I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6142 

To direct the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Energy, and the Secretary 

of Education to, jointly, develop a workforce training and education 

program to prepare workers for careers in the alternative energy and 

energy efficiency industries. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2010 

Mr. TONKO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Energy, 

and the Secretary of Education to, jointly, develop a 

workforce training and education program to prepare 

workers for careers in the alternative energy and energy 

efficiency industries. 

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 ‘‘Green Workforce De5 velopment Through Community Colleges Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to direct the Secretary of 

3 Labor, the Secretary of Energy, and the Secretary of Edu4 cation (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretaries’’) to, 

5 jointly, develop a workforce training and education pro6 gram to prepare workers for careers in the alternative en7 ergy and energy efficiency industries. 

8 SEC. 3. ADVISORY COMMISSION. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall 

11 establish and convene an advisory commission (in this Act 

12 referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

13 (b) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.—The duties of the 

14 Commission shall be to carry out the following: 

15 (1) Review and analyze the skill needs of the al16 ternative energy and energy efficiency fields. 

17 (2) Identify and define career pathways, includ18 ing coursework, certification, and other training 

19 needed for career development in the following ca20 reer areas in the alternative energy and energy effi21 ciency fields: 

22 (A) Wind power, including the construction 

23 and maintenance of commercial and residential 

24 wind turbines. 

25 (B) Solar power, including commercial and 

26 residential photovoltaic installation. 


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1 (C) Geo-thermal energy, including home 

2 and commercial heating and cooling and other 

3 applications. 

4 (D) Training of energy auditors to perform 

5 energy efficiency audits on both residential and 

6 commercial structures. 

7 (E) Energy efficient retrofit and renova8 tion of residential and commercial structures. 

9 (3) Recommend a curriculum framework and 

10 best practices for educational and workforce training 

11 programs related to each career area described in 

12 paragraph (2), by consulting with leaders in alter13 native energy and energy efficiency fields, includ14 ing— 

15 (A) community colleges identified by the 

16 Secretaries as leaders, or having the best prac17 tices, in alternative energy workforce develop18 ment; 

19 (B) State energy offices and other local 

20 agencies with expertise in energy efficiency; and 

21 (C) representatives from the alternative en22 ergy industry and trade unions that represent 

23 workers in the alternative energy industry. 

24 (4) In making recommendations under para25 graph (3), the Commission shall take into account 


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1 variations in the skill level, work experience, and 

2 education of students who may participate in the 

3 educational and workforce training programs de4 scribed in such paragraph. 

5 (5) Not later than 12 months after the date on 

6 which the first train-the-trainers grant is awarded 

7 under section 5, submit to the Secretaries of Labor, 

8 Energy, and Education, and the Committee on Edu9 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives 

10 and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

11 and Pensions of the Senate, a report on that in12 cludes— 

13 (A) the Commission’s findings with regard 

14 to identifying career pathways related to the ca15 reer areas described in paragraph (2); 

16 (B) the Commission’s recommendations re17 garding the curriculum framework for such ca18 reer areas; and 

19 (C) other information and recommenda20 tions on best practices with respect to teaching 

21 in such career areas that the Commission con22 siders appropriate. 

23 (6) Assist the Secretaries in administering the 

24 grant program established under section 5. 

25 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com2 mission shall be composed of 15 members appointed 

3 not later than 45 days after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act as follows: 

5 (A) 5 individuals appointed by the Sec6 retary of Energy. 

7 (B) 5 individuals appointed by the Sec8 retary of Labor. 

9 (C) 5 individuals appointed by the Sec10 retary of Education. 

11 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Of the members ap12 pointed under subparagraph (A), a minimum of— 

13 (A) 5 members shall represent employers 

14 in the energy efficiency field; and 

15 (B) 5 members shall be experts in alter16 native energy workforce education in commu17 nity colleges. 

18 (3) TERMS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be 

20 appointed for the life of the Commission. 

21 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Com22 mission shall be filed in the manner in which 

23 the original appointment was made. 


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1 (4) COMPENSATION.—All members of the Com2 mission shall serve voluntarily and without addi3 tional compensation. 

4 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of Labor 

5 shall designate a member of the Commission to be 

6 the Chairperson of the Commission. 

7 (6) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall— 

8 (A) hold its first meeting not later than 30 

9 days after the date on which a majority of the 

10 members of the Commission have been ap11 pointed; and 

12 (B) meet at the call of the Chairperson. 

13 (7) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

14 the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a 

15 lesser number may hold hearings. 

16 (d) STAFF OF THE COMMISSION.— 

17 (1) ADDITIONAL STAFF.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

19 appoint up to 3 additional staff who will report 

20 to the Chairperson. 

21 (B) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL

22 SERVICE LAWS.—The staff of the Commission 

23 shall be appointed subject to the provisions of 

24 title 5, United States Code, governing appoint25 ments in the competitive service, and shall be 


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1 paid in accordance with the provisions of 51 

2 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title 

3 relating to classification and General Schedule 

4 pay rates. 

5 (2) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon re6 quest of the Chairman of the Commission, the head 

7 of any Federal department or agency may detail, on 

8 a nonreimbursable basis, any personnel of that de9 partment or agency to the Commission to assist it 

10 in carrying out its duties under this Act. 

11 (e) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

12 (1) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commis13 sion may, for the purpose of carrying out its duties 

14 under this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at such 

15 times and places, take testimony, and receive evi16 dence as the Commission considers appropriate. 

17 (2) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any 

18 member or agent of the Commission may, if author19 ized by the Commission, take any action which the 

20 Commission is authorized to take by this subsection. 

21 (3) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commis22 sion may secure directly from any department or 

23 agency of the Federal Government information nec24 essary to enable it to carry out its duties under this 

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1 mission, the head of that department or agency shall 

2 furnish that information to the Commission. 

3 (4) STUDIES.—The Commission may conduct 

4 studies to enable it to carry out its duties under this 

5 Act. 

6 (5) MAILS.—The Commission may use the 

7 United States mails in the same manner and under 

8 the same conditions as other departments and agen9 cies of the Federal Government. 

10 (f) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

11 on 90 days after submitting its final report under sub12 section (b)(5). 

13 SEC. 4. POSTING REPORT ON WEBSITE. 

14 Upon receipt of the report under section 3(b)(5), the 

15 Secretary of Labor, Education, and Energy shall post on 

16 the Internet website of the Department of Labor, Edu17 cation, and Energy, respectively, the report. 

18 SEC. 5. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appropriated 

20 under section 8 to carry out this section, not earlier than 

21 fiscal year 2011, the Secretaries shall, jointly, award 

22 grants to community colleges for the purposes of providing 

23 education and workforce training in the alternative energy 

24 and energy efficiency fields. 


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1 (b) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this 

2 Act, a community college shall submit an application to 

3 the Secretaries at such time, in such manner, and con4 taining such information as the Secretaries may require. 

5 Such application shall include— 

6 (1) an identification of employment opportuni7 ties in the alternative energy and energy efficiency 

8 fields in the area served by the community college 

9 and the specific skills needed to obtain such employ10 ment opportunities, based on information from— 

11 (A) existing labor market and industry 

12 analyses; 

13 (B) local workforce investment boards; or 

14 (C) private, non-profit organizations or 

15 nonprofit business or economic development or16 ganizations; 

17 (2) an assurance that the community college 

18 will carry out detailed market research to assess, 

19 with respect to the area served by the community 

20 college— 

21 (A) the current and projected employment 

22 opportunities and labor demand in the alter23 native energy and energy efficiency fields; and 

24 (B) the job skills necessary to obtain such 

25 employment opportunities; and 


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1 (3) an assurance that the community college 

2 will use the information described in paragraph (1) 

3 and the market research carried out by the college 

4 under paragraph (2) to establish education and 

5 workforce training programs that correspond to the 

6 employment opportunities in the alternative energy 

7 and energy efficiency fields in the area served by the 

8 community college, and the skills needs to obtain 

9 such opportunities. 

10 (c) USES OF FUNDS.—A community college receiving 

11 a grant under this Act shall use such grant funds to— 

12 (1) establish educational and workforce training 

13 programs that— 

14 (A) correspond to the employment opportu15 nities in such fields, and the skills needs with 

16 respect to such opportunities in the area served 

17 by the community college, as determined by the 

18 information obtained, and the market research 

19 carried out, by the community college under 

20 subsection (b); 

21 (B) incorporate— 

22 (i) following the completion of the 

23 Commission’s report pursuant to section 

24 3(b)(5) curriculum recommend private 

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1 nomic development organizations developed 

2 by the Commission pursuant to such sec3 tion; and 

4 (ii) best practices developed by com5 munity colleges pursuant to section 6; 

6 (2) assist students and graduates of the edu7 cational and workforce training program in appren8 ticeship and employment placement in the alter9 native energy and energy efficiency fields; 

10 (3) coordinate with the secondary schools and 

11 vocational schools in the area served by the commu12 nity college to assist such schools in providing edu13 cational services in the alternative energy and energy 

14 efficiency fields for students enrolled in such schools 

15 (such as by assisting in the development of a cur16 riculum or apprenticeship program in such fields); 

17 and 

18 (4) coordinate with local workforce investment 

19 boards to ensure— 

20 (A) access to enroll in the programs estab21 lished under paragraph (1) to individuals par22 ticipating in workforce investment activities in 

23 the local area; and 

24 (B) that the programs provide access to 

25 enrollment in the programs to— 


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1 (i) dislocated workers; 

2 (ii) workers who are transitioning into 

3 careers in the alternative energy or energy 

4 efficiency fields; 

5 (iii) underrepresented minorities; and 

6 (iv) low-income individuals. 

7 SEC. 6. TRAIN THE TRAINERS PROGRAM. 

8 (a) GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the 

9 amount reserved under section 8(b), the Secretaries shall, 

10 jointly, award grants to up to 10 community colleges iden11 tified by the Secretaries as leaders in education and work12 force training in the alternative energy and energy effi13 ciency fields to develop best practices with respect to such 

14 education and training. 

15 (b) APPLICATION.—A community college desiring to 

16 receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica17 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

18 information that the Secretaries may require, which shall, 

19 at a minimum, include information with respect to— 

20 (1) the training program in the alternative en21 ergy and energy efficiency fields that is being carried 

22 out by the community college; 

23 (2) the facility where the program is being car24 ried out; 

25 (3) the curriculum for such program; and 


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1 (4) any partnerships the community college— 

2 (A) has established with representatives of 

3 businesses, educational institutions, or other or4 ganizations that have expertise in the alter5 native energy or energy efficiency fields; and 

6 (B) that have provided training experience 

7 opportunities in such fields for students in the 

8 program. 

9 (c) USES OF FUNDS.—A community college receiving 

10 a grant under this section shall use such funds to develop 

11 best practices in instruction and instructor training with 

12 respect to education and workforce training programs car13 ried out pursuant to section 5. Such funds may be used 

14 by the community college to cover any costs associated 

15 with the development of the best practices, including— 

16 (1) instructor salaries; and 

17 (2) the purchase of equipment and supplies. 

18 SEC. 7. SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT. 

19 Funds made available under this Act shall be used 

20 to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, 

21 and local funds that would otherwise be expended to carry 

22 out activities under this Act. 


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1 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVA2 TION. 

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 to carry 

5 out this Act for fiscal year 2012 and for each of the suc6 ceeding 4 fiscal years. 

7 (b) RESERVATION.—Of the amount appropriated 

8 under subsection (a) for a fiscal year, 15 percent shall be 

9 made available to carry out section 6 for such fiscal year. 

10 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

11 For purposes of this Act: 

12 (1) ALTERNATIVE ENERGY FIELDS.—The term 

13 ‘‘alternative energy fields’’ means solar, wind, geo14 thermal, and energy efficiency fields. 

15 (2) CAREER PATHWAYS.—The term ‘‘career 

16 pathways’’ means a clear sequence of coursework 

17 and credentials enabling career development in a 

18 particular field that assists individuals of varying 

19 skill levels to enter and progress in jobs in that field. 

20 (3) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu21 nity college’’ means a public institution of higher 

22 education at which the highest degree that is pre23 dominantly awarded to students is an associate’s de24 gree. 

25 (4) DISLOCATED WORKER.—The term ‘‘dis26 located worker’’ has the meaning given the term in 


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1 section 101 of the Workforce Investment Act of 

2 1998. 

3 (5) ENERGY EFFICIENCY FIELDS.—The term 

4 ‘‘energy efficiency fields’’ means energy efficiency 

5 auditing for residential and commercial structures 

6 and energy efficiency retrofit for residential and 

7 commercial structures. 

8 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

10 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

11 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

12 (7) LOCAL WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD.— 

13 The term ‘‘local workforce investment board’’ refers 

14 to the term in section 117 of the Workforce Invest15 ment Act of 1998. 

16 (8) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘low17 income’’ individual means an individual from a fam18 ily whose taxable income for the preceding year did 

19 not exceed 150 percent an amount equal to the pov20 erty level determined by using criteria of poverty es21 tablished by the Bureau of the Census. 

22 (9) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec23 ondary school’’ has the meaning given such term in 

24 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu25 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


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1 (10) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

2 means the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of 

3 Labor. 

4 (11) VOCATIONAL SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘voca5 tional school’’ means— 

6 (A) a specialized public secondary school 

7 used exclusively or principally for the provision 

8 of career and technical education to individuals 

9 who are available for study in preparation for 

10 entering the labor market; or 

11 (B) the department of a public secondary 

12 school exclusively or principally used for pro13 viding career and technical education in not 

14 fewer than 5 different occupational fields to in15 dividuals who are available for study in prepa16 ration for entering the labor market. 

Æ 


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