II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5246 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to expand the 

capacity of junior or community colleges and area career and technical 

education schools to conduct training services, education, and outreach 

activities for careers in the residential construction industry. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Ms. ROSEN (for herself and Mrs. BLACKBURN) 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 expand the capacity of junior or community colleges 

and area career and technical education schools to conduct training services, education, and outreach activities 

for careers in the residential construction industry. 

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 ‘‘Creating Opportunities 

5 for New Skills Training at Rural and Underserved Col6 leges and Trade Schools Act of 2024’’ and ‘‘CON7 STRUCTS Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR CAREERS IN RESI2 DENTIAL CONSTRUCTION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title I of the Work4 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221 et 

5 seq.) is amended— 

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

7 and 

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

9 ‘‘SEC. 172. EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR CAREERS IN 

10 RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION. 

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

12 ‘‘(1) INCUMBENT WORKER.—The term ‘incum13 bent worker’ has the meaning given the term in sec14 tion 680.780 of title 20, Code of Federal Regula15 tions, or a successor regulation. 

16 ‘‘(2) JUNIOR OR COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The 

17 term ‘junior or community college’ has the meaning 

18 given the term in section 312 of the Higher Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058). 

20 ‘‘(3) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ 

21 means any— 

22 ‘‘(A) nonmetropolitan area; or 

23 ‘‘(B) rural area, as defined under section 

24 520 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

25 1490). 


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1 ‘‘(4) UNDERSERVED POPULATION.—The term 

2 ‘underserved population’ means a group of individ3 uals with a common demographic trait (such as indi4 viduals from the same gender, race, or ethnicity), 

5 the members of which— 

6 ‘‘(A) based on the most recent satisfactory 

7 demographic and employment data from the 

8 Bureau of the Census, comprise a percentage of 

9 individuals employed in the construction sector 

10 that is lower than the percentage of the total 

11 population of the United States comprised by 

12 such members; 

13 ‘‘(B) are low-income individuals; 

14 ‘‘(C) are individuals with barriers to em15 ployment; or 

16 ‘‘(D) are veterans. 

17 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor, in 

19 consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall 

20 establish a program, through which the Secretary of 

21 Labor shall award, on a competitive basis, grants to 

22 eligible entities to expand their capacity to provide 

23 training services, education, and outreach activities 

24 for careers in the residential construction industry. 


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1 ‘‘(2) GRANT PERIOD.—A grant awarded under 

2 this section shall be for a period of not more than 

3 4 years. 

4 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive 

5 a grant under this section, an entity shall be— 

6 ‘‘(1) a junior or community college; 

7 ‘‘(2) an area career and technical education 

8 school; or 

9 ‘‘(3) a provider of training services, as de10 scribed in section 122(a)(2). 

11 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity that desires 

12 to receive a grant under this section shall submit an appli13 cation to the Secretary of Labor at such time, in such 

14 manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 

15 may require, including the following information: 

16 ‘‘(1) A description of the new or expanded 

17 training services, education, or outreach activities 

18 supported by the grant, including a description of 

19 how the new training services, education, or out20 reach activities will align with existing programming 

21 related to careers in the residential construction in22 dustry at the eligible entity, and the relevant faculty 

23 or technical instructors employed by the eligible enti24 ty on the date of the submission of the application 

25 or who may be employed by the eligible entity to 


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1 carry out the training services, education, or out2 reach activities supported by the grant. 

3 ‘‘(2) A description of the populations that will 

4 be served through the training services, education, 

5 or outreach activities supported by the grant, includ6 ing whether the participants in such training serv7 ices, education, or outreach activities are— 

8 ‘‘(A) incumbent workers; 

9 ‘‘(B) individuals in rural areas; 

10 ‘‘(C) in-school youth; or 

11 ‘‘(D) part of an underserved population. 

12 ‘‘(3) A description of the partnerships the eligi13 ble entity will facilitate through the grant, including 

14 the process by which the eligible entity will ensure 

15 that a partner provides fair wages and benefits that 

16 are commensurate with local pay and benefit pack17 ages, and a plan for sustaining activities and part18 nerships supported by the grant after the completion 

19 of the grant period. 

20 ‘‘(4) A description of the anticipated outcomes 

21 of the training services, education, or outreach ac22 tivities supported by the grant, including, at a min23 imum, the recognized postsecondary credential, post24 secondary credit, or degree to be earned by partici25 pants, and a timetable showing how the eligible entiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Oct 11, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5246.IS S5246

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1 ty will meet the primary indicators of performance 

2 described in section 116(b)(2)(A). 

3 ‘‘(5) A description of the intended impact of the 

4 training services, education, or outreach activities on 

5 the local housing market, including a description of 

6 how the new training services, education, or out7 reach activities will increase the supply of affordable 

8 housing. 

9 ‘‘(6) Such other information as the Secretary 

10 may require. 

11 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec12 tion, the Secretary of Labor shall give priority to eligible 

13 entities that serve rural areas or underserved populations. 

14 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED USES.—An eligible entity that 

16 receives a grant under this section shall use the 

17 grant funds— 

18 ‘‘(A) to create or expand an evidence-based 

19 education or training program to provide skills 

20 needed in the residential construction industry, 

21 including skills related to— 

22 ‘‘(i) carpentry; 

23 ‘‘(ii) framing; 

24 ‘‘(iii) masonry; 

25 ‘‘(iv) welding; 


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1 ‘‘(v) plumbing; 

2 ‘‘(vi) electrical work; 

3 ‘‘(vii) construction management; 

4 ‘‘(viii) architecture; 

5 ‘‘(ix) HVAC; 

6 ‘‘(x) land surveying and geomatics 

7 ‘‘(xi) construction mathematics; and 

8 ‘‘(xii) such other trades as identified 

9 by the Department of Labor; 

10 ‘‘(B) to create or expand an education or 

11 training program focused on increasing the 

12 skills of incumbent workers who are residential 

13 construction workers; 

14 ‘‘(C) to create a partnership with a local 

15 residential construction business or developer, 

16 either alone or in conjunction with a nonprofit 

17 organization, labor organization, entity in the 

18 State or local workforce development system, 

19 sponsor of a pre-apprenticeship or apprentice20 ship program, YouthBuild program, or another 

21 community partner, with a focus on engaging 

22 with organizations that recruit employees or 

23 program participants from underserved popu24 lations; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) to facilitate outreach to secondary 

2 school and elementary school students about the 

3 residential construction industry and education 

4 and training programs available under this sec5 tion, which may include developing dual or con6 current enrollment programs (as defined under 

7 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

8 Education Act of 1965) for secondary students 

9 to participate in such education and training 

10 programs or integrating such programs in a rel11 evant career and technical education program 

12 administered by an elementary school or sec13 ondary school. 

14 ‘‘(2) PERMISSIVE USES.—An eligible entity that 

15 receives a grant under this section may use the 

16 grant funds— 

17 ‘‘(A) to hire technical instructors or other 

18 faculty with demonstrated experience and ex19 pertise in residential construction to lead edu20 cation or training programs related to skills and 

21 recognized postsecondary credentials needed for 

22 a career in the residential construction indus23 try; 

24 ‘‘(B) to operate an education and training 

25 clinic in a rural area or area not otherwise 


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1 served by an entity described in subsection (c), 

2 to the extent necessary and practicable; 

3 ‘‘(C) to develop promotion materials for 

4 the purpose of increasing awareness of the 

5 training services, education, or outreach activi6 ties; or 

7 ‘‘(D) to provide supportive services 

8 through merit-based and needs-based scholar9 ships, to promote retention in, and completion 

10 of— 

11 ‘‘(i) an education or training program 

12 supported under this section; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) tests or coursework related to 

14 certification. 

15 ‘‘(g) ASSISTANCE; FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES.—An eligi16 ble entity that receives a grant under this section shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) use flexible schedules in carrying out the 

18 education or training program, including night class19 es, part-time schedules, and online curricula, to ac20 commodate individuals who work during the day or 

21 live in rural areas; and 

22 ‘‘(2) provide an individual, upon completion of 

23 the education or training program, supportive serv24 ices for job search and placement to ensure the sucVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Oct 11, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5246.IS S5246

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1 cess of such individuals in achieving the education 

2 and career goals. 

3 ‘‘(h) COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each recipient of funds 

5 under this section, and any entity that enters into 

6 a partnership with such recipient for the purpose of 

7 this Act, shall attest to the Secretary of Labor that 

8 the recipient or entity— 

9 ‘‘(A) is in compliance with each Federal, 

10 State, and local labor law; 

11 ‘‘(B) will remain in compliance with each 

12 Federal, State, and local labor law; and 

13 ‘‘(C) is not subject to a pending action or 

14 case relating to a violation of any law enforced 

15 by the Department of Labor, Federal Labor 

16 Relations Authority, Equal Employment Oppor17 tunity Commission, or National Labor Relations 

18 Board. 

19 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LABOR

20 LAW.—In this subsection, the term ‘Federal, State, 

21 and local labor law’ means any Federal, State, or 

22 local labor law that would be applicable to the recipi23 ent or entity described in paragraph (1), as deter24 mined by the Secretary of Labor. 

25 ‘‘(i) PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re2 ceives a grant under this section shall, not later than 

3 18 months after receiving such grant and annually 

4 thereafter for the duration of the grant period, sub5 mit to the Secretary of Labor a report containing 

6 the eligible entity’s outcomes with respect to the pri7 mary indicators of performance described in section 

8 116(b)(2)(A). 

9 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 

10 months after receiving initial reports from each eligi11 ble entity receiving a grant under this section, the 

12 Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Com13 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

14 of the Senate and the Committee on Education and 

15 the Workforce of the House of Representatives a re16 port containing, at a minimum, the information de17 scribed in paragraph (1) for each such eligible enti18 ty. 

19 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 to carry 

21 out this section for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

22 2029.’’. 

23 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

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

25 Act is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking the item relating to section 172; 

2 and 

3 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec4 tion 171 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 172. Education and training for careers in residential construction. 

‘‘Sec. 173. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


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