Build Local, Hire Local Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3473 To establish an expansive infrastructure program to create local jobs and raise the quality of life in every community, to launch middle class career pathways in infrastructure, and to invest in high-quality American jobs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2021 Ms. BASS (for herself, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. MENG, Mr. JONES, Mr. SIRES, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. SAN NICO- LAS, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. KHANNA, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. PRESSLEY, and Mr. BOWMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra- structure, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, Agriculture, Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, Natural Re- sources, Homeland Security, and Small Business, for a period to be sub- sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish an expansive infrastructure program to create local jobs and raise the quality of life in every commu- nity, to launch middle class career pathways in infra- structure, and to invest in high-quality American jobs, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3473.IH H3473 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3473 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Build Local, Hire Local Act’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Definitions. TITLE I—CREATING JOBS AND RAISING THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN EVERY COMMUNITY Subtitle A—Creating Local Jobs Across the Country Sec. 111. Targeted hiring requirements for construction jobs created by covered infrastructure programs. Sec. 112. Compliance with court orders. Subtitle B—Rebuilding Our Infrastructure With American Business Sec. 121. Definitions. Sec. 122. Increasing meaningful small business participation. Sec. 123. Requiring meaningful participation from targeted businesses. Sec. 124. Compliance with court orders. Sec. 125. Expansion of Small Business Administration Surety Bond Program. Subtitle C—Encouraging the Use of U.S. Employment Plans and Best-Value Contracting Analysis Sec. 131. Creating a best-value analysis for Federal expenditures on infrastruc- ture, use of U.S. Employment Plans, and preferences for reg- istered apprenticeship programs and neutrality in union orga- nizing. Subtitle D—Improving Safety, Connectivity, and Access to Better Opportunities Sec. 141. Accessibility data program. Sec. 142. Establishment of performance measures for transportation accessi- bility. Sec. 143. Technical assistance program. Sec. 144. Connect Communities Program. TITLE II—LAUNCHING MIDDLE CLASS CAREER PATHWAYS IN INFRASTRUCTURE Sec. 201. Building American Infrastructure and Careers Program. Sec. 202. Infrastructure workforce equity capacity building program. Sec. 203. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE III—INVESTING IN HIGH-QUALITY AMERICAN JOBS Sec. 301. Wage rate. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3473.IH H3473 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3473 IH Sec. 302. Raise labor standards, improve working conditions, and strengthen workers’ bargaining power. Sec. 303. Buy America Bureau. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) infrastructure plays a vital role in the lives 3 of all people in the United States; 4 (2) the aging infrastructure of the United 5 States is in need of a significant investment to re- 6 pair, rebuild, and modernize, and in the process, the 7 Federal Government can take necessary steps to ad- 8 dress economic and racial injustices that have lim- 9 ited opportunities for far too many people of the 10 United States; 11 (3) decades of disinvestment and exclusionary 12 policies have isolated many people of color, low-in- 13 come people, and disabled individuals in the United 14 States from opportunity across the urban centers, 15 deindustrialized cities, rural regions, and Tribal 16 areas of the United States, including horribly inad- 17 equate investment to ensure universal access to 18 clean air and water, safe and reliable transportation, 19 affordable housing, quality living wage jobs, high- 20 speed internet, modernized schools, and parks and 21 community facilities; 22 (4) while the construction of the National High- 23 way System remains one of the most transformative 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3473.IH H3473 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3473 IH achievements in the history of the United States, it 1 came at the expense of many low-income commu- 2 nities as well as minority neighborhoods of all in- 3 come levels that were destroyed by the construction 4 and isolated from the broader community and from 5 economic opportunity; 6 (5) investing in repairing, rebuilding, and mod- 7 ernizing the infrastructure of the United States pre- 8 sents an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of 9 the past and reimagine how communities can design 10 and build infrastructure to be more equitable, help- 11 ing to address structural inequities faced by 12 marginalized communities nationwide, including a 13 lack of good paying jobs, affordable, accessible, and 14 inclusive housing, decaying roads, bridges, and 15 schools, inadequate access to technology, and expo- 16 sure to toxic emissions and poisoned water; 17 (6) accessibility to quality infrastructure, train- 18 ing, and jobs is an issue across the United States, 19 spanning from rural and Tribal areas to urban and 20 suburban areas; 21 (7) transportation infrastructure has a signifi- 22 cant impact on access to jobs, education, healthcare, 23 healthy foods, and other essential services; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3473.IH H3473 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3473 IH (8) accessibility to essential services is defined 1 not only by speed, but also by ease of access, which 2 includes the ability to safely and conveniently access 3 services by all modes of travel; 4 (9) with a shortage of construction firms that 5 are ready and able to take on the large-scale infra- 6 structure projects the United States demands, the 7 close to 478,000 specialty trade contractors in small- 8 er minority, women, and disadvantaged businesses 9 could be supported to meet this demand; 10 (10) small businesses and under-represented 11 contractors, including minority-, women-, veteran- 12 owned businesses, and businesses owned by disabled 13 individuals should have the opportunity to rebuild 14 their communities and employ hardworking people of 15 the United States along the way; 16 (11) as of 2018, about 1⁄4 of the infrastructure 17 workforce is projected to retire or permanently leave 18 their jobs over the next decade, compounding the in- 19 frastructure crisis in the United States; 20 (12) as of 2019, the Board of Governors of the 21 Federal Reserve System finds that skilled trades and 22 many occupations that do not require a 4-year de- 23 gree are not considered to be at significant risk of 24 automation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3473.IH H3473 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3473 IH (13) infrastructure jobs include a wide range of 1 employment opportunities in both the public and pri- 2 vate sectors, including design, manufacturing, con- 3 struction, operation, governance, and maintenance of 4 infrastructure assets in the United States; 5 (14) more than 1 in 10 jobs in the United 6 States is a transportation- or infrastructure-related 7 job; 8 (15) many infrastructure jobs provide competi- 9 tive wages with low barriers to entry, many of which 10 require on-the-job training in lieu of formal 4-year 11 degree higher education programs; 12 (16) in spite of rising income inequality, infra- 13 structure jobs paid approximately 30 percent more 14 to low income individuals than other occupations in 15 2018; 16 (17) women, people of color, and particularly 17 women of color are underrepresented in construction 18 jobs; 19 (18) while women across all occupations cur- 20 rently make up about 50 percent of the workforce, 21 women in construction and extraction occupations 22 has hovered around 3 percent for the last 3 decades; 23 (19) while Black Americans make up about 12 24 percent of the overall workforce, Black Americans 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3473.IH H3473 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3473 IH only represent 7 percent of construction and extrac- 1 tion occupations; 2 (20) by focusing on improving workforce devel- 3 opment systems through targeted employment strat- 4 egies, the Federal Government can improve the qual- 5 ity of future projects and better ensure that all com- 6 munities benefit from investments that— 7 (A) protect workers; 8 (B) expand opportunities for advancement; 9 (C) establish strong labor standards; and 10 (D) redress discriminatory policies that 11 have unfairly burdened low-income communities 12 and communities of color with pollution and ge- 13 ographic isolation; and 14 (21) the Federal Government should make con- 15 certed efforts to close the workforce gap, through co- 16 ordination with States and units of local govern- 17 ment, workforce development agencies, national and 18 regional nonprofit intermediaries, labor organiza- 19 tions, and institutions of higher education and other 20 educational institutions, including historically Black 21 colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving insti- 22 tutions, to recruit, train, and retain the next genera- 23 tion of infrastructure workers in the United States, 24 with a focus on— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3473.IH H3473 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3473 IH (A) achieving gender, ethnic, racial, and 1 ability diversity; and 2 (B) recruiting and training individuals 3 from communities with high unemployment 4 rates, including African-American communities, 5 Hispanic communities, Indian Tribes, the dis- 6 abled community, and the LGBTQ community. 7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 (1) COVERED INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM.— 10 The term ‘‘covered infrastructure program’’ means 11 any of the following: 12 (A) Direct and guaranteed loans and 13 grants under section 306(a) of the Consolidated 14 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 15 1926(a)). 16 (B) Distance learning and telemedicine 17 grants under section 2333 of the Food, Agri- 18 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 19 (7 U.S.C. 950aaa–2). 20 (C) Broadband loans and loan guarantees 21 under title IV of the Rural Electrification Act 22 of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.). 23 (D) The community connect grant pro- 24 gram established under title III of the Agri- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3473.IH H3473 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3473 IH culture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 1 Administration, and Related Agencies Appro- 2 priations, 2004 (Public Law 108–199; 118 3 Stat. 29). 4 (E) Solid waste management grants under 5 section 310B(b) of the Consolidated Farm and 6 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(b)). 7 (F) A program or project carried out 8 under the Public Works and Economic Develop- 9 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.). 10 (G) Financial assistance for development, 11 implementation, or modification of a State en- 12 ergy conservation plan under section 363 of the 13 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 14 6323). 15 (H) State water pollution control revolving 16 funds established under title VI of the Federal 17 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et 18 seq.). 19 (I) State drinking water treatment revolv- 20 ing loan funds established under section 1452 21 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 22 300j–12). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3473.IH H3473 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3473 IH (J) Grants for construction of health cen- 1 ters provided by the Secretary of Health and 2 Human Services. 3 (K) Grants for construction, renovation, or 4 repair of non-Federal research facilities pro- 5 vided by the Director of the National Institutes 6 of Health. 7 (L) The public transportation security as- 8 sistance grant program under section 1406 of 9 the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 10 Commission Act of 2007 (6 U.S.C. 1135). 11 (M) Assistance provided under the Public 12 Housing Capital Fund established under section 13 9(d) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 14 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(d)). 15 (N) The community development block 16 grant program under title I of the Housing and 17 Community Development Act of 1974 (42 18 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). 19 (O) The Indian housing block grant pro- 20 gram under section 101 of the Native American 21 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 22 of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4111). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3473.IH H3473 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3473 IH (P) The rural water supply program under 1 section 103 of the Rural Water Supply Act of 2 2006 (43 U.S.C. 2402). 3 (Q) Financial assistance provided under 4 the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innova- 5 tion Act (33 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.). 6 (R) Assistance provided under title 23, 7 United States Code. 8 (S) Assistance provided under chapter 53 9 of title 49, United States Code. 10 (T) Programs for civil works projects, in- 11 cluding water resources projects, under the ju- 12 risdiction of the Corps of Engineers. 13 (U) Assistance provided for a freight or 14 passenger rail project under subtitle V of title 15 49, United States Code. 16 (V) Assistance provided for an airport de- 17 velopment project under chapter 471 of title 49, 18 United States Code. 19 (W) Assistance for an environmental clean- 20 up project under the Comprehensive Environ- 21 mental Response, Compensation, and [Text truncated for display. 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