I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8056 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to establish a 

digital skills at work grant program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 17, 2024 

Ms. SPANBERGER (for herself and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

to establish a digital skills at work grant program. 

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 ‘‘Digital Skills for To5 day’s Workforce Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 It is the purpose of this Act to amend the Workforce 

8 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) 

9 to further promote digital equity by— 


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1 (1) building digital skills for current and incom2 ing workers in in-demand industries in order to ad3 vance access to good jobs and fill in-demand occupa4 tions of the 21st century by establishing capacity 

5 within postsecondary education, adult education, and 

6 workforce development systems to deliver digital 

7 skills training and to design such training; and 

8 (2) fostering digitally resilient individuals and 

9 education and workforce development systems. 

10 SEC. 3. WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT 

11 AMENDMENTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title I of the Work13 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221 et 

14 seq.) is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating section 172 as section 173; 

16 and 

17 (2) by inserting after section 171 the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 172. DIGITAL SKILLS AT WORK GRANT PROGRAM. 

19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) ACCELERATED LEARNING PROGRAM MOD21 ELS.—The term ‘accelerated learning program mod22 els’ means evidence-informed strategies that support 

23 adult learners and workers in obtaining in-demand 

24 skills and credentials in an accelerated fashion, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Apr 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8056.IH H8056

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1 cluding integrated education and training, bridge 

2 programs, and work-based learning programs. 

3 ‘‘(2) DIGITAL EQUITY.—The term ‘digital eq4 uity’ means the condition in which individuals and 

5 communities have the information technology capac6 ity that is needed for full participation in the society 

7 and economy of the United States. 

8 ‘‘(3) DIGITAL AND INFORMATION LITERACY

9 SKILLS.—The term ‘digital and information literacy 

10 skills’ means the skills associated with— 

11 ‘‘(A) using technology to enable users to 

12 find, evaluate, organize, create, and commu13 nicate information and complete tasks through 

14 existing and emerging technologies; 

15 ‘‘(B) recognizing the extent and essence of 

16 an information need, assessing the security and 

17 reliability of information, and effectively using 

18 information; and 

19 ‘‘(C) developing digital citizenship and the 

20 responsible use of technology. 

21 ‘‘(4) DIGITALLY RESILIENT.—The term 

22 ‘digitally resilient’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) with respect to an individual, an indi24 vidual with the awareness, skills, agility, and 

25 confidence to be an empowered user of new 


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1 technologies and to be able to adapt to chang2 ing digital skill demands by improving the ca3 pacity to problem-solve, improve and update 

4 skills, navigate digital transformations, and be 

5 active participants in society and the economy; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) with respect to a system, an edu8 cation or workforce development system that— 

9 ‘‘(i) has established processes and 

10 policies to adapt to evolving technological 

11 demands, buffer workers and businesses 

12 from the disruptive effects of rapid techno13 logical shifts, and foster the ability of an 

14 individual to create, critique, and use new 

15 technological tools; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) offers multiple pathways to eco17 nomic success and does not endorse any 

18 single type of technology or digital skill as 

19 the mechanism for economic mobility. 

20 ‘‘(5) DIGITAL WORKPLACE SKILLS.—The term 

21 ‘digital workplace skills’— 

22 ‘‘(A) means the broad array of 

23 foundational and more specialized skills (includ24 ing basic, advanced, and applied skills) that enVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Apr 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8056.IH H8056

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1 able an individual to be an effective user or cre2 ator of technology while on the job; and 

3 ‘‘(B) includes industry-specific skills and 

4 skills that are transferable across industries. 

5 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en6 tity’ means an entity that is— 

7 ‘‘(A) described in any of subparagraphs 

8 (A) through (H) of section 60304(b)(2) of the 

9 Digital Equity Act of 2021 (47 U.S.C. 

10 1723(b)(2)); or 

11 ‘‘(B) an industry or sector partnership. 

12 ‘‘(7) INDIVIDUAL WITH INDICATORS OF LOW

13 DIGITAL AND INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS.—The 

14 term ‘individual with indicators of low digital and in15 formation literacy skills’ means, with respect to a 

16 State, an individual who resides in such State and 

17 has— 

18 ‘‘(A) an educational attainment of not 

19 more than a high school diploma or equivalent; 

20 ‘‘(B) earnings in the bottom 2 quintiles of 

21 earnings in such State; or 

22 ‘‘(C) limited English language proficiency. 

