II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 17

To consolidate certain Federal job training programs by developing a system

of vouchers to provide to dislocated workers and economically disadvantaged adults the opportunity to choose the type of job training that

most closely meets the needs of such workers and adults, by establishing

a one-stop career center system to provide high quality job training

and employment-related services, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 21, 1997

Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mr. BREAUX, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. DODD, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. KERRY,

Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN, Mr. REID, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To consolidate certain Federal job training programs by developing a system of vouchers to provide to dislocated

workers and economically disadvantaged adults the opportunity to choose the type of job training that most

closely meets the needs of such workers and adults,

by establishing a one-stop career center system to provide

high quality job training and employment-related services, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Working Americans Opportunity Act’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I—JOB TRAINING VOUCHERS

Sec. 101. Establishment.

Sec. 102. Individual choice.

Sec. 103. Eligibility.

Sec. 104. Obtaining a voucher.

Sec. 105. Oversight and accountability.

Sec. 106. Eligibility requirements for job training providers.

Sec. 107. Evaluation of voucher system.

Sec. 108. Apportionment of funds.

TITLE II—CONSOLIDATION OF FEDERAL JOB TRAINING

PROGRAMS

Sec. 201. Consolidation of programs.

TITLE III—EMPLOYMENT-RELATED INFORMATION AND SERVICES

THROUGH ONE-STOP CAREER CENTERS

Sec. 301. One-stop career centers.

Sec. 302. Access to information.

Sec. 303. Direct loans to United States workers.

TITLE IV—REPORTS AND PLANS

Sec. 401. Consolidation and streamlining.

Sec. 402. Report relating to income support.

TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 502. Effective date.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) increasing international competition, techno9 logical advances, and structural changes in the econ10 omy of the United States present new challenges to
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1 private firms and public policymakers in creating a

2 skilled workforce with the ability to adapt to change

3 and progress;

4 (2) a substantial number of workers in the

5 United States lose jobs due to the constantly chang6 ing world and national economies rather than cycli7 cal downturns, with more than 2,000,000 full-time

8 workers permanently displaced annually due to plant

9 closures, production cutbacks, and layoffs;

10 (3) the current response of the Federal Govern11 ment to dislocation and structural employment is a

12 patchwork of categorical programs, with varying eli13 gibility requirements and different sets of services

14 and benefits;

15 (4) the lack of coherence among existing Fed16 eral job training programs creates administrative

17 and regulatory obstacles that hamper the efforts of

18 individuals who are seeking new jobs or reemploy19 ment;

20 (5) enacted in 1944, the Servicemen’s Readjust21 ment Act of 1944 (commonly known as the ‘‘G.I.

22 Bill of Rights’’), helped millions of World War II

23 veterans and, later, Korean and Vietnam War veter24 ans, finance college educations and assisted in build25 ing the middle class of the United States;
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1 (6) restructuring the current job training sys2 tem, with respect to dislocated and disadvantaged

3 workers, in a manner that is conceptually similar to

4 the G.I. Bill of Rights will help millions of workers

5 in the United States to become more competitive in

6 today’s dynamic world economy, in which most of

7 the workers—

8 (A) can expect to move to new jobs a num9 ber of times, voluntarily or by layoff; and

10 (B) must upgrade their skills continuously;

11 (7) success in this ever-changing environment

12 depends, in part, on an individual’s effective man13 agement of the individual’s career based on personal

14 choice and reliable information;

15 (8) there is insufficient job market information

16 and assistance regarding access to job training op17 portunities that lead to good employment opportuni18 ties;

19 (9) only a small fraction of individuals eligible

20 for current Federal job training are now served, and

21 by removing obstacles and layers of administrative

22 costs, more funds will be made available to individ23 uals to enable such individuals to receive the job

24 training of their choice; and
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1 (10) while the Federal Government proceeds to

2 create a new marketplace for job training, the Fed3 eral Government must also maintain a commitment

4 to providing intensive services to assist individuals

5 who are economically disadvantaged adults.

