I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6704 

To require the Secretary of Labor to establish a grant program for States 

to improve or establish a credential repository, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 11, 2023 

Mrs. MCBATH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Labor to establish a grant program for States to improve or establish a credential 

repository, 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 ‘‘Credential Repository 

5 and Transparency in States Act’’ or the ‘‘CReatES Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to provide assistance to 

8 States for the collection, development, analysis, and shar9 ing of information on— 

10 (1) all of the credentials offered in each State; 


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1 (2) the quality of such credentials, including 

2 their use by employers for making employment-re3 lated decisions; 

4 (3) education and career pathways that lead to 

5 such credentials and occupations in a State; and 

6 (4) the sharing of such information with indi7 viduals in each State, enabling them to make in8 formed education and career choices. 

9 SEC. 3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

10 (a) AUTHORIZATION AND LIMITATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail12 able under section 4, the Secretary, in consultation 

13 with the Secretary of Education, shall award grants, 

14 on a competitive basis, to States to establish, ex15 pand, or improve a State credential repository that 

16 contains information on each covered program, cre17 dential, and training provider in the State. 

18 (2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

19 Act shall be awarded for a period of 3 years. 

20 (3) AMOUNT.—In awarding a grant under this 

21 Act, the Secretary— 

22 (A) may not award a grant in excess of 

23 $10,000,000; and 

24 (B) in deciding the amount of a grant, 

25 shall take into consideration— 


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1 (i) the number of credentials offered 

2 in the State; and 

3 (ii) the number of training providers 

4 in the State. 

5 (4) TIMING.—Not later than 90 days after the 

6 Secretary receives an application submitted under 

7 subsection (b), the Secretary shall make a deter8 mination as to whether the State that submitted 

9 such application will receive a grant under this Act. 

10 (5) LIMIT.—The Secretary may only award one 

11 grant to a State. 

12 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant, 

13 a State shall submit to the Secretary an application at 

14 such time, in such manner, and containing such informa15 tion as the Secretary shall require, including— 

16 (1) information on how the State will establish, 

17 expand, or improve a credential repository that satis18 fies requirements under subsection (d); 

19 (2) information on the data policy a State will 

20 establish under subsection (c)(1)(B); 

21 (3) a description of any products, tools, serv22 ices, or resources that a State develops pursuant to 

23 subsection (c)(1)(E); 


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1 (4) an assurance that the credential repository 

2 will be interoperable with other State credential re3 positories; and 

4 (5) an assurance that the State will establish 

5 and maintain the credential repository in accordance 

6 with the requirements under subsection (d). 

7 (c) USES OF FUNDS.— 

8 (1) MANDATORY USE.—A State awarded a 

9 grant under this Act shall— 

10 (A) establish a credential repository, as de11 scribed in subsection (d), through a process 

12 that includes input from the public; 

13 (B) establish a data policy for such reposi14 tory that addresses how the State will ensure 

15 that the repository meets the requirements de16 scribed in subsection (d); 

17 (C) assist training providers in the State 

18 in the collection of information on the primary 

19 indicators of performance described in section 

20 116(b)(2)(A) of the Workforce Innovation and 

21 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141(b)(2)(A)) for 

22 each covered program; 

23 (D) provide guidance to education, job, 

24 and career counselors in the State on how to 

25 use the credential repository; and 


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1 (E) develop or facilitate access to products, 

2 tools, services, and other resources, using the 

3 information and linked, open, and interoperable 

4 data contained in the credential repository, that 

5 benefit workers, employers, educators, coun6 selors, policymakers, and others. 

7 (2) AUTHORIZED USE.—If a State carries out 

8 all of the activities under paragraph (1), the State 

9 may use any excess grant funds to publicize the re10 pository of the State to individuals in the State. 

