Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 156 To amend title II of the Department of Energy Organization Act to reauthor- ize an office within the Department of Energy, to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a comprehensive, nationwide energy- related industries jobs program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 4, 2021 Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title II of the Department of Energy Organization Act to reauthorize an office within the Department of Energy, to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a comprehensive, nationwide energy-related industries jobs program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act of 5 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Jan 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H156.IH H156 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 156 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—OFFICE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT, DIVERSITY, AND EMPLOYMENT Sec. 101. Name of office. Sec. 102. Energy workforce development programs. Sec. 103. Authorization. TITLE II—ENERGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Sec. 201. Energy workforce development. Sec. 202. Energy workforce grant program. Sec. 203. Definitions. TITLE I—OFFICE OF ECONOMIC 3 IMPACT, DIVERSITY, AND EM- 4 PLOYMENT 5 SEC. 101. NAME OF OFFICE. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 211 of the Department of 7 Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7141) is amended— 8 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘MINOR- 9 ITY ECONOMIC IMPACT’’ and inserting ‘‘ECONOMIC 10 IMPACT, DIVERSITY, AND EMPLOYMENT’’; and 11 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Office of Mi- 12 nority Economic Impact’’ and inserting ‘‘Office of 13 Economic Impact, Diversity, and Employment’’. 14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 15 tents for the Department of Energy Organization Act is 16 amended by amending the item relating to section 211 to 17 read as follows: 18 ‘‘Sec. 211. Office of Economic Impact, Diversity, and Employment.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Jan 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H156.IH H156 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 156 IH SEC. 102. ENERGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PRO- 1 GRAMS. 2 Section 211 of the Department of Energy Organiza- 3 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7141) is amended— 4 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 5 subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and 6 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘(f) The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall 9 establish and carry out the programs described in sections 10 201 and 202 of the Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs De- 11 velopment Act of 2021.’’. 12 SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION. 13 Subsection (h) of section 211 of the Department of 14 Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7141), as redesig- 15 nated by section 102 of this Act, is amended by striking 16 ‘‘not to exceed $3,000,000 for fiscal year 1979, not to ex- 17 ceed $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1980, and not to exceed 18 $6,000,000 for fiscal year 1981. Of the amounts so appro- 19 priated each fiscal year, not less than 50 percent shall be 20 available for purposes of financial assistance under sub- 21 section (e).’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000 for each of fis- 22 cal years 2021 through 2025.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Jan 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H156.IH H156 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 156 IH TITLE II—ENERGY WORKFORCE 1 DEVELOPMENT 2 SEC. 201. ENERGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap- 4 propriations for such purpose, the Secretary, acting 5 through the Director of the Office of Economic Impact, 6 Diversity, and Employment, shall establish and carry out 7 a comprehensive, nationwide program to improve edu- 8 cation and training for jobs in energy-related industries 9 in order to increase the number of skilled workers trained 10 for such jobs. 11 (b) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 13 established under subsection (a), the Secretary may 14 provide— 15 (A) financial assistance awards, technical 16 assistance, and other assistance the Secretary 17 determines appropriate, to educational institu- 18 tions and covered organizations and programs, 19 including those serving unemployed energy 20 workers; and 21 (B) internships, fellowships, traineeships, 22 and apprenticeships at the Department of En- 23 ergy, including at the Department of Energy 24 national laboratories. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Jan 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H156.IH H156 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 156 IH (2) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to subsection (c), 1 the Secretary shall distribute assistance described in 2 paragraph (1) in a manner proportional to the needs 3 of energy-related industries and demand for jobs in 4 energy-related industries, consistent with informa- 5 tion developed under subsection (e). 6 (c) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the program estab- 7 lished under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 8 (1) prioritize the education and training of indi- 9 viduals from underrepresented communities for jobs 10 in energy-related industries, including in providing 11 internships, fellowships, traineeships, apprentice- 12 ships, and employment at the Department of En- 13 ergy, including at the Department of Energy na- 14 tional laboratories; and 15 (2) in providing research grants and technical 16 assistance to educational institutions, give priority to 17 minority-serving institutions. 18 (d) COLLABORATION AND OUTREACH.—In carrying 19 out the program established under subsection (a), the Sec- 20 retary shall— 21 (1) collaborate with— 22 (A) to the maximum extent possible, State 23 workforce development boards, to maximize pro- 24 gram efficiency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Jan 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H156.IH H156 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 156 IH (B) educational institutions and covered 1 organizations and programs; 2 (C) energy-related industries and covered 3 organizations and programs to increase the op- 4 portunities for, and enrollment of, students and 5 other candidates, including students of minor- 6 ity-serving institutions and unemployed energy 7 workers, to participate in industry internships, 8 fellowships, traineeships, and apprenticeships; 9 and 10 (D) Federal-State Regional Commissions, 11 including the Appalachia Regional Commission, 12 the Delta Regional Authority, the Denali Com- 13 mission, the Northern Border Regional Com- 14 mission, the Northern Great Plains Regional 15 Commission, and the Southeast Crescent Re- 16 gional Commission; and 17 (2) conduct outreach activities to— 18 (A) encourage individuals from underrep- 19 resented communities and unemployed energy 20 workers to enter into the STEM fields; and 21 (B) encourage and foster collaboration, 22 mentorships, and partnerships among energy- 23 related industries, and covered organizations 24 and programs, that provide effective training 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Jan 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H156.IH H156 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 156 IH programs for jobs in energy-related industries 1 and educational institutions that seek to estab- 2 lish these types of programs in order to share 3 best practices and approaches that best suit 4 local, State, and national needs. 