II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1920 

To require the Comptroller General of the United States to develop and 

submit to Congress a biennial report on the current state of the skills 

gap in the United States, as of the date of the report, that includes 

an analysis of the effectiveness of efforts to close the skills gap and 

policy recommendations to improve such efforts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 4, 2015 

Mr. DONNELLY (for himself and Mr. HELLER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To require the Comptroller General of the United States 

to develop and submit to Congress a biennial report 

on the current state of the skills gap in the United 

States, as of the date of the report, that includes an 

analysis of the effectiveness of efforts to close the skills 

gap and policy recommendations to improve such efforts, 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Biennial Report on 

3 the Skills Gap Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SKILLS GAP. 

5 In this Act, the term ‘‘skills gap’’ means the dif6 ference or gap between the specific skills set of employees 

7 and the skills that are desired by employers in the work8 force. 

9 SEC. 3. BIENNIAL REPORT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, and every other year 

12 thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States 

13 shall develop and submit to Congress a report on the cur14 rent state of the skills gap in the United States, as of 

15 the date of the report, that includes— 

16 (1) an analysis of the effectiveness of efforts to 

17 close the skills gap; and 

18 (2) policy recommendations to improve such ef19 forts. 

20 (b) CONTENT OF REPORT.—Each report required 

21 under subsection (a) may include the following: 

22 (1) An analysis of employer participation in ap23 prenticeships and on-the-job training in the United 

24 States. 

25 (2) An assessment of the Registered Appren26 ticeship program of the Department of Labor (Act 


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1 of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘Na2 tional Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 

3 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.)) to determine if the pro4 gram can be better utilized. 

5 (3) An analysis of the prevalence and port6 ability of recognized postsecondary credentials, in7 cluding industry-recognized credentials, that align 

8 with occupations that are in demand. 

9 (4) A comparison of policies and strategies ad10 dressing the current skills gap in the United States, 

11 as of the date of the report, with the policies and 

12 strategies employed by other large countries. 

13 (5) An analysis of the specific barriers pre14 venting the United States workforce from acquiring 

15 the skills desired by United States employers, in16 cluding an assessment of opportunities to reduce 

17 those barriers. 

Æ 


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