I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 699 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to authorize a 

study to review specific outcomes of entrepreneurial skills development 

programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2023 

Mr. ALLEN (for himself and Mr. DESAULNIER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

to authorize a study to review specific outcomes of entrepreneurial skills development programs, 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. STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD. 

4 Section 101(d)(3)(D) of the Workforce Innovation 

5 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111(d)(3)(D)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and jobseekers’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘jobseekers, and entrepreneurs’’; and 


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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘and entrepreneurial skills de2 velopment and microenterprise services’’ after ‘‘occu3 pations’’. 

4 SEC. 2. IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS OF 

5 TRAINING SERVICES. 

6 Section 122(a)(2)(C) of the Workforce Innovation 

7 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3152(a)(2)(C)) is amend8 ed by inserting ‘‘and providers of entrepreneurial skills de9 velopment programs’’ after ‘‘organizations’’. 

10 SEC. 3. REQUIRED LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING AC11 TIVITIES. 

12 Section 134(c)(2)(A) of the Workforce Innovation 

13 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3174(c)(2)(A)) is amend14 ed— 

15 (1) in clause (iv)— 

16 (A) in subclause (I)— 

17 (i) in item (aa), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

18 and inserting a semicolon; and 

19 (ii) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(cc) provision of informa22 tion on entrepreneurship, as ap23 propriate; and’’; 

24 (B) in subclause (II), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

25 after the semicolon; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(III) referral to microenterprise 

3 services, as appropriate;’’; 

4 (2) in clause (vi)— 

5 (A) in subclause (I), by inserting ‘‘, which 

6 may include resources to support entrepreneur7 ship,’’ after ‘‘listings’’; and 

8 (B) in subclause (III), by inserting ‘‘, 

9 which may include entrepreneurship opportuni10 ties,’’ after ‘‘demand’’; and 

11 (3) in clause (xiii), by inserting ‘‘or entrepre12 neurial opportunities’’ after ‘‘workplace’’. 

13 SEC. 4. EVALUATIONS AND RESEARCH. 

14 Section 169 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor15 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3224) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (4)— 

18 (i) by redesignating subparagraph (K) 

19 as subparagraph (L); and 

20 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

21 (J) the following: 

22 ‘‘(K) STUDY ON ENTREPRENEURIAL

23 SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.—The Sec24 retary shall, through a grant or contract, con25 duct a three-year multistate study on entrepreVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Feb 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H699.IH H699

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1 neurial skills development programs, which 

2 shall include the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) A review of— 

4 ‘‘(I) successful practices for de5 veloping entrepreneurial skills of indi6 viduals; 

7 ‘‘(II) evidence-based and other 

8 best practices for mentoring potential 

9 entrepreneurs; 

10 ‘‘(III) the qualifications needed 

11 for skills development providers to 

12 successfully develop the entrepre13 neurial skills of individuals; 

14 ‘‘(IV) strategies for engaging em15 ployers and other private sector part16 ners; 

17 ‘‘(V) such program outcomes that 

18 correlate with entrepreneurial success; 

19 ‘‘(VI) how such programs suc20 cessfully measure the progress of par21 ticipants in such programs; 

22 ‘‘(VII) the extent to which such 

23 programs lead to industry recognized 

24 credentials; 


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1 ‘‘(VIII) the impact, including the 

2 economic impact, of such programs on 

3 States and local communities; 

4 ‘‘(IX) the extent to which such 

5 programs affect business development 

6 and job creation in States and local 

7 communities; 

8 ‘‘(X) how such programs identify 

9 potential program participants’ readi10 ness for the program; and 

11 ‘‘(XI) the average earnings of 

12 participants who complete such a pro13 gram three years after the date of 

14 completion of such program. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Recommendations for States and 

16 local communities to expand access to such 

17 programs.’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (5)(A), by inserting 

19 ‘‘which shall include individuals pursuing entre20 preneurship,’’ after ‘‘particular service popu21 lations,’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (c), by striking the third sen23 tence and inserting the following: ‘‘Such projects 

24 may include demonstration and pilot projects relat25 ing to promoting self-employment, promoting entreVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Feb 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H699.IH H699

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1 preneurship, promoting job creation (especially for 

2 in-demand industry sectors or occupations), averting 

3 dislocations, assisting dislocated farmers, assisting 

4 dislocated fishermen, developing career pathways 

5 and encouraging advancements, and promoting pub6 lic works.’’. 

Æ 


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