MGP proposes bipartisan bill to expand residential construction education programs

Joined by a bipartisan collection of members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep.

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, has introduced legislation to provide federal funding to community colleges, junior colleges and trade schools to develop residential construction education and certification programs. On Tuesday, Gluesenkamp Perez joined Reps. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona, Don Davis, D-North Carolina, and Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, in introducing the Creating Opportunities for New Skills Training at Rural and Underserved Colleges and Trade Schools (CONSTRUCTS) Act.



If passed, the lawmakers say the legislation would expand access to good-paying, high-demand jobs and help developers build more homes. “Many communities are facing acute labor shortages in construction trades, but in order to bring down the cost of housing, we need to build more housing,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement. “By investing in fulfilling career pathways for our young people in the trades, we will be able to pick up the pace of residential construction and help hardworking families breathe easier.

It’s how we invest in our next generation, bring back prestige for the skilled trades, and support our rural timber economies.” Companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee.

“The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) commends Reps. Juan Ciscomani, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Ryan Zinke, and Don Davis for introducing the CONSTRUCTS Act, companion legislation to the Senate bill introduced earlier this year,” NAHB Chairman Carl Harris said in a statement. “With the housing industry facing a severe labor shortage that is exacerbating the housing affordability crisis through higher home building costs and construction delays, the bipartisan and bicameral CONSTRUCTS Act will strengthen America’s workforce pipeline by creating a new grant program to fund residential housing construction education and skills training programs at our nation’s community college and trade schools.

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