I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1782 

To establish and strengthen projects that defray the cost of related instruction 

associated with pre-apprenticeship and qualified apprenticeship programs, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2019 

Ms. DELAURO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To establish and strengthen projects that defray the cost 

of related instruction associated with pre-apprenticeship 

and qualified apprenticeship programs, 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 ‘‘American Apprentice5 ship Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PRE-APPRENTICESHIP AND QUALIFIED APPREN7 TICESHIP PROGRAMS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 


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1 (1) QUALIFIED APPRENTICESHIP.—The term 

2 ‘‘qualified apprenticeship’’, used with respect to a 

3 program, means an apprenticeship program that 

4 is— 

5 (A) registered under the Act of August 16, 

6 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National Ap7 prenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 

8 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.); and 

9 (B) concentrated in an emerging, in-de10 mand industry. 

11 (2) POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITU12 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary educational institu13 tion’’ means an institution of higher education, as 

14 defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act 

15 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

16 (3) PRE-APPRENTICESHIP.—The term ‘‘pre-ap17 prenticeship’’, used with respect to a program, 

18 means an initiative or set of strategies that— 

19 (A) is designed to prepare individuals to 

20 enter and succeed in a qualified apprenticeship 

21 program; 

22 (B) is carried out by a sponsor described 

23 in paragraph (6)(B) that has a documented 

24 partnership with one or more sponsors of quali25 fied apprenticeship programs; and 


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1 (C) includes each of the following: 

2 (i) Training (including a curriculum 

3 for the training), aligned with industry 

4 standards related to apprenticeships in a 

5 qualified apprenticeship program, and re6 viewed and approved annually by sponsors 

7 of such apprenticeships within the docu8 mented partnership, that will prepare indi9 viduals by teaching the skills and com10 petencies needed to enter one or more 

11 qualified apprenticeship programs. 

12 (ii) Provision of hands-on training and 

13 theoretical education to individuals that— 

14 (I) is carried out in a manner 

15 that includes proper observation of su16 pervision and safety protocols; and 

17 (II) is carried out in a manner 

18 that does not displace a paid em19 ployee. 

20 (iii) A formal agreement with a spon21 sor of a qualified apprenticeship program 

22 that would enable participants who suc23 cessfully complete the pre-apprenticeship 

24 program to enter directly into the qualified 

25 apprenticeship program (if a place in the 


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1 program is available and if the participant 

2 meets the qualifications of the qualified ap3 prenticeship program), and includes agree4 ments concerning earning credit recognized 

5 by a postsecondary educational institution 

6 for skills and competencies acquired during 

7 the pre-apprenticeship program. 

8 (4) RELATED INSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘re9 lated instruction’’ means an organized and system10 atic form of instruction designed to provide an ap11 prentice with the knowledge of the theoretical and 

12 technical subjects related to the occupation of the 

13 apprentice or the instruction needed to prepare an 

14 individual to enter and succeed in an qualified ap15 prenticeship program. 

16 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Labor. 

18 (6) SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘sponsor’’ means— 

19 (A) with respect to a qualified apprentice20 ship program, an employer, joint labor-manage21 ment partnership, trade association, profes22 sional association, labor organization, or other 

23 entity, that administers the qualified appren24 ticeship program; and 


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1 (B) with respect to a pre-apprenticeship 

2 program, a local educational agency, a sec3 ondary school, an area career and technical 

4 education school, a State board, a local board, 

5 or a community-based organization, with re6 sponsibility for the pre-apprenticeship program. 

7 (7) WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPOR8 TUNITY ACT DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘area career 

9 and technical education school’’, ‘‘community-based 

10 organization’’, ‘‘individual with a barrier to employ11 ment’’, ‘‘local board’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, 

12 ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State board’’ have the 

13 meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Work14 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

15 3102). 

16 (b) GRANTS FOR TUITION ASSISTANCE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

18 grants to States on a competitive basis to assist the 

19 States in, and pay for the Federal share of the cost 

20 of, carrying out projects that defray the cost of re21 lated instruction associated with pre-apprenticeship 

22 and qualified apprenticeship programs. 

23 (2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

24 grant under this subsection, a State shall submit an 

25 application to the Secretary for such a project at 


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1 such time, in such manner, and containing a stra2 tegic plan that contains such information as the Sec3 retary may require, including— 

4 (A) information identifying the State agen5 cy (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘State enti6 ty’’) that will administer the grant as deter7 mined by the Governor of the State; 

8 (B) a description of strategies that the 

9 State entity will use to collaborate with key in10 dustry representatives, State agencies, postsec11 ondary educational institutions, labor-manage12 ment entities, and other relevant partners to 

13 launch or expand pre-apprenticeships, and ap14 prenticeships in qualified apprenticeship pro15 grams; 

16 (C) a description of how the State entity 

17 will— 

18 (i) coordinate activities carried out 

19 under this subsection with activities car20 ried out under the Carl D. Perkins Career 

21 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

22 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) and the Workforce 

23 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

24 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) to support pre-apVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1782.IH H1782

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1 prenticeships, and apprenticeships in quali2 fied apprenticeship programs; 

3 (ii) leverage funds provided under the 

4 Acts specified in clause (i) to support pre5 apprenticeships, and apprenticeships in 

6 qualified apprenticeship programs; and 

7 (iii) utilize, and encourage individual 

8 participants in programs supported under 

9 this subsection to utilize, available Federal 

10 and State financial assistance, including 

11 assistance available under the Workforce 

12 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

13 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), education assistance 

14 benefits available to veterans, and Federal 

15 Pell Grants available under section 401 of 

16 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

17 U.S.C. 1070a), prior to using assistance 

18 made available under this Act; 

19 (D) a description of strategies to elevate 

20 apprenticeships in qualified apprenticeship pro21 grams as a workforce solution in both tradi22 tional and nontraditional industries, such as in23 formation technology, health care, advanced 

24 manufacturing, construction trades, transporVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1782.IH H1782

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1 tation, and other industries determined to be 

2 high-demand by the State board for the State; 

3 (E) a description of activities that the 

4 State entity will carry out to build awareness 

5 about the economic potential of apprenticeships 

6 in qualified apprenticeship programs; 

7 (F) a description that outlines how the 

8 State entity will increase opportunities for pre9 apprenticeships, and apprenticeships in quali10 fied apprenticeship programs, among members 

11 of minority groups, youth, individuals with dis12 abilities, veterans, and individuals with barriers 

13 to employment; 

14 (G) a description of— 

15 (i) how the State entity will ensure 

16 that the qualified apprenticeship program 

17 meets certain performance measures and 

18 quality standards, including that the quali19 fied apprenticeship program has been in 

20 existence for not fewer than 6 months 

21 prior to the application date; 

22 (ii) the targeted outreach strategies 

23 that the State entity will use for popu24 lations previously underserved through ap25 prenticeships; and 


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1 (iii) any State performance measures 

2 and goals that the State will use, at the 

3 election of the State, to measure the effec4 tiveness of the project; and 

5 (H) in the case of a State that has already 

6 received a grant under this subsection for a 

7 project, information indicating that the State 

8 met the performance measures with respect to 

9 the project. 

10 (3) APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS.—A joint 

11 team of employees from the Department of Labor 

12 and the Department of Education shall— 

13 (A) review such an application; and 

14 (B) make recommendations to the Sec15 retary regarding approval of the application. 

16 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a 

17 grant under this subsection shall use the funds made 

18 available through the grant to defray any of the fol19 lowing costs of related instruction: 

20 (A) Tuition and fees. 

21 (B) Cost of textbooks, equipment, cur22 riculum development, and other required edu23 cational materials. 

24 (C) Costs of any other item or service de25 termined by the State to be necessary. 


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1 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The State may 

2 use not more than 10 percent of the grant funds for 

3 administrative costs relating to carrying out the 

4 project described in paragraph (1). 

5 (6) PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION.—The 

6 Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of 

7 Education, shall— 

8 (A) establish performance measures based 

9 on indicators set by the Administrator of the 

10 Office of Apprenticeship of the Department of 

11 Labor; and 

12 (B) establish an evaluation system aligned 

13 with the performance measures, and reporting 

14 requirements for the program carried out under 

15 this subsection. 

16 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

18 cost described in subsection (b)(1) shall be not less 

19 than 20 percent and not more than 50 percent. 

20 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The State may 

21 make the non-Federal share available— 

22 (A) in cash or in-kind, fairly evaluated, in23 cluding plant, equipment, or services; and 

24 (B) directly or through donations from 

25 public or private entities. 


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1 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare and sub2 mit to Congress, not later than September 30, 2024, a 

3 report— 

4 (1) detailing the results of the evaluation de5 scribed in subsection (b)(6)(B); and 

6 (2) analyzing the extent to which States have 

7 used grant funds effectively under this section. 

8 (e) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol9 icy of the United States that funds made available under 

10 this section should be used to supplement and not sup11 plant other funds available under the Workforce Innova12 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) and 

13 other Federal and State funds available to the State to 

14 support workforce development programs. 

15 SEC. 3. IDENTIFYING IN-DEMAND OCCUPATIONS. 

16 The Secretary shall— 

17 (1) identify in-demand occupations nationally 

18 and regionally that lack the use of apprenticeships; 

19 (2) analyze the use of the qualified apprentice20 ship program model in those identified in-demand 

21 occupations; and 

22 (3) prepare and submit to States and Congress 

23 a report that contains the analysis described in para24 graph (2). 


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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this Act $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

4 2025. 

Æ 


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