1. Water infrastructure and workforce investment (a) Findings Congress finds that— (1) utilities and local governments invest significant resources in planning, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining water, wastewater, and stormwater systems— (A) to ensure a safe and reliable water supply for customers; and (B) to maintain public health, safety, and quality; (2) during the 10-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, 30 of the largest water and wastewater utilities in the United States will— (A) invest $233,000,000,000 in operating and capital spending; and (B) support 289,000 jobs annually; (3) every $1,000,000,000 in Federal investment in water and wastewater infrastructure creates on average an estimated 16,000 jobs; (4) jobs in the water and wastewater sector, including apprenticeship positions, can pay more than 3 times the minimum wage; (5) the median age of water sector workers is 48 years old, which is 6 years older than the national median age of workers; (6) water and wastewater utilities anticipate unprecedented workforce replacement needs over the 10-year period described in paragraph (2) because 37 percent of water utility workers and 31 percent of wastewater utility workers will retire during that period; (7) during the period described in paragraph (6), workforce replacement needs in the water sector will exceed the 23-percent nationwide replacement need of the total workforce; and (8) water infrastructure projects and permanent water utility jobs can offer access to stable, high-quality jobs with competitive wages and benefits. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) water and wastewater utilities provide a unique opportunity for access to stable, high-quality careers