I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1576 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a job-training grant program 

for workers displaced by automation and to establish an Innovation 

Corps to enable recent college graduates to volunteer in job-training 

programs for workers displaced by automation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 16, 2017 

Ms. MATSUI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a jobtraining grant program for workers displaced by automation and to establish an Innovation Corps to enable recent college graduates to volunteer in job-training programs for workers displaced by automation, 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 ‘‘Innovation Corps Act 

5 of 2017’’. 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1576 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The acceleration of artificial intelligence is 

4 enabling the automation of jobs that have tradition5 ally required human labor. 

6 (2) Such automation opens up new opportuni7 ties for individuals, the economy, and society, but 

8 such automation also has the potential to disrupt the 

9 employment landscape for millions of people in the 

10 United States. 

11 (3) The potential for artificial intelligence to 

12 improve the livelihoods and quality of life for the 

13 United States workforce over the long run depends 

14 on the institutions and policies in place. 

15 (4) Job training for dislocated workers in the 

16 skills needed in the innovation economy will be crit17 ical to maintaining the stability of the larger econ18 omy and individual families. 

19 (5) Young people are often well equipped to 

20 adapt to changes in technology and may be able to 

21 provide unique expertise in retraining dislocated 

22 workers. 

23 (6) The outstanding balance of Federal student 

24 loans now exceeds $1 trillion. This debt burden is 

25 limiting the ability of recent graduates to fully par26 ticipate in the economy. 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1576 IH

1 SEC. 3. JOB-TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM FOR WORKERS 

2 DISPLACED BY AUTOMATION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Commerce, 

4 in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer of the 

5 Corporation for National and Community Service, shall 

6 establish a competitive program to make grants to institu7 tions of higher education to establish or enhance education 

8 programs that retrain workers displaced from their jobs 

9 by automation to provide such workers with skills needed 

10 for jobs in the STEM fields. 

11 (b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 90 days 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less 

13 frequently than every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary 

14 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

15 and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

16 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

17 Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Appro18 priations of the Senate a management plan for the grant 

19 program established under this section. The plan shall in20 clude the organization, structure, and funding profiles of 

21 the grant program for the 6 years following the submission 

22 of the plan. 

23 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary may only make a 

24 grant under this section to an institution of higher edu25 cation that submits an application at such time, in such 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1576 IH

1 form, and accompanied by such information and assur2 ances as the Secretary may require. 

3 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An institution of higher edu4 cation that receives a grant under this section shall use 

5 the grant funds for one or more education programs that 

6 retrain workers displaced, or at risk of future displace7 ment, from their jobs by automation in order to enable 

8 such workers to reenter the workforce in jobs in the 

9 STEM fields. 

10 (e) CONDITIONS FOR RECEIPT OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

11 An institution of higher education may not receive grant 

12 funds under this section unless the institution meets the 

13 following requirements: 

14 (1) The institution certifies that each education 

15 program for which the institution receives grant 

16 funds provides workers with training in skills needed 

17 for jobs in the STEM fields. 

18 (2) The institution uses graduate volunteers to 

19 assist with the education program for which the in20 stitution receives grant funds. 

21 (f) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANT.—A grant under 

22 this section may not exceed $5,000,000. 

23 (g) RULES PRESCRIBING SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

24 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

25 of this Act, after a public comment period of not less than 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 1576 IH

1 60 days, the Secretary shall issue rules prescribing the cri2 teria for selection of an institution of higher education to 

3 receive a grant under this section. Such criteria shall in4 clude performance requirements for an education program 

5 for which an institution of higher education receives grant 

6 funds. The Secretary shall update such rules as necessary. 

7 (h) RULES FOR GRANT ADMINISTRATION.—Not later 

8 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

9 after a public comment period of not less than 60 days, 

10 the Secretary shall issue rules to ensure that grants under 

11 this section are made and administered in an accountable 

12 fashion in order to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. The 

13 Secretary shall update such rules as necessary. 

14 (i) DEADLINE TO BEGIN MAKING GRANTS.—The 

15 Secretary shall begin making grants under this section not 

16 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act. 

18 (j) REPORTS.—Not later than June 3 and December 

19 31 of each year, the Inspector General of the Department 

20 of Commerce and the Comptroller General of the United 

21 States shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Com22 merce of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

23 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

24 a report that reviews the grant program established under 

25 this section during the 6 months preceding the submission 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 1576 IH

1 of the report. Such report shall include any recommenda2 tions to address waste, fraud, and abuse in such program. 

3 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $250,000,000, of which not more than 5 percent shall be 

6 available for the costs of administering the grant program 

7 established under this section, for each of the fiscal years 

8 2018 through 2028. 

9 SEC. 4. INNOVATION CORPS. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

12 establish an Innovation Corps whereby recent college grad13 uates may volunteer, in an education program for which 

14 an institution of higher education receives (or is eligible 

15 to receive) a grant under section 3, to help retrain workers 

16 that have been displaced from their jobs by automation. 

17 (b) STIPEND.—The Secretary shall pay a monthly 

18 stipend to each graduate volunteer in accordance with the 

19 rules issued under subsection (c)(4). 

20 (c) RULES.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, after a public comment pe22 riod of not less than 60 days, the Secretary shall issue 

23 rules containing— 

24 (1) the eligibility requirements for graduate vol25 unteers; 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 1576 IH

1 (2) the application procedures to become a 

2 graduate volunteer; 

3 (3) the code of conduct for graduate volunteers; 

4 and 

5 (4) the amount of a monthly stipend for grad6 uate volunteers sufficient to furnish graduate volun7 teers with housing, food, and transportation to and 

8 from the education program with which the graduate 

9 volunteer volunteers. 

10 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

12 $250,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2018 through 

13 2028. 

14 SEC. 5. STUDENT LOAN DEFERMENT AND FORGIVENESS 

15 FOR GRADUATE VOLUNTEERS. 

16 (a) LOAN DEFERMENT.—Section 455(f)(2) of the 

17 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 

20 (C); 

21 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub22 paragraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(E) during which the borrower is serving 

25 as a graduate volunteer in the Innovation Corps 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 1576 IH

1 established under section 4 of the Innovation 

2 Corps Act of 2017.’’. 

3 (b) LOAN FORGIVENESS.—With respect to any bor4 rower of Federal student loans who completes 2 years of 

5 volunteer service as a graduate volunteer in the Innovation 

6 Corps established under section 4, the Secretary of Com7 merce shall repay, on behalf of such borrower, not more 

8 than $100,000 of the balance of principal and interest due 

9 on such loans as of the date of completion of such service. 

10 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) AUTOMATION.—The term ‘‘automation’’ 

13 means the introduction of machinery into any enter14 prise that is intended to, or has the effect of, replac15 ing human labor. 

16 (2) FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN.—The term 

17 ‘‘Federal student loan’’ means a loan made under 

18 part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

19 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.). 

20 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

21 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

22 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High23 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

24 (4) GRADUATE VOLUNTEER.—The term ‘‘grad25 uate volunteer’’ means a recent college graduate who 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 1576 IH

1 volunteers in the Innovation Corps established under 

2 section 4. 

3 (5) RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATE.—The term 

4 ‘‘recent college graduate’’ means an individual who 

5 has graduated from an institution of higher edu6 cation not more than 2 years before applying to be7 come a graduate volunteer in the Innovation Corps 

8 established under section 4. 

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

10 the Secretary of Commerce. 

11 (7) STEM FIELD.—The term ‘‘STEM field’’ 

12 means science, technology, engineering, or mathe13 matics. 

Æ 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS