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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5401 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5401

 To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to establish a 
 grant program for a workforce data quality initiative, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 21, 2024

    Mr. Hickenlooper (for himself and Mr. Marshall) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to establish a 
 grant program for a workforce data quality initiative, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Workforce Data Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT.

    (a) In General.--Section 169 of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3224) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d) Workforce Data Quality Initiative.--
            ``(1) Grant program.--The Secretary shall use not more than 
        10 percent of the total amount made available pursuant to 
        section 132(a)(2)(A) for any program year, and may use amounts 
        otherwise made available for purposes of carrying out this 
        section, to competitively award grants to eligible entities to 
        design, develop, implement, improve, or align a statewide 
        longitudinal data system for the purposes of integrating data 
        from education and workforce development systems, labor market 
        outcomes, and other data sources toward strengthening program 
        quality, building State capacity to produce evidence for 
        decision making, meeting performance reporting requirements, 
        promoting individual privacy and data security, improving 
        transparency, moving toward improved workforce data 
        standardization, and improving worker and employer capacity to 
        identify and address skill needs.
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--In this subsection, the term 
        `eligible entity' means a State agency or consortium of State 
        agencies, including a multistate data collaborative, that is or 
        includes the State agency responsible for--
                    ``(A) State employer wage records used by the 
                State's unemployment insurance programs in labor market 
                information reporting and analysis and for fulfilling 
                the reporting requirements of this Act;
                    ``(B) the production of labor market information; 
                and
                    ``(C) the direct administration of a core program.
            ``(3) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this subsection, an eligible entity shall submit an application 
        to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the 
        Secretary may require, which shall include--
                    ``(A) a description of the proposed activities that 
                will be conducted by the eligible entity, including a 
                description of the need for such activities and a 
                detailed budget for such activities;
                    ``(B) a description of the expected outcomes and 
                outputs that will result from the proposed activities 
                and the proposed uses of such outputs;
                    ``(C) a description of how the proposed activities 
                will--
                            ``(i) support the reporting of performance 
                        data, including employment and earnings 
                        outcomes, for the performance accountability 
                        requirements under section 116, including 
                        outcomes for eligible training providers;
                            ``(ii) improve workforce data 
                        standardization;
                            ``(iii) leverage public-private 
                        partnerships to achieve intended goals of the 
                        activities; and
                            ``(iv) improve the collection, accuracy, 
                        timeliness, and usability of real-time, 
                        economy-wide data on new and emerging skills 
                        and in-demand occupational roles;
                    ``(D) a description of the methods and procedures 
                the eligible entity will use to promote individual 
                privacy and data security in the collection, storage, 
                and use of all data involved in the systems and 
                resources supported through the grant, in accordance 
                with Federal and State privacy laws; and
                    ``(E) a plan for how the eligible entity will 
                continue the activities or sustain the use of the 
                outputs created with the grant funds after the grant 
                period ends.
            ``(4) Priority.--In awarding grants under this subsection, 
        the Secretary shall give priority to--
                    ``(A) any eligible entity that is a consortium 
                comprised of State agencies from multiple States 
                (including at least one State agency that has not 
                previously received a grant from the Secretary for the 
                purposes of this subsection and demonstrates a 
                substantial need to improve its data infrastructure) 
                and has the capacity to make significant contributions 
                toward building interoperable, cross-State data 
                infrastructure and leveraging public-private 
                partnerships to provide participating States the 
                ability to better understand--
                            ``(i) earnings and employment outcomes of 
                        individuals who work out-of-State; and
                            ``(ii) cross-State earnings and employment 
                        trends, including new and emerging skills and 
                        in-demand occupational roles; and
                    ``(B) any eligible entity that will use grant funds 
                to--
                            ``(i) expand the adoption and use of 
                        linked, open, and interoperable data on skills 
                        and credentials, including through the 
                        development of a credential registry or other 
                        tools and services designed to help learners 
                        and workers make informed decisions;
                            ``(ii) enhance collaboration and 
                        partnerships with private sector workforce and 
                        labor market data entities and the end-users of 
                        workforce and labor market data, including 
                        individuals, employers, economic development 
                        agencies, and workforce development providers;
                            ``(iii) improve real-time workforce data 
                        collection and reporting toward equipping 
                        employers, workers, and training providers with 
                        accurate information to better predict 
                        workforce demands, including related to the 
                        expanding role of emerging technology 
                        (including artificial intelligence and machine 
                        learning) in the workplace;
                            ``(iv) leverage the use of non-Federal 
                        contributions to improve workforce data 
                        infrastructure, including staff capacity 
                        building; or
                            ``(v) expand existing statewide 
                        longitudinal data systems, including such 
                        systems receiving assistance under section 208 
                        of the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 
                        2002 (20 U.S.C. 9607).
            ``(5) Use of funds.--In addition to the activities 
        described in clauses (i) through (v) of paragraph (4)(B), an 
        eligible entity awarded a grant under this subsection may use 
        funds to carry out any of the following:
                    ``(A) Supporting data linkages, including on skills 
                and emerging skills and in-demand occupational roles, 
                for data from education and workforce development 
                systems, labor market outcomes, and other data sources, 
                which may include integrating such data with statewide 
                longitudinal data systems.
                    ``(B) Accelerating the replication and adoption of 
                data standards, systems, projects, products, or 
                practices already in use in a State to other States.
                    ``(C) Research and labor market data improvement 
                activities to improve the timeliness, relevance, and 
                accessibility of such data, which may include--
                            ``(i) pilot projects that are developed 
                        locally but designed to scale to other regions 
                        or States; or
                            ``(ii) end-user tools, which may facilitate 
                        career exploration or related data insights.
                    ``(D) Establishing, enhancing, or connecting to a 
                system of interoperable learning and employment records 
                that provides individuals who choose to participate in 
                such system ownership of a verified and secure record 
                of the credentials earned and skills gained by such 
                individuals and the ability to share such record with 
                employers and education providers.
                    ``(E) Defining policies, guidelines, standards, or 
                protocols, as appropriate for data collection, storage, 
                data sharing, use, data destruction, and disclosure 
                avoidance to secure any personally identifiable 
                information, in accordance with Federal and State 
                privacy laws.
                    ``(F) Increasing local board access to and 
                integration with the State's statewide longitudinal 
                data system in a secure manner.
                    ``(G) Establishing or participating in a data 
                exchange for collecting and using standards-based jobs, 
                skills, and employment data including, at a minimum, 
                job titles or occupation codes.
                    ``(H) Improving State and local staff capacity to 
                understand, use, and analyze data to improve decision 
                making, improve participant outcomes, and improve the 
                ability of workers to adapt to changes in the 
                workplace, including regarding emerging technologies 
                (including artificial intelligence and machine learning 
                tools).
            ``(6) Administration.--
                    ``(A) Duration.--A grant awarded under this 
                subsection may be for a period of not more than 3 
                years.
                    ``(B) Supplement, not supplant.--Funds made 
                available under this subsection shall be used to 
                supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, or 
                local funds used for development of State data systems.
                    ``(C) Report.--Each eligible entity that receives a 
                grant under this subsection shall submit a report to 
                the Secretary not later than 180 days after the 
                conclusion of the grant period on the activities 
                supported through the grant and any improvements in the 
                use of workforce and labor market information that have 
                resulted from such activities.
            ``(7) Statewide longitudinal data systems.--In this 
        subsection, the term `statewide longitudinal data systems' has 
        the same meaning as such term used in section 153(a)(5) of the 
        Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 
        9543(a)(5)).''.
    (b) Source of Funding.--Section 132(a)(2)(A) of the Workforce 
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3172(a)(2)(A)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``under sections'' and inserting ``under 
        section'';
            (2) by striking ``169(c) (relating to dislocated worker 
        projects)'' and inserting ``subsections (c) (relating to 
        dislocated worker projects) and (d) (relating to a workforce 
        data quality initiative) of section 169''; and
            (3) by striking ``and 170'' and inserting ``and section 
        170''.
                                 <all>
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