IMPACT Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 996 To award grants to certain institutions of higher education to educate and train students to participate in the telecommunications workforce. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 25, 2021 Mr. WICKER (for himself, Ms. SINEMA, and Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To award grants to certain institutions of higher education to educate and train students to participate in the tele- communications workforce. 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Minority 4 Participation And Careers in Telecommunications Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘IMPACT Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. TELECOMMUNICATIONS WORKFORCE TRAINING 7 GRANT PROGRAM. 8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996 2 •S 996 IS (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 1 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 2 Commerce for Communications and Information. 3 (2) COVERED GRANT.—The term ‘‘covered 4 grant’’ means a grant awarded under subsection (b). 5 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 6 ty’’ means a historically Black college or university, 7 Tribal College or University, or minority-serving in- 8 stitution, or a consortium of such entities, that 9 forms a partnership with 1 or more of the following 10 entities to carry out a training program: 11 (A) A member of the telecommunications 12 industry, such as a company or industry asso- 13 ciation. 14 (B) A labor-management organization. 15 (C) The Telecommunications Industry 16 Registered Apprenticeship Program. 17 (D) A nonprofit organization dedicated to 18 helping individuals gain employment in the tele- 19 communications industry. 20 (E) A community or technical college with 21 experience in providing workforce development 22 for individuals seeking employment in the tele- 23 communications industry or a similar industry. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996 3 •S 996 IS (4) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Tele- 1 communications Workforce Training Grant Program 2 Fund established under subsection (c)(1). 3 (5) GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Grant Pro- 4 gram’’ means the Telecommunications Workforce 5 Training Grant Program established under sub- 6 section (b). 7 (6) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI- 8 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or 9 university’’ has the meaning given the term ‘part B 10 institution’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 11 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 12 (7) INDUSTRY FIELD ACTIVITIES.—The term 13 ‘‘industry field activities’’ means activities at active 14 telecommunications worksites, such as towers, con- 15 struction sites, and network management hubs. 16 (8) INDUSTRY PARTNER.—The term ‘‘industry 17 partner’’ means an entity described in subpara- 18 graphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (3) with which 19 an eligible entity forms a partnership to carry out a 20 training program. 21 (9) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 22 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an insti- 23 tution described in section 371(a) of the Higher 24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996 4 •S 996 IS (10) TRAINING PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘training 1 program’’ means a credit or non-credit program de- 2 veloped by an eligible entity, in partnership with an 3 industry partner, that— 4 (A) is designed to educate and train stu- 5 dents to participate in the telecommunications 6 workforce; and 7 (B) includes a curriculum and apprentice- 8 ship or internship opportunities. 9 (11) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 10 term ‘‘Tribal College or University’’ has the meaning 11 given the term in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher 12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3)). 13 (b) PROGRAM.—The Assistant Secretary, acting 14 through the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives es- 15 tablished under section 902(b)(1) of division N of the Con- 16 solidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116– 17 260), shall establish a program, to be known as the ‘‘Tele- 18 communications Workforce Training Grant Program’’, 19 under which the Assistant Secretary awards grants to eli- 20 gible entities to develop training programs. 21 (c) FUND.— 22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 23 the Treasury of the United States a fund to be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996 5 •S 996 IS known as the ‘‘Telecommunications Workforce 1 Training Grant Program Fund’’. 2 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Fund shall 3 be available to the Assistant Secretary to carry out 4 the Grant Program. 5 (d) APPLICATION.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 7 covered grant shall submit an application to the As- 8 sistant Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 9 containing such information as the Assistant Sec- 10 retary may require. 11 (2) CONTENTS.—An eligible entity shall include 12 in an application under paragraph (1)— 13 (A) a commitment from the industry part- 14 ner of the eligible entity to collaborate with the 15 eligible entity to develop a training program, in- 16 cluding curricula and internships or apprentice- 17 ships; 18 (B) a description of how the eligible entity 19 plans to use the covered grant, including the 20 type of training program the eligible entity 21 plans to develop; and 22 (C) a plan to increase female student par- 23 ticipation in the training program of the eligible 24 entity. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996 6 •S 996 IS (e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may use a 1 covered grant, with respect to the training program of the 2 eligible entity, to— 3 (1) hire faculty members to teach courses in the 4 training program; 5 (2) train faculty members to prepare students 6 for employment in jobs related to the deployment of 7 next-generation communications networks, including 8 5G networks, and fiber infrastructure, particularly 9 in— 10 (A) broadband and wireless network engi- 11 neering; 12 (B) network deployment; 13 (C) industry field activities; and 14 (D) cybersecurity; 15 (3) design and develop curricula and other com- 16 ponents necessary for degrees, courses, or programs 17 of study, including certificate programs and 18 credentialing programs, that comprise the training 19 program; 20 (4) pay for costs associated with instruction 21 under the training program, including the costs of 22 equipment, telecommunications training towers, lab- 23 oratory space, classroom space, and instructional 24 field activities; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996 7 •S 996 IS (5) fund scholarships, student internships, ap- 1 prenticeships, and pre-apprenticeship opportunities; 2 (6) recruit students for the training program; 3 and 4 (7) support the enrollment in the training pro- 5 gram of individuals working in the telecommuni- 6 cations industry in order to advance professionally in 7 the industry. 8 (f) GRANT AWARDS.— 9 (1) DEADLINE.—Not later than December 31, 10 2022, the Assistant Secretary shall award all cov- 11 ered grants. 12 (2) MINIMUM ALLOCATION TO CERTAIN ENTI- 13 TIES.—The Assistant Secretary shall award not less 14 than— 15 (A) 30 percent of covered grant amounts 16 to historically Black colleges or universities; and 17 (B) 30 percent of covered grant amounts 18 to Tribal Colleges or Universities. 19 (3) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—As part of the 20 final rules issued under subsection (g), the Assistant 21 Secretary shall develop criteria for evaluating appli- 22 cations for covered grants. 23 (g) RULES.—Not later than 180 days after the date 24 of enactment of this Act, after providing public notice and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996 8 •S 996 IS an opportunity to comment, the Assistant Secretary, in 1 consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Sec- 2 retary of Education, shall issue final rules governing the 3 Grant Program. 4 (h) TERM.—The Assistant Secretary shall establish 5 the term of a covered grant, which may not be less than 6 5 years. 7 (i) GRANTEE REPORTS.—During the term of a cov- 8 ered grant received by an eligible entity, the eligible entity 9 shall submit to the Assistant Secretary an annual report 10 that, with respect to the preceding year— 11 (1) describes how the eligible entity used the 12 covered grant amounts; 13 (2) describes the progress the eligible entity 14 made in developing and executing the training pro- 15 gram of the eligible entity; 16 (3) describes the number of faculty and stu- 17 dents participating in the training program of the el- 18 igible entity; 19 (4) describes the partnership with the industry 20 partner of the eligible entity, including the commit- 21 ments and in-kind contributions made by the indus- 22 try partner; and 23 (5) includes data on internship, apprenticeship, 24 and employment opportunities and placements. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996 9 •S 996 IS (j) OVERSIGHT.— 1 (1) AUDITS.—The Inspector General of the De- 2 partment of Commerce shall audit the Grant Pro- 3 gram in order to— 4 (A) ensure that eligible entities use covered 5 grant amounts in accordance with— 6 (i) the requirements of this section; 7 and 8 (ii) the overall purpose of the Grant 9 Program, as described in subsection (b); 10 and 11 (B) prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the 12 operation of the Grant Program. 13 (2) REVOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Assistant 14 Secretary shall revoke a grant awarded to an eligible 15 entity that is not in compliance with the require- 16 ments of this section or the overall purpose of the 17 Grant Program, as described in subsection (b). 18 (k) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Each year, 19 until all covered grants have expired, the Assistant Sec- 20 retary shall submit to Congress a report that— 21 (1) identifies each eligible entity that received a 22 covered grant and the amount of the covered grant; 23 (2) describes the progress each eligible entity 24 described in paragraph (1) has made toward accom- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996 10 •S 996 IS plishing the overall purpose of the Grant Program, 1 as described in subsection (b); 2 (3) summarizes the job placement status or ap- 3 prenticeship opportunities of students who have par- 4 ticipated in the training program of the eligible enti- 5 ty; and 6 (4) includes the findings of any audits con- 7 ducted by the Inspector General of the Department 8 of Commerce under subsection (j)(1) that were not 9 included in the previous report submitted under this 10 subsection. 11 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 12 authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $100,000,000 13 for fiscal year 2021, to remain available until expended. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996