II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 83 

To assist States in, and pay for the Federal share of the cost of, defraying 

the cost of pre-apprenticeships or related instruction associated with 

qualified apprenticeship programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25, 2023 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To assist States in, and pay for the Federal share of the 

cost of, defraying the cost of pre-apprenticeships or related instruction associated with qualified apprenticeship 

programs, 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 ‘‘American Apprentice5 ship Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PRE-APPRENTICESHIP AND QUALIFIED APPREN7 TICESHIP PROGRAMS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 


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1 (1) QUALIFIED APPRENTICESHIP.—The term 

2 ‘‘qualified apprenticeship’’, used with respect to a 

3 program, means an apprenticeship program that 

4 is— 

5 (A) registered under the Act of August 16, 

6 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National Ap7 prenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 

8 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.); and 

9 (B) concentrated in an industry sector or 

10 occupation that represents less than 10 percent 

11 of apprenticeable occupations or of the pro12 grams under the national apprenticeship sys13 tem. 

14 (2) POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITU15 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary educational institu16 tion’’ means an institution of higher education, as 

17 defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act 

18 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

19 (3) PRE-APPRENTICESHIP.—The term ‘‘pre-ap20 prenticeship’’, used with respect to a program, 

21 means an initiative or set of strategies that— 

22 (A) is designed to prepare individuals to 

23 enter and succeed in a qualified apprenticeship 

24 program; 


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1 (B) is carried out by a sponsor described 

2 in paragraph (6)(B) that has a documented 

3 partnership with one or more sponsors of quali4 fied apprenticeship programs; and 

5 (C) includes each of the following: 

6 (i) Training (including a curriculum 

7 for the training), aligned with industry 

8 standards related to apprenticeships in a 

9 qualified apprenticeship program, and re10 viewed and approved annually by sponsors 

11 of such apprenticeships within the docu12 mented partnership, that will prepare indi13 viduals by teaching the skills and com14 petencies needed to enter one or more 

15 qualified apprenticeship programs. 

16 (ii) Provision of hands-on training and 

17 theoretical education to individuals that— 

18 (I) is carried out in a manner 

19 that includes proper observation of su20 pervision and safety protocols; and 

21 (II) is carried out in a manner 

22 that does not displace a paid em23 ployee. 

24 (iii) A formal agreement with a spon25 sor of a qualified apprenticeship program 


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1 that would enable participants who suc2 cessfully complete the pre-apprenticeship 

3 program to enter directly into the qualified 

4 apprenticeship program (if a place in the 

5 program is available and if the participant 

6 meets the qualifications of the qualified ap7 prenticeship program), and includes agree8 ments concerning earning credit recognized 

9 by a postsecondary educational institution 

10 for skills and competencies acquired during 

11 the pre-apprenticeship program. 

12 (4) RELATED INSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘re13 lated instruction’’ means an organized and system14 atic form of classroom or web-based instruction de15 signed to provide an apprentice with the knowledge 

16 of the theoretical and technical subjects related to 

17 the occupation of the apprentice or the instruction 

18 needed to prepare an individual to enter and succeed 

19 in an qualified apprenticeship program. 

20 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of Labor. 

22 (6) SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘sponsor’’ means— 

23 (A) with respect to a qualified apprentice24 ship program, an employer, joint labor-manage25 ment partnership, trade association, profesVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Feb 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S83.IS S83

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1 sional association, labor organization, or other 

2 entity, that administers the qualified appren3 ticeship program; and 

4 (B) with respect to a pre-apprenticeship 

5 program, a local educational agency, a sec6 ondary school, an area career and technical 

7 education school, a State board, a local board, 

8 a joint labor-management committee, a labor 

9 organization, or a community-based organiza10 tion, with responsibility for the pre-apprentice11 ship program. 

12 (7) WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPOR13 TUNITY ACT DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘area career 

14 and technical education school’’, ‘‘community-based 

15 organization’’, ‘‘individual with a barrier to employ16 ment’’, ‘‘local board’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, 

17 ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State board’’ have the 

18 meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Work19 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

20 3102). 

21 (b) GRANTS FOR TUITION ASSISTANCE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

23 grants to States on a competitive basis to assist the 

24 States in, and pay for the Federal share of the cost 

25 of, defraying the cost of a pre-apprenticeship, or the 


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1 cost of related instruction, associated with a quali2 fied apprenticeship program. 

