Energy Jobs for our Heroes Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 351 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 876 To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to prepare veterans for careers in the energy industry, including the solar, wind, cybersecurity, and other low-carbon emissions sectors or zero-emissions sectors of the energy industry, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 26, 2019 Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. BENNET, Mr. GARDNER, and Mr. CRAPO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources DECEMBER 17, 2019 Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with amendments [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to prepare veterans for careers in the energy industry, including the solar, wind, cybersecurity, and other low-carbon emis- sions sectors or zero-emissions sectors of the energy in- dustry, 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 04:22 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S876.RS S876 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 876 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy Jobs for our 2 Heroes Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. ENERGY-READY VETS PROGRAM. 4 Title XI of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 5 16411 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘SEC. 1107. ENERGY-READY VETS PROGRAM. 8 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en- 9 sure that veterans have the credentials and training nec- 10 essary to secure careers in the energy industry. 11 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 ‘‘(1) ACTIVE MILITARY, NAVAL, OR AIR SERV- 13 ICE.—The term ‘active military, naval, or air service’ 14 has the meaning given such term in section 101 of 15 title 38, United States Code. 16 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘eligi- 17 ble participant’ means a veteran who— 18 ‘‘(A) was discharged or released from serv- 19 ice in the active military, naval, or air service 20 during the most recent 1-year period; or 21 ‘‘(B)(i) was discharged or released from 22 service in the active military, naval, or air serv- 23 ice during the 2-year period immediately pre- 24 ceding the most recent 1-year period; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S876.RS S876 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 876 RS ‘‘(ii) receives the approval of the Secretary 1 to participate in the program. 2 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 3 the Energy-Ready Vets Program established under 4 subsection (c)(1). 5 ‘‘(4) UNIFORMED SERVICES.—The term ‘uni- 6 formed services’ has the meaning given such term in 7 section 10(a) of title 10, United States Code. 8 ‘‘(5) VETERAN.—The term ‘veteran’ has the 9 meaning given such term in section 101 of title 38, 10 United States Code. 11 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT; IMPLEMENTATION.— 12 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es- 13 tablish a program, to be known as the ‘Energy- 14 Ready Vets Program’, to prepare eligible partici- 15 pants for careers in the energy industry. 16 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall 17 ensure that the program is implemented by an ad- 18 ministrator, to be appointed by the Secretary from 19 among individuals with experience relating to mili- 20 tary service. 21 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in partner- 23 ship with the Secretary of Defense, shall carry out 24 the program through the SkillBridge program of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S876.RS S876 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 876 RS Department of Defense, under which the Secretary 1 shall provide standardized training courses, based, to 2 the maximum extent practicable, on existing indus- 3 try-recognized certification and training programs, 4 to prepare eligible participants in the program for 5 careers in the energy industry, including— 6 ‘‘(A) in the solar energy industry, ca- 7 reers— 8 ‘‘(i) as solar photovoltaic system in- 9 stallers; 10 ‘‘(ii) as solar technicians; 11 ‘‘(iii) as system inspectors; and 12 ‘‘(iv) in other areas relating to the 13 solar energy industry; 14 ‘‘(B) in the wind energy industry, ca- 15 reers— 16 ‘‘(i) in wind energy operations; 17 ‘‘(ii) in wind energy development; 18 ‘‘(iii) in wind energy manufacturing; 19 ‘‘(iv) as wind energy technicians; 20 ‘‘(v) in the support of all parts of the 21 wind energy supply chain; and 22 ‘‘(vi) in other areas relating to the 23 wind energy industry; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S876.RS S876 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 876 RS ‘‘(C) in the cybersecurity sector of the en- 1 ergy industry, careers in— 2 ‘‘(i) cybersecurity preparedness; 3 ‘‘(ii) cyber incident response and re- 4 covery; 5 ‘‘(iii) grid modernization, security, 6 and maintenance; 7 ‘‘(iv) resilience planning; and 8 ‘‘(v) other areas relating to the cyber- 9 security sector of the energy industry; 10 ‘‘(D) careers in other low-carbon emissions 11 sectors or zero-emissions sectors of the energy 12 industry identified by the Secretary; and 13 ‘‘(E) careers in sectors that plan, develop, 14 construct, maintain, and expand energy indus- 15 try infrastructure. 16 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 18 program, the Secretary shall ensure that the 19 courses described in paragraph (1)— 20 ‘‘(i) provide— 21 ‘‘(I) job training; 22 ‘‘(II) employment skills training, 23 including providing comprehensive 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S876.RS S876 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 876 RS wraparound support services to eligi- 1 ble participants that— 2 ‘‘(aa) enhance the training 3 experience and promote the pro- 4 fessional development of eligible 5 participants; and 6 ‘‘(bb) help eligible partici- 7 pants transition into the work- 8 force; and 9 ‘‘(III) opportunities for intern- 10 ships of not longer than 180 days; 11 and 12 ‘‘(ii) are carried out primarily 13 through— 14 ‘‘(I) internships; or 15 ‘‘(II) applied, work-based train- 16 ing. 17 ‘‘(B) EXAM REQUIREMENT.—As a require- 18 ment for completing a course described in para- 19 graph (1), the Secretary shall require each eligi- 20 ble participant in the course to earn an applica- 21 ble industry-recognized entry-level certificate or 22 other credential. 23 ‘‘(e) RECOGNITION OF ENTITIES.—The Secretary 24 and the administrator of the program appointed under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S876.RS S876 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 876 RS subsection (c)(2), working jointly, shall establish and carry 1 out a program to recognize commercial entities that hire 2 eligible participants who receive certifications or other cre- 3 dentials under the program, based on the proportion 4 that— 5 ‘‘(1) the number of such eligible participants 6 hired by the commercial entity; bears to 7 ‘‘(2) the number of such eligible participants 8 hired by all commercial entities. 9 ‘‘(f) ESTABLISHMENT OF INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED 10 CERTIFICATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 12 (d), if an appropriate industry-recognized certifi- 13 cation and training program does not exist, the Sec- 14 retary shall establish a grant program to assist the 15 industry in developing such an industry-recognized 16 certification and training program. 17 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—Out of the amounts made 18 available under subsection (g)(1), the Secretary shall 19 use such sums as are necessary to carry out para- 20 graph (1). 21 ‘‘(g) FUNDING.— 22 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 23 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S876.RS S876 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 876 RS retary such sums as are necessary to carry out this 1 section. 2 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 4 graph (B), the Secretary shall allocate to each 5 facility of the Department of Defense partici- 6 pating in the program an amount based on a 7 percentage of how many participants enroll in 8 courses at the facility. 9 ‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS.—A facility of the De- 10 partment of Defense participating in the pro- 11 gram and desiring funding under subparagraph 12 (A) shall annually submit an application for 13 such funding. 14 ‘‘(f) ESTABLISHMENT OF INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED 15 CERTIFICATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.—For purposes 16 of subsection (d), if an appropriate industry-recognized cer- 17 tification and training program does not exist, the Sec- 18 retary shall establish a grant program to assist the industry 19 in developing such an industry-recognized certification and 20 training program. 21 ‘‘(h)(g) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 22 date on which the program is established, and annually 23 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S876.RS S876 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 876 RS describing the activities carried out under, and accom- 1 plishments of, the program. program, including— 2 ‘‘(1) the number of veterans enrolled in the pro- 3 gram; 4 ‘‘(2) the regional distribution of those veterans; 5 ‘‘(3) the cost of certification under the program; 6 ‘‘(4) the rate of job placement; 7 ‘‘(5) the rate of job retention; and 8 ‘‘(6) the average salaries of veterans who were 9 enrolled in the program.’’. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S876.RS S876 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS Calendar No. 351 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 876 A BILL To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to prepare veterans for careers in the energy in- dustry, including the solar, wind, cybersecurity, and other low-carbon emissions sectors or zero- emissions sectors of the energy industry, and for other purposes. DECEMBER 17, 2019 Reported with amendments VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S876.RS S876 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS