WORKER Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1168 To advance STEM education, provide for improved worker training, retention, and advancement, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 13, 2019 Mr. RYAN (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. CLARKE of New York, and Mr. SOTO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, Transportation and Infrastructure, Science, Space, and Tech- nology, Natural Resources, Oversight and Reform, Foreign Affairs, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To advance STEM education, provide for improved worker training, retention, and advancement, 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 ‘‘Working On Reward- 4 ing and Keeping Employees Resilient Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘WORKER Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:46 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1168.IH H1168 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1168 IH SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. TITLE I—ADVANCING STEM EDUCATION Subtitle A—Expansion of Engineering Programs at Elementary and Secondary Schools Sec. 101. Grant program. Sec. 102. Table of contents. Subtitle B—Expansion of Maker Education and Makerspaces Sec. 110. Definitions. Sec. 111. Local uses of funds. Sec. 112. Effective date. TITLE II—WORKER TRAINING, RETENTION, AND ADVANCEMENT Subtitle A—Leveraging Effective Apprenticeships To Rebuild National Skills Sec. 201. Short title. Sec. 202. Definitions. PART 1—PROMOTING REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS Sec. 211. Promoting registered apprenticeship programs. Sec. 212. Promoting integration with postsecondary education. PART 2—PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND ENHANCEMENT Sec. 221. Expanding registered apprenticeship programs. Subtitle B—Reemployment Sec. 231. Requirement to provide reemployment bonus program under State unemployment compensation law. Sec. 232. Coordinating State unemployment compensation programs with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Sec. 233. Permissible use of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funds for wage insurance. Sec. 234. Training vouchers. Sec. 235. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE III—ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DISTRESSED COMMUNITY INVESTMENT AGENCY Sec. 301. Definitions. Sec. 302. Distressed Community Investment Agency. Sec. 303. Redesignation of Department of Commerce to Department of Innova- tion and Investment. Sec. 304. Redesignation of Secretary of Commerce to Secretary of Innovation and Investment. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:46 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1168.IH H1168 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1168 IH TITLE IV—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS Sec. 401. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE I—ADVANCING STEM 1 EDUCATION 2 Subtitle A—Expansion of Engineer- 3 ing Programs at Elementary 4 and Secondary Schools 5 SEC. 101. GRANT PROGRAM. 6 Part F of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary 7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7251 et seq.) is amend- 8 ed— 9 (1) in section 4601— 10 (A) in subsection (a), in the matter pre- 11 ceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(other than 12 subpart 5)’’ before ‘‘part’’; and 13 (B) by adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR SUB- 15 PART 5.—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 16 out subpart 5— 17 ‘‘(1) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 18 and 2021; and 19 ‘‘(2) $21,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 20 and 2023.’’; and 21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1168.IH H1168 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1168 IH ‘‘Subpart 5—Engineering Education 1 ‘‘SEC. 4651. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 3 under section 4601(c), the Secretary shall award grants, 4 on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to implement 5 formal and informal engineering education programs in el- 6 ementary schools and secondary schools to— 7 ‘‘(1) teach students the overall analytical and 8 experimental approaches used in engineering and en- 9 gineering technology; and 10 ‘‘(2) increase participation of under-represented 11 student groups in the engineering and engineering 12 technology pipeline. 13 ‘‘(b) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant awarded 14 under this subpart may not exceed $1,000,000. 15 ‘‘(c) MATCHING FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving 16 a grant under this subpart shall provide non-Federal 17 funds in amount equal to the grant amount. Such non- 18 Federal funds may include in-kind support (such as equip- 19 ment, supplies, materials, and participation of personnel 20 in the development and implementation of activities to be 21 carried out under the grant). 22 ‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS.— 23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving 24 a grant under this subpart shall use such funds to 25 carry out a program that— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1168.IH H1168 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1168 IH ‘‘(A) provides engineering instructional 1 materials based on review and analysis of the 2 effectiveness of existing formal, or informal re- 3 search-based and evidenced-based locally rel- 4 evant instructional materials; 5 ‘‘(B) provides professional development for 6 pre-service and in-service teachers to teach en- 7 gineering; 8 ‘‘(C) provides instructions on engineering 9 and engineering technology during normal 10 classroom hours or after school; 11 ‘‘(D) incorporates evidence-based practices 12 to increase diversity of student groups partici- 13 pating in the program; 14 ‘‘(E) encourages participation of engineers 15 from local private and public organizations to 16 mentor the teachers and students; and 17 ‘‘(F) encourages engineering faculty and 18 students from institutions of higher education 19 as mentors for the elementary school or sec- 20 ondary school students, and teachers as appro- 21 priate. 22 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.—Each 23 eligible entity awarded a grant under this subpart 24 shall be encouraged to carry out the program funded 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1168.IH H1168 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1168 IH under the grant in partnership with one or more of 1 the following: 2 ‘‘(A) Elementary schools or secondary 3 schools receiving assistance under this subpart. 4 ‘‘(B) Institutions of higher education. 5 ‘‘(C) Private sector businesses. 6 ‘‘(D) Nonprofit organizations. 7 ‘‘(E) Community-based organizations. 8 ‘‘(F) Public or private entities with dem- 9 onstrated record of success in delivering edu- 10 cational support. 11 ‘‘(G) Summer school programs. 12 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—An application for a grant 13 under this subpart submitted by an eligible entity shall 14 demonstrate long-term commitment for the proposed pro- 15 gram through— 16 ‘‘(1) providing laboratory and instructional 17 space; 18 ‘‘(2) establishing ongoing professional training 19 programs for pre-service and in-service teachers and 20 teachers in-residence; and 21 ‘‘(3) commitment to scaling successful pro- 22 grams for engineering and engineering technology 23 education in elementary schools and secondary 24 schools under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1168.IH H1168 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1168 IH ‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sub- 1 part, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 2 that serve under-represented minorities in engineering. 3 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 5 tity’ means— 6 ‘‘(A) a consortia of local educational agen- 7 cies; or 8 ‘‘(B) a local educational agency that is not 9 receiving a subgrant under this subpart for the 10 fiscal year for which the agency is applying for 11 a grant under this subpart. 12 ‘‘(2) INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.—The term 13 ‘instructional materials’ means materials that— 14 ‘‘(A) emphasize— 15 ‘‘(i) engineering fundamentals and 16 concepts, problem-based learning; and 17 ‘‘(ii) essential skills such as systems 18 thinking, creativity, teamwork, communica- 19 tion, and ethical considerations; 20 ‘‘(B) are designed to introduce students to 21 modern engineering and engineering technology 22 tools such as computer-aided design, computer- 23 aided manufacturing, statistical analysis, codes 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1168.IH H1168 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1168 IH and standards, human factors, and reliability 1 analysis; and 2 ‘‘(C) are aligned with and integrated into 3 relevant science, engineering, and mathematics 4 standards that may exist in the applicable State 5 or may be developed. 6 ‘‘SEC. 4652. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS. 7 ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the first grant is award- 8 ed under this subpart, and annually thereafter, the Sec- 9 retary shall provide a report to Congress on activities and 10 results under this subpart. Such reports shall describe— 11 ‘‘(1) the total number of grant applications re- 12 ceived for the preceding each year; 13 ‘‘(2) the number and geographic distribution of 14 the grants for such year and for all grants awarded 15 under this subpart; 16 ‘‘(3) participation of minority-serving institu- 17 tions of higher education, such as historically Black 18 colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving insti- 19 tutions; 20 ‘‘(4) participation of under-represented and eco- 21 nomically disadvantaged student groups; 22 ‘‘(5) plans for collaboration among eligible enti- 23 ties receiving a grant under this subpart; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1168.IH H1168 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1168 IH ‘‘(6) overall program outcomes and issues of 1 concern; and 2 ‘‘(7) recommendations for program revisions to 3 achieve the desired program outcome.’’. 4 SEC. 102. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 5 The table of contents in section 2 of the Elementary 6 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by in- 7 serting after the item relating to section 4644 the fol- 8 lowing: 9 ‘‘SUBPART 5—ENGINEERING EDUCATION ‘‘4651. Grant program authorized. ‘‘4652. Annual report to Congress.’’. Subtitle B—Expansion of Maker 10 Education and Makerspaces 11 SEC. 110. DEFINITIONS. 12 Section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech- 13 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302) is amended 14 by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(56) MAKER EDUCATION.—The term ‘maker 16 education’ means a hands-on learning approach that 17 encourages students to imagine, create, innovate, 18 tinker, and collaborate through the process of manu- 19 facturing, testing, and demonstrating their ideas. 20 ‘‘(57) MAKERSPACE.—The term ‘makerspace’ 21 means a community space that provides access to 22 tools, technology, and knowledge for learners and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1168.IH H1168 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1168 IH entrepreneurs, that result in the prototyping or cre- 1 ation of physical goods, and which supports the de- 2 velopment of educational opportunities for personal 3 growth, workforce training, and early stage business 4 ventures.’’. 5 SEC. 111. LOCAL USES OF FUNDS. 6 Section 135(b)(2)(I) of the Carl D. Perkins Career 7 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 8 2355(b)(2)(I)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, the application 9 of maker education,’’ after ‘‘makerspaces’’. 10 SEC. 112. EFFECTIVE DATE. 11 The amendments made by this subtitle shall take ef- 12 fect on July 1, 2019, and as if enacted as part of the 13 Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 14 21st Century Act. 15 TITLE II—WORKER TRAINING, 16 RETENTION, AND ADVANCE- 17 MENT 18 Subtitle A—Leveraging Effective 19 Apprenticeships To Rebuild Na- 20 tional Skills 21 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 22 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Leveraging Effec- 23 tive Apprenticeships to Rebuild National Skills Act’’ or the 24 ‘‘LEARNS Act’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:46 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1168.IH H1168 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1168 IH SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this subitle: 2 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 3 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Office of Ap- 4 prenticeship appointed under section 211(a). 5 (2) CAREER PATHWAY.—The term ‘‘career 6 pathway’’ has the meaning given the term in section 7 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 8 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 9 (3) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY.—The 10 term ‘‘educational service agency’’— 11 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec- 12 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); and 14 (B) includes a collaborative of those agen- 15 cies. 16 (4) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 17 means a nonprofit institutional day or residential 18 school that— 19 (A) provides secondary education, as deter- 20 mined under State law; 21 (B) grants a diploma, as defined by the 22 State; and 23 (C) includes, at least, grade 12. 24 (5) IN-DEMAND INDUSTRY SECTOR OR OCCUPA- 25 TION.—The term ‘‘in-demand industry sector or oc- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1168.IH H1168 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1168 IH cupation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 2 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 3 (6) LOCAL AND STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOP- 4 MENT BOARDS.—The terms ‘‘local workforce devel- 5 opment board’’ and ‘‘State workforce development 6 board’’ have the meanings given the terms ‘‘local 7 board’’ and ‘‘State board’’, respectively, in section 3 8 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 9 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 10 (7) NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM.—The 11 term ‘‘national apprenticeship system’’ means the 12 collective group of registered apprenticeship pro- 13 grams and [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]