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

4 grant under this subsection, a State shall submit an 

5 application to the Secretary for such a project at 

6 such time, in such manner, and containing a stra7 tegic plan that contains such information as the Sec8 retary may require, including— 

9 (A) information identifying the State agen10 cy (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘State enti11 ty’’) that will administer the grant as deter12 mined by the Governor of the State; 

13 (B) a description of strategies that the 

14 State entity will use to collaborate with key in15 dustry representatives, State agencies, postsec16 ondary educational institutions, labor-manage17 ment entities, and other relevant partners to 

18 launch or expand pre-apprenticeships for and 

19 apprenticeships in qualified apprenticeship pro20 grams; 

21 (C) a description of how the State entity 

22 will— 

23 (i) coordinate activities carried out 

24 under this subsection with activities car25 ried out under the Carl D. Perkins Career 


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1 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

2 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) and the Workforce 

3 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

4 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) to support pre-ap5 prenticeships for and apprenticeships in 

6 qualified apprenticeship programs; 

7 (ii) leverage funds provided under the 

8 Acts specified in clause (i) to support pre9 apprenticeships for and apprenticeships in 

10 qualified apprenticeship programs; and 

11 (iii) utilize, and encourage individual 

12 participants in programs supported under 

13 this subsection to utilize, available Federal 

14 and State financial assistance, including 

15 assistance available under the Workforce 

16 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

17 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), education assistance 

18 benefits available to veterans, and Federal 

19 Pell Grants available under section 401 of 

20 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 1070a), prior to using assistance 

22 made available under this Act; 

23 (D) a description of strategies to elevate 

24 apprenticeships in qualified apprenticeship pro25 grams as a workforce solution in nontraditional 


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1 industries, such as information technology, 

2 health care, advanced manufacturing, transpor3 tation, and other industries determined to be 

4 high-demand by the State board for the State; 

5 (E) a description of activities that the 

6 State entity will carry out to build awareness 

7 about the economic potential of apprenticeships 

8 in qualified apprenticeship programs; 

9 (F) a description that outlines how the 

10 State entity will increase opportunities for pre11 apprenticeships for and apprenticeships in 

12 qualified apprenticeship programs, among mem13 bers of minority groups, youth, individuals with 

14 disabilities, veterans, and individuals with bar15 riers to employment; 

16 (G) a description of— 

17 (i) how the State entity will ensure 

18 that the qualified apprenticeship program 

19 meets certain performance measures and 

20 quality standards, including that the quali21 fied apprenticeship program has been in 

22 existence for not fewer than 6 months 

23 prior to the application date; 

24 (ii) the targeted outreach strategies 

25 that the State entity will use for popuVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Feb 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S83.IS S83

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1 lations previously underserved through ap2 prenticeships; and 

3 (iii) any State performance measures 

4 that the State will use, at the election of 

5 the State, to measure the effectiveness of 

6 the project; and 

7 (H) in the case of a State that has already 

8 received a grant under this subsection for a 

9 project, information indicating that the State 

10 met the performance measures with respect to 

11 the project. 

12 (3) APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS.—A joint 

13 team of employees from the Department of Labor 

14 and the Department of Education shall— 

15 (A) review such an application; and 

16 (B) make recommendations to the Sec17 retary regarding approval of the application. 

18 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a 

19 grant under this subsection shall use the funds made 

20 available through the grant to defray any of the fol21 lowing costs of related instruction: 

22 (A) Tuition and fees. 

23 (B) Cost of textbooks, equipment, cur24 riculum development, and other required edu25 cational materials. 


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1 (C) Costs of any other item or service de2 termined by the State to be necessary. 

3 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The State may 

4 use not more than 10 percent of the grant funds for 

5 administrative costs relating to carrying out the 

6 project described in paragraph (1). 

7 (6) PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION.—The 

8 Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of 

9 Education, shall— 

10 (A) establish performance measures based 

11 on indicators set by the Administrator of the 

12 Office of Apprenticeship of the Department of 

13 Labor; and 

14 (B) establish an evaluation system aligned 

15 with the performance measures, and reporting 

16 requirements for the program carried out under 

17 this subsection. 

18 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

20 cost described in subsection (b)(1) shall be not less 

21 than 20 percent and not more than 50 percent. 

22 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The State may 

23 make the non-Federal share available— 

24 (A) in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, in25 cluding plant, equipment, or services; and 


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1 (B) directly or through donations from 

2 public or private entities. 

3 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare and sub4 mit to Congress, not later than September 30, 2028, a 

5 report— 

6 (1) detailing the results of the evaluation de7 scribed in subsection (b)(6)(B); and 

8 (2) analyzing the extent to which States have 

9 used grant funds effectively under this section. 

10 (e) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol11 icy of the United States that funds made available under 

12 this section should be used to supplement and not sup13 plant other funds available under the Workforce Innova14 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) and 

15 other Federal and State funds available to the State to 

16 support workforce development programs. 

17 SEC. 3. IDENTIFYING IN-DEMAND OCCUPATIONS. 

18 The Secretary shall— 

19 (1) identify in-demand occupations nationally 

20 and regionally that lack the use of apprenticeships 

21 in qualified apprenticeship programs; 

22 (2) analyze the use of the qualified apprentice23 ship program model in those identified in-demand 

24 occupations; and 


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1 (3) prepare and submit to States and Congress 

2 a report that contains the analysis described in para3 graph (2). 

4 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

6 this Act $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

7 2029. 

Æ 


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