I stand with Pipeliners Local 798 in urging Senate leadership to support the National Apprenticeship Act (H.R. 8294).

This bill is particularly important to industry craftsmen and their families, as the national apprenticeship system provides a ladder of opportunity for those seeking workforce training, including pipeliners employed by the oil and natural gas industry. If passed, H.R. 8294 will reauthorize the law on which the nation's current apprenticeship programs are built, helping to ensure the continued vitality of this system.

House leadership passed this bill because they recognize it maintains the integrity of the current Registered Apprenticeship system by ensuring the safety, well-being and economic opportunity for apprentices within the union workforce.

This commitment to safety and quality is especially important for Local 798, a trades union representing the nation's most highly skilled and dedicated industry workers. Local 798 members undergo continual training and education in pipeline safety. Local 798's high-standard training is essential to the growth and enduring vision of our union, and expanding the national apprenticeship system will only help to further this goal.

Strengthening the Registered Apprenticeship system is essential, as the system already invests nearly $1.7 billion annually into a wide-reaching network of more than 1,600 training facilities across the country, including the Local 798 training center in Tulsa, Oklahoma [**confirm the training center receives this funding**] that provides hundreds of hours each year of critical training in pipeline safety and technology that sharpens members' skills in welding, pipe fitting and other industry work. 

I urge Senate leadership to support the National Apprenticeship Act without delay in order to strengthen the Registered Apprenticeship system, which is already the gold standard in workforce training. This will create opportunities for more industry craftsmen to further build and sharpen their skills and ultimately to secure good-paying jobs on infrastructure projects.

Simply put, this bill will help secure a bright economic and energy future for our nation, as a highly-trained workforce is the only one trusted to build safe and efficient pipeline systems that deliver energy to communities across the country. This is why I support the National Apprenticeship Act (H.R. 8294), and I urge Senate leadership to do the same.

Signed,

American Energy Industry Supporter