed.

But then why, then then then why not give us a budget with a flat funding or a ten percent reduction and replace the programs that aren't working with programs that are working? You're eliminating programs and replacing them with nothing.

We're eliminating some of the programs and then allowing the States to design the program,

Yeah, it's just gonna be, it's just ultimately gonna be less money to do the job, and I don't know how a state like Connecticut fills that gap. I don't know how Electric Boat fills the gap, um, without significant federal dollars, and there's just no way to explain a twenty-five percent reduction without also explaining to the private sector and to States that there's gonna be less training slots funded by the federal government. I I think it's I I listen, I don't think we're gonna adopt this this budget, but I think if we did, it'd be a really dangerous prescription, especially for States like Connecticut who are bearing a lion's share of the defense industrial um manufacturing load. Thank you, Madam.

Thank you, Senator.

Um, Senator Britt.

Wow. All right. Thank you. Um, Acting Secretary Sonderling, thank you so much for being here today. Um, it was great to see you last week at the White House for the Mother's Day event, celebrating mothers and their families. I was especially encouraged by the spotlight you all placed on the Department of Labor's new proposed rulemaking to create a category of fertility benefits. As a mother myself and someone who has dedicated much of my time in the Senate to supporting working families I'd like you to walk

Well, Well, thank you, thank you, Senator, Senator, and it was great to be with you in the Oval. And it was great to be with you in the Oval. the President um accurately and beautifully said um you are have been the champion on this issue. And the reason we can have this discussion is because of your advocacy. So from the Department of Labor's standpoint, from the American worker's standpoint, we thank you. So um we released a proposed rule making to make fertility benefits more affordable and accessible. Right now, nearly sixty percent of employers don't offer any fertility coverage at all. And this administration wants to change that. So we're expanding the access by doing a new um category of health care insurance, um, related to fertility benefit. So you think about it now, when you go to your employer, you have your core health care plan, but you have a dental plan and a vision plan that are are separate. And those who need those plans can engage in those plans opposed to everyone else. And that's exactly what we've done, groundbreaking for fertility coverage. So this new accepted benefit is going to be related to fertility coverage.

Mm-hmm.

Um, and that really we believe is going to change how employers operate in providing these coverages. As I said, sixty percent don't. We believe that when this rule goes final, it's going to double the amount of employers offering this benefit. And that is exactly what we want to do. And more importantly, when this goes into effect, we believe se- this will impact seven hundred and fifty thousand, uh, employees.

Wow.

Um, so that's twenty percent of the current uh birthing population right now just because of this benefit. But um it was able under your guidance and assistance in really pushing us to do this, we were able to do this. And what's most significant about this, it allows the employers to design the uh plan for their employees. They know their workforce best, so they can design these benefits to their exact workforce. And fertility is broad, this also impacts men as well. It's the whole process of fertility and that's what this proposal is so exciting and we know it will have a very big impact on creating american families

well we are thrilled and thank you again for your work on this um we know that it is changing lives and creating hope and helping people um you know like i said start or grow their families and what a blessing that is so we appreciate it and look forward to continuing to work with you on that um as we gain access to as many people as possible. Um, I wanna turn to another major issue facing Alabama's workforce. Ninety-five percent of construction workforce in our state is non-union. By current federal policy, um, many of our qualified construction companies simply have not been able to - to do this because they're - they aren't union shops, so they've been disproportionately affected by some of the rule making that we've seen. I understand the Department of Labor doesn't issue the federal acquisition regulations, but DOL has been used to justify federal PLA policy on the theory that these agreements promote safety, stability and efficiency. And in Alabama we've actually seen quite the opposite. So government mandated uh PLAs are increasing cost, they are slowing delivery and reducing competition, particularly for small non-PLA contractors. Will you commit to providing the subcommittee with the relevant Department of Labor data that has been used to justify these federal PLA mandates?