II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 996 

To award grants to certain institutions of higher education to educate and 

train students to participate in the telecommunications workforce. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 25, 2021 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Ms. SINEMA, and Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To award grants to certain institutions of higher education 

to educate and train students to participate in the telecommunications workforce. 

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 ‘‘Improving Minority 

5 Participation And Careers in Telecommunications Act’’ or 

6 the ‘‘IMPACT Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TELECOMMUNICATIONS WORKFORCE TRAINING 

8 GRANT PROGRAM. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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1 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist2 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

3 Commerce for Communications and Information. 

4 (2) COVERED GRANT.—The term ‘‘covered 

5 grant’’ means a grant awarded under subsection (b). 

6 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti7 ty’’ means a historically Black college or university, 

8 Tribal College or University, or minority-serving in9 stitution, or a consortium of such entities, that 

10 forms a partnership with 1 or more of the following 

11 entities to carry out a training program: 

12 (A) A member of the telecommunications 

13 industry, such as a company or industry asso14 ciation. 

15 (B) A labor-management organization. 

16 (C) The Telecommunications Industry 

17 Registered Apprenticeship Program. 

18 (D) A nonprofit organization dedicated to 

19 helping individuals gain employment in the tele20 communications industry. 

21 (E) A community or technical college with 

22 experience in providing workforce development 

23 for individuals seeking employment in the tele24 communications industry or a similar industry. 

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1 (4) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Tele2 communications Workforce Training Grant Program 

3 Fund established under subsection (c)(1). 

4 (5) GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Grant Pro5 gram’’ means the Telecommunications Workforce 

6 Training Grant Program established under sub7 section (b). 

8 (6) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI9 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or 

10 university’’ has the meaning given the term ‘part B 

11 institution’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 

12 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 

13 (7) INDUSTRY FIELD ACTIVITIES.—The term 

14 ‘‘industry field activities’’ means activities at active 

15 telecommunications worksites, such as towers, con16 struction sites, and network management hubs. 

17 (8) INDUSTRY PARTNER.—The term ‘‘industry 

18 partner’’ means an entity described in subpara19 graphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (3) with which 

20 an eligible entity forms a partnership to carry out a 

21 training program. 

22 (9) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

23 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an insti24 tution described in section 371(a) of the Higher 

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 

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1 (10) TRAINING PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘training 

2 program’’ means a credit or non-credit program de3 veloped by an eligible entity, in partnership with an 

4 industry partner, that— 

5 (A) is designed to educate and train stu6 dents to participate in the telecommunications 

7 workforce; and 

8 (B) includes a curriculum and apprentice9 ship or internship opportunities. 

10 (11) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 

11 term ‘‘Tribal College or University’’ has the meaning 

12 given the term in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3)). 

14 (b) PROGRAM.—The Assistant Secretary, acting 

15 through the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives es16 tablished under section 902(b)(1) of division N of the Con17 solidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116– 

18 260), shall establish a program, to be known as the ‘‘Tele19 communications Workforce Training Grant Program’’, 

20 under which the Assistant Secretary awards grants to eli21 gible entities to develop training programs. 

22 (c) FUND.— 

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

24 the Treasury of the United States a fund to be 

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1 known as the ‘‘Telecommunications Workforce 

2 Training Grant Program Fund’’. 

3 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Fund shall 

4 be available to the Assistant Secretary to carry out 

5 the Grant Program. 

6 (d) APPLICATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 

8 covered grant shall submit an application to the As9 sistant Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

10 containing such information as the Assistant Sec11 retary may require. 

12 (2) CONTENTS.—An eligible entity shall include 

13 in an application under paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) a commitment from the industry part15 ner of the eligible entity to collaborate with the 

16 eligible entity to develop a training program, in17 cluding curricula and internships or apprentice18 ships; 

19 (B) a description of how the eligible entity 

20 plans to use the covered grant, including the 

21 type of training program the eligible entity 

22 plans to develop; and 

23 (C) a plan to increase female student par24 ticipation in the training program of the eligible 

25 entity. 

