I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2923 

To require the Secretary of Energy to award grants to expand programs 

in maritime and energy workforce technical training, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2015 

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. BABIN, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, 

Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. OLSON, and Ms. BONAMICI) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to award grants to expand programs in maritime and energy workforce technical training, 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 ‘‘Maritime and Energy 

5 Workforce Technical Training Enhancement Act’’. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2923 IH

1 SEC. 2. MARITIME AND ENERGY WORKFORCE TECHNICAL 

2 TRAINING ENHANCEMENT. 

3 (a) GRANTS REQUIRED.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy (in 

5 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall award 

6 grants to enable eligible community colleges and 

7 other public institutions of higher education to ex8 pand upon existing programs in maritime and en9 ergy workforce technical training, including by ad10 mitting more students, training faculty, expanding 

11 facilities, creating new maritime career pathways 

12 from associate degree to baccalaureate degree pro13 grams and awarding credit for prior learning experi14 ence, or increasing cooperation with the Department 

15 of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Depart16 ment of Homeland Security, the Department of 

17 Transportation, the Department of Veterans Affairs, 

18 or the National Science Foundation. In developing 

19 the grant program, the Secretary may award a grant 

20 to a nonprofit organization with a track record of at 

21 least 10 years of expertise in working with commu22 nity colleges on developing workforce development 

23 programs, to provide assistance to the Secretary in 

24 carrying out the requirements of this Act. 

25 (2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri26 ority in the award of grants under this section to eliVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jul 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2923.IH H2923

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2923 IH

1 gible institutions that have entered into a partner2 ship with the Department of Energy, the Depart3 ment of Defense, the Department of Homeland Se4 curity, the Department of Transportation, or the 

5 Department of Veterans Affairs. 

6 (3) GRANT AMOUNTS.—Grants awarded under 

7 this section shall be in amounts of not less than 

8 $1,000,000 and not more than $1,500,000. 

9 (b) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

12 thereafter for 2 years, the Secretary shall issue a re13 quest for proposals from eligible institutions for 

14 grants under this section. 

15 (2) PROPOSALS.—An eligible institution that 

16 seeks the award of a grant under this section shall 

17 submit an application therefor to the Secretary at 

18 such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 

19 such information as the Secretary may require, in20 cluding— 

21 (A) demonstration of a willingness and 

22 ability to participate in a partnership described 

23 in subsection (a)(2), if any; and 

24 (B) a commitment, and demonstration of 

25 an ability, to maintain maritime and energy 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2923 IH

1 workforce technical training programs after the 

2 end of the grant period. 

3 (c) GRANT USES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution 

5 awarded a grant under this section shall use grant 

6 amounts to carry out any of the following: 

7 (A) Training related to maritime or energy 

8 transportation, logistics, and supply chain man9 agement. 

10 (B) Training related to shipbuilding and 

11 ship repair. 

12 (C) Enhancement of academic and work13 force training programs, to include certifi14 cations and apprenticeships, providing training 

15 for maritime and energy employment. 

16 (D) Salary supplementation for faculty in 

17 maritime or energy training and education. 

18 (E) Operation and maintenance of mari19 time or energy related equipment and tech20 nology for use in instructional programs. 

21 (F) Acquisition of marine vessels, safety 

22 equipment, ship simulators, electronic naviga23 tion devices, fire suppression equipment, phys24 ical and chemical measuring instruments, sam25 pling devices, and other assets and equipment 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2923 IH

1 for use in maritime or energy related training 

2 and education. 

3 (G) Renovation or construction of build4 ings to house maritime or energy training and 

5 education programs. 

6 (H) Tuition reimbursement for successful 

7 completion of a maritime or energy course, pro8 gram, or certification. 

9 (2) LIMITATION ON CONSTRUCTION.—An eligi10 ble institution awarded a grant under this section 

11 may use not more than 50 percent of the grant 

12 amount to carry out paragraph (1)(G). 

13 (3) ADMISSIONS PREFERENCE.—An eligible in14 stitution awarded a grant under this section shall 

15 give preference in admission to maritime or energy 

16 training and education programs to veterans, to the 

17 extent practicable. 

18 (4) PERIOD OF USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible in19 stitution awarded a grant under this section may use 

20 the grant funds for a period of three years after the 

21 award of the grant. 

22 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) The term ‘‘eligible institution’’ means a 

24 community college or other public postsecondary 

25 educational institution located in close proximity to 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2923 IH

1 marine or port facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, At2 lantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, or Great Lakes offering 

3 a maritime training and education program, and 

4 which has an established association with— 

5 (A) a port authority or other established 

6 seaport or inland port facility; and 

7 (B) the Department of Energy, the De8 partment of Defense, the Department of Home9 land Security, the Department of Transpor10 tation, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or 

11 other appropriate government agencies. 

12 (2) The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning given 

13 that term in section 101 of title 38, United States 

14 Code. 

15 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for 

17 each of fiscal years 2016, 2017, and 2018, $12,000,000 

18 to carry out this section. 

19 SEC. 3. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN MARITIME AND EN20 ERGY WORKFORCE TECHNICAL TRAINING. 

21 (a) GRANTS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTERS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta23 tion with the Secretary of Transportation and the 

24 Secretary of Labor, shall award a grant to no more 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2923 IH

1 than 10 eligible institutions to enable the eligible in2 stitutions to— 

3 (A) establish Centers of Excellence in Mar4 itime and Energy Workforce Technical Training 

5 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Centers’’); 

6 and 

7 (B) enable eligible institutions to improve 

8 and expand maritime and energy workforce 

9 training opportunities for veterans, members of 

10 the Armed Forces, Federal employees, and civil11 ians by implementing new programs in such 

12 training areas as— 

13 (i) port related transportation sys14 tems, maritime and energy logistics and 

15 supply chain management, small vessel re16 pair, maintenance of navigation and deck 

17 cargo systems, maintenance of sophisti18 cated training equipment, port related 

19 transportation, logistics, and supply chain 

20 management, shipbuilding and ship repair, 

21 operation and maintenance of equipment 

22 and technology for use in maritime and en23 ergy employment training; and 

24 (ii) job placement in maritime and en25 ergy related employment fields. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2923 IH

1 (2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri2 ority in the award of grants under this section to eli3 gible institutions that have in force, or demonstrate 

4 the willingness and ability to enter into, memoranda 

5 of understanding with the Department of Energy, 

6 the Department of Defense, the Department of 

7 Homeland Security, the Department of Transpor8 tation, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or other 

9 appropriate government agencies, or a cooperative 

10 agreement with an appropriate private sector entity, 

11 which memorandum of understanding or cooperative 

12 agreement provides for either, or both, of the fol13 lowing: 

14 (A) The provision of resources, whether in 

15 cash or in kind, to the Center. 

16 (B) Assistance for the Center in building 

17 maritime or energy training capacity, or in 

18 training Federal employees in maritime fields. 

19 (3) GRANT AMOUNT.—Grants awarded under 

20 this section shall be in amounts of not more than 

21 $1,500,000 per Center. 

22 (b) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2923 IH

1 shall issue a request for proposals from eligible insti2 tutions for a grant under this section. 

3 (2) PROPOSALS.—An eligible institution that 

4 seeks the award of the grant under this section shall 

5 submit an application therefor to the Secretary at 

6 such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 

7 such information as the Secretary may require. 

8 (c) GRANT USES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution 

10 awarded a grant under this section shall use the 

11 grant amount for purposes as follows: 

12 (A) To develop an agenda for maritime 

13 and energy training and education. 

14 (B) To fund expansion of maritime and 

15 energy training and education. 

16 (C) To publish or otherwise disseminate 

17 findings relating to best practices in maritime 

18 and energy training and education. 

19 (2) PERIOD OF USE OF FUNDS.—Eligible insti20 tutions awarded grants under this section may use 

21 the grant amount for a period of five years after the 

22 award of the grant. 

23 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) The term ‘‘eligible institution’’ means a 

25 community college or other public educational instiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jul 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2923.IH H2923

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2923 IH

1 tution located in close proximity to port or other ma2 rine facilities on the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, 

3 Pacific Ocean, or Great Lakes that— 

4 (A) operates an existing maritime or en5 ergy workforce training program; 

6 (B) offers accredited programs in academic 

7 areas such as port related transportation, logis8 tics, and supply chain management and ship9 building and ship repair, among other areas rel10 evant to maritime or energy related workforce 

11 training; 

12 (C) is well recognized in the field of mari13 time workforce training; and 

14 (D) has an established association with— 

15 (i) a port authority; and 

16 (ii) the Department of Energy, the 

17 Department of Defense, the Department of 

18 Homeland Security, the Department of 

19 Transportation, the Department of Vet20 erans Affairs, or other appropriate govern21 ment agencies. 

22 (2) The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning given 

23 that term in section 101 of title 38, United States 

24 Code. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2923 IH

1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for 

3 each of fiscal years 2016, 2017, and 2018, $12,000,000 

4 to carry out this section. 

Æ 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS