II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1422 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a comprehensive program 

to improve education and training for energy- and manufacturing-related 

jobs to increase the number of skilled workers trained to work in energy 

and manufacturing-related fields, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2015 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself and Mr. BOOKER) 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 comprehensive program to improve education and training for 

energy- and manufacturing-related jobs to increase the 

number of skilled workers trained to work in energy 

and manufacturing-related fields, 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 ‘‘Energy Workforce for 

5 the 21st Century Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu2 nity college’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘junior 

3 or community college’’ in section 312 of the Higher 

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058). 

5 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

6 means the Department of Energy. 

7 (3) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen8 tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec9 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

11 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

13 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

15 (5) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

16 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means— 

17 (A) a historically Black college or univer18 sity, which shall have the meaning given the 

19 term ‘‘part B institution’’ in section 322 of the 

20 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

21 1061); 

22 (B) a Predominantly Black Institution, as 

23 defined in section 318(b) of such Act (20 

24 U.S.C. 1059e(b)); 


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1 (C) a Hispanic-serving institution, as de2 fined in section 502(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

3 1101a(a)); or 

4 (D) a Tribal College or University, as de5 fined in section 316(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

6 1059c(b)). 

7 (6) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na8 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 

9 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

10 U.S.C. 15801). 

11 (7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

12 the program established under section 3(a). 

13 (8) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec14 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

15 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

18 the Secretary of Energy. 

19 (10) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means 

20 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

21 SEC. 3. ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE DE22 VELOPMENT. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 

24 carry out a comprehensive program to improve education 

25 and training for energy- and manufacturing-related jobs 


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1 in order to increase the number of skilled workers trained 

2 to work in energy- and manufacturing-related fields, in3 cluding by— 

4 (1) encouraging underrepresented groups, in5 cluding ethnic minorities, women, veterans, and 

6 socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals to enter 

7 into the STEM fields; 

8 (2) encouraging leaders in the education system 

9 of the United States to equip students with the 

10 skills, mentorships, training, and technical expertise 

11 necessary to fill the employment opportunities vital 

12 to managing and operating the energy- and manu13 facturing-related industries of the United States; 

14 (3) providing students and other candidates for 

15 employment with the opportunity to gain necessary 

16 skills and certifications for skilled, semiskilled, and 

17 highly skilled energy and manufacturing-related 

18 jobs; and 

19 (4) strengthening and more fully engaging pro20 grams of the Department and the National Labora21 tories in carrying out the Minorities in Energy Ini22 tiative of the Department. 

23 (b) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall make providing 

24 education and training underrepresented groups for enVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Jun 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1422.IS S1422

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1 ergy and manufacturing-related jobs a national priority 

2 under the program. 

3 (c) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program, 

5 the Secretary shall provide direct assistance (includ6 ing financial assistance awards, technical expertise, 

7 mentorships, internships, and partnerships) to sec8 ondary schools, community colleges, workforce devel9 opment organizations, nonprofit organizations, labor 

10 organizations, apprenticeship programs, tribal col11 leges and universities, and minority-serving institu12 tions. 

13 (2) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall dis14 tribute direct assistance under the program in a 

15 manner proportional to the needs and demand for 

16 jobs in the energy- and manufacturing-related indus17 try, consistent with information obtained under sub18 sections (e)(3) and (i). 

19 (d) CLEARINGHOUSE.—In carrying out the program, 

20 the Secretary shall establish a clearinghouse— 

21 (1) to maintain and update information and re22 sources on training and workforce development pro23 grams for energy- and manufacturing-related jobs; 

24 and 


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1 (2) to act as a resource, and provide guidance, 

2 for secondary schools, institutions of higher edu3 cation (including community colleges and minority4 serving institutions), workforce development organi5 zations, labor management organizations, and indus6 try organizations that would like to develop and im7 plement energy- and manufacturing-related training 

8 programs. 

9 (e) COLLABORATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program, 

11 the Secretary shall— 

12 (A) collaborate with secondary schools, in13 stitutions of higher education (including com14 munity colleges, minority-serving institutions, 

15 and tribal colleges and universities), workforce 

16 training organizations, labor organizations, Na17 tional Laboratories, State energy offices, State 

18 boards and local boards (as such terms are de19 fined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 

20 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)), and 

21 energy- and manufacturing-related industries; 

22 (B) in order to share best practices and 

23 approaches that best suit national, State, and 

24 local needs, encourage and foster collaboration, 

25 mentorships, and partnerships among— 


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1 (i) entities (including labor organiza2 tions, industries, secondary schools, insti3 tutions of higher education (including com4 munity colleges), and workforce develop5 ment organizations) that provide effective 

6 job training programs in energy- and man7 ufacturing-related fields; and 

8 (ii) entities (including secondary 

9 schools, institutions of higher education 

10 (including community colleges), and work11 force development programs) that seek to 

12 establish similar job training programs; 

13 and 

14 (C) collaborate with the Commissioner of 

15 the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Secretary of 

16 Commerce, the Director of the Bureau of the 

17 Census, and energy- and manufacturing-related 

18 industries to develop a comprehensive and de19 tailed understanding of the workforce needs and 

20 opportunities of energy- and manufacturing-re21 lated industries. 

22 (2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall publish an 

23 annual report on energy- and manufacturing-related 

24 job creation as determined as a result of the collabo25 ration under paragraph (1)(C) and sorted— 


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1 (A) by the sectors described in subsection 

2 (i); and 

3 (B) by State and region. 

4 (f) GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITU5 TIONS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program, 

7 the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

8 Education, the Secretary of Commerce, the Sec9 retary of Labor, the Director of the National Science 

10 Foundation, and industry, shall develop guidelines 

11 for educational institutions of all levels, including for 

12 elementary schools, secondary schools, community 

13 colleges, and undergraduate and postbaccalaureate 

14 programs of study at institutions of higher edu15 cation, to help provide graduates with the skills nec16 essary to work in energy- and manufacturing-related 

17 jobs. 

18 (2) INPUT.—In developing guidelines under 

19 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall solicit input from 

20 the oil, gas, coal, renewable, nuclear, utility, energy21 intensive and advanced manufacturing, and pipeline 

22 industries. 

23 (3) ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING EFFICIENCY

24 AND CONSERVATION INITIATIVES.—The guidelines 

25 developed under paragraph (1) shall include gradeVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Jun 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1422.IS S1422

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1 specific guidelines for teaching energy and manufac2 turing efficiency and conservation initiatives to pro3 vide education to students and families. 

4 (4) STEM EDUCATION.—The guidelines devel5 oped under paragraph (1) shall promote STEM edu6 cation as STEM relates to job opportunities in 

7 energy- and manufacturing-related fields of study in 

8 elementary schools, secondary schools, and institu9 tions of higher education (including community col10 leges) nationally. 

11 (g) OUTREACH TO MINORITY-SERVING INSTITU12 TIONS.—In carrying out the program, the Secretary 

13 shall— 

14 (1) give special consideration to increasing out15 reach to minority-serving institutions; 

16 (2) make resources available to minority-serving 

17 institutions with the objective of increasing the num18 ber of skilled minorities and women trained to go 

19 into the energy- and manufacturing-related sectors; 

20 (3) encourage industry to improve the opportu21 nities available for students of minority-serving insti22 tutions to participate in industry internships and co23 operative work-study programs; and 

24 (4) partner with the National Laboratories to 

25 increase the participation of underrepresented 


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1 groups in internships, fellowships, traineeships, and 

2 employment at the National Laboratories. 

3 (h) OUTREACH TO DISPLACED AND UNEMPLOYED

4 ENERGY AND MANUFACTURING WORKERS.—In carrying 

5 out the program, the Secretary shall— 

6 (1) give special consideration to increasing out7 reach to employers and job trainers preparing dis8 placed and unemployed energy and manufacturing 

9 workers for emerging energy- and manufacturing-re10 lated jobs; 

11 (2) make resources available to entities serving 

12 displaced and unemployed energy and manufac13 turing workers with the objective of training individ14 uals to reenter the energy and manufacturing work15 force; and 

16 (3) encourage the energy- and manufacturing17 related industries to improve opportunities for dis18 placed and unemployed energy and manufacturing 

19 workers to participate in internships and cooperative 

20 work-study programs. 

21 (i) GUIDELINES TO DEVELOP SKILLS FOR AN EN22 ERGY AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY WORKFORCE.—In 

23 carrying out the program, the Secretary shall consult with 

24 representatives from energy- and manufacturing-related 

25 industries (including the oil, gas, coal, nuclear, utility, 


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1 pipeline, renewable, petrochemical, manufacturing, and 

2 electrical construction industries) to identify the areas of 

3 highest need in each sector and to develop guidelines for 

4 the skills necessary to develop a workforce trained to go 

5 into the following sectors of the energy- and manufac6 turing-related industries: 

7 (1) The energy efficiency industry, including 

8 work— 

9 (A) in energy efficiency, conservation, 

10 weatherization, or retrofitting; or 

11 (B) as inspectors or auditors. 

12 (2) The pipeline industry, including work— 

13 (A) in pipeline construction and mainte14 nance; or 

15 (B) as engineers or technical advisors. 

16 (3) The utility industry, including work as util17 ity workers, linemen, electricians, pole workers, re18 pairmen, scientists, engineers, or mathematicians. 

19 (4) The alternative fuels industry, including 

20 work in biofuel development and production. 

21 (5) The nuclear industry, including work as sci22 entists, engineers, technicians, mathematicians, or 

23 security personnel. 


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1 (6) The oil and gas industry, including work as 

2 scientists, engineers, technicians, mathematicians, 

3 petrochemical engineers, or geologists. 

4 (7) The renewable energy industry, including 

5 work in the development, manufacturing, and pro6 duction of renewable energy sources (such as solar, 

7 hydropower, wind, or geothermal energy). 

8 (8) The coal industry, including work as coal 

9 miners, engineers, developers and manufacturers of 

10 state-of-the-art coal facilities, technology vendors, 

11 coal transportation workers and operators, or mining 

12 equipment vendors. 

13 (9) The manufacturing industry, including work 

14 as operations technicians, operations and design in 

15 additive manufacturing, 3–D printing, and advanced 

16 composites, industrial energy efficiency management 

17 systems, including power electronics, and other inno18 vative technologies. 

19 (10) The chemical manufacturing industry, in20 cluding work— 

21 (A) in construction (such as welders, pipe22 fitters, or tool and die makers); or 

23 (B) as instrument and electrical techni24 cians, machinists, chemical process operators, 


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1 chemical engineers, quality and safety profes2 sionals, or reliability engineers. 

3 (j) ENROLLMENT IN TRAINING AND APPRENTICE4 SHIP PROGRAMS.—In carrying out the program, the Sec5 retary shall consult with industries, labor organizations, 

6 and community-based workforce organizations to help 

7 identify students and other candidates, including from 

8 underrepresented communities such as minorities, women, 

9 and veterans, to enroll in training and apprenticeship pro10 grams for energy- and manufacturing-related jobs. 

11 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 such sums as are necessary. 

Æ 


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