WORKER Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3699 To promote a 21st century energy and manufacturing workforce. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2023 Mr. HUDSON (for himself and Mr. VEASEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To promote a 21st century energy and manufacturing workforce. 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 ‘‘Widening Opportuni- 4 ties to Recapture Key Energy Roles Act’’ or the ‘‘WORK- 5 ER Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3699.IH H3699 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3699 IH SEC. 2. ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE DE- 1 VELOPMENT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy (in this 3 Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall prioritize edu- 4 cation and training for energy and manufacturing-related 5 jobs in order to increase the number of skilled workers 6 trained to work in energy and manufacturing-related fields 7 when considering awards for existing grant programs, in- 8 cluding by carrying out the following: 9 (1) Encouraging State education agencies and 10 local educational agencies to equip students with the 11 skills, mentorships, training, and technical expertise 12 necessary to fill the employment opportunities vital 13 to managing and operating the Nation’s energy and 14 manufacturing industries, in collaboration with rep- 15 resentatives from the energy and manufacturing in- 16 dustries (including the oil, gas, coal, nuclear, utility, 17 pipeline, renewable, petrochemical, manufacturing, 18 and electrical construction sectors) to identify the 19 areas of highest need in each sector and the skills 20 necessary for a high-quality workforce in the fol- 21 lowing sectors of energy and manufacturing: 22 (A) The energy efficiency industry, includ- 23 ing work in energy efficiency, conservation, 24 weatherization, or retrofitting, or as inspectors 25 or auditors. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3699.IH H3699 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3699 IH (B) The pipeline industry, including work 1 in pipeline construction and maintenance or 2 work as engineers or technical advisors. 3 (C) The utility industry, including work in 4 the generation, transmission, and distribution 5 of electricity and natural gas, such as utility 6 technicians, operators, lineworkers, engineers, 7 scientists, and information technology special- 8 ists. 9 (D) The nuclear industry, including work 10 as scientists, engineers, technicians, mathemati- 11 cians, or security personnel. 12 (E) The oil and gas industry, including 13 work as scientists, engineers, technicians, math- 14 ematicians, petrochemical engineers, or geolo- 15 gists. 16 (F) The renewable industry, including 17 work in the development, manufacturing, and 18 production of renewable energy sources (such as 19 solar, hydropower, wind, or geothermal energy). 20 (G) The coal industry, including work as 21 coal miners, engineers, developers and manufac- 22 turers of state-of-the-art coal facilities, tech- 23 nology vendors, coal transportation workers and 24 operators, or mining equipment vendors. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3699.IH H3699 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3699 IH (H) The manufacturing industry, including 1 work as operations technicians, operations and 2 design in additive manufacturing, 3-D printing, 3 advanced composites, and advanced aluminum 4 and other metal alloys, industrial energy effi- 5 ciency management systems, including power 6 electronics, and other innovative technologies. 7 (I) The chemical manufacturing industry, 8 including work in construction (such as welders, 9 pipefitters, and tool and die makers) or as in- 10 strument and electrical technicians, machinists, 11 chemical process operators, chemical engineers, 12 quality and safety professionals, and reliability 13 engineers. 14 (2) Strengthening and more fully engaging De- 15 partment of Energy programs and labs in carrying 16 out the Department’s workforce development initia- 17 tives, including the Minorities in Energy Initiative. 18 (b) PROHIBITION.—Nothing in this section may be 19 construed to authorize the Secretary or any other officer 20 or employee of the Federal Government to incentivize, re- 21 quire, or coerce a State, school district, or school to adopt 22 curricula aligned to the skills described in subsection (a). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3699.IH H3699 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3699 IH (c) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize the 1 education and training of underrepresented groups in en- 2 ergy and manufacturing-related jobs. 3 (d) CLEARINGHOUSE.—In carrying out this section, 4 the Secretary shall establish a clearinghouse to— 5 (1) maintain and update information and re- 6 sources on training and workforce development pro- 7 grams for energy and manufacturing-related jobs, 8 including job training and workforce development 9 programs available to assist displaced and unem- 10 ployed energy and manufacturing workers 11 transitioning to new employment; and 12 (2) provide technical assistance for States, local 13 educational agencies, schools, community colleges, 14 universities (including minority-serving institutions), 15 workforce development programs, labor-management 16 organizations, and industry organizations that would 17 like to develop and implement energy and manufac- 18 turing-related training programs. 19 (e) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out this section, 20 the Secretary shall— 21 (1) collaborate with States, local educational 22 agencies, schools, community colleges, universities 23 (including minority-serving institutions), workforce- 24 training organizations, national laboratories, State 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3699.IH H3699 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3699 IH energy offices, workforce investment boards, and the 1 energy and manufacturing industries; 2 (2) encourage and foster collaboration, 3 mentorships, and partnerships among organizations 4 (including industry, States, local educational agen- 5 cies, schools, community colleges, workforce-develop- 6 ment organizations, and colleges and universities) 7 that currently provide effective job training pro- 8 grams in the energy and manufacturing fields and 9 entities (including States, local educational agencies, 10 schools, community colleges, workforce development 11 programs, and colleges and universities) that seek to 12 establish these types of programs in order to share 13 best practices; and 14 (3) collaborate with the Bureau of Labor Sta- 15 tistics, the Department of Commerce, the Bureau of 16 the Census, States, and the energy and manufac- 17 turing industries to develop a comprehensive and de- 18 tailed understanding of the energy and manufac- 19 turing workforce needs and opportunities by State 20 and by region. 