Elevating America’s Workforce Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7321 To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to establish grants to support the establishment of personal reemployment accounts to assist Americans in gaining skills and returning to work following the economic disruption caused by COVID–19. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 24, 2020 Ms. STEFANIK (for herself and Mr. MOULTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to establish grants to support the establishment of per- sonal reemployment accounts to assist Americans in gaining skills and returning to work following the eco- nomic disruption caused by COVID–19. 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 ‘‘Elevating America’s 4 Workforce Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7321 IH SEC. 2. GRANTS TO SUPPORT PERSONAL REEMPLOYMENT 1 ACCOUNTS. 2 Subtitle B of title I of the Workforce Innovation and 3 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3151 et seq.) is amended by 4 adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘CHAPTER 5—PERSONAL REEMPLOYMENT 6 ACCOUNTS 7 ‘‘SEC. 137A. PURPOSES. 8 ‘‘The purposes of this chapter are to provide for the 9 establishment of personal reemployment accounts for cer- 10 tain individuals identified as likely to need additional job 11 training to make a successful transition to new employ- 12 ment following the economic disruption caused by 13 COVID–19, in order to— 14 ‘‘(1) accelerate the reemployment of such indi- 15 viduals; 16 ‘‘(2) promote the retention in employment of 17 such individuals; and 18 ‘‘(3) provide such individuals with enhanced 19 flexibility, choice, and control in obtaining job train- 20 ing services. 21 ‘‘SEC. 137B. DEFINITION. 22 ‘‘In this chapter, the term ‘State’ means each of the 23 several States of the United States, the District of Colum- 24 bia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the United 25 States Virgin Islands. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7321 IH ‘‘SEC. 137C. GRANTS TO STATES. 1 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall— 2 ‘‘(1) reserve 1⁄10 of 1 percent of the amount ap- 3 propriated under section 136(d)) for use under sec- 4 tion 137I; and 5 ‘‘(2) use the remainder of the amount appro- 6 priated under section 136(d) to make allotments in 7 accordance with subsection (b). 8 ‘‘(b) ALLOTMENT AMONG STATES.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days 10 after an amount is first appropriated under section 11 136(d) and from the amount made available under 12 subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall allot to each 13 State an amount that is proportionate to the relative 14 number of unemployed individuals in the State as 15 compared to the total number of unemployed indi- 16 viduals in all States in order to provide assistance 17 for eligible individuals in accordance with this chap- 18 ter. 19 ‘‘(2) SMALL STATE MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.— 20 The Secretary shall ensure that— 21 ‘‘(A) each State (other than the United 22 States Virgin Islands) shall receive an allotment 23 under paragraph (1) that is not less than 3⁄10 24 of 1 percent of the amount made available 25 under subsection (a)(2) for the fiscal year; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7321 IH ‘‘(B) the United States Virgin Islands shall 1 receive an allotment under paragraph (1) that 2 is not less than 1⁄10 of 1 percent of the amount 3 made available under subsection (a)(2) for the 4 fiscal year. 5 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY.—Notwithstanding section 6 189(g)(1), amounts made available under subsection (a) 7 to carry out this chapter shall be available for obligation 8 and expenditure beginning on the date of the enactment 9 of the Elevating America’s Workforce Act. 10 ‘‘SEC. 137D. WITHIN STATE ALLOCATION. 11 ‘‘(a) ALLOCATION.—Of the amount allotted to a 12 State under section 137C— 13 ‘‘(1) not more than 10 percent of the amount 14 may be reserved by the Governor of the State to— 15 ‘‘(A) of which 2 percent may be used to— 16 ‘‘(i) enhance labor market information 17 tools and the availability of regional labor 18 market information; and 19 ‘‘(ii) carry out other appropriate ac- 20 tivities to implement this chapter; and 21 ‘‘(B) of which any remaining amounts may 22 be used to distribute funds to local areas for 23 the establishment of personal reemployment ac- 24 counts described in section 137E for eligible in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7321 IH dividuals in such local areas, based on a deter- 1 mination of need by the State for such funds; 2 and 3 ‘‘(2) not later than 15 days after receiving such 4 allotment, the remaining amount shall be allocated 5 by the State to local areas in accordance with the 6 formula described in subsection (b) for the establish- 7 ment of personal reemployment accounts described 8 in section 137E for eligible individuals in such local 9 areas, of which not more than 5 percent of the 10 amount allocated to a local area may be reserved by 11 the local board involved for start-up costs and other 12 operating costs related to the provision of assistance 13 under this chapter. 