5 (e) CLEARINGHOUSE.— 6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In carrying out the pro- 7 gram established under subsection (a), the Sec- 8 retary, in collaboration with the Commissioner of the 9 Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Secretary of Com- 10 merce, the Director of the Bureau of the Census, 11 and energy-related industries, shall establish a clear- 12 inghouse to— 13 (A) develop, maintain, and update informa- 14 tion and other resources, by State and by re- 15 gion, on— 16 (i) training programs for jobs in en- 17 ergy-related industries; and 18 (ii) the current and future workforce 19 needs of energy-related industries, and job 20 opportunities in such energy-related indus- 21 tries, including identification of jobs in en- 22 ergy-related industries for which there is 23 the greatest demand; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Jan 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H156.IH H156 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 156 IH (B) act as a resource for educational insti- 1 tutions and covered organizations and programs 2 that would like to develop and implement train- 3 ing programs for such jobs. 4 (2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually 5 publish a report on the information and other re- 6 sources developed, maintained, and updated on the 7 clearinghouse established under paragraph (1). 8 (f) GUIDELINES TO DEVELOP SKILLS FOR AN EN- 9 ERGY INDUSTRY WORKFORCE.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 11 established under subsection (a), the Secretary, in 12 collaboration with the Secretary of Education, the 13 Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, and 14 the National Science Foundation, shall develop vol- 15 untary guidelines or best practices for educational 16 institutions to help provide students with the skills 17 necessary for jobs in energy-related industries, in- 18 cluding jobs in— 19 (A) the energy efficiency industry, includ- 20 ing jobs in energy efficiency (including architec- 21 ture, design, and construction of new energy ef- 22 ficient buildings), conservation, weatherization, 23 retrofitting, inspecting, auditing, and software 24 development; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Jan 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H156.IH H156 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 156 IH (B) the renewable energy industry, includ- 1 ing jobs in the development, engineering, manu- 2 facturing, and production of energy from re- 3 newable energy sources (such as solar, hydro- 4 power, wind, and geothermal energy); 5 (C) the community energy resiliency indus- 6 try, including jobs in the installation of rooftop 7 solar, in battery storage, and in microgrid tech- 8 nologies; 9 (D) the fuel cell and hydrogen energy in- 10 dustry; 11 (E) the advanced automotive technology 12 industry, including jobs relating to electric vehi- 13 cle batteries, connectivity and automation, and 14 advanced combustion engines; 15 (F) the manufacturing industry, including 16 jobs as operations technicians, in operations 17 and design in additive manufacturing, 3-D 18 printing, and advanced composites and ad- 19 vanced aluminum and other metal alloys, and in 20 industrial energy efficiency management sys- 21 tems, including power electronics, and other in- 22 novative technologies; 23 (G) the chemical manufacturing industry, 24 including jobs in construction (such as welders, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Jan 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H156.IH H156 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 156 IH pipefitters, and tool and die makers), as instru- 1 ment and electrical technicians, machinists, 2 chemical process operators, engineers, quality 3 and safety professionals, and reliability engi- 4 neers; 5 (H) the utility industry, including jobs in 6 smart grid technology, cybersecurity manage- 7 ment, and the generation, transmission, and 8 distribution of electricity and natural gas, such 9 as electricians and utility dispatchers, techni- 10 cians, operators, lineworkers, engineers, sci- 11 entists, and information technology specialists; 12 (I) the alternative fuels industry, including 13 jobs in biofuel and bioproducts development and 14 production; 15 (J) the pipeline industry, including jobs in 16 pipeline construction and maintenance and jobs 17 as engineers and technical advisors; 18 (K) the nuclear energy industry, including 19 jobs as scientists, engineers, technicians, mathe- 20 maticians, and security personnel; 21 (L) the oil and gas industry, including jobs 22 as scientists, engineers, technicians, mathemati- 23 cians, petrochemical engineers, and geologists; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Jan 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H156.IH H156 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 156 IH (M) the coal industry, including jobs as 1 coal miners, engineers, developers and manufac- 2 turers of state-of-the-art coal facilities, tech- 3 nology vendors, coal transportation workers and 4 operators, and mining equipment vendors. 5 (2) INPUT.—The Secretary shall solicit input 6 from energy-related industries in developing guide- 7 lines or best practices under paragraph (1). 8 (3) ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION 9 INITIATIVES.—The guidelines or best practices devel- 10 oped under paragraph (1) shall include grade-spe- 11 cific guidelines for elementary schools and secondary 12 schools for teaching energy efficiency technology, ar- 13 chitecture, design, and construction of new energy- 14 efficient buildings and building energy retrofits, 15 manufacturing efficiency technology, community en- 16 ergy resiliency, and conservation initiatives. 17 (4) STEM EDUCATION.—The guidelines or best 18 practices developed under paragraph (1) shall pro- 19 mote STEM education in educational institutions as 20 it relates to job opportunities in energy-related in- 21 dustries listed under such paragraph. 22 (5) PROHIBITION.—Nothing in this subsection 23 shall be construed to authorize the Secretary or any 24 other officer or employee of the Federal Government 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Jan 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H156.IH H156 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 156 IH to require or coerce a State, local educational agen- 1 cy, or educational institution to adopt or carry out 2 the guidelines or best practices developed under 3 paragraph (1). 4 (g) CONSOLIDATION.—To the extent practicable, the 5 Secretary shall, to avoid duplication of efforts, carry out 6 the Equity in Energy Initiative of the Department of En- 7 ergy, the Minority Educational Institution Student Part- 8 nership Program of the Department of Energy, and any 9 ot [Text truncated for display. 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