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—

7 (1) enhance the choices available to dislocated

8 workers, and economically disadvantaged adults, who

9 want to upgrade their work skills and learn new

10 skills to compete in a changing economy;

11 (2) enable individuals to make choices that are

12 best for the careers of such individuals;

13 (3) consolidate job training programs and pro14 vide a simple voucher system that relies on individ15 ual choice and provides high quality job market in16 formation;

17 (4) allow an individual to tailor job training and

18 education to the personal needs of such individual so

19 that such individual may remain in long-term em20 ployment yet have the means to be flexible when

21 necessary; and

22 (5) create a system that provides timely and re23 liable information to individuals to use to assist such

24 individuals in making the best choices with respect

25 to the use of vouchers for job training.
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

2 As used in this Act:

3 (1) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.—The

4 term ‘‘community-based organization’’ means a pri5 vate nonprofit organization that—

6 (A) is representative of a community or a

7 significant segment of a community; and

8 (B) provides job training and employment9 related services.

10 (2) DISLOCATED WORKER.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘dislocated

12 worker’’ means an individual who—

13 (i) has been terminated or laid off, or

14 has received a notice of termination or lay15 off, from employment, is eligible for or has

16 exhausted entitlement to unemployment

17 compensation, and is unlikely to return to

18 a previous industry or occupation;

19 (ii) has been terminated or laid off, or

20 has received a notice of termination or lay21 off, from employment as a result of any

22 permanent closure of, or any substantial

23 layoff at, a plant, facility, or enterprise;

24 (iii) has been unemployed long-term

25 and has limited opportunities for employ26 ment or reemployment in the same or a
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1 similar occupation in the area in which

2 such individual resides, including an older

3 individual who may have substantial bar4 riers to employment by reason of age;

5 (iv) was self-employed (including a

6 farmer, a rancher, and a fisher) and is un7 employed as a result of general economic

8 conditions in the community in which such

9 individual resides or because of a natural

10 disaster, subject to regulations prescribed

11 by the Secretary; or

12 (v) is an employee of the Department

13 of Defense or of a private defense contrac14 tor who has been terminated or laid off, or

15 has received a notice of termination or lay16 off, from employment as a result of the

17 closure or realignment of a military instal18 lation, or a reduction in defense spending

19 as determined by the Secretary of Defense.

20 (B) SPECIAL RULE FOR SELF-EMPLOYED

21 INDIVIDUALS.—The Secretary of Labor shall

22 establish categories of self-employed individuals

23 and of economic conditions and natural disas24 ters to which subparagraph (A)(iv) applies.
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1 (C) SPECIAL RULE FOR DISPLACED HOME2 MAKERS.—The term ‘‘dislocated worker’’ shall,

3 for the purpose of applying provisions related to

4 job training and employment-related services

5 under titles I and III within a State, include a

6 displaced homemaker (as defined by the Sec7 retary of Labor in regulation), if the State de8 termines that such definition of the term is ap9 propriate and will not adversely affect the deliv10 ery of services to other dislocated workers in

11 the State.

12 (3) ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED ADULT.—

13 The term ‘‘economically disadvantaged adult’’ means

14 an individual who is age 18 or older and who had

15 received an income, or is a member of a family that

16 had received a total family income, for the 6-month

17 period prior to application for the activity involved

18 (exclusive of unemployment compensation, child sup19 port payments, and welfare payments) that, in rela20 tion to family size, does not exceed the higher of—

21 (A) the poverty line (as defined by the Of22 fice of Management and Budget, and revised

23 annually in accordance with section 673(2) of

24 the Community Services Block Grant Act (42

25 U.S.C. 9902(2)), for an equivalent period; or
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1 (B) 70 percent of the lower living standard

2 income level, for an equivalent period.

3 (4) JOB TRAINING PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘job

4 training provider’’ means a public agency, private

5 nonprofit organization, or private for-profit entity

6 that delivers job training.