21 (f) OUTREACH TO MINORITY-SERVING INSTITU- 22 TIONS.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3699.IH H3699 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3699 IH (1) give special consideration to increasing out- 1 reach to minority-serving institutions and Histori- 2 cally Black Colleges and Universities; 3 (2) make existing resources available through 4 program cross-cutting to minority-serving institu- 5 tions with the objective of increasing the number of 6 skilled minorities and women trained to go into the 7 energy and manufacturing sectors; 8 (3) encourage industry to improve the opportu- 9 nities for students of minority-serving institutions to 10 participate in industry internships and cooperative 11 work/study programs; and 12 (4) partner with the Department of Energy lab- 13 oratories to increase underrepresented groups’ par- 14 ticipation in internships, fellowships, traineeships, 15 and employment at all Department of Energy lab- 16 oratories. 17 (g) OUTREACH TO DISLOCATED ENERGY AND MANU- 18 FACTURING WORKERS.—In carrying out this section, the 19 Secretary shall— 20 (1) give special consideration to increasing out- 21 reach to employers and job trainers preparing dis- 22 located energy and manufacturing workers for in-de- 23 mand sectors or occupations; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3699.IH H3699 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3699 IH (2) make existing resources available through 1 program cross-cutting to institutions serving dis- 2 located energy and manufacturing workers with the 3 objective of training individuals to re-enter in-de- 4 mand sectors or occupations; 5 (3) encourage the energy and manufacturing in- 6 dustries to improve opportunities for dislocated en- 7 ergy and manufacturing workers to participate in 8 career pathways; and 9 (4) work closely with the energy and manufac- 10 turing industries to identify energy and manufac- 11 turing operations, such as coal-fired power plants 12 and coal mines scheduled for closure, to provide 13 early intervention assistance to workers employed at 14 such energy and manufacturing operations by— 15 (A) partnering with State boards and local 16 boards; 17 (B) giving special consideration to employ- 18 ers and job trainers preparing such workers for 19 in-demand sectors or occupations; 20 (C) making existing resources available 21 through program cross-cutting to institutions 22 serving such workers with the objective of train- 23 ing them to re-enter in-demand sectors or occu- 24 pations; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3699.IH H3699 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3699 IH (D) encouraging the energy and manufac- 1 turing industries to improve opportunities for 2 such workers to participate in career pathways. 3 (h) ENROLLMENT IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 4 PROGRAMS.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary 5 shall work with industry and community-based workforce 6 organizations to help identify candidates, including from 7 underrepresented communities such as minorities, women, 8 and veterans, to enroll in workforce development programs 9 for energy and manufacturing-related jobs. 10 (i) PROHIBITION.—Nothing in this section may be 11 construed as authorizing the creation of a new workforce 12 development program. 13 (j) REPORT.—Not later than five years after the date 14 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish 15 a comprehensive report to the Committee on Energy and 16 Commerce and the Committee on Education and the 17 Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Com- 18 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources Committee of 19 the Senate on the outlook for energy and manufacturing 20 sectors nationally. The report shall also include a com- 21 prehensive summary of energy and manufacturing job cre- 22 ation as a result of the enactment of this section, and shall 23 include performance data regarding the number of pro- 24 gram participants served, the percentage of participants 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3699.IH H3699 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3699 IH in competitive integrated employment two quarters and 1 four quarters after program completion, the median in- 2 come of program participants two quarters and four quar- 3 ters after program completion, and the percentage of pro- 4 gram participants receiving industry-recognized creden- 5 tials. 6 (k) USE OF EXISTING FUNDS.—No additional funds 7 are authorized to carry out the requirements of this sec- 8 tion. Such requirements shall be carried out using 9 amounts otherwise authorized. 10 (l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 (1) CAREER PATHWAYS; DISLOCATED WORKER; 12 IN-DEMAND SECTORS OR OCCUPATIONS; LOCAL 13 BOARD; STATE BOARD.—The terms ‘‘career path- 14 ways’’, ‘‘dislocated worker’’, ‘‘in-demand sectors or 15 occupations’’, ‘‘local board’’, and ‘‘State board’’ have 16 the meanings given the terms ‘‘career pathways’’, 17 ‘‘dislocated worker’’, ‘‘in-demand sectors or occupa- 18 tions’’, ‘‘local board’’, and ‘‘State board’’, respec- 19 tively, in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 20 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 21 (2) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 22 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an insti- 23 tution of higher education with a designation of one 24 of the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3699.IH H3699 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3699 IH (A) Hispanic-serving institution (as de- 1 fined in 20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5)). 2 (B) Tribal College or University (as de- 3 fined in 20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)). 4 (C) Alaska Native-serving institution or a 5 Native Hawaiian-serving institution (as defined 6 in 20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)). 7 (D) Predominantly Black Institution (as 8 defined in 20 U.S.C. 1059e(b)). 9 (E) Native American-serving nontribal in- 10 stitution (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1059f(b)). 11 (F) Asian American and Native American 12 Pacific Islander-serving institution (as defined 13 in 20 U.S.C. 1059g(b)). 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3699.IH H3699 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB