II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2053 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 

Mr. VITTER (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, and Mr. KAINE) 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 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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) APPROPRIATE FEDERAL AGENCY.—The 

9 term ‘‘appropriate Federal agency’’ means— 


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1 (A) the Department of Defense; 

2 (B) the Department of Energy; 

3 (C) the Department of Homeland Security; 

4 (D) the Department of Transportation; or 

5 (E) the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

6 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

8 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

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

10 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Energy. 

12 (4) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 

13 meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, 

14 United States Code. 

15 SEC. 3. MARITIME AND ENERGY WORKFORCE TECHNICAL 

16 TRAINING ENHANCEMENT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall 

19 award grants to eligible institutions to expand on ex20 isting programs in maritime and energy workforce 

21 technical training, including by— 

22 (A) admitting more students to the pro23 gram; 

24 (B) training faculty; 

25 (C) expanding facilities; 


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1 (D) creating new maritime career path2 ways, including a pathway from an associate 

3 degree to a baccalaureate degree; 

4 (E) awarding credit for prior learning ex5 perience; and 

6 (F) increasing cooperation with, as appli7 cable— 

8 (i) an appropriate Federal agency; or 

9 (ii) the National Science Foundation. 

10 (2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS.—To be eligible to 

11 receive a grant under paragraph (1), an institution 

12 shall be an institution of higher education that— 

13 (A) is a community college or other public 

14 postsecondary educational institution; 

15 (B) is located in close proximity to marine 

16 or port facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic 

17 Ocean, Pacific Ocean, or Great Lakes; 

18 (C) offers a maritime training and edu19 cation program; and 

20 (D) has an established association with— 

21 (i) a port authority or other estab22 lished seaport or inland port facility; and 

23 (ii) an appropriate Federal agency. 

24 (3) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri25 ority in awarding grants under this subsection to eliVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Sep 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2053.IS S2053

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1 gible institutions that have entered into a partner2 ship with an appropriate Federal agency. 

3 (4) GRANT AMOUNTS.—Grants awarded under 

4 this subsection shall be in amounts of not less than 

5 $1,000,000 and not more than $1,500,000. 

6 (b) REQUESTS FOR APPLICATIONS.— 

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

8 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

9 thereafter for 2 years, the Secretary shall issue a re10 quest for applications from eligible institutions for 

11 grants under subsection (a). 

12 (2) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible institution 

13 seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall submit an 

14 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

15 manner, and containing such information as the Sec16 retary may require, including— 

17 (A) demonstration of a willingness and 

18 ability to participate in a partnership described 

19 in subsection (a)(3); and 

20 (B) a commitment and demonstration of 

21 an ability to maintain maritime and energy 

22 workforce technical training programs after the 

23 end of the grant period. 

24 (c) GRANT USES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution 

2 awarded a grant under subsection (a) shall use 

3 grant amounts to carry out— 

4 (A) training relating to maritime or energy 

5 transportation, logistics, and supply chain man6 agement; 

7 (B) training relating to shipbuilding and 

8 ship repair; 

9 (C) enhancement of academic and work10 force training programs providing training for 

11 maritime and energy employment, including 

12 certifications and apprenticeships; 

13 (D) salary supplementation for faculty in 

14 maritime or energy training and education; 

15 (E) operation and maintenance of mari16 time or energy-related equipment and tech17 nology for use in instructional programs; 

18 (F) acquisition of marine vessels, safety 

19 equipment, ship simulators, electronic naviga20 tion devices, fire suppression equipment, phys21 ical and chemical measuring instruments, sam22 pling devices, and other assets and equipment 

23 for use in maritime or energy training and edu24 cation; 


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1 (G) renovation or construction of buildings 

2 to house maritime or energy training and edu3 cation programs; or 

4 (H) tuition reimbursement for successful 

5 completion of a maritime or energy course, pro6 gram, or certification. 

7 (2) LIMITATION ON CONSTRUCTION.—An eligi8 ble institution awarded a grant under subsection (a) 

9 may not use greater than 50 percent of the grant 

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

11 (3) ADMISSIONS PREFERENCE.—To the max12 imum extent practicable, an eligible institution 

13 awarded a grant under subsection (a) shall give 

14 preference to veterans in admission to maritime or 

15 energy training and education programs. 

16 (4) GRANT PERIOD.—An eligible institution 

17 awarded a grant under subsection (a) may use the 

18 grant funds for the 3-year period following the 

19 award of the grant. 

