News

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper announced Tuesday he will serve as chairman of the Senate HELP Committee Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions oversees and considers a range of legislation, including education, public health and labor. The Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety would focus on employment issues and legislation related to the treatment and compensation of workers.

According to the news release from Hickenlooper’s press office, Hickenlooper plans to focus on workplace safety, job training and making workforce development accessible as chairman of the subcommittee.

“The economy of the future demands skills that are not always met in the traditional classroom, and government can play a key role in connecting workers to alternative pathways to obtain these skills,” Hickenlooper said in a news release.

In February, Hickenlooper announced he will also serve as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee’s new subcommittee on Science and Space, which will oversee development, research, legislation and policy regarding space, science, technology, engineering and math.

Hickenlooper will be the first Democratic senator in more than 40 years to lead two subcommittees in his or her first term.

Hickenlooper also serves on two other Senate committees for which he has yet to announce subcommittee assignments. He also serves on the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

As governor of Colorado, Hickenlooper created CareerWise, a statewide youth apprenticeship program that offered job training for young people as a way of offering alternative pathways to those looking for employment.

“Colorado pioneered on-the-job training for youth with CareerWise,” Hickenlooper said in a news release. “Using these lessons, and similar innovations from many states, we can rebuild and modernize the economy in everything from manufacturing and technology to rural health care.”

Grace George is an intern for The Durango Herald and The Journal in Cortez and a student at American University in Washington, D.C.