I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5964 To establish a technology-based job training and education program. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 25, 2020 Mr. LUJA´N introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To establish a technology-based job training and education program. 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 ‘‘TechSMART Work- 4 force Development Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TECHSMART WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PRO- 6 GRAM. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after 8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor 9 shall establish a program, to be known as the ‘‘Tech- 10 SMART Workforce Development Program’’, under which 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:39 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5964.IH H5964 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5964 IH the Secretary shall provide to eligible entities described in 1 subsection (c), on a competitive basis, grants for tech- 2 nology sector job training and education programs that 3 provide industry-recognized credentials during the 5-year 4 grant period beginning on the date of enactment of this 5 Act. Such training and education programs may include— 6 (1) programs that provide a postsecondary cre- 7 dential; 8 (2) intensive coaching and other short-term, 9 specialized services culminating in direct job place- 10 ment; and 11 (3) short-term or accelerated training that may 12 or may not result in a postsecondary credential in 13 high-growth occupations and industries. 14 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—A job training and education 15 program that is awarded a grant under this section shall, 16 to the extent practicable, provide technology-based train- 17 ing across two or more sectors, including— 18 (1) information technology; 19 (2) computer coding and cybersecurity tech- 20 nology; 21 (3) healthcare services technology; 22 (4) advanced manufacturing technology; 23 (5) financial services technology; and 24 (6) educational services technology. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:39 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5964.IH H5964 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5964 IH (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 1 grant under this section, an entity shall be a workforce 2 intermediary, a public organization, or an organization de- 3 scribed in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 4 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of 5 that Code that— 6 (1) includes an advisory board, which may be— 7 (A)(i) a local workforce development board; 8 (ii) a State workforce development board; 9 or 10 (iii) an appropriate subgroup of a local 11 workforce development board or a State work- 12 force development board; and 13 (B) a board of proportional participation, 14 as determined by the Secretary of Labor, of rel- 15 evant organizations, including— 16 (i) relevant industry organizations, in- 17 cluding public and private employers; 18 (ii) labor organizations; 19 (iii) one or more units of local govern- 20 ment; 21 (iv) postsecondary education organiza- 22 tions; and 23 (v) industry or sector partnerships; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:39 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5964.IH H5964 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5964 IH (2) demonstrates experience in implementing 1 and operating job training and education programs; 2 (3) demonstrates the ability to recruit and sup- 3 port individuals who plan to work in a relevant sec- 4 tor on the successful completion of relevant job 5 training and education programs; 6 (4)(A) provides students who complete the 7 training and education program with a postsec- 8 ondary credential; or 9 (B) uses a customized training curriculum that 10 is specifically aligned with employers, utilizing work 11 place learning advisors and on-the-job training to 12 the greatest extent possible; and 13 (5) demonstrates successful outcomes con- 14 necting graduates of job training and education pro- 15 grams to quality jobs relevant to the job training 16 and education programs. 17 (d) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity seeking a 18 grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary of 19 Labor an application at such time, in such manner, and 20 containing such information as the Secretary of Labor 21 may require. 22 (e) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to receive 23 grants under this section, the Secretary of Labor shall 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:39 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5964.IH H5964 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5964 IH prioritize applicants that meet one or more of the following 1 criteria: 2 (1)(A) Include a local workforce development 3 board or State workforce development board; or 4 (B) demonstrate a strong partnership with a 5 local workforce development board or State work- 6 force development board. 7 (2) House the job training and education pro- 8 gram in— 9 (A) a community college or institution of 10 higher education that includes basic science, 11 technology, and math education in the cur- 12 riculum of the community college or institution 13 of higher education; 14 (B) an apprenticeship program registered 15 with the Department of Labor or a State; or 16 (C) a customized training program devel- 17 oped in collaboration with employers that uti- 18 lizes on the job training to the greatest extent 19 possible. 20 (3) Work with the Secretary of Defense or vet- 21 erans organizations to transition members of the 22 Armed Forces and veterans to careers in a relevant 23 sector. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:39 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5964.IH H5964 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5964 IH (4) Include in the application an entity that re- 1 ceives State funding or is operated by a State agen- 2 cy. 3 (5) Include an apprenticeship program reg- 4 istered with the Department of Labor as part of the 5 job training and education program. 6 (6) Provide support services and career plan- 7 ning. 8 (7) Provide entry-level technology workforce 9 training aimed at matching workers with well-paying 10 jobs. 11 (8) Propose to serve— 12 (A) young adults between the ages of 17 13 and 29; or 14 (B) individuals with barriers to employ- 15 ment (as defined in section 3 of the Workforce 16 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 17 3102)). 18 (f) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.—In making grants 19 under this section, the Secretary of Labor shall consider 20 regional diversity. 21 (g) LIMITATION ON APPLICATIONS.—An eligible enti- 22 ty may not submit, either individually or as part of a joint 23 application, more than 1 application for a grant under this 24 section during any 1 fiscal year. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:39 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5964.IH H5964 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5964 IH (h) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The 1 amount of a single grant provided under this section for 2 any 24-month period shall not exceed $5,000,000. 3 (i) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal share 4 of the cost of a job training and education program carried 5 out using a grant under this section shall be not less than 6 25 percent of the total cost. 7 (j) REDUCTION OF DUPLICATION.—Before submit- 8 ting an application for a grant under this section, each 9 applicant shall— 10 (1) consult with the heads of appropriate Fed- 11 eral agencies; and 12 (2) coordinate the proposed activities of the ap- 13 plicant with existing State and local programs. 14 (k) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 15 Labor may provide technical assistance to eligible entities 16 under subsection (c) to leverage the existing job training 17 and education programs of the Department of Labor and 18 other relevant programs at appropriate Federal agencies. 19 (l) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once every two 20 years, the Secretary of Labor shall submit to Congress, 21 and make publicly available on the website of the Depart- 22 ment of Labor, a report on the program established under 23 this section, including a description of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:39 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5964.IH H5964 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5964 IH (1) any entity that receives a grant under this 1 section; 2 (2) any activity carried out using the grants 3 under this section; 4 (3) best practices used to leverage the invest- 5 ment of the Federal Government under this section; 6 and 7 (4) an assessment of the results achieved by the 8 program established under this section, including the 9 rate of employment for participants after completing 10 a job training and education program carried out 11 using a grant under this section. 12 (m) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act— 13 (1) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 14 has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the 15 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); 16 (2) the term ‘‘community college’’ has the 17 meaning given the term ‘‘junior or community col- 18 lege’’ in section 312(f) of the Higher Education Act 19 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)); 20 (3) the terms ‘‘career planning’’, ‘‘customized 21 training’’, ‘‘individuals with barriers to employ- 22 ment’’, ‘‘industry or sector partnership’’, ‘‘local 23 workforce development board’’, ‘‘on-the-job train- 24 ing’’, ‘‘recognized postsecondary credential’’, ‘‘State 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:39 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5964.IH H5964 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5964 IH workforce development board’’, and ‘‘workplace 1 learning advisor’’ have the meanings given such 2 terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 3 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); and 4 (4) the term ‘‘workforce intermediary’’— 5 (A) means an organization that proactively 6 addresses workforce needs using a dual cus- 7 tomer approach, which considers the needs of 8 both employees and employers; and 9 (B) may include a faith-based and commu- 10 nity organization, employer organizations, a 11 community college, a temporary staffing agen- 12 cy, a State workforce development board, a 13 local workforce development board, or a labor 14 organization. 15 (n) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 17 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:39 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5964.IH H5964 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS