Communications Jobs Training Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1848 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communica- tions Commission to carry out a grant program to make grants for the establishment or expansion of job training programs for communica- tions tower service, construction, and maintenance. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 21, 2019 Mr. LOEBSACK (for himself and Mr. MULLIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission to carry out a grant program to make grants for the establishment or expansion of job training programs for communica- tions tower service, construction, and maintenance. 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 ‘‘Communications Jobs 4 Training Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Apr 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1848 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) the reorganization of broadcast television 3 spectrum under section 6403(b) of the Middle Class 4 Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 5 1452(b)), the establishment of the First Responder 6 Network Authority (FirstNet) under such Act, and 7 advances toward 5G technology have created high 8 demand for communications tower service, construc- 9 tion, maintenance, and structural modification; 10 (2) additional job training is necessary to meet 11 such demand; and 12 (3) enhancement of communications tower serv- 13 ice is essential to the Nation’s economy, competitive- 14 ness, homeland security, and vital communications 15 capabilities. 16 SEC. 3. COMMUNICATIONS TOWER JOB TRAINING GRANT 17 PROGRAM. 18 Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 1934 19 (47 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 20 the following: 21 ‘‘SEC. 344. COMMUNICATIONS TOWER JOB TRAINING 22 GRANT PROGRAM. 23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, in consultation 24 with the Secretary of Education, shall carry out a grant 25 program to make grants to covered entities to establish 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Apr 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1848 IH or expand job training programs for communications 1 tower service, construction, maintenance, and structural 2 modification. 3 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 4 under this section, a covered entity shall submit an appli- 5 cation to the Commission at such time, in such manner, 6 and containing such information as the Commission may 7 require. 8 ‘‘(c) DEADLINE.—The Commission shall begin ac- 9 cepting applications for grants under this section not later 10 than the date that is 90 days after the date of the enact- 11 ment of this section. 12 ‘‘(d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 13 after the date of the enactment of this section, and annu- 14 ally thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the Com- 15 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep- 16 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 17 and Transportation of the Senate a report on the grant 18 program carried out under this section that includes, with 19 respect to the 1-year period preceding the date of the sub- 20 mission of the report— 21 ‘‘(1) the number and total dollar amount of 22 grants made under this section; 23 ‘‘(2) the number of individuals and crews 24 trained to perform communications tower service, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Apr 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1848 IH construction, maintenance, and structural modifica- 1 tion using grant funds; and 2 ‘‘(3) the number of communications towers on 3 which service, construction, maintenance, or struc- 4 tural modification was performed by individuals or 5 crews while participating in job training programs 6 receiving grant funds. 7 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 ‘‘(1) COMMUNICATIONS TOWER.—The term 9 ‘communications tower’ means a structure that 10 transmits broadcast radio signals, commercial mobile 11 service (as defined in section 332) signals, or com- 12 mercial mobile data service (as defined in section 13 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cre- 14 ation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401)) signals. 15 ‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en- 16 tity’ means— 17 ‘‘(A) a junior or community college (as de- 18 fined in section 312(f) of the Higher Education 19 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f))); 20 ‘‘(B) a postsecondary vocational institution 21 (as defined in section 102(c) of the Higher 22 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(c))); 23 ‘‘(C) an area career and technical edu- 24 cation school (as defined in section 3 of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Apr 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1848 IH Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu- 1 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)); or 2 ‘‘(D) any organization that provides career 3 and technical education (as defined in such sec- 4 tion) to veterans (as defined in section 101 of 5 title 38, United States Code). 6 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 7 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 8 $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 9 2022. Amounts appropriated under this subsection are au- 10 thorized to remain available until expended.’’. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Apr 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS