21st Century Transportation Workforce Development Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2697 To establish a task force on developing a 21st century surface transportation workforce, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 20, 2021 Mr. LANGEVIN (for himself and Mr. MCKINLEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To establish a task force on developing a 21st century surface transportation workforce, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Trans- 4 portation Workforce Development Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TASK FORCE ON DEVELOPING A 21ST CENTURY 6 SURFACE TRANSPORTATION WORKFORCE. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor- 9 tation shall establish a task force on developing a 21st 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2697.IH H2697 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2697 IH century surface transportation workforce (in this section 1 referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 2 (b) DUTIES.—Not later than 12 months after the es- 3 tablishment of the Task Force under subsection (a), the 4 Task Force shall develop and submit to the Secretary rec- 5 ommendations and strategies for the Department of 6 Transportation to— 7 (1) evaluate the current and future state of the 8 surface transportation workforce, including projected 9 job needs in the surface transportation sector; 10 (2) identify factors influencing individuals pur- 11 suing careers in surface transportation, including 12 barriers to attracting individuals into the surface 13 transportation workforce; 14 (3) address barriers to retaining individuals in 15 surface transportation careers; 16 (4) identify and address potential impacts of 17 emerging technologies on the surface transportation 18 workforce; 19 (5) increase access for vulnerable or underrep- 20 resented populations, including women and minori- 21 ties, to high-skill, in-demand surface transportation 22 careers; 23 (6) facilitate and encourage elementary, sec- 24 ondary, and post-secondary students in the United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2697.IH H2697 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2697 IH States to pursue careers in the surface transpor- 1 tation sector; and 2 (7) identify and develop pathways for students 3 and individuals to secure pre-apprenticeships, reg- 4 istered apprenticeships, and other work-based learn- 5 ing opportunities in the surface transportation sector 6 of the United States. 7 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing recommenda- 8 tions and strategies under subsection (b), the Task Force 9 shall— 10 (1) identify factors that influence whether 11 young people and underrepresented populations, in- 12 cluding women and minorities, pursue careers in 13 surface transportation; 14 (2) consider how the Department of Transpor- 15 tation, businesses, industry, labor, educators, and 16 other stakeholders can coordinate efforts to support 17 qualified individuals in pursuing careers in the sur- 18 face transportation sector; 19 (3) identify methods of enhancing surface 20 transportation pre-apprenticeships and registered 21 apprenticeships, job skills training, mentorship, edu- 22 cation, and outreach programs that are exclusive to 23 young people in the United States; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2697.IH H2697 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2697 IH (4) identify potential sources of funding, includ- 1 ing grants and scholarships, that may be used to 2 support young people and other qualified individuals 3 in pursuing careers in the surface transportation 4 sector. 5 (d) CONSULTATION.—In developing the recommenda- 6 tions and strategies required under subsection (b), the 7 Task Force may consult with— 8 (1) local educational agencies (as such term is 9 defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 10 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) 11 and institutions of higher education (as such term is 12 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act 13 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); and 14 (2) State workforce development boards. 15 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the sub- 16 mission of the recommendations and strategies under sub- 17 section (b), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 18 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 19 Representatives and the Committee on Environment and 20 Public Works of the Senate a report containing such rec- 21 ommendations and strategies. 22 (f) COMPOSITION OF TASK FORCE.—The Secretary 23 shall appoint members to the Task Force whose diverse 24 background and expertise allow such members to con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2697.IH H2697 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2697 IH tribute balanced points of view and ideas in carrying out 1 this section, comprised of equal representation from each 2 of the following: 3 (1) Industries in the surface transportation sec- 4 tor. 5 (2) Surface transportation sector labor organi- 6 zations. 7 (3) Such other surface transportation stake- 8 holders and experts as the Secretary considers ap- 9 propriate. 10 (g) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Members shall be 11 appointed to the Task Force for the duration of the exist- 12 ence of the Task Force. 13 (h) COMPENSATION.—Task Force members shall 14 serve without compensation. 15 (i) SUNSET.—The Task Force shall terminate upon 16 the submission of the report required under subsection (e). 17 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 18 (1) PRE-APPRENTICESHIP.—The term ‘‘pre-ap- 19 prenticeship’’ means a training model or program 20 that prepares individuals for acceptance into a reg- 21 istered apprenticeship and has a demonstrated part- 22 nership with 1 or more registered apprenticeships. 23 (2) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP.—The term 24 ‘‘registered apprenticeship’’ means an apprenticeship 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2697.IH H2697 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2697 IH program registered under the Act of August 16, 1 1937 (29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.; commonly known as the 2 ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’), that satisfies the 3 requirements of parts 29 and 30 of title 29, Code 4 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on January 1, 5 2020). 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2697.IH H2697 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS