II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 550 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to prioritize 

programs that provide evidence of performance. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Mr. BRAUN 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 prioritize programs that provide evidence of performance. 

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 ‘‘Prioritizing Evidence 

5 for Workforce Development Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PRIORITIZING PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE EVI7 DENCE OF PERFORMANCE. 

8 Section 102 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor9 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3112) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

3 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

5 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

6 and’’; and 

7 (iii) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(F) a description of how the State plans 

10 to prioritize the funding of evidence-based pro11 grams for which evidence from a rigorous eval12 uation of the programs shows a positive effect 

13 on the target population for the programs, with 

14 highest priority given to programs that are 

15 high-evidence interventions, next priority given 

16 to programs that are moderate-evidence inter17 ventions, and next priority given to programs 

18 that are low-evidence interventions.’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (2)(C)— 

20 (i) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

21 after the semicolon; 

22 (ii) in clause (viii), by striking the pe23 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (iii) by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(ix) how the State will prioritize the 

2 funding of evidence-based programs for 

3 which evidence from a rigorous evaluation 

4 of the programs shows a positive effect on 

5 the target population for the programs.’’; 

6 and 

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

8 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In subsection (b): 

9 ‘‘(1) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evidence10 based’, used with respect to an activity, strategy, or 

11 other intervention, means a high-evidence, moderate12 evidence, or low-evidence intervention. 

13 ‘‘(2) HIGH-EVIDENCE.—The term ‘high-evi14 dence’, used with respect to an intervention, means 

15 an intervention that is shown to produce a sizable, 

16 sustained effect on important outcomes, in— 

17 ‘‘(A) two or more well-conducted experi18 mental studies carried out in typical community 

19 settings and conducted at different implementa20 tion sites; or 

21 ‘‘(B) one large multisite well-conducted ex22 perimental study carried out in such a setting. 

23 ‘‘(3) LOW-EVIDENCE.—The term ‘low-evidence’, 

24 used with respect to an intervention, means an inter25 vention that is shown to produce or have the potenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S550.IS S550

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1 tial to produce a positive effect on important out2 comes, in a study based on a reasonable hypothesis 

3 and with credible research findings, such as a cor4 relational study with statistical controls for selection 

5 bias or descriptive research such as a case study. 

6 ‘‘(4) MODERATE-EVIDENCE.—The term ‘mod7 erate-evidence’, used with respect to an intervention, 

8 means an intervention that is shown to produce a 

9 positive effect, that is sizable but not yet conclusive, 

10 on important outcomes, in at least one well-con11 ducted experimental study, or in a rigorous quasi-ex12 perimental study from which a researcher can draw 

13 a causal conclusion regarding the intervention’s ef14 fectiveness. 

15 ‘‘(5) WELL-CONDUCTED EXPERIMENTAL

16 STUDY.—The term ‘well-conducted experimental 

17 study’ means an experimental study such as a study 

18 with randomized controlled trials.’’. 

Æ 


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