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1 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may use a 

2 covered grant, with respect to the training program of the 

3 eligible entity, to— 

4 (1) hire faculty members to teach courses in the 

5 training program; 

6 (2) train faculty members to prepare students 

7 for employment in jobs related to the deployment of 

8 next-generation communications networks, including 

9 5G networks, and fiber infrastructure, particularly 

10 in— 

11 (A) broadband and wireless network engi12 neering; 

13 (B) network deployment; 

14 (C) industry field activities; and 

15 (D) cybersecurity; 

16 (3) design and develop curricula and other com17 ponents necessary for degrees, courses, or programs 

18 of study, including certificate programs and 

19 credentialing programs, that comprise the training 

20 program; 

21 (4) pay for costs associated with instruction 

22 under the training program, including the costs of 

23 equipment, telecommunications training towers, lab24 oratory space, classroom space, and instructional 

25 field activities; 

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1 (5) fund scholarships, student internships, ap2 prenticeships, and pre-apprenticeship opportunities; 

3 (6) recruit students for the training program; 

4 and 

5 (7) support the enrollment in the training pro6 gram of individuals working in the telecommuni7 cations industry in order to advance professionally in 

8 the industry. 

9 (f) GRANT AWARDS.— 

10 (1) DEADLINE.—Not later than December 31, 

11 2022, the Assistant Secretary shall award all cov12 ered grants. 

13 (2) MINIMUM ALLOCATION TO CERTAIN ENTI14 TIES.—The Assistant Secretary shall award not less 

15 than— 

16 (A) 30 percent of covered grant amounts 

17 to historically Black colleges or universities; and 

18 (B) 30 percent of covered grant amounts 

19 to Tribal Colleges or Universities. 

20 (3) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—As part of the 

21 final rules issued under subsection (g), the Assistant 

22 Secretary shall develop criteria for evaluating appli23 cations for covered grants. 

24 (g) RULES.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, after providing public notice and 

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1 an opportunity to comment, the Assistant Secretary, in 

2 consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Sec3 retary of Education, shall issue final rules governing the 

4 Grant Program. 

5 (h) TERM.—The Assistant Secretary shall establish 

6 the term of a covered grant, which may not be less than 

7 5 years. 

8 (i) GRANTEE REPORTS.—During the term of a cov9 ered grant received by an eligible entity, the eligible entity 

10 shall submit to the Assistant Secretary an annual report 

11 that, with respect to the preceding year— 

12 (1) describes how the eligible entity used the 

13 covered grant amounts; 

14 (2) describes the progress the eligible entity 

15 made in developing and executing the training pro16 gram of the eligible entity; 

17 (3) describes the number of faculty and stu18 dents participating in the training program of the el19 igible entity; 

20 (4) describes the partnership with the industry 

21 partner of the eligible entity, including the commit22 ments and in-kind contributions made by the indus23 try partner; and 

24 (5) includes data on internship, apprenticeship, 

25 and employment opportunities and placements. 

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1 (j) OVERSIGHT.— 

2 (1) AUDITS.—The Inspector General of the De3 partment of Commerce shall audit the Grant Pro4 gram in order to— 

5 (A) ensure that eligible entities use covered 

6 grant amounts in accordance with— 

7 (i) the requirements of this section; 

8 and 

9 (ii) the overall purpose of the Grant 

10 Program, as described in subsection (b); 

11 and 

12 (B) prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the 

13 operation of the Grant Program. 

14 (2) REVOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Assistant 

15 Secretary shall revoke a grant awarded to an eligible 

16 entity that is not in compliance with the require17 ments of this section or the overall purpose of the 

18 Grant Program, as described in subsection (b). 

19 (k) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Each year, 

20 until all covered grants have expired, the Assistant Sec21 retary shall submit to Congress a report that— 

22 (1) identifies each eligible entity that received a 

23 covered grant and the amount of the covered grant; 

24 (2) describes the progress each eligible entity 

25 described in paragraph (1) has made toward accomVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996
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1 plishing the overall purpose of the Grant Program, 

2 as described in subsection (b); 

3 (3) summarizes the job placement status or ap4 prenticeship opportunities of students who have par5 ticipated in the training program of the eligible enti6 ty; and 

7 (4) includes the findings of any audits con8 ducted by the Inspector General of the Department 

9 of Commerce under subsection (j)(1) that were not 

10 included in the previous report submitted under this 

11 subsection. 

12 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $100,000,000 

14 for fiscal year 2021, to remain available until expended. 

Æ