11 (d) CREDENTIAL REPOSITORY.—A State that re12 ceives a grant under this Act shall establish a publicly ac13 cessible credential repository that— 

14 (1) identifies— 

15 (A) each credential offered in the State; 

16 and 

17 (B) each training provider in the State; 

18 (2) includes information on— 

19 (A) with respect to each training provider 

20 in the State— 

21 (i) process and outcome quality indi22 cators of such training provider for each 

23 covered program offered by such training 

24 provider; and 


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1 (ii) each credential for which such 

2 training provider offers a covered program; 

3 (B) with respect to each covered program 

4 offered in the State— 

5 (i) the competencies and skills an in6 dividual develops by completing such cov7 ered program; and 

8 (ii) the cost of enrollment for an indi9 vidual to enroll in such program; 

10 (C) with respect to each credential offered 

11 in the State— 

12 (i) the training providers that offer 

13 such credential; 

14 (ii) any assessment that an individual 

15 is required to take to earn such credential; 

16 (iii) the cost to an individual of each 

17 such assessment; 

18 (iv) any postsecondary credit or equiv19 alent transfer value recommendations of 

20 such credential, such as the recommenda21 tions provided by the American Council on 

22 Education’s National Guide, guidance from 

23 a statewide education coordinating entity, 

24 or recommendations or guidance from a 


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1 comparably similar entity, as available and 

2 appropriate; 

3 (v) the career pathway or program of 

4 study that such credential is a part, as ap5 plicable; 

6 (vi) the outcomes associated with such 

7 credential, including— 

8 (I) the earning and employment 

9 status of individuals after earning 

10 such credential; 

11 (II) the completion and pass 

12 rates of individuals in each career 

13 pathway or program of study for 

14 which the individual earned such cre15 dential; and 

16 (III) other calculations, including 

17 the return on investment, as deter18 mined by the State, for an individual 

19 after earning such credential; 

20 (vii) the job skills an individual devel21 ops in earning such credential; and 

22 (viii) the industries and occupations 

23 for which such credential prepares an indi24 vidual; 


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1 (3) aligns with, complements, and enhances eli2 gibility lists or criteria for training providers, such 

3 as the eligibility criteria established under section 

4 122(a) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

5 Act (29 U.S.C. 3152(b)), or a program or pathway 

6 approval process required by the Carl D. Perkins 

7 Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 

8 (U.S.C.) or chapter 33 of title 38, United States 

9 Code (otherwise known as the Post 9/11 Education 

10 Assistance Program); 

11 (4) is updated on a continuous basis to ensure 

12 the accuracy and recency of the information and 

13 data in the repository; 

14 (5) uses data formats that— 

15 (A) are transparent, linked, open, and 

16 interoperable with other State credential reposi17 tories; 

18 (B) are aligned with widely recognized and 

19 adopted standards, which may include the use 

20 of credential transparency description language 

21 specifications; and 

22 (C) allow for open access to the data in the 

23 repository across State and national borders 

24 and industry sectors for guidance counseling, 


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1 career navigation, and other comparably similar 

2 activities; 

3 (6) has functions to search, discover, compare, 

4 and analyze each credential, covered program, and 

5 training provider in the State; and 

6 (7) includes any other information as deter7 mined by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

8 Secretary of Education. 

9 (e) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—In carrying out the ac10 tivities under this Act, a State shall not collect or include 

11 in the repository any personally identifiable information. 

12 (f) REPORT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, and on an annual 

15 basis thereafter, a State that receives a grant under 

16 this Act shall submit to the Secretary a report at 

17 such time, in such manner, and containing such in18 formation as the Secretary may require, including 

19 information on the improvement or development and 

20 implementation of the credential repository in such 

21 State. 

22 (2) REDUCED BURDEN.—The Secretary, in co23 ordination with the Secretary of Education, and in 

24 consultation with the States receiving a grant under 

25 this Act, shall implement processes to reduce the 


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1 burden of reporting information required to be re2 ported under this Act. 

3 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

4 (1) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘covered 

5 program’’ means a program that is offered to indi6 viduals to earn a credential. 

7 (2) CREDENTIAL.—The term ‘‘credential’’ 

8 means an education or occupational qualification or 

9 achievement used to indicate suitability for a future 

10 educational opportunity or career opportunity, in11 cluding diplomas, digital badges, certificates, certifi12 cations, a recognized postsecondary credential, occu13 pational or professional licenses, microcredentials, 

14 and degrees of all types and levels. 

15 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’, unless 

16 otherwise specified in this Act, means the Secretary 

17 of Labor. 

18 (4) TRAINING PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘training 

19 provider’’ means an entity that offers a covered pro20 gram. 

21 (5) WIOA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘career path22 way’’, ‘‘recognized postsecondary credential’’, and 

23 ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given such terms in sec24 tion 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

25 Act (29 U.S.C. 3113). 


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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 

4 Act for fiscal year 2025. 

5 (b) REMAIN AVAILABLE.—The funds appropriated 

6 under this section shall remain available until September 

7 30, 2027. 

Æ 


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