7 (5) SERVICE DELIVERY AREA.—The term

8 ‘‘service delivery area’’ means an area established

9 under section 101 of the Job Training Partnership

10 Act (29 U.S.C. 1511).

11 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’, used to refer to

12 a jurisdiction, means any of the several States of the

13 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com14 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin

15 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Common16 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Repub17 lic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of

18 Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

19 (7) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ENTITY.—The

20 term ‘‘workforce development entity’’ means a pri21 vate industry council as described in section 102 of

22 the Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1512),

23 or such successor entity as may be established by

24 Federal statutory law specifically to serve as such

25 entity.
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1 TITLE I—JOB TRAINING

2 VOUCHERS

3 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT.

4 The Secretary of Labor shall, pursuant to the re5 quirements of this title, establish a job training system

6 that provides vouchers to individuals for the purpose of

7 enabling the individuals to obtain job training.

8 SEC. 102. INDIVIDUAL CHOICE.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon notification of approval of

10 an application submitted under section 104, an individual

11 may receive a voucher for a 2-year period, beginning on

12 the date on which the application is approved.

13 (b) USE OF VOUCHERS FOR JOB TRAINING.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual who is a recip15 ient of a voucher under subsection (a) may use such

16 voucher to pay for job training obtained from a job

17 training provider that meets the requirements of sec18 tion 106.

19 (2) AUTHORIZED JOB TRAINING.—The job

20 training described in paragraph (1) may include

21 training through—

22 (A) associate degree and nondegree pro23 grams at—

24 (i) two- and four-year colleges;
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1 (ii) vocational and technical education

2 schools;

3 (iii) private for-profit and not-for4 profit training organizations;

5 (iv) public agencies and schools; and

6 (v) community-based organizations;

7 (B) employer work-based training pro8 grams; and

9 (C) in the case of individuals who are eco10 nomically disadvantaged adults, preemployment

11 training programs.

12 SEC. 103. ELIGIBILITY.

13 An individual shall be eligible to receive a voucher

14 under this title if such individual is—

15 (1) a dislocated worker; or

16 (2) an economically disadvantaged adult.

17 SEC. 104. OBTAINING A VOUCHER.

18 (a) APPLICATION.—An individual who desires to re19 ceive a voucher under this title shall submit an application

20 to the State at such time, in such manner, and accom21 panied by such information as the State may reasonably

22 require.

23 (b) ASSISTANCE TO APPLICANTS.—
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1 (1) ONE-STOP CAREER CENTERS.—Each one2 stop career center established under section 301

3 shall—

4 (A) provide applications for vouchers under

5 this title to interested individuals, assist such

6 individuals in completing such applications, and

7 collect completed applications for determination

8 of eligibility;

9 (B) provide performance-based information

10 to the applicants relating to job training provid11 ers eligible to receive payment by vouchers in

12 accordance with section 106;

13 (C) provide information to the applicants

14 on—

15 (i) the local economy and availability

16 of employment;

17 (ii) profiles of local industries; and

18 (iii) details of local labor market de19 mand; and

20 (D) carry out such other duties relating to

21 the voucher system as may be specified in regu22 lations issued by the Secretary of Labor.

23 (2) CONFLICT OF INTEREST STANDARDS.—The

24 Secretary of Labor shall issue regulations establish25 ing procedures to ensure that a one-stop career cen-
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1 ter that is operated by an entity that is concurrently

2 an eligible job training provider under the voucher

3 system provides information to the applicants relat4 ing to the other eligible job training providers in the

5 service delivery area in an objective and equitable

6 manner.

7 SEC. 105. OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall

10 issue regulations that—

11 (1) specify the—

12 (A) voucher application requirements;

13 (B) form of the vouchers;

14 (C) use of the vouchers;

15 (D) method of redemption of the vouchers;

16 (E) most expeditious and effective process

17 of distribution (consistent with the findings and

18 purposes of this Act) of the vouchers to eligible

19 individuals; and

20 (F) the arrangements necessary to phase

21 in the voucher system in each State in a timely

22 manner;

23 (2) specify the duties and responsibilities of job

24 training providers under a voucher system under

25 this title;
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1 (3) specify the Federal and State responsibil2 ities in oversight of job training providers, including

3 the enforcement responsibilities and the determina4 tion of administrative costs with respect to the

5 voucher system under this title; and

6 (4) specify the manner in which economically

7 disadvantaged adults will receive adequate counsel8 ing and support services necessary to take full ad9 vantage of voucher assistance under this title.

10 (b) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In issuing regulations under

11 subsection (a), the Secretary of Labor shall provide an op12 portunity for comment from the public, including the busi13 ness community, labor organizations, and community14 based organizations.

15 SEC. 106. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR JOB TRAINING

16 PROVIDERS.

17 (a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—A job training

18 provider shall be eligible to receive payment by vouchers

19 under this title if such provider—

20 (1) is—

21 (A) eligible to participate in programs

22 under title IV of the Higher Education Act of

23 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); or

24 (B) determined to be eligible under the

25 procedure described in subsection (b); and
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1 (2) provides the performance-based information

2 required pursuant to subsection (c).

3 (b) ALTERNATIVE ELIGIBILITY PROCEDURE.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The State shall establish an

5 alternative eligibility procedure for job training pro6 viders desiring to receive payment by vouchers under

7 this title, but that are not eligible to participate in

8 programs under title IV of the Higher Education

9 Act of 1965.

10 (2) PROCEDURE REQUIREMENTS.—In establish11 ing the procedure described in paragraph (1), the

12 State shall establish minimum acceptable levels of

13 performance for job training providers based on fac14 tors and guidelines developed by the Secretary of

15 Labor in consultation with the Secretary of Edu16 cation. Such factors shall be comparable in rigor and

17 scope to the provisions of part H of title IV of the

18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099a et

19 seq.) that are used to determine the eligibility of an

20 institution of higher education to participate in pro21 grams under such title and are appropriate to the

22 type of job training provider seeking eligibility under

23 this subsection and the nature of the job training to

24 be provided.
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1 (3) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

2 (1), if the participation of an institution of higher

3 education in any of the programs under title IV of

4 the Higher Education Act of 1965 is terminated,

5 such institution shall not be eligible to receive funds

6 under this title for a period of 2 years beginning on

7 the date of such termination.

8 (c) PERFORMANCE-BASED INFORMATION.—

9 (1) CONTENTS.—The Secretary of Labor shall

10 identify performance-based information that is to be

11 submitted by job training providers desiring to re12 ceive payment by vouchers under this title. Such in13 formation may include information relating to—

14 (A) the percentage of students completing

15 the programs conducted by a job training pro16 vider;

17 (B) the rates of licensure of graduates of

18 the programs conducted by such job training

19 provider;

20 (C) the percentage of graduates of the pro21 grams conducted by such job training provider

22 that meet industry-specific skill standards;

23 (D) the rates of placement and retention in

24 employment, and earnings of, the graduates of
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1 the programs conducted by such job training

2 provider;

3 (E) the percentage of graduates of the pro4 grams conducted by such job training provider

5 who obtained employment in an occupation re6 lated to such programs conducted by such pro7 vider; and

8 (F) the warranties or guarantees provided

9 by such job training provider relating to the

10 skill levels or employment to be attained by

11 graduates of the programs conducted by such

12 provider.

13 (2) ADDITIONS.—The State may, pursuant to

14 the approval of the Secretary of Labor, prescribe ad15 ditional performance-based information that shall be

16 submitted by job training providers pursuant to this

17 subsection.

18 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—

19 (1) STATE AGENCY.—The Governor shall des20 ignate a State agency to collect, verify, and dissemi21 nate the performance-based information submitted

22 pursuant to subsection (c).

23 (2) APPLICATION.—A job training provider de24 siring to be eligible to receive funds under this title

25 shall submit the information required under sub-
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1 section (c) to the State agency designated under

2 paragraph (1) at such time and in such form as

3 such State agency may require.

4 (3) LIST OF ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS.—The State

5 agency designated under paragraph (1) shall compile

6 a list of eligible job training providers, accompanied

7 by the performance-based information submitted,

8 and disseminate such list and information to the

9 one-stop career centers established under section

10 301, and other appropriate entities within the State.

11 (4) ACCURACY OF INFORMATION.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the State agency de13 termines that a job training provider submitted

14 inaccurate performance-based information

15 under this subsection, such provider shall be

16 disqualified from receiving funds under this

17 title for a period of 2 years beginning on the

18 date of such determination, unless such pro19 vider can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the

20 State agency designated pursuant to paragraph

21 (1), that the information was provided in good

22 faith.

23 (B) APPEAL.—The State shall establish a

24 procedure for a job training provider to appeal

25 a determination by a State agency that results
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1 in a disqualification under subparagraph (A).

2 Such procedure shall provide an opportunity for

3 a hearing and include appropriate time limits to

4 ensure prompt resolution of the appeal.

5 (5) ASSISTANCE IN DEVELOPING INFORMA6 TION.—The State agency designated under para7 graph (1) may provide technical assistance to a job

8 training provider in developing the performance9 based information required under subsection (c).

10 Such assistance may include facilitating the utiliza11 tion of State administrative records, such as unem12 ployment compensation wage records, and conduct13 ing other appropriate coordination activities.

14 (6) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Labor

15 shall consult with the Secretary of Education re16 garding the eligibility of institutions of higher edu17 cation to participate in programs under this title.

18 SEC. 107. EVALUATION OF VOUCHER SYSTEM.

19 The Secretary of Labor shall annually—

20 (1) monitor the effectiveness of the voucher sys21 tem;

22 (2) evaluate the benefit of such system to

23 voucher recipients under this title and the taxpayer;

24 and
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1 (3) submit information obtained from such eval2 uation to the appropriate committees of Congress.

3 SEC. 108. APPORTIONMENT OF FUNDS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall,

5 without in any way reducing the commitment of, or the

6 level of effort by, the Federal Government to improve the

7 job training, employment, and earnings of all workers and

8 jobseekers (particularly in hard-to-serve communities), ap9 portion sums appropriated under section 501 to each

10 State for each fiscal year in accordance with subsections

11 (b) and (c), to enable States and service delivery areas

12 in the States to carry out this title and title III.

13 (b) ALLOCATION BY CATEGORY.—

14 (1) FUNDING FOR DISLOCATED WORKERS.—

15 From the sums appropriated pursuant to section

16 501 for each fiscal year, the Secretary of Labor shall

17 determine the portion of the sums to be made avail18 able for providing job training and employment-re19 lated services for dislocated workers under this title

20 and title III, which shall be not less than the total

21 amount made available to the States for such pur22 pose for fiscal year 1997. The Secretary shall appor23 tion such portion among the States, based on consid24 eration of factors described in subsection (c), as ap25 propriate.
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1 (2) FUNDING FOR ECONOMICALLY DISADVAN2 TAGED ADULTS.—From the sums appropriated pur3 suant to section 501 for each fiscal year, the Sec4 retary of Labor shall determine the portion of the

5 sums to be made available for providing job training

6 and employment-related services for economically

7 disadvantaged adults under this title and title III.

8 The Secretary shall apportion such total amount

9 among the States, based on consideration of factors

10 described in subsection (c), as appropriate.

11 (c) CONSIDERATION OF FACTORS FOR APPORTION12 MENT TO STATES.—The apportionment of the portions

13 described in subsection (b) by the Secretary to each State

14 shall be based on the following factors:

15 (1) The relative number of unemployed individ16 uals who reside in each State as compared to the

17 total number of unemployed individuals in all the

18 States.

19 (2) The relative excess number of unemployed

20 individuals who reside in each State as compared to

21 the total excess number of unemployed individuals in

22 all the States.

23 (3) The relative number of individuals who have

24 been unemployed for 15 weeks or more and who re-
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1 side in each State as compared to the total number

2 of such individuals in all the States.

3 (4) The relative number of economically dis4 advantaged adults who reside in each State as com5 pared to the total number of such adults in all the

6 States.

7 (d) STATE RESERVE.—

8 (1) DISLOCATED WORKER FUNDS.—From the

9 amount apportioned to each State from the portion

10 described in subsection (b)(1), the State may reserve

11 to carry out State activities, including rapid re12 sponse assistance (as described in section 314(b) of

13 the Job Training Partnership Act, as in existence on

14 the date of enactment of this Act (29 U.S.C.

15 1661c(b))) and State administration, an amount

16 that is not greater than the proportion of funds re17 served for State activities under title III of the Job

18 Training Partnership Act, as in existence on such

19 date (29 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.) for fiscal year 1997.

20 (2) ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED

21 ADULTS.—From the amount apportioned to each

22 State from the portion described in subsection

23 (b)(2), the State may reserve to carry out State ac24 tivities, including State administration, an amount

25 that is not greater than the proportion of funds re-
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1 served for State activities under part A of title II of

2 the Job Training Partnership Act, as in existence on

3 the date of enactment of this Act (29 U.S.C. 1601

4 et seq.) for fiscal year 1997.

5 (e) CONSIDERATION OF FACTORS FOR APPORTION6 MENT TO SERVICE DELIVERY AREAS.—The apportion7 ment of amounts received by each State under subsection

8 (c), and not reserved under subsection (d), to service deliv9 ery areas within such State shall be based on the following

10 factors:

11 (1) The relative number of unemployed individ12 uals who reside in each service delivery area within

13 the State as compared to the total number of unem14 ployed individuals in all such service delivery areas.

15 (2) The relative excess number of unemployed

16 individuals who reside in each service delivery area

17 within the State as compared to the total excess

18 number of unemployed individuals in all such service

19 delivery areas.

20 (3) The relative number of individuals who have

21 been unemployed for 15 weeks or more and who re22 side in each service delivery area within the State as

23 compared to the total number of such individuals in

24 all such service delivery areas.
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1 (4) The relative number of economically dis2 advantaged adults who reside in each service delivery

3 area within the State as compared to the total num4 ber of such adults in all such service delivery areas.

5 (f) FUNDS FOR VOUCHERS.—Not less than 75 per6 cent of funds apportioned to a service delivery area under

7 subsection (e) and used for job training under this Act

8 by the service delivery area shall be made available in the

9 form of vouchers to individuals in such area who are eligi10 ble under section 103.

11 (g) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

12 term ‘‘excess number of unemployed individuals’’ means

13 the number that represents unemployed individuals in ex14 cess of 4.5 percent of the civilian labor force in a State

15 or service delivery area, as appropriate.

16 TITLE II—CONSOLIDATION OF

17 FEDERAL JOB TRAINING PRO18 GRAMS

19 SEC. 201. CONSOLIDATION OF PROGRAMS.

20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that the consolidation and streamlining of Federal

22 job training programs should be accomplished without in

23 any way reducing the commitment of, or the level of effort

24 provided by, the Federal Government to improve the job
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1 training, employment, and earnings of all workers and job2 seekers (particularly in hard-to-serve communities).

3 (b) REPEALS OF FEDERAL JOB TRAINING PRO4 GRAMS.—The following provisions are repealed:

5 (1) Section 6(d)(4) of the Food Stamp Act of

6 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)).

7 (2) Section 106(b)(7) of the Job Training Part8 nership Act (29 U.S.C. 1516(b)(7)).

9 (3) Section 123 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1533).

10 (4) Section 204(d) of such Act (29 U.S.C.

11 1604(d)).

12 (5) Part A of title II of such Act (29 U.S.C.

13 1601 et seq.).

14 (6) Section 302(c) of such Act (29 U.S.C.

15 1652(c)).

16 (7) Part A of title III of such Act (29 U.S.C.

17 1661 et seq.).

18 (8) Section 325 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1662d).

19 (9) Section 325A of such Act (29 U.S.C.

20 1662d–1).

21 (10) Section 326 of such Act (29 U.S.C.

22 1662e).

23 (11) Sections 301 through 303 of such Act (29

24 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.).
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1 (12) The Displaced Homemakers Self-Suffi2 ciency Assistance Act (29 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.).

3 (13) Subtitle C of title VII of the Stewart B.

4 McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

5 11441 et seq.).

6 (14) Subchapter I of chapter 421 of title 49,

7 United States Code.

8 (15) Title II of Public Law 95-250 (92 Stat.

9 172).

10 TITLE III—EMPLOYMENT-RELAT11 ED INFORMATION AND SERV12 ICES THROUGH ONE-STOP CA13 REER CENTERS

14 SEC. 301. ONE-STOP CAREER CENTERS.

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each service delivery area re16 ceiving funds under this Act shall develop and implement

17 a network of one-stop career centers for the area to pro18 vide access for jobseekers, workers, and businesses to a

19 comprehensive array of high quality job training described

20 in section 102(b)(2) and employment-related services (in21 cluding provision of information) described in subsections

22 (f) and (g).

23 (b) PROCEDURES.—Each workforce development en24 tity for a service delivery area, in conjunction with the ap25 propriate local chief elected official for the area, shall ne-
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1 gotiate with the State a method for establishing one-stop

2 career centers (including designating one-stop career cen3 ter operators) for the area, consistent with criteria estab4 lished by the Secretary of Labor.

5 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Each entity within the

6 service delivery area that provides the services specified

7 in subsection (f) or (g) shall be eligible to be designated

8 as a one-stop career center operator.

9 (d) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—The Secretary of

10 Labor shall establish a performance standard system for

11 assessing the performance of each one-stop career center

12 operator.

13 (e) PERIOD OF SELECTION.—Each one-stop career

14 center operator shall be designated for 2-year period.

15 Every 2 years, the workforce development entity for a

16 service delivery area shall reevaluate the designation of

17 one-stop career center operators for the area, based on

18 performance under the standards established under sub19 section (d).

20 (f) EMPLOYMENT-RELATED SERVICES TO INDIVID21 UALS.—Each one-stop career center for a service delivery

22 area may make available—

23 (1) outreach to make individuals aware of, and

24 encourage the use of, services available from
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1 workforce development programs operating in the

2 service delivery area;

3 (2) intake and orientation to the information

4 and services available through the one-stop career

5 center;

6 (3) assistance in filing initial claims for unem7 ployment compensation;

8 (4) initial assessments (including appropriate

9 testing) of the skill levels and service needs of indi10 viduals, including basic skills, occupational skills,

11 work experience, employability, interest, aptitude,

12 and supportive service needs;

13 (5) job search assistance, including resume and

14 interview preparation and workshops;

15 (6) information relating to the supply, demand,

16 price, and quality of job training available in each

17 service delivery area in the State involved, including

18 performance-based information provided pursuant to

19 section 106(c);

20 (7) job market information, including—

21 (A) data on the local economy and avail22 ability of employment;

23 (B) profiles of local industries;

24 (C) details of local labor market demand;

25 and
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1 (D) local demographic and socioeconomic

2 characteristics;

3 (8) referral to appropriate job training and em4 ployment services, and to other services described in

5 this subsection, in the service delivery area;

6 (9) supportive services, including child care;

7 (10) job development; and

8 (11) counseling.

9 (g) EMPLOYMENT-RELATED SERVICES TO EMPLOY10 ERS.—Each one-stop career center for a service delivery

11 area may provide to employers, at the request of the em12 ployers—

13 (1) information relating to supply, demand,

14 price, and quality of job training available in each

15 service delivery area in the State;

16 (2) customized screening and referral of individ17 uals for employment;

18 (3) customized assessment of skills of the work19 ers of the employer;

20 (4) an analysis of the skill needs of the em21 ployer; and

22 (5) other specialized employment and training

23 services.
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1 SEC. 302. ACCESS TO INFORMATION.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that accurate, timely,

3 and relevant data regarding employment, job training, job

4 skills, and job training opportunities are useful for individ5 uals making choices about the careers of such individuals.

6 (b) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Labor is author7 ized to make arrangements to develop and provide through

8 one-stop career centers and other appropriate mechanisms

9 relevant job market information to interested individuals,

10 including voucher recipients under title I, jobseekers, em11 ployers, and workers.

12 SEC. 303. DIRECT LOANS TO UNITED STATES WORKERS.

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that the William D.

14 Ford Federal Direct Loan Program authorized by part D

15 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

16 1087a et seq.), is a valuable financing tool for United

17 States workers who desire to take advantage of training

18 and education programs, consistent with the goals of such

19 workers, to learn new skills for careers that may bring

20 higher salaries and improved quality of life.

21 (b) AWARENESS.—The Department of Education

22 shall endeavor to make known the value and availability

23 of direct loans through the William D. Ford Federal Di24 rect Loan Program authorized by part D of title IV of

25 the Higher Education Act of 1965 through cooperative ar26 rangements with one-stop career centers, training and
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1 educational training programs, State agencies, and other

2 Federal agencies.

3 TITLE IV—REPORTS AND PLANS

4 SEC. 401. CONSOLIDATION AND STREAMLINING.

5 (a) REPORT ON CONSOLIDATING NONCOVERED FED6 ERAL JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS.—Not later than Janu7 ary 1, 1998, and each year thereafter, the Secretary of

8 Labor shall prepare and submit to Congress a report that

9 describes how additional Federal job training programs

10 not covered by this Act can be consolidated into a more

11 integrated and accountable workforce development system

12 that better meets the needs of jobseekers, workers, and

13 business.

14 (b) PLAN ON USE OF COMMON DEFINITIONS, MEAS15 URES, STANDARDS, AND CYCLES.—Not later than 180

16 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary

17 of Labor shall develop a plan that, wherever practicable,

18 requires the Federal job training programs to use common

19 definitions, common outcome measures, common eligibility

20 standards, and common funding cycles in order to make

21 such training programs more accessible.

22 SEC. 402. REPORT RELATING TO INCOME SUPPORT.

23 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con24 gress that—
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1 (1) many dislocated workers and economically

2 disadvantaged adults are unable to enroll in long3 term job training because such workers and adults

4 lack income support after unemployment compensa5 tion is exhausted;

6 (2) evidence suggests that long-term job train7 ing is among the most effective adjustment service

8 in assisting dislocated workers and economically dis9 advantaged adults to obtain employment and en10 hance wages; and

11 (3) there is a need to identify options relating

12 to how income support may be provided to enable

13 dislocated workers and economically disadvantaged

14 adults to participate in long-term job training.

15 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date

16 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall pre17 pare and submit to Congress a report that—

18 (1) examines the need for income support to en19 able dislocated workers and economically disadvan20 taged adults to participate in long-term job training;

21 (2) identifies options relating to how such in22 come support may be provided to such workers and

23 adults; and

24 (3) contains such recommendations as the Sec25 retary of Labor determines are appropriate.
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1 TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS

2 SEC. 501. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro4 priated to carry out titles I and III such sums as may

5 be necessary for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002.

6 (b) PROGRAM YEAR.—Appropriations for any fiscal

7 year for activities carried out under this Act shall be avail8 able for obligation only on the basis of a program year.

9 The program year shall begin on July 1 in the fiscal year

10 for which the appropriation is made.

11 SEC. 502. EFFECTIVE DATE.

12 This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1998.

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