GREEN Workforce Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7975 To provide support to develop career and technical education programs of study and facilities in the areas of renewable energy. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 7, 2020 Mr. MCNERNEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To provide support to develop career and technical education programs of study and facilities in the areas of renewable energy. 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 ‘‘Grants for Renewable 4 Energy Education for the Nation’s Workforce Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘GREEN Workforce Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. CLEAN ENERGY CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT 7 GRANTS. 8 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Energy is 9 authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eli- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7975.IH H7975 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7975 IH gible partnerships to develop programs of study (as such 1 term is defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career 2 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302), 3 as in effect on or after July 1, 2019) that are focused 4 on emerging careers and jobs in the fields of clean energy, 5 renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate change miti- 6 gation, and climate change adaptation. The Secretary of 7 Energy shall consult with the Secretary of Labor prior to 8 the issuance of a solicitation for grant applications. 9 (b) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—For purposes of this 10 section, an eligible partnership shall include— 11 (1) at least 1 local educational agency eligible 12 for funding under section 131 of the Carl D. Per- 13 kins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 14 (20 U.S.C. 2351) or an area career and technical 15 education school or education service agency de- 16 scribed in such section; 17 (2) at least 1 postsecondary institution eligible 18 for funding under section 132 of such Act (20 19 U.S.C. 2352); and 20 (3) representatives of the community including 21 business, labor organizations, and industry that have 22 experience in fields as described in subsection (a). 23 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible partnership seeking a 24 grant under this section shall submit an application to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7975.IH H7975 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7975 IH Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Sec- 1 retary may require. Applications shall include— 2 (1) a description of the eligible partners and 3 partnership, the roles and responsibilities of each 4 partner, and a demonstration of each partner’s ca- 5 pacity to support the program; 6 (2) a description of the career area or areas 7 within the fields as described in subsection (a) to be 8 developed, the reason for the choice, and evidence of 9 the labor market need to prepare students in that 10 area; 11 (3) a description of the new or existing program 12 of study and both secondary and postsecondary com- 13 ponents; 14 (4) a description of the students to be served by 15 the new program of study; 16 (5) a description of how the program of study 17 funded by the grant will be replicable and dissemi- 18 nated to schools outside of the partnership, including 19 urban and rural areas; 20 (6) a description of applied learning that will be 21 incorporated into the program of study and how it 22 will incorporate or reinforce academic learning; 23 (7) a description of how the program of study 24 will be delivered; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7975.IH H7975 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7975 IH (8) a description of how the program will pro- 1 vide accessibility to students, especially economically 2 disadvantaged, low performing, and urban and rural 3 students; 4 (9) a description of how the program will ad- 5 dress placement of students in nontraditional fields 6 as described in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Ca- 7 reer and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 8 U.S.C. 2302); and 9 (10) a description of how the applicant proposes 10 to consult or has consulted with a labor organiza- 11 tion, labor management partnership, apprenticeship 12 program, or joint apprenticeship and training pro- 13 gram that provides education and training in the 14 field of study for which the applicant proposes to de- 15 velop a curriculum. 16 (d) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to 17 applications that— 18 (1) use online learning or other innovative 19 means to deliver the program of study to students, 20 educators, and instructors outside of the partner- 21 ship; and 22 (2) focus on low performing students and spe- 23 cial populations as defined in section 3 of the Carl 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7975.IH H7975 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7975 IH D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 1 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 2 (e) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary shall convene a 3 peer review process to review applications for grants under 4 this section and to make recommendations regarding the 5 selection of grantees. Members of the peer review com- 6 mittee shall include— 7 (1) educators who have experience imple- 8 menting curricula with comparable purposes; and 9 (2) business and industry experts in fields as 10 described in subsection (a). 11 (f) USES OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under this 12 section shall be used for the development, implementation, 13 and dissemination of programs of study (as such term is 14 defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 15 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302), as 16 in effect on or after July 1, 2019) in career areas related 17 to clean energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency, cli- 18 mate change mitigation, and climate change adaptation. 19 SEC. 3. RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITIES GRANTS. 20 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Energy is 21 authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eli- 22 gible entities to promote development of career and tech- 23 nical education facilities that are energy efficient and pro- 24 mote the use of renewable energy practices. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7975.IH H7975 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7975 IH (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of this sec- 1 tion, eligible entities include— 2 (1) a local education agency eligible for funding 3 under section 131 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 4 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2351) 5 or an area career and technical education school or 6 education service agency described under that sec- 7 tion; or 8 (2) a postsecondary institution eligible for fund- 9 ing under section 132 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 2352). 10 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a grant 11 under this section shall submit an application to the Sec- 12 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 13 information as the Secretary may require. 14 (d) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary shall convene a 15 peer review process to review applications for grants under 16 this section and to make recommendations regarding the 17 selection of grantees. Members of the peer review com- 18 mittee shall include— 19 (1) career and technical education administra- 20 tors who have experience with energy-efficient facili- 21 ties and equipment; and 22 (2) business and industry experts who build and 23 work in renewable energy facilities. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7975.IH H7975 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7975 IH (e) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under this sec- 1 tion shall be used for— 2 (1) performing an evaluation of the sustain- 3 ability aspects of current facilities, unless such an 4 evaluation has been conducted prior to receiving a 5 grant under this section; 6 (2) convening stakeholders, including organiza- 7 tions devoted to the promotion and support of re- 8 newable energy activities, to develop a plan to ad- 9 dress needs identified in such an evaluation, unless 10 such a plan has already been developed prior to re- 11 ceiving a grant under this section; 12 (3) initiating activities related to the construc- 13 tion, operation, and improvement of facilities that 14 promote the use of renewable energy practices; 15 (4) purchasing energy-efficient machinery, tech- 16 nology, or other physical equipment used as an edu- 17 cational tool to deliver career and technical edu- 18 cation courses; 19 (5) measuring the effectiveness of the new or 20 improved facilities and infrastructure, such as com- 21 plying with existing renewable energy standards; and 22 (6) communicating the lessons and practices 23 learned from the building upgrades to other institu- 24 tions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7975.IH H7975 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7975 IH SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 1 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 2 retary of Energy $100,000,000 to carry out the grant pro- 3 gram established under this Act. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7975.IH H7975 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS