PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 18, 2016
Effective Apprenticeships to Rebuild National Skills Act or the EARNS Act
This bill establishes, in the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor, an Office of Apprenticeship to:
determine whether an apprenticeship program meets requirements for registration and maintains the standards necessary to remain registered,
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
manage the national apprenticeship system (the collective group of registered apprenticeship programs and pre-apprenticeship programs in the nation), and
make grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to carry out projects that support development of pre-apprenticeship programs.
The bill also establishes in Labor a National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships.
Labor and the Department of Education shall establish a voluntary Registered Apprenticeship-College Collaborative consisting of the sponsors carrying out registered apprenticeship programs, two- or four-year postsecondary educational institutions, and organizations that represent such programs or institutions, that agree to meet certain criteria in order to promote stronger connections between the registered apprenticeship programs involved and participating two- and four-year postsecondary educational institutions.
Labor shall make assistance payments to eligible sponsors of new registered apprenticeship programs or of existing programs that add employers as new partners, which may include joint labor-management registered apprenticeship programs.
People & committees
Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA] · D–WA
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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