II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4980 

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 

AUGUST 1, 2024 

Ms. ROSEN 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’’ or the ‘‘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 data from the Bureau of the Census, comprise 

8 a percentage of individuals employed in the con9 struction sector that is lower than the percent10 age of the total population of the United States 

11 comprised by such members; 

12 ‘‘(B) are low-income individuals; 

13 ‘‘(C) are individuals with barriers to em14 ployment; or 

15 ‘‘(D) are veterans. 

16 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

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

18 consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall 

19 establish a program, through which the Secretary of 

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

21 eligible entities to expand their capacity to provide 

22 training services, education, and outreach activities 

23 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) in-school youth; or 

10 ‘‘(C) part of an underserved population. 

11 ‘‘(3) A description of the partnerships the eligi12 ble entity will facilitate through the grant, including 

13 the process by which the eligible entity will ensure 

14 that a partner provides fair wages and benefits that 

15 are commensurate with local pay and benefit pack16 ages, and a plan for sustaining activities and part17 nerships supported by the grant after the completion 

18 of the grant period. 

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

20 of the training services, education, or outreach ac21 tivities supported by the grant, including, at a min22 imum, the recognized postsecondary credential, post23 secondary credit, or degree to be earned by partici24 pants, and a timetable showing how the eligible entiVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Sep 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4980.IS S4980

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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 or financial well-being of incumbent work13 ers who are residential construction workers; 

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

15 residential construction business or developer, 

16 nonprofit organization, labor organization, enti17 ty in the State or local workforce development 

18 system, sponsor of a pre-apprenticeship or ap19 prenticeship program, YouthBuild program, or 

20 another community partner, with a focus on en21 gaging with organizations that recruit employ22 ees or program participants from underserved 

23 populations; 

24 ‘‘(D) to facilitate outreach to secondary 

25 school and elementary school students about the 


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1 residential construction industry and education 

2 and training programs available under this sec3 tion, which may include developing dual or con4 current enrollment programs (as defined under 

5 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

6 Education Act of 1965) for secondary students 

7 to participate in such education and training 

8 programs or integrating such programs in a rel9 evant career and technical education program 

10 administered by an elementary school or sec11 ondary school; and 

12 ‘‘(E) to incentivize student participation in 

13 training services, education, or outreach activi14 ties supported by the grant by providing sti15 pends or other payments, including to purchase 

16 books and computers or to pay for tests or 

17 coursework related to certification. 

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

19 receives a grant under this section may use the 

20 grant funds— 

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

22 faculty with demonstrated experience and ex23 pertise in residential construction to lead edu24 cation or training programs related to skills and 

25 recognized postsecondary credentials needed for 


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1 a career in the residential construction indus2 try; 

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

4 clinic in a rural area or area not otherwise 

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

6 to the extent necessary and practicable; 

7 ‘‘(C) to develop promotion materials for 

8 the purpose of increasing awareness of the 

9 training services, education, or outreach activi10 ties; 

11 ‘‘(D) to provide supportive services, such 

12 as child care, transportation, tools, assistive 

13 technology, and other services to promote reten14 tion in, and completion of, an education or 

15 training program supported under this section; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(E) for other activities as approved by the 

18 Secretary of Labor. 

19 ‘‘(g) ASSISTANCE; FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES.—An eligi20 ble entity that receives a grant under this section shall— 

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

22 education or training program, including night class23 es, part-time schedules, and online curricula, to ac24 commodate individuals who work during the day; 

25 and 


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

2 the education or training program, supportive serv3 ices for job search and placement to ensure the suc4 cess of such individuals in achieving the education 

5 and career goals. 

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

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

8 under this section, and any entity that enters into 

9 a partnership with such recipient for the purpose of 

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

11 the recipient or entity— 

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

13 State, and local labor law; 

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

15 Federal, State, and local labor law; and 

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

17 case relating to a violation of any law enforced 

18 by the Department of Labor, Federal Labor 

19 Relations Authority, Equal Employment Oppor20 tunity Commission, or National Labor Relations 

21 Board. 

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

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

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

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1 ent or entity described in paragraph (1), as deter2 mined by the Secretary of Labor. 

3 ‘‘(i) PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re5 ceives a grant under this section shall, not later than 

6 18 months after receiving such grant and annually 

7 thereafter for the duration of the grant period, sub8 mit to the Secretary of Labor a report containing 

9 the eligible entity’s outcomes with respect to the pri10 mary indicators of performance described in section 

11 116(b)(2)(A). 

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

13 months after receiving initial reports from each eligi14 ble entity receiving a grant under this section, the 

15 Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Com16 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

17 of the Senate and the Committee on Education and 

18 the Workforce of the House of Representatives a re19 port containing, at a minimum, the information de20 scribed in paragraph (1) for each such eligible enti21 ty. 

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

23 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

24 necessary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 

25 2025 through 2029.’’. 


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

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

3 Act is amended— 

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

5 and 

6 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec7 tion 171 the following: 

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

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

Æ 


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