23 ‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

24 the Secretary of Labor. 


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1 ‘‘(9) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State 

2 or outlying area. 

3 ‘‘(10) WORKING AGE RESIDENT.—The term 

4 ‘working age resident’ means, with respect to a 

5 State, an individual who resides in such State and 

6 is not younger than 16 years of age and not older 

7 than 64 years of age. 

8 ‘‘(b) DIGITAL SKILLS AT WORK GRANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in con10 sultation with the Secretary of Education and the 

11 Secretary of Commerce, award a grant in an amount 

12 described in paragraph (2) to each State that sub13 mits a complete application under paragraph (3) to 

14 expand digital workplace skills for individuals seek15 ing jobs and individuals with barriers to employ16 ment. 

17 ‘‘(2) GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant to a State 

18 under paragraph (1) shall be in an amount that is 

19 the sum of— 

20 ‘‘(A) an amount that bears the same ratio 

21 to 50 percent of the total amount of grants 

22 made available to all States under paragraph 

23 (1) as the population of such State bears to the 

24 total population of all States; 


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1 ‘‘(B) an amount that bears the same ratio 

2 to 25 percent of the total amount of grants 

3 made available to all States under paragraph 

4 (1) as the population of working age residents 

5 in the State bears to the total population of 

6 working age residents of all States; and 

7 ‘‘(C) an amount that bears the same ratio 

8 to 25 percent of the total amount of grants 

9 made available to all States under paragraph 

10 (1) as the population of individuals with indica11 tors of low digital and information literacy 

12 skills in the State bears to the total population 

13 of individuals with indicators of low digital and 

14 information literacy skills of all States. 

15 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

16 grant under paragraph (1), a State shall submit to 

17 the Secretary an application at such time, in such 

18 manner, and containing such information as the Sec19 retary may require, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) a description of— 

21 ‘‘(i) how the State will use any grant 

22 amounts awarded to expand digital work23 place skills for individuals seeking jobs and 

24 individuals with barriers to employment in 

25 an efficient and expeditious manner; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the period in which the State will 

2 expend the grant funds awarded under the 

3 grant; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the budget for the activities that 

5 the grant funds will support; 

6 ‘‘(B) a demonstration, to the satisfaction 

7 of the Secretary, that the State is capable of 

8 carrying out the State activities under this sub9 section in a competent manner and in compli10 ance with all applicable Federal, State, and 

11 local laws; 

12 ‘‘(C) a description of the steps the State 

13 will take to ensure that the State is supporting 

14 or building digitally resilient systems and indi15 viduals; 

16 ‘‘(D) a disclosure of the source and 

17 amount of other Federal, State, or outside 

18 funding sources from which the State receives, 

19 or has applied for, funding for activities or 

20 projects to which the application relates and, if 

21 applicable, how all the funding streams align in 

22 terms of goals; and 

23 ‘‘(E) an assurance that the State shall fol24 low such additional procedures as the Secretary 

25 may require to ensure that grant funds are 


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1 used and accounted for in an appropriate man2 ner. 

3 ‘‘(4) NO COMPLETE STATE APPLICATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which 

5 a State does not apply, or submit a complete 

6 application for, a grant under this subsection, 

7 the Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) solicit and accept applications 

9 from eligible entities with demonstrated ca10 pacity to administer a Federal grant pro11 gram on a statewide basis; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) use an amount of grant funds 

13 equal to the State’s share of the grant 

14 funds under paragraph (2) to benefit the 

15 State by— 

16 ‘‘(I) awarding a grant to an eligi17 ble entity described in clause (i) to en18 able the eligible entity to carry out the 

19 program under this subsection for the 

20 State; or 

21 ‘‘(II) if there are no suitable ap22 plications submitted under clause (i) 

23 or the Secretary determines appro24 priate, using a portion, or all, of such 

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1 ties for the same purposes, and sub2 ject to the same terms and conditions, 

3 as subgrants awarded under para4 graph (5). 

5 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of 

6 applying this subsection— 

7 ‘‘(i) with respect to a grant awarded 

8 under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), any ref9 erence to a State shall be deemed to refer 

10 to the eligible entity receiving such grant; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a grant awarded 

13 under subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), the eligible 

14 entity shall submit the report required 

15 under paragraph (5)(D) to the Secretary, 

16 and the Secretary shall make all such re17 ports publicly available. 

18 ‘‘(5) USES OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) SUBGRANTS AUTHORIZED.—A State 

20 that receives a grant under paragraph (1) shall 

21 use the grant funds to award subgrants to eligi22 ble entities for the purpose of expanding digital 

23 workplace skills for individuals to gain digital 

24 skills needed for their current employment or in 

25 order to advance in their careers, with a priVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Apr 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8056.IH H8056

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1 ority on assisting individuals with barriers to 

2 employment. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity 

4 desiring a subgrant under this paragraph shall 

5 submit an application to the State at such time, 

6 in such manner, and containing such informa7 tion as the State shall require. 

8 ‘‘(C) AWARD BASIS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) PRIORITY.—In awarding sub10 grants under subparagraph (A), the State 

11 shall give a priority to eligible entities that 

12 will focus activities under the subgrant on 

13 individuals with barriers to employment. 

14 ‘‘(ii) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—In 

15 awarding subgrants under subparagraph 

16 (A), the State shall ensure funds are dis17 tributed in a geographically diverse man18 ner. 

19 ‘‘(D) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 

20 after receiving a subgrant under this para21 graph, each eligible entity receiving such 

22 subgrant shall submit a report to the State re23 garding the activities supported under such 

24 subgrant. 

25 ‘‘(6) PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) STATE REPORTS.—Not later than 2 

2 years after receiving the reports submitted to 

3 the State under paragraph (5)(D) but not ear4 lier than 18 months after the grant is awarded 

5 to the State under paragraph (1), the State 

6 shall submit a report to the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(i) describing the activities funded 

8 using grant funds under this subsection; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) including the information pro11 vided in the local reports submitted to the 

12 State under paragraph (5)(D). 

13 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Sec14 retary shall make each State report submitted 

15 under subparagraph (A) publicly available. 

16 ‘‘(c) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 

18 shall, on a competitive basis, award grants to eligible 

19 entities to enable the eligible entities to foster digital 

20 equity and digitally resilient systems and individuals 

21 (including workers and employers) in order to pre22 pare the individuals for adapting to the current and 

23 future competitive labor market and economy by cre24 ating opportunities for individuals to gain digital 


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1 skills needed for their current employment or in 

2 order to advance in their careers. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

4 grant under paragraph (1), an eligible entity shall 

5 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 

6 in such manner, and containing such information as 

7 the Secretary may require, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) a description of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the activities that will be sup10 ported using grant funds awarded under 

11 such paragraph, including any services 

12 such as business engagement, classroom 

13 instruction, apprenticeships, work-based 

14 learning, and supportive services; 

15 ‘‘(ii) how the eligible entity receiving 

16 the grant will work to engage small and 

17 medium-sized employers; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the digital workplace skills 

19 learning strategies to be supported using 

20 such grant funds; 

21 ‘‘(iv) the digital workplace skills cur22 riculum, and other related materials, to be 

23 developed and supported using such grant 

24 funds, including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the general content of such 

2 curriculum; 

3 ‘‘(II) the mechanism to deliver 

4 such curriculum; 

5 ‘‘(III) information on how the 

6 curriculum connects to an in-demand 

7 occupation or industry; and 

8 ‘‘(IV) how this curriculum will be 

9 shared with States and other eligible 

10 entities via submission to a Federal 

11 clearinghouse or other repository; 

12 ‘‘(v) the professional development op13 portunities relating to digital workplace 

14 skills for instructors supported by such 

15 grant funds, including with regard to new 

16 hiring of instructors with industry experi17 ence and increasing the skills of instructors 

18 with expertise in serving adult learners and 

19 administering programs using accelerated 

20 learning program models; 

21 ‘‘(vi) any programs using accelerated 

22 learning program models to be supported 

23 by such grant funds, and how such pro24 graming will align with existing accelerated 


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1 learning programs, as of the date of appli2 cation, in the area served by the grant; 

3 ‘‘(vii) any in-demand industry sector 

4 or occupation that will be served using 

5 such grant funds, including how any such 

6 industry sector or occupation was identi7 fied; 

8 ‘‘(viii) how the eligible entity will pro9 tect the privacy and security of any data 

10 collected with regard to an individual in11 volved in any activity supported using such 

12 grant funds; 

