I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 733

To provide for regional skills training alliances, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 11, 1999

Mr. MORAN of Virginia (for himself and Mr. DREIER) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

A BILL

To provide for regional skills training alliances, and for other

purposes.

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 ‘‘Regional Skills Train5 ing Alliances Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

7 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’

8 means the Secretary of Commerce.
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1 TITLE 1—SKILL GRANTS

2 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, act4 ing through the Director of the National Institute of

5 Standards and Technology, and in consultation with the

6 Secretary of Labor, shall provide grants to eligible entities

7 described in subsection (b) to assist such entities to im8 prove the job skills necessary for employment in specific

9 industries.

10 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity described

12 in this subsection is a consortium that—

13 (A) shall consist of representatives from

14 not less than 10 businesses (or a non-profit or15 ganization that represents not less than 10

16 businesses); and

17 (B) may consist of representatives from

18 one or more of the following:

19 (i) Labor organizations.

20 (ii) State and local government.

21 (iii) Educational institutions.

22 (2) MAJORITY OF REPRESENTATIVES.—A ma23 jority of the representatives comprising the consor24 tium shall be representatives described in paragraph

25 (1)(A).
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1 (3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—To the maxi2 mum extent practicable, each business, organization,

3 or government that forms an eligible entity under

4 paragraph (1) shall be located in the same geo5 graphic region of the United States.

6 (c) PRIORITY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.—In provid7 ing grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give

8 priority to an eligible entity if a majority of representatives

9 forming the entity represent small-business concerns, as

10 described in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15

11 U.S.C. 632(a)).

12 (d) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of

13 a grant provided to an eligible entity under subsection (a)

14 may not exceed $1,000,000 for any fiscal year.

15 SEC. 102. APPLICATION.

16 (a) CERTAIN STATES WITH MULTIPLE CONSOR17 TIA.—In a State in which two or more eligible entities seek

18 grants under section 101 for a fiscal year, as determined

19 by the Governor of the State, the Governor may solicit

20 proposals from the entities concerning the activities to be

21 carried out under the grants. If the Governor solicits such

22 proposals, based on the proposals received, the Governor

23 shall submit an application on behalf of 1 or more of the

24 entities to the Secretary at such time, in such manner,

25 and containing such information as the Secretary may rea-
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1 sonably require. The provisions of this title relating to eli2 gible entities shall apply to each of the entities for which

3 the Governor applies.

4 (b) OTHER STATES.—In a State in which only one

5 eligible entity seeks a grant under section 101 for a fiscal

6 year, as determined by the Governor of the State, or in

7 which the Governor does not solicit proposals as described

8 in subsection (a), the Secretary may not provide a grant

9 under section 101 to the eligible entity unless such entity

10 submits to the Secretary an application at such time, in

11 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec12 retary may reasonably require.

13 SEC. 103. USE OF AMOUNTS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not provide a

15 grant under section 101 to an eligible entity unless such

16 entity agrees to use amounts received from such grant to

17 improve the job skills necessary for employment by busi18 nesses in the industry with respect to which such entity

19 was established.

20 (b) CONDUCT OF PROGRAM.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program

22 described in subsection (a), the eligible entity may

23 provide for—

24 (A) an assessment of training and job skill

25 needs for the industry;
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1 (B) development of a sequence of skill

2 standards that are benchmarked to advanced

3 industry practices;

4 (C) development of curriculum and train5 ing methods;

6 (D) purchase, lease, or receipt of donations

7 of training equipment;

8 (E) identification of training providers;

9 (F) development of apprenticeship pro10 grams;

11 (G) development of training programs for

12 dislocated workers;

13 (H) development of the membership of the

14 entity;

15 (I) provision of training programs for

16 workers; and

17 (J) development of training plans for busi18 nesses.

19 (2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—In carrying

20 out the program described in subsection (a), the eli21 gible entity shall provide for development and track22 ing of performance outcome measures for the pro23 gram and the training providers involved in the pro24 gram.
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1 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The eligible entity

2 may use not more than 10 percent of the amount of a

3 grant to pay for administrative costs associated with the

4 program described in subsection (a).

5 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENT OF MATCHING FUNDS.

6 The Secretary may not provide a grant under section

7 101 to an eligible entity unless such entity agrees that—

8 (1) it will make available non-Federal contribu9 tions toward the costs of carrying out activities

10 under section 103 in an amount that is not less than

11 $2 for each $1 of Federal funds provided under a

12 grant under section 101; and

13 (2) of such non-Federal contributions, not less

14 than $1 of each such $2 shall be from businesses

15 participating in the eligible entity.

16 SEC. 105. LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.

17 The Secretary may use not more than 5 percent of

18 the funds made available to carry out this title to pay for

19 Federal administrative costs associated with making

20 grants under this title.

21 SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

23 this Act $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2000,

24 2001, and 2002.
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1 TITLE II—PLANNING GRANTS

2 SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, act4 ing through the Director of the National Institute of

5 Standards and Technology, and in consultation with the

6 Secretary of Labor, shall provide grants to States to en7 able the States to assist businesses, organizations, and

8 agencies described in section 101(b) in conducting plan9 ning to form consortia described in such section.

10 (b) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of

11 a grant provided to a State under subsection (a) may not

12 exceed $500,000 for any fiscal year.

13 SEC. 202. APPLICATION.

14 The Secretary may not provide a grant under section

15 201 to a State unless such State submits to the Secretary

16 an application at such time, in such manner, and contain17 ing such information as the Secretary may reasonably re18 quire.

19 SEC. 203. REQUIREMENT OF MATCHING FUNDS.

20 The Secretary may not provide a grant under section

21 201 to a State unless such State agrees that it will make

22 available non-Federal contributions toward the costs of

23 carrying out activities under this title in an amount that

24 is not less than $1 for each $1 of Federal funds provided

25 under a grant under section 201.
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1 SEC. 204. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

3 this title $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.

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