14 ‘‘(b) FORMULA.—A State shall allocate funds to local 15 areas in the State under subsection (a)(2) in an amount 16 that is proportionate to the relative number of unemployed 17 individuals in the local area as compared to the total num- 18 ber of unemployed individuals in the State. 19 ‘‘SEC. 137E. PERSONAL REEMPLOYMENT ACCOUNTS. 20 ‘‘(a) ACCOUNTS.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 22 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS.— 23 Not later than 6 months after funds are allo- 24 cated to a local area under section 137D, such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7321 IH funds shall be used to establish personal reem- 1 ployment accounts for eligible individuals to be 2 used in accordance with section 137F. 3 ‘‘(B) USE OF UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.— 4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any unobligated 5 funds that remain in a deactivated account 6 shall— 7 ‘‘(I) not later than 3 months of 8 such deactivation, be used 9 ‘‘(II) to establish a new personal 10 reemployment account described in 11 subparagraph (A); or 12 ‘‘(III) returned to the State to be 13 used in accordance with section 14 137D(a)(1)(B). 15 ‘‘(ii) DEACTIVATED ACCOUNT DE- 16 FINED.—In this subparagraph, the term 17 ‘deactivated account’ means a personal re- 18 employment account— 19 ‘‘(I) that has been established for 20 1 year; or 21 ‘‘(II) that has been established 22 for 3 months in a case in which the 23 individual has not begun the training 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7321 IH purchased using such account under 1 section 137(a). 2 ‘‘(C) OTHER LIMITATIONS.—An eligible in- 3 dividual may receive only one personal reem- 4 ployment account, and such an account shall 5 not be transferable. 6 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—Each account shall be 7 comprised of a training fund and a reemployment 8 bonus, which shall function independently for the 9 purposes designated in section 137F. 10 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT.—The State shall establish the 11 amount of the training fund and the reemployment 12 bonus, which shall be uniform throughout the State, 13 pursuant to the following criteria: 14 ‘‘(A) With respect to the training fund, the 15 State may establish— 16 ‘‘(i) a maximum amount of $6,000; 17 and 18 ‘‘(ii) a minimum amount is $3,000. 19 ‘‘(B) With respect to the reemployment 20 bonus, the State may establish— 21 ‘‘(i) a maximum amount of $2,000; 22 and 23 ‘‘(ii) a minimum amount of $1,000. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7321 IH ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON ADDITIONAL SERVICES.— 1 During the 1-year period following the establishment 2 of an account for an eligible individual, the eligible 3 individual may not receive training services funded 4 under this title (other than the services or training 5 funded under section 137F(a)). 6 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.— 7 ‘‘(1) MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA REQUIRE- 8 MENTS.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 10 graph (B), an individual shall be eligible to re- 11 ceive assistance under this chapter if, beginning 12 after the date of enactment of the Elevating 13 America’s Workforce Act, the individual— 14 ‘‘(i) is identified by a local area as 15 likely in need of job training to make a 16 successful transition to new employment; 17 and 18 ‘‘(ii) is receiving cash benefits payable 19 with respect to the individual’s unemploy- 20 ment, including any benefits payable under 21 subtitle A of title II of division A of the 22 CARES Act (Public Law 116–136). 23 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY AND PRI- 24 ORITY CRITERIA.—A State may establish cri- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7321 IH teria that is in addition to the criteria described 1 in subparagraph (A) for the eligibility of indi- 2 viduals to receive assistance under this chapter. 