II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1304 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a pilot competitive grant 

program for the development of a skilled energy workforce, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2015 

Ms. CANTWELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a pilot competitive grant program for the development of a skilled 

energy workforce, 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 ‘‘21st Century Energy 

5 Workforce Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the energy sector is the third-largest indus9 try in the United States; 


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1 (2) 1,500,000 new skilled workers will be need2 ed in the energy sector over the next 15 years; and 

3 (3) a skilled workforce is a critical component 

4 of ensuring the growth of the energy sector in the 

5 United States. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na9 tional Center of Excellence for the 21st Century 

10 Workforce Advisory Board established under section 

11 4(a). 

12 (2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu13 nity college’’ means a junior or community college 

14 (as defined in section 312(f) of the Higher Edu15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f))). 

16 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

17 the pilot program established under section 5(a). 

18 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of Energy. 

20 (5) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION.—The 

21 term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ means an orga22 nization recognized by the Secretary of Veterans Af23 fairs for the representation of veterans under section 

24 5902 of title 38, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 4. NATIONAL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE 21ST 

2 CENTURY WORKFORCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

4 nationwide advisory board, to be known as the ‘‘National 

5 Center of Excellence for the 21st Century Workforce Advi6 sory Board’’, to foster strategic vision, guidance, and net7 works for the energy industry. 

8 (b) REPRESENTATIVES.—The members of the Board 

9 shall consist of energy sector stakeholders, including— 

10 (1) representatives of relevant industries; 

11 (2) experts in labor, economics, and workforce 

12 development; 

13 (3) representatives of States and units of local 

14 government; 

15 (4) representatives of elementary and secondary 

16 education and postsecondary education; and 

17 (5) representatives of labor organizations. 

18 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Board are— 

19 (1) to support and develop training and science 

20 education programs that— 

21 (A) meet the industry and labor needs of 

22 the energy sector; and 

23 (B) provide opportunities for students to 

24 become qualified for placement in traditional 

25 and clean energy sector jobs; 


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1 (2) to align apprenticeship programs and indus2 try certifications to further develop succession plan3 ning in the energy sector; 

4 (3) to integrate educational standards to de5 velop foundational skills for elementary and sec6 ondary education and postsecondary education to 

7 create a pipeline between education and career; and 

8 (4) to support the replication of existing model 

9 energy curricula. 

10 SEC. 5. ENERGY WORKFORCE PILOT GRANT PROGRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta13 tion with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of 

14 Education, shall establish a pilot program to award grants 

15 on a competitive basis to eligible entities for job training 

16 to obtain an industry-recognized credential. 

17 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

18 under this section, an entity shall be a public or nonprofit 

19 organization that— 

20 (1) includes an advisory board of proportional 

21 participation, as determined by the Secretary, of rel22 evant organizations, including— 

23 (A) relevant energy industry organizations, 

24 including public and private employers; 

25 (B) labor organizations; and 


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1 (C) elementary and secondary education 

2 and postsecondary education organizations; 

3 (2) demonstrates experience in implementing 

4 and operating job training and education programs; 

5 (3) demonstrates the ability to recruit and sup6 port individuals who plan to work in the energy in7 dustry in the successful completion of relevant job 

8 training and education programs; and 

9 (4) provides students who complete the job 

10 training and education program with an industry11 recognized credential. 

12 (c) APPLICATIONS.—Eligible entities desiring a grant 

13 under this section shall submit to the Secretary an appli14 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

15 information as the Secretary may require. 

16 (d) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to receive 

17 grants under this section, the Secretary shall prioritize ap18 plicants that— 

19 (1) house the job training and education pro20 grams in— 

21 (A) a community college or institution of 

22 higher education that includes basic science and 

23 math education in the curriculum of the com24 munity college, institution of higher education; 

25 or 


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1 (B) an apprenticeship program registered 

2 with the Department of Labor; 

3 (2) work with the Secretary of Defense or vet4 erans organizations to transition members of the 

5 Armed Forces and veterans to careers in the energy 

6 sector; 

7 (3) apply as a State or regional consortia to le8 verage best practices already available in the State 

9 or region in which the community college or institu10 tion of higher education is located; 

11 (4) have a State-supported entity included in 

12 the application; 

13 (5) include an apprenticeship program reg14 istered with the Department of Labor as part of the 

15 job training and education program; 

16 (6) develop a mentorship program for energy 

17 professionals and elementary and secondary edu18 cation students; 

19 (7) provide support services and career coach20 ing; or 

21 (8) provide introductory energy workforce devel22 opment training. 

23 (e) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.—In making 

24 grants under this section, the Secretary shall consider re25 gional diversity. 


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1 (f) LIMITATION ON APPLICATIONS.—An eligible enti2 ty may not submit, either individually or as part of a joint 

3 application, more than 1 application for a grant under this 

4 section during any 1 fiscal year. 

5 (g) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The 

6 amount of a grant for any 1 year shall not exceed 

7 $1,000,000. 

8 (h) COSTS.— 

9 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

10 the cost of a job training and education program 

11 carried out using a grant under this section shall be 

12 not greater than 65 percent. 

13 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The non-Federal share 

15 of the cost of a job training and education pro16 gram carried out using a grant under this sec17 tion shall consist of not less than 50 percent 

18 cash. 

19 (B) LIMITATION.—Not greater than 50 

20 percent of the non-Federal contribution of the 

21 total cost of a job training and education pro22 gram carried out using a grant under this sec23 tion shall be in the form of in-kind contribu24 tions of goods or services fairly valued. 


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1 (i) REDUCTION OF DUPLICATION.—Prior to submit2 ting an application for a grant under this section, each 

3 applicant shall consult with the applicable agencies of the 

4 Federal Government and coordinate the proposed activi5 ties of the applicant with existing State and local pro6 grams. 

7 (j) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

8 provide technical assistance and capacity building to na9 tional and State energy partnerships, including the enti10 ties described in subsection (b)(1), to leverage the existing 

11 job training and education programs of the Department 

12 of Energy. 

13 (k) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to Con14 gress and make publicly available on the website of the 

15 Department of Energy an annual report on the program 

16 established under this section, including a description of— 

17 (1) the entities receiving grants; 

18 (2) the activities carried out using the grants; 

19 (3) best practices used to leverage the invest20 ment of the Federal Government; 

21 (4) the rate of employment for participants 

22 after completing a job training and education pro23 gram carried out using a grant; and 

24 (5) an assessment of the results achieved by the 

25 program. 


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1 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019. 

Æ 


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