Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1315 To amend title II of the Department of Energy Organization Act to reauthor- ize an office within the Department of Energy, to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a comprehensive, nationwide energy- related industries jobs program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 22, 2019 Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title II of the Department of Energy Organization Act to reauthorize an office within the Department of Energy, to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a comprehensive, nationwide energy-related industries jobs program, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act of 5 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1315.IH H1315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1315 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—OFFICE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT, DIVERSITY, AND EMPLOYMENT Sec. 101. Name of office. Sec. 102. Energy workforce development programs. Sec. 103. Authorization. TITLE II—ENERGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Sec. 201. Energy workforce development. Sec. 202. Energy workforce grant program. Sec. 203. Definitions. TITLE I—OFFICE OF ECONOMIC 3 IMPACT, DIVERSITY, AND EM- 4 PLOYMENT 5 SEC. 101. NAME OF OFFICE. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 211 of the Department of 7 Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7141) is amended— 8 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘MINOR- 9 ITY ECONOMIC IMPACT’’ and inserting ‘‘ECONOMIC 10 IMPACT, DIVERSITY, AND EMPLOYMENT’’; and 11 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Office of Mi- 12 nority Economic Impact’’ and inserting ‘‘Office of 13 Economic Impact, Diversity, and Employment’’. 14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 15 tents for the Department of Energy Organization Act is 16 amended by amending the item relating to section 211 to 17 read as follows: 18 ‘‘Sec. 211. Office of Economic Impact, Diversity, and Employment.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1315.IH H1315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1315 IH SEC. 102. ENERGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PRO- 1 GRAMS. 2 Section 211 of the Department of Energy Organiza- 3 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7141) is amended— 4 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 5 subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and 6 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘(f) The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall 9 establish and carry out the programs described in sections 10 201 and 202 of the Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs De- 11 velopment Act of 2019.’’. 12 SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION. 13 Subsection (h) of section 211 of the Department of 14 Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7141), as redesig- 15 nated by section 102 of this Act, is amended by striking 16 ‘‘not to exceed $3,000,000 for fiscal year 1979, not to ex- 17 ceed $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1980, and not to exceed 18 $6,000,000 for fiscal year 1981. Of the amounts so appro- 19 priated each fiscal year, not less than 50 percent shall be 20 available for purposes of financial assistance under sub- 21 section (e).’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000 for each of fis- 22 cal years 2020 through 2024.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1315.IH H1315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1315 IH TITLE II—ENERGY WORKFORCE 1 DEVELOPMENT 2 SEC. 201. ENERGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap- 4 propriations, the Secretary, acting through the Director 5 of the Office of Economic Impact, Diversity, and Employ- 6 ment, shall establish and carry out a comprehensive, na- 7 tionwide program to improve education and training for 8 jobs in energy-related industries, including manufacturing, 9 engineering, construction, and retrofitting jobs in such en- 10 ergy-related industries, in order to increase the number 11 of skilled workers trained to work in such energy-related 12 industries, including by— 13 (1) encouraging underrepresented groups, in- 14 cluding religious and ethnic minorities, women, vet- 15 erans, individuals with disabilities, unemployed en- 16 ergy workers, and socioeconomically disadvantaged 17 individuals to enter into the science, technology, en- 18 gineering, and mathematics (in this section referred 19 to as ‘‘STEM’’) fields; 20 (2) encouraging the Nation’s educational insti- 21 tutions to equip students with the skills, 22 mentorships, training, and technical expertise nec- 23 essary to fill the employment opportunities vital to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1315.IH H1315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1315 IH managing and operating the Nation’s energy-related 1 industries; 2 (3) providing students and other candidates for 3 employment with the necessary skills and certifi- 4 cations for skilled, semiskilled, and highly skilled 5 jobs in such energy-related industries; 6 (4) strengthening and more fully engaging De- 7 partment of Energy programs and laboratories in 8 carrying out the Department’s Minorities in Energy 9 Initiative; and 10 (5) to the greatest extent possible, collaborating 11 with and supporting existing State workforce devel- 12 opment programs to maximize program efficiency. 13 (b) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the program estab- 14 lished under subsection (a), the Secretary shall prioritize 15 the education and training of underrepresented groups for 16 jobs in energy-related industries. 17 (c) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out the pro- 18 gram established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 19 provide direct assistance (including financial assistance 20 awards, technical expertise, and internships) to edu- 21 cational institutions, local workforce development boards, 22 State workforce development boards, nonprofit organiza- 23 tions, labor organizations, and apprenticeship programs. 24 The Secretary shall distribute such direct assistance in a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1315.IH H1315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1315 IH manner proportional to the needs of, and demand for jobs 1 in, energy-related industries, consistent with information 2 obtained under subsections (e)(3) and (i). 3 (d) CLEARINGHOUSE.—In carrying out the program 4 established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall estab- 5 lish a clearinghouse to— 6 (1) maintain and update information and re- 7 sources on training programs for jobs in energy-re- 8 lated industries, including manufacturing, engineer- 9 ing, construction, and retrofitting jobs in such en- 10 ergy-related industries; and 11 (2) act as a resource for educational institu- 12 tions, local workforce development boards, State 13 workforce development boards, nonprofit organiza- 14 tions, labor organizations, and apprenticeship pro- 15 grams that would like to develop and implement 16 training programs for such jobs. 17 (e) COLLABORATION AND REPORT.—In carrying out 18 the program established under subsection (a), the Sec- 19 retary— 20 (1) shall collaborate with educational institu- 21 tions, local workforce development boards, State 22 workforce development boards, nonprofit organiza- 23 tions, labor organizations, apprenticeship programs, 24 and energy-related industries; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1315.IH H1315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1315 IH (2) shall encourage and foster collaboration, 1 mentorships, and partnerships among industry, local 2 workforce development boards, State workforce de- 3 velopment boards, nonprofit organizations, labor or- 4 ganizations, and apprenticeship programs that cur- 5 rently provide effective training programs for jobs in 6 energy-related industries and educational institutions 7 that seek to establish these types of programs in 8 order to share best practices and approaches that 9 best suit local, State, and national needs; and 10 (3) shall collaborate with the Bureau of Labor 11 Statistics, the Department of Commerce, the Bureau 12 of the Census, and energy-related industries to— 13 (A) develop a comprehensive and detailed 14 understanding of the workforce needs of such 15 energy-related industries, and job opportunities 16 in such energy-related industries, by State and 17 by region; and 18 (B) publish an annual report on job cre- 19 ation in the energy-related industries described 20 in subsection (i)(2). 21 (f) GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITU- 22 TIONS.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 24 established under subsection (a), the Secretary, in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1315.IH H1315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1315 IH collaboration with the Secretary of Education, the 1 Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, and 2 the National Science Foundation, shall develop vol- 3 untary guidelines or best practices for educational 4 institutions to help provide graduates with the skills 5 necessary for jobs in energy-related industries, in- 6 cluding manufacturing, engineering, construction, 7 and retrofitting jobs in such energy-related indus- 8 tries. 9 (2) INPUT.—The Secretary shall solicit input 10 from energy-related industries in developing guide- 11 lines or best practices under paragraph (1). 12 (3) ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION 13 INITIATIVES.—The guidelines or best practices devel- 14 oped under paragraph (1) shall include grade-spe- 15 cific guidelines for teaching energy efficiency tech- 16 nology, manufacturing efficiency technology, commu- 17 nity energy resiliency, and conservation initiatives to 18 educate students and families. 19 (4) STEM EDUCATION.—The guidelines or best 20 practices developed under paragraph (1) shall pro- 21 mote STEM education in educational institutions as 22 it relates to job opportunities in energy-related in- 23 dustries. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1315.IH H1315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1315 IH (g) OUTREACH TO MINORITY-SERVING INSTITU- 1 TIONS.—In carrying out the program established under 2 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 3 (1) give special consideration to increasing out- 4 reach to minority-serving institutions; 5 (2) make resources available to minority-serving 6 institutions with the objective of increasing the num- 7 ber of skilled minorities and women trained for jobs 8 in energy-related industries, including manufac- 9 turing, engineering, construction, and retrofitting 10 jobs in such energy-related industries; 11 (3) encourage energy-related industries to im- 12 prove the opportunities for students of minority- 13 serving institutions to participate in industry intern- 14 ships and cooperative work-study programs; and 15 (4) partner with the Department of Energy lab- 16 oratories to increase underrepresented groups’ par- 17 ticipation in internships, fellowships, traineeships, 18 and employment at all Department of Energy lab- 19 oratories. 20 (h) OUTREACH TO DISPLACED AND UNEMPLOYED 21 ENERGY WORKERS.—In carrying out the program estab- 22 lished under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 23 (1) give special consideration to increasing out- 24 reach to employers and job trainers preparing dis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1315.IH H1315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1315 IH placed and unemployed energy workers for emerging 1 jobs in energy-related industries, including manufac- 2 turing, engineering, construction, and retrofitting 3 jobs in such energy-related industries; 4 (2) make resources available to institutions 5 serving displaced and unemployed energy workers 6 with the objective of increasing the number of indi- 7 viduals trained for jobs in energy-related industries, 8 including manufacturing, engineering, construction, 9 and retrofitting jobs in such energy-related indus- 10 tries; and 11 (3) encourage energy-related industries to im- 12 prove opportunities for displaced and unemployed 13 energy workers to participate in industry internships 14 and cooperative work-study programs. 15 (i) GUIDELINES TO DEVELOP SKILLS FOR AN EN- 16 ERGY INDUSTRY WORKFORCE.—In carrying out the pro- 17 gram established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, 18 in collaboration with energy-related industries— 19 (1) identify the areas with the greatest demand 20 for workers in each such industry; and 21 (2) develop guidelines for the skills necessary 22 for work in the following energy-related industries: 23 (A) Energy efficiency industry, including 24 work in energy efficiency, conservation, weath- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1315.IH H1315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 1315 IH erization, retrofitting, or as inspectors or audi- 1 tors. 2 (B) Renewable energy industry, including 3 work in the development, engineering, manufac- 4 turing, and production of renewable energy 5 from renewable energy sources (such as solar, 6 hydropower, wind, or geothermal energy). 7 (C) Community energy resiliency industry, 8 including work in the installation of rooftop 9 solar, in battery storage, and in microgrid tech- 10 nologies. 11 (D) Fuel cell and hydrogen energy indus- 12 try. 13 (E) Manufacturing industry, including 14 work as operations technicians, in operations 15 and design in additive manufacturing, 3–D 16 printing, and advanced composites and ad- 17 vanced aluminum and other metal alloys, indus- 18 trial energy efficiency management systems, in- 19 cluding power electronics, and other innovative 20 technologies. 21 (F) Chemical manufacturing industry, in- 22 cluding work in construction (such as welders, 23 pipefitters, and tool and die makers) or as in- 24 strument and electrical technicians, machinists, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 [Text truncated for display. 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