3 A State may also establish criteria for priority 4 in the provision of assistance to such eligible in- 5 dividuals under this chapter. 6 ‘‘(2) TRANSITION RULE.—At the option of the 7 State, an individual may be eligible to receive assist- 8 ance under this chapter if the individual— 9 ‘‘(A) during the 1-year period following the 10 date of the enactment of the Elevating Amer- 11 ica’s Workforce Act, exhausted all rights to the 12 cash benefits described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii); 13 and 14 ‘‘(B) is separated from employment in an 15 industry or occupation that has experienced de- 16 clining employment, or no longer provides any 17 employment, in the local labor market on the 18 date of the determination of eligibility of the in- 19 dividual under this paragraph. 20 ‘‘(3) NO INDIVIDUAL ENTITLEMENT.—Nothing 21 in this chapter shall be construed to entitle any indi- 22 vidual to receive a personal reemployment account. 23 ‘‘(c) LOCAL ADMINISTRATION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7321 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A local board shall admin- 1 ister personal reemployment accounts established 2 under this chapter through the one-stop delivery sys- 3 tem. 4 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION AND ATTESTATION.—Prior 5 to the establishment of a personal reemployment ac- 6 count for an eligible individual under this chapter, 7 the one-stop delivery system shall ensure that the in- 8 dividual— 9 ‘‘(A) is informed of the requirements appli- 10 cable to the personal reemployment account, in- 11 cluding the allowable uses of funds from the ac- 12 count, the limitations on access to services de- 13 scribed under section 137E(a)(4) and a descrip- 14 tion of such services, and the conditions for re- 15 ceiving a reemployment bonus; 16 ‘‘(B) has completed an orientation session, 17 either in person or virtual, that includes an 18 overview of the personal reemployment account 19 and the basic career services that are available 20 through the one-stop; 21 ‘‘(C) is provided access to information 22 on— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7321 IH ‘‘(i) potential training providers, in- 1 cluded the training providers specified in 2 section 134(c)(3)(F); 3 ‘‘(ii) the most up-to-date regional 4 labor market data and analysis of skills 5 needed by employers in the region; and 6 ‘‘(iii) in-demand industry sectors or 7 occupations in the local area; 8 ‘‘(D) has the option to develop a personal 9 reemployment plan which will identify the em- 10 ployment goals and appropriate combination of 11 services selected by the individual to achieve the 12 employment goals; and 13 ‘‘(E) signs an attestation that the indi- 14 vidual will— 15 ‘‘(i) comply with the requirements re- 16 lating to the personal reemployment ac- 17 counts under this chapter; and 18 ‘‘(ii) be responsible for any expendi- 19 tures that are not allowable to be reim- 20 bursed by the account. 21 ‘‘(3) PERIODIC CONTACT.—The one-stop deliv- 22 ery system shall conduct periodic, not less than once 23 every three months, interviews with the eligible indi- 24 vidual to discuss the usage of their personal reem- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7321 IH ployment account and assist the recipient in meeting 1 such individual’s employment goals. 2 ‘‘SEC. 137F. USE OF FUNDS. 3 ‘‘(a) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c) 5 and paragraph (3) of this subsection, an eligible in- 6 dividual may use amounts in the training fund to— 7 ‘‘(A) purchase training services (including 8 the services specified in section 134(c)(3)(D)) 9 from a provider of such training services, 10 which— 11 ‘‘(i) shall be a provider that— 12 ‘‘(I) offers training that leads to 13 a recognized postsecondary credential; 14 and 15 ‘‘(II) as of the date of enactment 16 of the Elevating America’s Workforce 17 Act, has been in operation for at least 18 a 6-month period; and 19 ‘‘(ii) may be a provider that is not on 20 the list of eligible providers of training 21 services described in section 122(d); 22 ‘‘(B) provide to the employer with whom 23 the individual enters into a work-based training 24 agreement described in paragraph (2) for the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7321.IH H7321 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 7321 IH provision of on-the-job training, reimbursement 1 of— 2 ‘‘(i)(I) in the case of an employer with 3 not more than 100 employees, 75 percent 4 of the wages earned by the eligible indi- 5 vidual while engaged in the training, ex- 6 cept that such reimbursement shall not ex [Text truncated for display. 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