H.R. 147 would require the Department of Labor (DOL) to provide information about nationally registered apprenticeship programs to service members who are separating from active duty in the armed forces. The bill also would direct DOL, in coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to publish specified and searchable information on a public website about registered apprenticeships that are approved for participation under VA education benefit programs.
DOL provides some information about registered apprenticeships in workshops and online to separating service members, and the department maintains a dedicated website (apprenticeship.gov) with more information specifically for service members and veterans. Consequently, CBO estimates that the costs to update and supplement the information about apprenticeships provided to service members and veterans would total less than $500,000 over the 2021-2026 period. Such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Because more information would be available to people eligible for education benefits administered by VA, CBO expects that some of them would newly use those benefits for apprenticeship programs and that others, who otherwise would have used their benefits to enroll in a postsecondary education programs (which typically are more costly), would instead use them for apprenticeship programs. CBO estimates that the net changes in outlays under H.R. 147 would affect direct spending by insignificant amounts over the 2021-2031 period.
