I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4788 

To address the needs of workers in industries likely to be impacted by 

rapidly evolving technologies. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 22, 2019 

Mrs. BUSTOS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To address the needs of workers in industries likely to be 

impacted by rapidly evolving technologies. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Investing in Tomor5 row’s Workforce Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) In 2014, the United States spent just 0.1 

9 percent of the Nation’s Gross Domestic Product on 

10 labor market policies, less than half of what the 


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1 United States spent on labor market policies 30 

2 years ago. 

3 (2) The number of workers receiving federally 

4 supported training has declined in the past 3 dec5 ades as advances in technology have simultaneously 

6 shifted labor market demand over time. 

7 (3) As much as 47 percent of all jobs in the 

8 United States are at risk of being replaced by auto9 mation technology, and job losses from automation 

10 are more likely to impact workers making less than 

11 $40,000 annually. 

12 (4) Strong Federal investment in expanding 

13 training services for workers whose jobs may be lost 

14 due to automation could prepare the United States 

15 workforce to better adapt to changes in the labor 

16 market and enter into skilled positions in techno17 logically oriented occupations and industries. 

18 (5) A focus on preparing the workforce of the 

19 United States for jobs that utilize advanced tech20 nologies could grow wages, increase economic pro21 ductivity, and boost the competitiveness of the 

22 United States. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) AUTOMATION.—The term ‘‘automation’’ 

2 means a device, process, or system that functions 

3 without continuous input from an operator, includ4 ing— 

5 (A) advanced technologies, such as— 

6 (i) data collection, classification proc7 essing, and analytics; and 

8 (ii) 3–D printing, digital design and 

9 simulation, and digital manufacturing; 

10 (B) robotics, including collaborative robot11 ics, and worker augmentation technology; 

12 (C) autonomous vehicle technology; or 

13 (D) autonomous machinery technology. 

14 (2) DISLOCATED WORKER.—The term ‘‘dis15 located worker’’ has the meaning given the term in 

16 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor17 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

18 (3) IN-DEMAND INDUSTRY SECTOR OR OCCUPA19 TION.—The term ‘‘in-demand industry sector or oc20 cupation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

21 3 of that Act. 

22 (4) INTEGRATED EDUCATION AND TRAINING.— 

23 The term ‘‘integrated education and training’’ has 

24 the meaning given the term in section 203 of that 

25 Act (29 U.S.C. 3272). 


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1 (5) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘eligi2 ble partnership’’ means an industry or sector part3 nership, as defined in section 3 of that Act, except 

4 that— 

5 (A) for purposes of applying paragraph 

6 (26)(A)(iii) of that section, the term ‘‘institu7 tion of higher education’’ has the meaning given 

8 the term in section 101 of the Higher Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and 

10 (B) the partnership shall include, in addi11 tion to the representatives described in clauses 

12 (i) through (iii) of paragraph (26)(A) of that 

13 section, representatives of— 

14 (i) a State workforce development 

15 board or a local workforce development 

16 board; and 

17 (ii) an economic development organi18 zation. 

19 (6) LOCAL AND STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOP20 MENT BOARDS.—The terms ‘‘local workforce devel21 opment board’’ and ‘‘State workforce development 

22 board’’ have the meanings given the terms ‘‘local 

23 board’’ and ‘‘State board’’, respectively, in section 3 

24 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

25 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 


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1 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Labor. 

3 (8) TRAINING SERVICES.—The term ‘‘training 

4 services’’ means training services described in sec5 tion 134(c)(3)(D) of that Act (29 U.S.C. 

6 3174(c)(3)(D)). 

7 SEC. 4. GAO STUDY ON BARRIERS TO AND OPPORTUNITIES 

8 FOR RETRAINING WORKERS. 

9 (a) STUDY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

11 the United States, in coordination with the Sec12 retary of Labor, shall conduct a study of the bar13 riers to providing, and opportunities for improving, 

14 training for workers in industries that have, or are 

15 likely to have, high rates of job loss due to automa16 tion. 

