American Apprenticeship Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 793 To establish and strengthen projects that defray the cost of related instruction associated with pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 14, 2019 Ms. KLOBUCHAR (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 and strengthen projects that defray the cost of related instruction associated with pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, 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 ‘‘American Apprentice- 4 ship Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PRE-APPRENTICESHIP AND APPRENTICESHIP PRO- 6 GRAMS. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S793.IS S793 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 793 IS (1) APPRENTICESHIP.—The term ‘‘apprentice- 1 ship’’ means an apprenticeship registered under the 2 Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the 3 ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chap- 4 ter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 5 (2) POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITU- 6 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary educational institu- 7 tion’’ means an institution of higher education, as 8 defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act 9 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 10 (3) PRE-APPRENTICESHIP.—The term ‘‘pre-ap- 11 prenticeship’’, used with respect to a program, 12 means an initiative or set of strategies that— 13 (A) is designed to prepare individuals to 14 enter and succeed in an apprenticeship pro- 15 gram; 16 (B) is carried out by a sponsor described 17 in paragraph (6)(B) that has a documented 18 partnership with one or more sponsors of ap- 19 prenticeship programs; and 20 (C) includes each of the following: 21 (i) Training (including a curriculum 22 for the training), aligned with industry 23 standards related to apprenticeships, and 24 reviewed and approved annually by spon- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S793.IS S793 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 793 IS sors of the apprenticeships within the doc- 1 umented partnership, that will prepare in- 2 dividuals by teaching the skills and com- 3 petencies needed to enter one or more ap- 4 prenticeship programs. 5 (ii) Provision of hands-on training and 6 theoretical education to individuals that— 7 (I) is carried out in a manner 8 that includes proper observation of su- 9 pervision and safety protocols; and 10 (II) is carried out in a manner 11 that does not displace a paid em- 12 ployee. 13 (iii) A formal agreement with a spon- 14 sor of an apprenticeship program that 15 would enable participants who successfully 16 complete the pre-apprenticeship program 17 to enter directly into the apprenticeship 18 program (if a place in the program is 19 available and if the participant meets the 20 qualifications of the apprenticeship pro- 21 gram), and includes agreements concerning 22 earning credit recognized by a postsec- 23 ondary educational institution for skills 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S793.IS S793 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 793 IS and competencies acquired during the pre- 1 apprenticeship program. 2 (4) RELATED INSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘re- 3 lated instruction’’ means an organized and system- 4 atic form of instruction designed to provide an ap- 5 prentice with the knowledge of the theoretical and 6 technical subjects related to the occupation of the 7 apprentice or the instruction needed to prepare an 8 individual to enter and succeed in an apprenticeship 9 program. 10 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of Labor. 12 (6) SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘sponsor’’ means— 13 (A) with respect to an apprenticeship pro- 14 gram, an employer, joint labor-management 15 partnership, trade association, professional as- 16 sociation, labor organization, or other entity, 17 that administers the apprenticeship program; 18 and 19 (B) with respect to a pre-apprenticeship 20 program, a local educational agency, a sec- 21 ondary school, an area career and technical 22 education school, a State board, a local board, 23 or a community-based organization, with re- 24 sponsibility for the pre-apprenticeship program. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S793.IS S793 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 793 IS (7) WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPOR- 1 TUNITY ACT DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘area career 2 and technical education school’’, ‘‘community-based 3 organization’’, ‘‘individual with a barrier to employ- 4 ment’’, ‘‘local board’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, 5 ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State board’’ have the 6 meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Work- 7 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 8 3102). 9 (b) GRANTS FOR TUITION ASSISTANCE.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 11 grants to States on a competitive basis to assist the 12 States in, and pay for the Federal share of the cost 13 of, carrying out projects that defray the cost of re- 14 lated instruction associated with pre-apprenticeship 15 and apprenticeship programs. 16 (2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 17 grant under this subsection, a State shall submit an 18 application to the Secretary for such a project at 19 such time, in such manner, and containing a stra- 20 tegic plan that contains such information as the Sec- 21 retary may require, including— 22 (A) information identifying the State agen- 23 cy (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘State enti- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S793.IS S793 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 793 IS ty’’) that will administer the grant as deter- 1 mined by the Governor of the State; 2 (B) a description of strategies that the 3 State entity will use to collaborate with key in- 4 dustry representatives, State agencies, postsec- 5 ondary educational institutions, labor-manage- 6 ment entities, and other relevant partners to 7 launch or expand pre-apprenticeships and ap- 8 prenticeships; 9 (C) a description of how the State entity 10 will— 11 (i) coordinate activities carried out 12 under this subsection with activities car- 13 ried out under the Carl D. Perkins Career 14 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 15 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) and the Workforce 16 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 17 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) to support pre-ap- 18 prenticeships and apprenticeships; 19 (ii) leverage funds provided under the 20 Acts specified in clause (i) to support pre- 21 apprenticeships and apprenticeships; and 22 (iii) utilize, and encourage individual 23 participants in programs supported under 24 this subsection to utilize, available Federal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S793.IS S793 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 793 IS and State financial assistance, including 1 assistance available under the Workforce 2 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 3 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), education assistance 4 benefits available to veterans, and Federal 5 Pell Grants available under section 401 of 6 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 7 U.S.C. 1070a), prior to using assistance 8 made available under this Act; 9 (D) a description of strategies to elevate 10 apprenticeships as a workforce solution in both 11 traditional and nontraditional industries, such 12 as information technology, health care, ad- 13 vanced manufacturing, construction trades, 14 transportation, and other industries determined 15 to be high-demand by the State board for the 16 State; 17 (E) a description of activities that the 18 State entity will carry out to build awareness 19 about the economic potential of apprenticeships; 20 (F) a description that outlines how the 21 State entity will increase opportunities for pre- 22 apprenticeships and apprenticeships among 23 members of minority groups, youth, individuals 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S793.IS S793 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 793 IS with disabilities, veterans, and individuals with 1 barriers to employment; 2 (G) information describing— 3 (i) how the State entity will meet per- 4 formance measures, and comply with an 5 evaluation system and reporting require- 6 ments, established by the Secretary under 7 paragraph (6); and 8 (ii) at the election of the State, any 9 State performance measures and goals that 10 the State will use to measure the effective- 11 ness of the project; and 12 (H) in the case of a State that has already 13 received a grant under this subsection for a 14 project, information indicating that the State 15 met the performance measures with respect to 16 the project. 17 (3) APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS.—A joint 18 team of employees from the Department of Labor 19 and the Department of Education shall— 20 (A) review such an application; and 21 (B) make recommendations to the Sec- 22 retary regarding approval of the application. 23 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a 24 grant under this subsection shall use the funds made 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S793.IS S793 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 793 IS available through the grant to defray any of the fol- 1 lowing costs of related instruction: 2 (A) Tuition and fees. 3 (B) Cost of textbooks, equipment, cur- 4 riculum development, and other required edu- 5 cational materials. 6 (C) Costs of any other item or service de- 7 termined by the State to be necessary. 8 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The State may 9 use not more than 10 percent of the grant funds for 10 administrative costs relating to carrying out the 11 project described in paragraph (1). 12 (6) PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION.—The 13 Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of 14 Education, shall— 15 (A) establish performance measures based 16 on indicators set by the Administrator of the 17 Office of Apprenticeship of the Department of 18 Labor; and 19 (B) establish an evaluation system aligned 20 with the performance measures, and reporting 21 requirements for the program carried out under 22 this subsection. 23 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S793.IS S793 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 793 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 1 cost described in subsection (b)(1) shall be not less 2 than 20 percent and not more than 50 percent. 3 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The State may 4 make the non-Federal share available— 5 (A) in cash or in-kind, fairly evaluated, in- 6 cluding plant, equipment, or services; and 7 (B) directly or through donations from 8 public or private entities. 9 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare and sub- 10 mit to Congress, not later than September 30, 2024, a 11 report— 12 (1) detailing the results of the evaluation de- 13 scribed in subsection (b)(6)(B); and 14 (2) analyzing the extent to which States have 15 used grant funds effectively under this section. 16 (e) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol- 17 icy of the United States that funds made available under 18 this section should be used to supplement and not sup- 19 plant other funds available under the Workforce Innova- 20 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) and 21 other Federal and State funds available to the State to 22 support workforce development programs. 23 SEC. 3. IDENTIFYING IN-DEMAND OCCUPATIONS. 24 The Secretary shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S793.IS S793 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 793 IS (1) identify in-demand occupations nationally 1 and regionally that lack the use of apprenticeships; 2 (2) analyze the use of the apprenticeship model 3 in those identified in-demand occupations; and 4 (3) prepare and submit to States and Congress 5 a report that contains the analysis described in para- 6 graph (2). 7 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 8 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 9 this Act $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 10 2025. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S793.IS S793 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS