II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4139 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to establish a 

digital skills at work grant program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 17, 2024 

Mr. KAINE 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 digital skills at work grant program. 

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 ‘‘Digital Skills for To5 day’s Workforce Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 It is the purpose of this Act to amend the Workforce 

8 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) 

9 to further promote digital equity by— 


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1 (1) building digital skills for current and incom2 ing workers in in-demand industries in order to ad3 vance access to good jobs and fill in-demand occupa4 tions of the 21st century by establishing capacity 

5 within postsecondary education, adult education, and 

6 workforce development systems to deliver digital 

7 skills training and to design such training; and 

8 (2) fostering digitally resilient individuals and 

9 education and workforce development systems. 

10 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress finds the following: 

12 (1) Analysis by the National Skills Coalition 

13 and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta finds that 

92 percent of jobs require digital skills while 1 14 ⁄3 of 

15 workers do not have the foundational digital skills 

16 necessary to enter and succeed in today’s jobs. Fur17 ther, for businesses, turnover costs (estimated at 

18 $25,000 when a worker quits within the first year 

19 to more than $78,000 after 5 years) can be averted 

20 or delayed by ensuring that workers have access to 

21 key upskilling opportunities. 

22 (2) Per a survey of 69 business owners in key 

23 industries in North Carolina conducted by the North 

24 Carolina Broadband Office and North Carolina 

25 Business Committee on Education, more than a 


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1 quarter of responders indicated that their business 

2 has lost competitive advantage due to a shortage of 

3 digital skills. 

4 (3) According to United States data from the 

5 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Devel6 opment Survey of Adult Skills, workers of color are 

7 disproportionately likely to face digital skills gaps 

8 due to longstanding inequities. For example, Black 

9 workers comprise 12 percent of overall workers but 

10 represent 15 percent of the subset of workers who 

11 have no digital skills and 21 percent of those with 

12 limited digital skills. Latino workers (who may be of 

13 any race) are 14 percent of overall workers but rep14 resent a full 35 percent of workers with no digital 

15 skills and 20 percent of those with limited digital 

16 skills. 

17 SEC. 4. WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT 

18 AMENDMENTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title I of the Work20 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221 et 

21 seq.) is amended— 

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

23 and 

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


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1 ‘‘SEC. 172. DIGITAL SKILLS AT WORK GRANT PROGRAM. 

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

3 ‘‘(1) ACCELERATED LEARNING PROGRAM MOD4 ELS.—The term ‘accelerated learning program mod5 els’ means evidence-informed strategies that support 

6 adult learners and workers in obtaining in-demand 

7 skills and credentials in an accelerated fashion, in8 cluding integrated education and training, bridge 

9 programs, and work-based learning programs. 

10 ‘‘(2) DIGITAL EQUITY.—The term ‘digital eq11 uity’ means the condition in which individuals and 

12 communities have the information technology capac13 ity that is needed for full participation in the society 

14 and economy of the United States. 

15 ‘‘(3) DIGITAL AND INFORMATION LITERACY

16 SKILLS.—The term ‘digital and information literacy 

17 skills’ means the skills associated with— 

18 ‘‘(A) using technology to enable users to 

19 find, evaluate, organize, create, and commu20 nicate information and complete tasks through 

21 existing and emerging technologies; 

22 ‘‘(B) recognizing the extent and essence of 

23 an information need, assessing the security and 

24 reliability of information, and effectively using 

25 information; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) developing digital citizenship and the 

2 responsible use of technology. 

3 ‘‘(4) DIGITALLY RESILIENT.—The term 

4 ‘digitally resilient’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) with respect to an individual, an indi6 vidual with the awareness, skills, agility, and 

7 confidence to be an empowered user of new 

8 technologies and to be able to adapt to chang9 ing digital skill demands by improving the ca10 pacity to problem solve, improve and update 

11 skills, navigate digital transformations, and be 

12 active participants in society and the economy; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) with respect to a system, an edu15 cation or workforce development system that— 

16 ‘‘(i) has established processes and 

17 policies to adapt to evolving technological 

18 demands, buffer workers and businesses 

19 from the disruptive effects of rapid techno20 logical shifts, and foster the ability of an 

21 individual to create, critique, and use new 

22 technological tools; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) offers multiple pathways to eco24 nomic success and does not endorse any 


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1 single type of technology or digital skill as 

2 the mechanism for economic mobility. 

3 ‘‘(5) DIGITAL WORKPLACE SKILLS.—The term 

4 ‘digital workplace skills’— 

5 ‘‘(A) means the broad array of 

6 foundational and more specialized skills (includ7 ing basic, advanced, and applied skills) that en8 able an individual to be an effective user or cre9 ator of technology while on the job; and 

10 ‘‘(B) includes industry-specific skills and 

11 skills that are transferable across industries. 

12 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en13 tity’ means an entity that is— 

14 ‘‘(A) described in any of subparagraphs 

15 (A) through (H) of section 60304(b)(2) of the 

16 Digital Equity Act of 2021 (47 U.S.C. 

17 1723(b)(2)); or 

18 ‘‘(B) an industry or sector partnership. 

19 ‘‘(7) INDIVIDUAL WITH INDICATORS OF LOW

20 DIGITAL AND INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS.—The 

21 term ‘individual with indicators of low digital and in22 formation literacy skills’ means, with respect to a 

23 State, an individual who resides in such State and 

24 has— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an educational attainment of not 

2 more than a high school diploma or equivalent; 

3 ‘‘(B) earnings in the bottom 2 quintiles of 

4 earnings in such State; or 

5 ‘‘(C) limited English language proficiency. 

6 ‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

7 the Secretary of Labor. 

8 ‘‘(9) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State 

9 or outlying area. 

10 ‘‘(10) WORKING AGE RESIDENT.—The term 

11 ‘working age resident’ means, with respect to a 

12 State, an individual who resides in such State and 

13 is not younger than 16 years of age and not older 

14 than 64 years of age. 

15 ‘‘(b) DIGITAL SKILLS AT WORK GRANTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in con17 sultation with the Secretary of Education and the 

18 Secretary of Commerce, award a grant in an amount 

19 described in paragraph (2) to each State that sub20 mits a complete application under paragraph (3) to 

21 expand digital workplace skills for individuals seek22 ing jobs and individuals with barriers to employ23 ment. 


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1 ‘‘(2) GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant to a State 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be in an amount that is 

3 the sum of— 

4 ‘‘(A) an amount that bears the same ratio 

5 to 50 percent of the total amount of grants 

6 made available to all States under paragraph 

7 (1) as the population of such State bears to the 

8 total population of all States; 

9 ‘‘(B) an amount that bears the same ratio 

10 to 25 percent of the total amount of grants 

11 made available to all States under paragraph 

12 (1) as the population of working age residents 

13 in the State bears to the total population of 

14 working age residents of all States; and 

15 ‘‘(C) an amount that bears the same ratio 

16 to 25 percent of the total amount of grants 

17 made available to all States under paragraph 

18 (1) as the population of individuals with indica19 tors of low digital and information literacy 

20 skills in the State bears to the total population 

21 of individuals with indicators of low digital and 

22 information literacy skills of all States. 

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

24 grant under paragraph (1), a State shall submit to 

25 the Secretary an application at such time, in such 


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1 manner, and containing such information as the Sec2 retary may require, including— 

3 ‘‘(A) a description of— 

4 ‘‘(i) how the State will use any grant 

5 amounts awarded to expand digital work6 place skills for individuals seeking jobs and 

7 individuals with barriers to employment in 

8 an efficient and expeditious manner; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the period in which the State will 

10 expend the grant funds awarded under the 

11 grant; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) the budget for the activities that 

13 the grant funds will support; 

14 ‘‘(B) a demonstration, to the satisfaction 

15 of the Secretary, that the State is capable of 

16 carrying out the State activities under this sub17 section in a competent manner and in compli18 ance with all applicable Federal, State, and 

19 local laws; 

20 ‘‘(C) a description of the steps the State 

21 will take to ensure that the State is supporting 

22 or building digitally resilient systems and indi23 viduals; 

24 ‘‘(D) a disclosure of the source and 

25 amount of other Federal, State, or outside 


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1 funding sources from which the State receives, 

2 or has applied for, funding for activities or 

3 projects to which the application relates and, if 

4 applicable, how all the funding streams align in 

5 terms of goals; and 

6 ‘‘(E) an assurance that the State shall fol7 low such additional procedures as the Secretary 

8 may require to ensure that grant funds are 

9 used and accounted for in an appropriate man10 ner. 

11 ‘‘(4) NO COMPLETE STATE APPLICATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which 

13 a State does not apply, or submit a complete 

14 application for, a grant under this subsection, 

15 the Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) solicit and accept applications 

17 from eligible entities with demonstrated ca18 pacity to administer a Federal grant pro19 gram on a statewide basis; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) use an amount of grant funds 

21 equal to the State’s share of the grant 

22 funds under paragraph (2) to benefit the 

23 State by— 

24 ‘‘(I) awarding a grant to an eligi25 ble entity described in clause (i) to enVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Apr 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4139.IS S4139

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1 able the eligible entity to carry out the 

2 program under this subsection for the 

3 State; or 

4 ‘‘(II) if there are no suitable ap5 plications submitted under clause (i) 

6 or the Secretary determines appro7 priate, using a portion, or all, of such 

8 funds to award grants to eligible enti9 ties for the same purposes, and sub10 ject to the same terms and conditions, 

11 as subgrants awarded under para12 graph (5). 

13 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of 

14 applying this subsection— 

15 ‘‘(i) with respect to a grant awarded 

16 under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), any ref17 erence to a State shall be deemed to refer 

18 to the eligible entity receiving such grant; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a grant awarded 

21 under subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), the eligible 

22 entity shall submit the report required 

23 under paragraph (5)(D) to the Secretary, 

24 and the Secretary shall make all such re25 ports publicly available. 


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1 ‘‘(5) USES OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) SUBGRANTS AUTHORIZED.—A State 

3 that receives a grant under paragraph (1) shall 

4 use the grant funds to award subgrants to eligi5 ble entities for the purpose of expanding digital 

6 workplace skills for individuals to gain digital 

7 skills needed for their current employment or in 

8 order to advance in their careers, with a pri9 ority on assisting individuals with barriers to 

10 employment. 

11 ‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity 

12 desiring a subgrant under this paragraph shall 

13 submit an application to the State at such time, 

14 in such manner, and containing such informa15 tion as the State shall require. 

16 ‘‘(C) AWARD BASIS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) PRIORITY.—In awarding sub18 grants under subparagraph (A), the State 

19 shall give a priority to eligible entities that 

20 will focus activities under the subgrant on 

21 individuals with barriers to employment. 

22 ‘‘(ii) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—In 

23 awarding subgrants under subparagraph 

24 (A), the State shall ensure funds are disVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Apr 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4139.IS S4139

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1 tributed in a geographically diverse man2 ner. 

3 ‘‘(D) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after receiving a subgrant under this para5 graph, each eligible entity receiving such 

6 subgrant shall submit a report to the State re7 garding the activities supported under such 

8 subgrant. 

9 ‘‘(6) PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

10 ‘‘(A) STATE REPORTS.—Not later than 2 

11 years after receiving the reports submitted to 

12 the State under paragraph (5)(D) but not ear13 lier than 18 months after the grant is awarded 

14 to the State under paragraph (1), the State 

15 shall submit a report to the Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(i) describing the activities funded 

17 using grant funds under this subsection; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) including the information pro20 vided in the local reports submitted to the 

21 State under paragraph (5)(D). 

22 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Sec23 retary shall make each State report submitted 

24 under subparagraph (A) publicly available. 

25 ‘‘(c) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 

2 shall, on a competitive basis, award grants to eligible 

3 entities to enable the eligible entities to foster digital 

4 equity and digitally resilient systems and individuals 

5 (including workers and employers) in order to pre6 pare the individuals for adapting to the current and 

7 future competitive labor market and economy by cre8 ating opportunities for individuals to gain digital 

9 skills needed for their current employment or in 

10 order to advance in their careers. 

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

12 grant under paragraph (1), an eligible entity shall 

13 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 

14 in such manner, and containing such information as 

15 the Secretary may require, including— 

16 ‘‘(A) a description of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the activities that will be sup18 ported using grant funds awarded under 

19 such paragraph, including any services 

20 such as business engagement, classroom 

21 instruction, apprenticeships, work-based 

22 learning, and supportive services; 

23 ‘‘(ii) how the eligible entity receiving 

24 the grant will work to engage small and 

25 medium-sized employers; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the digital workplace skills 

2 learning strategies to be supported using 

3 such grant funds; 

4 ‘‘(iv) the digital workplace skills cur5 riculum, and other related materials, to be 

6 developed and supported using such grant 

7 funds, including— 

8 ‘‘(I) the general content of such 

9 curriculum; 

10 ‘‘(II) the mechanism to deliver 

11 such curriculum; 

12 ‘‘(III) information on how the 

13 curriculum connects to an in-demand 

14 occupation or industry; and 

15 ‘‘(IV) how this curriculum will be 

16 shared with States and other eligible 

17 entities via submission to a Federal 

18 clearinghouse or other repository; 

19 ‘‘(v) the professional development op20 portunities relating to digital workplace 

21 skills for instructors supported by such 

22 grant funds, including with regard to new 

23 hiring of instructors with industry experi24 ence and increasing the skills of instructors 

25 with expertise in serving adult learners and 


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1 administering programs using accelerated 

2 learning program models; 

3 ‘‘(vi) any programs using accelerated 

4 learning program models to be supported 

5 by such grant funds, and how such pro6 graming will align with existing accelerated 

7 learning programs, as of the date of appli8 cation, in the area served by the grant; 

9 ‘‘(vii) any in-demand industry sector 

10 or occupation that will be served using 

11 such grant funds, including how any such 

12 industry sector or occupation was identi13 fied; 

14 ‘‘(viii) how the eligible entity will pro15 tect the privacy and security of any data 

16 collected with regard to an individual in17 volved in any activity supported using such 

18 grant funds; 

19 ‘‘(ix) any population that will receive 

20 services from any activity supported using 

21 such grant funds, including populations of 

22 individuals with barriers to employment 

23 and populations historically underrep24 resented in any industry to be served 

25 under the grant; 


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1 ‘‘(x) any recognized postsecondary 

2 credential that an individual can obtain 

3 through participation in an activity sup4 ported using such grant; 

5 ‘‘(xi) any measurable gains in a skill 

6 that such an individual can achieve 

7 through such participation; 

8 ‘‘(xii) any steps the eligible entity will 

9 take to align activities supported using 

10 such grant funds with, as applicable, the 

11 State Digital Equity Plan of the State de12 veloped under section 60304(c)(1) of the 

13 Digital Equity Act of 2021 (47 U.S.C. 

14 1723(c)(1)) and the action plan of the 

15 State submitted to the Broadband Equity, 

16 Access, and Deployment Program under 

17 section 60102(e)(1)(D) of the Infrastruc18 ture Investment and Jobs Act (47 U.S.C. 

19 1702(e)(1)(D)); and 

20 ‘‘(xiii) how the eligible entity will le21 verage additional resources, including 

22 funding provided under title II and non23 Federal resources, for activities supported 

24 using such grant funds; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) an assurance that the eligible entity 

2 will protect the privacy and security of individ3 uals involved in any program or activity sup4 ported using such grant funds by— 

5 ‘‘(i) prohibiting any program sup6 ported using such grant funds from with7 holding any earned learning information or 

8 earned credentialing information from such 

9 an individual for reasons such as the indi10 vidual failing to pay such program; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) prohibiting any program or ven12 dor supported using such grant funds from 

13 gathering or disseminating personally iden14 tifiable information, as defined by the Sec15 retary, of program participants, except as 

16 needed for program evaluation and report17 ing purposes. 

18 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

19 ‘‘(A) LOCAL REPORTS.—By one year after 

20 the date on which an eligible entity received a 

21 grant under this subsection, the eligible entity 

22 shall submit to the Secretary a report con23 taining— 

24 ‘‘(i) a description of the levels of per25 formance achieved by the eligible entity 


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1 with respect to the performance indicators 

2 described under section 116(b)(2)(A) for— 

3 ‘‘(I) all participants in activities 

4 supported under such grant funds; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(II) individuals with barriers to 

7 employment, in the aggregate and 

8 disaggregated by each subpopulation 

9 and by race, ethnicity, English lan10 guage proficiency, sex, and age; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the progress of the entity to12 wards fulfilling the objectives for which the 

13 grant was awarded. 

14 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—As a condi15 tion of receiving a grant under this subsection, 

16 an eligible entity shall agree to make the eligi17 ble entity’s progress and findings available for 

18 the Secretary to share across States. 

19 ‘‘(d) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding 

20 any other provision of this section, the Secretary— 

21 ‘‘(1) may reserve not more than 5 percent of 

22 the amounts made available to carry out this section 

23 for technical assistance under, and administration 

24 of, this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) shall reserve not less than 2 percent and 

2 not more than 4 percent of such amounts to evalu3 ate the programs carried out under this section.’’. 

4 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

5 173 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, as 

6 redesignated by subsection (a)(1), is further amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 

8 subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(f) DIGITAL SKILLS AT WORK GRANTS.—There are 

12 authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 172 

13 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024 and 

14 each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

15 (c) DIGITAL AND INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS AS

16 TRAINING SERVICES.—Section 134(c)(3)(D) of the Work17 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

18 3174(c)(3)(D)) is amended— 

19 (1) in clause (x), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

20 semicolon; 

21 (2) in clause (xi), by striking the period at the 

22 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(xii) training in digital and informa2 tion literacy skills, as defined in section 

3 172(a).’’. 

4 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

5 8041(g)(2)(C) of the SUPPORT for Patients and Com6 munities Act (29 U.S.C. 3225a(g)(2)(C)) is amended by 

7 striking ‘‘172(f)’’ and all that follows through the period 

8 at the end and inserting ‘‘173(g) of such Act.’’. 

9 (e) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

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

11 Act is amended in the items related to subtitle D of title 

12 I— 

13 (1) by redesignating the item relating to section 

14 172 as the item relating to section 173; and 

15 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec16 tion 171 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 172. Digital skills at work grant program.’’. 

Æ 


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