17 (2) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study, the 

18 Comptroller General shall study— 

19 (A) considerations impacting, and strate20 gies to improve data collection with respect to, 

21 the workforce in industries with high rates of 

22 job loss or a high likelihood of automation in 

23 the United States, including considerations and 

24 data collection strategies concerning— 


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1 (i) industries and occupations most 

2 likely to be impacted by automation, in3 cluding— 

4 (I) the geographical location of 

5 those industries and occupations; 

6 (II) the annual average wages of 

7 those occupations; and 

8 (III) demographic data on the 

9 race, gender, and age of workers in 

10 those industries and occupations; 

11 (ii) employer-based training practices 

12 in those industries and occupations; 

13 (iii) the frequency with which employ14 ers provide worker training to address 

15 skills needs and react to changes in the 

16 labor market; 

17 (iv) projected job losses; and 

18 (v) labor organization membership 

19 rates in those industries and occupations; 

20 (B) considerations impacting, and strate21 gies to improve data collection with respect to, 

22 the workforce in in-demand industry sectors 

23 and occupations in the United States, such as 

24 advanced manufacturing, information tech25 nology, and health care, including considerVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Oct 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4788.IH H4788

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1 ations and data collection strategies con2 cerning— 

3 (i) industry sectors and occupations 

4 that may emerge or become in-demand in5 dustry sectors or occupations as a result of 

6 automation, including— 

7 (I) the geographical location of 

8 those industry sectors and occupa9 tions; 

10 (II) the average annual wages of 

11 those occupations; and 

12 (III) demographic data on the 

13 race, gender, and age of workers in 

14 those occupations; 

15 (ii) the skills and education needed to 

16 fill the positions in those industry sectors; 

17 (iii) employer-based training practices 

18 in those industry sectors; 

19 (iv) projected job gains; and 

20 (v) labor organization membership 

21 rates in those industries and occupations; 

22 (C) barriers to, and opportunities for, re23 training workers in industries that have a high 

24 likelihood of being impacted by automation; 


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1 (D) the impact of the geographical location 

2 of workers and their access to transportation on 

3 the ability of the workers to access job training 

4 and related higher-skilled positions; 

5 (E) the impact of workers’ access to other 

6 benefits and services, including child care, paid 

7 sick leave, paid family and medical leave, or a 

8 retirement plan, on the ability of the workers to 

9 access job training and related higher-skilled 

10 positions; and 

11 (F) how reduced Federal funding for job 

12 training programs has impacted the ability of 

13 State and local governments, employers, labor 

14 organizations, and communities to respond to 

15 changes in the labor market, including rapidly 

16 evolving technologies. 

17 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

19 United States shall prepare and submit to the Secretary 

20 of Labor and the appropriate committees of Congress a 

21 report concerning the results of the study. 

22 SEC. 5. GRANTS TO IMPROVE TRAINING FOR WORKERS IM23 PACTED BY AUTOMATION. 

24 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appro2 priated under subsection (g) and beginning not later 

3 than 1 year after receiving the report by the Comp4 troller General of the United States under section 

5 4(b), the Secretary of Labor shall award grants, on 

6 a competitive basis, to eligible partnerships to sup7 port demonstration and pilot projects relating to the 

8 training needs of workers who are, or are likely to 

9 become, dislocated workers as a result of automa10 tion. 

11 (2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

12 section shall be for a period not to exceed 4 years. 

13 (3) USE OF REPORT.—The Secretary shall use 

14 the report prepared the Comptroller General under 

15 section 4(b) to inform the grant program carried out 

16 under this section. 

17 (b) APPLICATIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

19 grant under this section, an eligible partnership shall 

20 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

21 in such manner, and containing such information as 

22 the Secretary shall reasonably require. 

23 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

24 under paragraph (1) shall include a description of 

25 the demonstration or pilot project to be completed 


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1 with the grant funds, which description shall in2 clude— 

3 (A) a description of the members of the el4 igible partnership who will be involved in the 

5 demonstration or pilot program and the services 

6 each member will provide; 

7 (B) a description of the training services 

8 that will be available to individuals participating 

9 in the demonstration or pilot project, which 

10 may include— 

11 (i) a plan to train dislocated workers 

12 from industries likely to be impacted by 

13 automation and transition the workers into 

14 regionally in-demand industry sectors or 

15 occupations; and 

16 (ii) a plan to partner with local busi17 nesses to retrain, upskill, and re-deploy 

18 workers within an industry as an alter19 native to layoffs; 

20 (C) a plan to provide workers with tech21 nology-based skills training, which may include 

22 training to provide skills related to coding, sys23 tems engineering, or information technology se24 curity, in addition to other skills; and 


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1 (D) a description of the goals that the eli2 gible partnership intends to achieve to upskill 

3 workers and prepare them for in-demand indus4 try sectors or occupations. 

5 (c) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under this sec6 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to— 

7 (1) eligible partnerships that are located in an 

8 area with a high concentration of— 

9 (A) industries with a higher likelihood of 

10 being impacted by automation; or 

11 (B) industries included in in-demand in12 dustry sectors, as determined under subpara13 graphs (A)(i) and (B) of section 3(23) of the 

14 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

15 U.S.C. 3102(23)); 

16 (2) eligible partnerships— 

17 (A) with a plan to provide incumbent 

18 worker training— 

19 (i) to assist workers in obtaining the 

20 skills necessary to retain employment or 

21 avert layoffs; or 

22 (ii) that allows a worker working for 

23 an employer to acquire new skills that 

24 allow the worker to obtain a higher-skilled 


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1 or higher-paid position with such employer; 

2 and 

3 (B) that partner with local employers that 

4 intend to backfill the pre-training positions of 

5 the incumbent workers by hiring new workers 

6 to fill those positions; 

7 (3) eligible partnerships that will provide work8 ers with a transportation stipend, paid sick leave, 

9 paid family and medical leave, access to child care 

10 services, or other employment benefits; or 

11 (4) eligible partnerships with a plan to develop 

12 a shared training curriculum that can be used across 

13 local and regional networks of employers and train14 ing providers. 

15 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible partnership that re16 ceives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds 

17 for one or more of the following: 

18 (1) Providing training services under the dem19 onstration or pilot project, which may include train20 ing services that prepare workers for in-demand in21 dustry sectors or occupations. 

22 (2) Providing assistance for employers in devel23 oping a staff position for an individual who will be 

24 responsible for supporting training services provided 

25 under the grant. 


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1 (3) Purchasing equipment or technology nec2 essary for training services provided under para3 graph (1). 

4 (4) Providing job search and other transitional 

5 assistance to workers in industries with high rates of 

6 job loss. 

7 (5) Providing a training stipend to workers for 

8 training services. 

9 (6) Providing integrated education and train10 ing. 

11 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after an eligible 

12 partnership’s completion of a demonstration or pilot 

13 project supported under this section, the eligible partner14 ship shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a report 

15 regarding— 

16 (1) the number of workers who received train17 ing services through the demonstration or pilot 

18 project, disaggregated by type of training service 

19 and the age, gender, and race of the workers; 

20 (2) the number of such workers who success21 fully transitioned into a new position following com22 pletion of the training services; 

23 (3) the number of individuals who successfully 

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1 cupation following completion of the training serv2 ices; 

3 (4) annual earnings data for individuals who 

4 have completed training services through the dem5 onstration or pilot project; 

6 (5) the percentage of individuals described in 

7 paragraph (4) who are in education or training ac8 tivities, or in employment, during the second quarter 

9 after exit from the training services; 

10 (6) the percentage of individuals described in 

11 paragraph (4) who are in education or training ac12 tivities, or in employment, during the fourth quarter 

13 after exit from the training services; and 

14 (7) any practices used by the partnership that 

15 should be considered best practices with respect to 

16 training workers in industries that have, or are ex17 pected to have, high rates of job loss as a result of 

18 automation. 

19 (f) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible partner20 ship that receives a grant under this section shall use the 

21 grant funds in a manner that is consistent with the labor 

22 standards and protections described in section 181 of the 

23 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

24 3241) and nondiscrimination provisions described in sec25 tion 188 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 3248). 


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1 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 such sums as may be necessary for the first 5 full fiscal 

4 years after the date of submittal of the report under sec5 tion 4(b). 

6 SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF WORKER TRAINING SERVICES. 

7 (a) ADULT AND DISLOCATED WORKER EMPLOY8 MENT AND TRAINING.—Section 134(d)(1)(A) of the 

9 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

10 3174(d)(1)(A)) is amended— 

11 (1) in clause (xi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (2) in clause (xii), by striking the period and in13 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(xiii) training programs for individ16 uals who are, or are likely to become, dis17 located workers as a result of automation, 

18 including activities that prepare the indi19 viduals for occupations in the technology 

20 sector.’’. 

21 (b) NATIONAL DISLOCATED WORKER GRANTS.—Sec22 tion 170 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

23 (29 U.S.C. 3225) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting ‘‘ad2 vances in automation technology,’’ before ‘‘plant clo3 sures,’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad6 dition to any funds reserved under section 132(a)(2)(A) 

7 to carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro8 priated to carry out this section $40,000,000 for each of 

9 fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’. 

Æ 


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