20 (d) GRANT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF GRANT PRO21 GRAM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In developing the grant pro23 gram under subsection (a), the Secretary may award 

24 a grant to an eligible nonprofit organization to proVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Sep 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2053.IS S2053

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1 vide assistance to the Secretary in carrying out this 

2 section. 

3 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

4 grant under paragraph (1), a nonprofit organization 

5 shall have not fewer than 10 years of experience in 

6 working with eligible institutions on developing 

7 workforce development programs. 

8 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

10 out this section $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

11 through 2018. 

12 SEC. 4. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN MARITIME AND EN13 ERGY WORKFORCE TECHNICAL TRAINING. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

15 (1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary, in 

16 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation 

17 and the Secretary of Labor, shall award grants to 

18 not more than 10 eligible institutions— 

19 (A) to establish within each eligible institu20 tion receiving a grant a center, to be known as 

21 a ‘‘Center of Excellence in Maritime and En22 ergy Workforce Technical Training’’ (referred 

23 to in this section as a ‘‘Center’’); and 

24 (B) through the Center established under 

25 subparagraph (A), to improve and expand mariVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Sep 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2053.IS S2053

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1 time and energy workforce training opportuni2 ties for veterans, members of the Armed 

3 Forces, Federal employees, and civilians by— 

4 (i) implementing new training pro5 grams, including training programs in— 

6 (I) port-related transportation 

7 systems; 

8 (II) maritime and energy logistics 

9 and supply chain management; 

10 (III) small vessel repair; 

11 (IV) maintenance of navigation 

12 and deck cargo systems; 

13 (V) maintenance of sophisticated 

14 training equipment; 

15 (VI) port-related transportation, 

16 logistics, and supply chain manage17 ment; 

18 (VII) shipbuilding and ship re19 pair; and 

20 (VIII) operation and mainte21 nance of equipment and technology 

22 for use in maritime and energy em23 ployment training; and 

24 (ii) providing job placement services 

25 in maritime and energy employment fields. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS.—To be eligible to 

2 receive a grant under paragraph (1), an institution 

3 shall be an institution of higher education that— 

4 (A) is a community college or other public 

5 postsecondary educational institution; 

6 (B) operates an existing maritime or en7 ergy workforce training program; 

8 (C) offers accredited programs in academic 

9 areas relevant to maritime or energy-related 

10 workforce training, including— 

11 (i) port-related transportation, logis12 tics, and supply chain management; and 

13 (ii) shipbuilding and ship repair; 

14 (D) is well-recognized in the field of mari15 time workforce training; and 

16 (E) has an established association with— 

17 (i) a port authority or other estab18 lished seaport or inland port facility; and 

19 (ii) an appropriate Federal agency. 

20 (3) PRIORITY.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara22 graph (B), the Secretary shall give priority in 

23 awarding grants under this section to eligible 

24 institutions that have entered into, or demVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Sep 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2053.IS S2053

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1 onstrate the willingness and ability to enter 

2 into— 

3 (i) a memorandum of understanding 

4 with an appropriate Federal agency; or 

5 (ii) a cooperative agreement with an 

6 appropriate private entity, as determined 

7 by the Secretary. 

8 (B) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

9 AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT DESCRIBED.— 

10 A memorandum of understanding or coopera11 tive agreement referred to in subparagraph (A) 

12 shall provide for— 

13 (i) the provision of resources, whether 

14 in cash or in-kind, to the Center; or 

15 (ii) assistance to the Center for— 

16 (I) building maritime or energy 

17 training capacity; or 

18 (II) training Federal employees 

19 in maritime fields. 

20 (4) GRANT AMOUNT.—Grants awarded under 

21 paragraph (1) shall be in amounts of not more than 

22 $1,500,000 per eligible institution. 

23 (b) REQUESTS FOR APPLICATIONS.— 

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

25 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


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1 shall issue a request for applications from eligible in2 stitutions for a grant under subsection (a). 

3 (2) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible institution 

4 seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall submit an 

5 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

6 manner, and containing such information as the Sec7 retary 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— 

12 (A) to develop an agenda for maritime and 

13 energy training and education; 

14 (B) to fund expansion of maritime and en15 ergy training and education; or 

16 (C) to publish or otherwise disseminate 

17 findings relating to best practices in maritime 

18 and energy training and education. 

19 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—An eligible institution 

20 awarded a grant under subsection (a) may use the 

21 grant funds for the 5-year period following the 

22 award of the grant. 

23 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

24 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 


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1 out this section $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

2 through 2018. 

Æ 


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