Workforce PATHWAYS Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1442 To establish the Corporation for Career Pathways to promote pathways to unfilled and emerging job markets, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 28, 2021 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish the Corporation for Career Pathways to promote pathways to unfilled and emerging job markets, 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 TITLES. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Workforce Promotion 4 to Access Training to Help Workers, Adults, and Youths 5 Succeed Act’’ or the ‘‘Workforce PATHWAYS Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 7 The purposes of this Act are— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1442 IS (1) to provide a coordinated process for devel- 1 oping a national strategy to ensure that United 2 States’ students and workers have access to afford- 3 able, relevant, and innovative education and job 4 training that will equip them to compete and win in 5 the global economy; 6 (2) to prepare Americans for the 21st Century 7 economy and the emerging industries of the future 8 by— 9 (A) providing an environment of lifelong 10 learning and skills-based training; and 11 (B) cultivating a demand-driven approach 12 to the opportunities available; 13 (3) to establish a promotional public-private 14 partnership that— 15 (A) analyzes economic trends; 16 (B) promotes pathways to unfilled and 17 emerging job markets; and 18 (C) guides current and future workers in 19 the United States economy by providing infor- 20 mation to empower economic mobility and secu- 21 rity for United States workers; 22 (4) to use economic and labor data and a honed 23 marketing campaign to reduce the barriers to choos- 24 ing a career, or a career transition, with more effec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1442 IS tive outreach and information that is amenable and 1 understandable for the worker and the business com- 2 munity; 3 (5) to use information and marketing to reduce 4 the stigma or uncertainties surrounding many qual- 5 ity and essential professions in the United States; 6 (6) to work with private employers, educational 7 institutions, labor unions, other nonprofit organiza- 8 tions, and State, territorial, tribal, and local govern- 9 ments to update and reshape the education and job 10 training landscape in the United States; and 11 (7) to work to aide and strengthen United 12 States workers in the wake of a global pandemic 13 that has inflicted significant pain on their economic 14 and physical well-being . 15 SEC. 3. CORPORATION FOR CAREER PATHWAYS. 16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is authorized to be es- 17 tablished a nonprofit corporation, which— 18 (1) shall be known as the Corporation for Ca- 19 reer Pathways (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Cor- 20 poration’’); 21 (2) shall not be an agency or establishment of 22 the United States Government; and 23 (3) shall be subject to the provisions of the Dis- 24 trict of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act (chap- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1442 IS ter 4 of title 29, District of Columbia Official Code) 1 to the extent that such provisions are consistent with 2 this section. 3 (b) MISSION AND VISION.— 4 (1) MISSION.—The mission of the Corporation 5 is to increase awareness of career pathways for 6 United States workers, educators, and employers by 7 promoting workforce development initiatives, edu- 8 cational programs, and other opportunities that de- 9 velop skills relevant to high-demand industries— 10 (A) to create a healthier, more resilient, 11 and more sustainable workforce; and 12 (B) to increase our Nation’s global com- 13 petitiveness. 14 (2) VISION.—The vision of the Corporation is 15 working through an innovative public-private part- 16 nership to use strategic data analytics, an effective 17 public marketing campaign, and the dissemination of 18 timely information to provide the tools workers, edu- 19 cators, and employers need— 20 (A) to create greater economic mobility; 21 (B) to promote greater job creation or em- 22 ployment; 23 (C) to reduce long-tenured displaced and 24 dislocated workers; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1442 IS (D) to increase the Nation’s gross-domestic 1 product, export potential, and overall economic 2 strength. 3 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall have 5 a Board of Directors (referred to in this section as 6 the ‘‘Board’’) consisting of 21 members, who— 7 (A) shall be appointed by the Secretary of 8 Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of 9 Commerce, the Secretary of Education, the Ad- 10 ministrator of the Small Business Administra- 11 tion, the Director of the National Economic 12 Council, and the Chairman of the Council of 13 Economic Advisors; 14 (B) shall have knowledge of the domestic 15 job market, education opportunities, and career 16 development; 17 (C) shall collectively represent diverse 18 ethnicities and regions of the United States; 19 and 20 (D) shall be United States citizens. 21 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—Of the members appointed 22 pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1442 IS (A) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 1 pertise and experience at a 4-year institution of 2 higher education; 3 (B) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 4 pertise and experience at a 2-year institution of 5 higher education; 6 (C) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 7 pertise and experience at a career and technical 8 training institution; 9 (D) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 10 pertise and experience in other adult education 11 opportunities; 12 (E) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 13 pertise and experience at a primary or sec- 14 ondary public school, especially in preparing 15 students in a career and technical education en- 16 vironment; 17 (F) in selecting the members described in 18 subparagraphs (A) through (E), the Secretary 19 of Labor should give strong consideration to in- 20 cluding at least 1 member with specific experi- 21 ence in career or academic counseling; 22 (G) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 23 pertise and experience in State or local work- 24 force boards; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1442 IS (H) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 1 pertise and experience with economics of the 2 labor market, including possible work in aca- 3 demia; 4 (I) 1 member shall have appropriate exper- 5 tise and experience in a labor organization rep- 6 resenting private sector unions, including 7 through established apprenticeship programs; 8 (J) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 9 pertise and experience in a labor organization 10 representing public sector unions, including 11 through established apprenticeship programs; 12 (K) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 13 pertise and experience in a private sector busi- 14 ness trade association, such as a Chamber of 15 Commerce; 16 (L) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 17 pertise and experience in small business or en- 18 trepreneurship, or their associations; 19 (M) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 20 pertise and experience in state or regional eco- 21 nomic development; 22 (N) 2 members shall have appropriate ex- 23 pertise and experience in a nonprofit organiza- 24 tion that specializes in assisting workers with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1442 IS job placement and other needs, at least 1 of 1 which shall specialize in assisting minority 2 workers; 3 (O) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 4 pertise and experience in a nonprofit organiza- 5 tion that provides job and vocational education 6 to unemployed and underemployed individuals; 7 (P) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 8 pertise and experience in a nonprofit organiza- 9 tion that specializes in helping assist veterans 10 in career development and job placement; 11 (Q) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 12 pertise and experience in a nonprofit organiza- 13 tion that specializes in helping assist disabled 14 workers; 15 (R) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 16 pertise and experience in a nonprofit organiza- 17 tion that specializes in helping assist at-risk 18 youth; 19 (S) 1 member shall have appropriate ex- 20 pertise and experience in a nonprofit organiza- 21 tion that specializes in helping assist in reha- 22 bilitating workers after incarceration; and 23 (T) 2 members shall have appropriate ex- 24 pertise and experience in areas not identified in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1442 IS subparagraphs (A) through (S) (such as areas 1 within the technology, energy, and health care 2 sectors), as determined by the Secretary of 3 Labor, in consultation with the other officials 4 referred to in paragraph (1)(A). 5 (3) INCORPORATION.—The initial members of 6 the Board shall serve as incorporators and shall take 7 whatever actions are necessary to establish the Cor- 8 poration under the District of Columbia Nonprofit 9 Corporation Act (chapter 4 of title 29, District of 10 Columbia Official Code). 11 (4) TERM OF OFFICE.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 13 subparagraph (B), the term of office of each 14 member of the Board shall be 3 years. 15 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—Of the members ini- 16 tially appointed to the Board under this sub- 17 section— 18 (i) 7 members shall be appointed for 19 an initial 4-year term; 20 (ii) 7 members shall be appointed for 21 an initial 3-year term; and 22 (iii) 7 members shall be appointed for 23 an initial 2-year term. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1442 IS (5) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—The Secretary of 1 Labor may remove any member from the Board for 2 good cause. 3 (6) VACANCIES.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any vacancy in the 5 Board shall not affect the authority of the 6 Board and shall be filled in the manner re- 7 quired under this subsection. 8 (B) SERVICE AFTER EXPIRATION OF 9 TERM.—Any member of the Board whose term 10 has expired may continue to serve on the Board 11 until the earlier of— 12 (i) the date on which the member’s 13 successor has taken office; or 14 (ii) the last day of the calendar year 15 in which the member’s term has expired. 16 (C) LENGTH OF APPOINTMENT.—Any 17 member of the Board appointed to fill a va- 18 cancy occurring before the expiration of the 19 term for which that member’s predecessor was 20 appointed shall be appointed for the remainder 21 of such predecessor’s term. 22 (D) TERM LIMIT.—A member of the Board 23 may not serve more than 2 consecutive terms 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1442 IS (in addition to an initial 2-year term, if applica- 1 ble). 2 (7) ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIRS.— 3 Members of the Board shall— 4 (A) annually elect a member to be Chair; 5 and 6 (B) elect 1 or 2 members to be Vice Chair 7 every 2 years. 8 (8) MEETINGS.— 9 (A) OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.—Meetings of 10 the Board, including any committee of the 11 Board, shall be open to the public. The Board 12 may, by majority vote, close any such meeting 13 only for the time necessary to preserve the con- 14 fidentiality of commercial or financial informa- 15 tion that is privileged or confidential, to discuss 16 personnel matters, or to discuss legal matters 17 affecting the Corporation, including pending or 18 potential litigation. 19 (B) FREQUENCY; LOCATIONS.—The Chair 20 shall convene Board meetings not less fre- 21 quently than 4 times per year in diverse loca- 22 tions throughout the United States. 23 (C) LOCAL INPUT.—During Board meet- 24 ings, members of the Board— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1442 IS (i) shall be briefed by local officials 1 and individuals with appropriate expertise 2 in the topic under discussion; and 3 (ii) shall review the efforts of the 4 Board and impact of actions taken by the 5 Board. 6 (D) VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE.—Not fewer 7 than 1 of the Board meetings each year may be 8 conducted virtually to reduce travel and lodging 9 costs. Members of the Board may attend any 10 Board meeting virtually if the member explains 11 to the Board why his or her virtual attendance 12 is necessary. 13 (9) NOT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Notwith- 14 standing any other provision of law, members of the 15 Board may not be considered to be employees of the 16 United States Government as a result of their serv- 17 ice as members of the Board. 18 (10) COMPENSATION; EXPENSES.—Members of 19 the Board may not receive any compensation from 20 the Federal Government for their service on the 21 Board, but shall be paid actual travel expenses and 22 per diem in lieu of subsistence expenses when they 23 are away from their usual place of residence, in ac- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1442 IS cordance with section 5703 of title 5, United States 1 Code. 2 (11) ANNUAL OBJECTIVES.—The Board shall 3 establish annual objectives through a workforce 4 strategy for the Corporation for each fiscal year, 5 subject to approval by the Secretary of Labor, in 6 consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the 7 Secretary of Education, the Administrator of the 8 Small Business Administration, the Director of the 9 National Economic Council, and the Chairman of 10 the Council of Economic Advisors. 11 (12) BUDGET.—Not later [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]