13 ‘‘(ix) any population that will receive 

14 services from any activity supported using 

15 such grant funds, including populations of 

16 individuals with barriers to employment 

17 and populations historically underrep18 resented in any industry to be served 

19 under the grant; 

20 ‘‘(x) any recognized postsecondary 

21 credential that an individual can obtain 

22 through participation in an activity sup23 ported using such grant; 


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1 ‘‘(xi) any measurable gains in a skill 

2 that such an individual can achieve 

3 through such participation; 

4 ‘‘(xii) any steps the eligible entity will 

5 take to align activities supported using 

6 such grant funds with, as applicable, the 

7 State Digital Equity Plan of the State de8 veloped under section 60304(c)(1) of the 

9 Digital Equity Act of 2021 (47 U.S.C. 

10 1723(c)(1)) and the action plan of the 

11 State submitted to the Broadband Equity, 

12 Access, and Deployment Program under 

13 section 60102(e)(1)(D) of the Infrastruc14 ture Investment and Jobs Act (47 U.S.C. 

15 1702(e)(1)(D)); and 

16 ‘‘(xiii) how the eligible entity will le17 verage additional resources, including 

18 funding provided under title II and non19 Federal resources, for activities supported 

20 using such grant funds; and 

21 ‘‘(B) an assurance that the eligible entity 

22 will protect the privacy and security of individ23 uals involved in any program or activity sup24 ported using such grant funds by— 


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1 ‘‘(i) prohibiting any program sup2 ported using such grant funds from with3 holding any earned learning information or 

4 earned credentialing information from such 

5 an individual for reasons such as the indi6 vidual failing to pay such program; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) prohibiting any program or ven8 dor supported using such grant funds from 

9 gathering or disseminating personally iden10 tifiable information, as defined by the Sec11 retary, of program participants, except as 

12 needed for program evaluation and report13 ing purposes. 

14 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

15 ‘‘(A) LOCAL REPORTS.—By one year after 

16 the date on which an eligible entity received a 

17 grant under this subsection, the eligible entity 

18 shall submit to the Secretary a report con19 taining— 

20 ‘‘(i) a description of the levels of per21 formance achieved by the eligible entity 

22 with respect to the performance indicators 

23 described under section 116(b)(2)(A) for— 


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1 ‘‘(I) all participants in activities 

2 supported under such grant funds; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(II) individuals with barriers to 

5 employment, in the aggregate and 

6 disaggregated by each subpopulation 

7 and by race, ethnicity, English lan8 guage proficiency, sex, and age; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the progress of the entity to10 wards fulfilling the objectives for which the 

11 grant was awarded. 

12 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—As a condi13 tion of receiving a grant under this subsection, 

14 an eligible entity shall agree to make the eligi15 ble entity’s progress and findings available for 

16 the Secretary to share across States. 

17 ‘‘(d) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding 

18 any other provision of this section, the Secretary— 

19 ‘‘(1) may reserve not more than 5 percent of 

20 the amounts made available to carry out this section 

21 for technical assistance under, and administration 

22 of, this section; and 

23 ‘‘(2) shall reserve not less than 2 percent and 

24 not more than 4 percent of such amounts to evalu25 ate the programs carried out under this section.’’. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

2 173 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, as 

3 redesignated by subsection (a)(1), is further amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 

5 subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and 

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(f) DIGITAL SKILLS AT WORK GRANTS.—There are 

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 172 

10 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024 and 

11 each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

12 (c) DIGITAL AND INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS AS

13 TRAINING SERVICES.—Section 134(c)(3)(D) of the Work14 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

15 3174(c)(3)(D)) is amended— 

16 (1) in clause (x), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

17 semicolon; 

18 (2) in clause (xi), by striking the period at the 

19 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(xii) training in digital and informa22 tion literacy skills, as defined in section 

23 172(a).’’. 

24 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

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1 munities Act (29 U.S.C. 3225a(g)(2)(C)) is amended by 

2 striking ‘‘172(f)’’ and all that follows through the period 

3 at the end and inserting ‘‘173(g) of such Act.’’. 

4 (e) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

5 section 1(b) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

6 Act is amended in the items related to subtitle D of title 

7 I— 

8 (1) by redesignating the item relating to section 

9 172 as the item relating to section 173; and 

10 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec11 tion 171 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 172. Digital skills at work grant program.’’. 

Æ 


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