II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 940 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a National Transit 

Frontline Workforce Training Center, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 24, 2021 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a National Transit Frontline Workforce Training Center, 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 ‘‘National Transit 

5 Frontline Workforce Training Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL TRANSIT FRONTLINE WORKFORCE 

7 TRAINING CENTER. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5314(b) of title 49, 

9 United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL TRANSIT FRONTLINE WORK4 FORCE TRAINING CENTER.— 

5 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Ad7 ministrator’ means the Administrator of 

8 the Federal Transit Administration. 

9 ‘‘(ii) CENTER.—The term ‘Center’ 

10 means the National Transit Frontline 

11 Workforce Training Center established 

12 under subparagraph (B). 

13 ‘‘(iii) HUMAN CAPITAL.—The term 

14 ‘human capital’ means any knowledge, tal15 ent, skill, ability, experience, intelligence, 

16 training, judgment, or wisdom possessed, 

17 individually or collectively, by the transit 

18 frontline workforce (including operations, 

19 maintenance, and administrative per20 sonnel). 

21 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) establish a center, to be known as 

24 the ‘National Transit Frontline Workforce 

25 Training Center’, to meet the needs of the 


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1 rural and urban transit system frontline 

2 workforce through standards-based train3 ing relating to relevant maintenance and 

4 operations occupations; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) evaluate, and provide a grant to, 

6 a nonprofit organization with demonstrated 

7 capacity to develop and provide transit ca8 reer ladder programs through labor-man9 agement partnerships and apprenticeships, 

10 on a nationwide basis, to carry out the du11 ties of the Center described in subpara12 graph (C). 

13 ‘‘(C) DUTIES.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Center, in co15 operation with the Administrator, transit 

16 authorities, and other appropriate individ17 uals and entities, shall develop and carry 

18 out training and educational programs for 

19 public transportation employees serving in 

20 the frontline workforce. 

21 ‘‘(ii) TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL

22 PROGRAM INCLUSIONS.—The training and 

23 educational programs developed under 

24 clause (i) may include courses in recent deVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S940.IS S940

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1 velopments, techniques, and procedures re2 lating to— 

3 ‘‘(I) developing consensus na4 tional training standards, in partner5 ship with industry stakeholders, for 

6 key frontline occupations with dem7 onstrated skill gaps; 

8 ‘‘(II) developing national systems 

9 of qualification and apprenticeship for 

10 transit maintenance and operations 

11 occupations; 

12 ‘‘(III) establishing local, regional, 

13 and statewide transit training part14 nerships— 

15 ‘‘(aa) to identify and ad16 dress workforce skill gaps; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) to develop skills need18 ed for— 

19 ‘‘(AA) delivering quality 

20 transit service; and 

21 ‘‘(BB) supporting em22 ployee career advancement; 

23 ‘‘(IV) developing programs for 

24 the training of the frontline work25 force, instructors, mentors, and laborVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S940.IS S940

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1 management partnership representa2 tives, in the form of classroom, hands3 on, on-the-job, and internet web-based 

4 training, to be delivered— 

5 ‘‘(aa) at a national center; 

6 ‘‘(bb) regionally; or 

7 ‘‘(cc) at an individual transit 

8 agency; 

9 ‘‘(V) developing training pro10 grams for skills relating to existing 

11 and emerging transit technologies, 

12 such as zero-emission buses; 

13 ‘‘(VI) developing improved capac14 ity for safety, security, and emergency 

15 preparedness in local transit systems 

16 and the industry as a whole 

17 through— 

18 ‘‘(aa) developing the role of 

19 the frontline workforce in estab20 lishing and sustaining safety cul21 ture and safety systems in— 

22 ‘‘(AA) the industry; and 

23 ‘‘(BB) individual public 

24 transportation systems; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) training to address 

2 frontline workforce roles in pro3 moting health and safety for 

4 transit workers and the riding 

5 public; 

6 ‘‘(VII) developing local transit 

7 capacity for career pathway partner8 ships with schools and other commu9 nity organizations for recruiting and 

10 training underrepresented populations 

11 as successful transit employees who 

12 can develop careers in the transit in13 dustry; and 

14 ‘‘(VIII) in collaboration with the 

15 Administrator, conducting and dis16 seminating research— 

17 ‘‘(aa) to provide transit 

18 workforce job projections and 

19 identify training needs and gaps; 

20 ‘‘(bb) to determine the most 

21 cost-effective methods for transit 

22 workforce training and develop23 ment, including return-on-invest24 ment analysis; 


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1 ‘‘(cc) to identify the most ef2 fective methods for implementing 

3 successful safety systems and a 

4 positive safety culture; 

5 ‘‘(dd) to promote transit 

6 workforce best practices for 

7 achieving cost-effective, quality, 

8 safe, and reliable public transpor9 tation services; and 

10 ‘‘(ee) to provide culturally 

11 competent training and education 

12 programs to all participants, re13 gardless of gender, sexual ori14 entation, or gender identity, in15 cluding participants with limited 

16 English proficiency, diverse cul17 tural and ethnic backgrounds, 

18 and disabilities. 

19 ‘‘(D) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall 

20 coordinate the activities of the Center under 

21 this paragraph, to the maximum extent prac22 ticable, with— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Office of Career, Technical, 

24 and Adult Education of the Department of 

25 Education; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Office of Apprenticeship of 

2 the Department of Labor. 

3 ‘‘(E) NATIONAL TRANSIT DATABASE.—For 

4 the purposes of carrying out this section, the 

5 Secretary shall require the collection, through 

6 the National Transit Database, on an annual 

7 basis, of additional data relating to human cap8 ital, in accordance with such requirements re9 lating to the collection and definition of those 

10 data as the Secretary may establish, in coordi11 nation with relevant transportation sector indi12 viduals and entities. 

13 ‘‘(F) USE OF OTHER GRANT AMOUNTS FOR

14 CENTER-RELATED ACTIVITIES.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts 

16 made available to the recipient of a grant 

17 under section 5307, 5337, or 5339, the re18 cipient may use not more than 0.5 percent, 

19 with the approval of the Secretary, to pay 

20 an amount equal to not more than 80 per21 cent of the cost of an activity described in 

22 subparagraph (C). 

23 ‘‘(ii) EXISTING PROGRAMS.—A recipi24 ent referred to in clause (i) may use the 

25 amounts described in that clause to carry 


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1 out an existing local education or training 

2 program for public transportation employ3 ees supported by— 

4 ‘‘(I) the Secretary; 

5 ‘‘(II) the Department of Labor; 

6 or 

7 ‘‘(III) the Department of Edu8 cation.’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or (2)’’; and 

10 (3) by striking paragraph (4). 

11 (b) DATA REQUIRED TO BE REPORTED IN NA12 TIONAL TRANSIT DATABASE.—Section 5335(c) of title 49, 

13 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘relating to 

14 human capital (as defined in section 5314(b)(2)(A)) or 

15 physical capital’’ before the period at the end. 

16 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

17 5338(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘There are’’ and inserting the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL TRANSIT FRONTLINE WORK23 FORCE TRAINING CENTER.—There is authorized to 

24 be appropriated to carry out section 5314(b)(2) 


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1 $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

2 2025.’’. 

Æ 


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