I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 398 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a pilot competitive grant 

program for the development of a skilled energy workforce, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2019 

Mr. NORCROSS (for himself and Mr. MCKINLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a pilot competitive grant program for the development of a skilled 

energy workforce, 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 ‘‘21st Century Energy 

5 Workforce Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the energy sector is the third-largest indus9 try in the United States; 


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1 (2) 1,500,000 new skilled workers will be need2 ed in the energy sector over the next 15 years; and 

3 (3) a skilled workforce is a critical component 

4 of ensuring the growth of the energy sector in the 

5 United States. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.—The term 

9 ‘‘apprenticeship program’’ means— 

10 (A) an apprenticeship program registered 

11 with the Department of Labor as of the date of 

12 enactment of this Act that has a completion 

13 rate for participants of not less than 60 per14 cent; or 

15 (B) an apprenticeship program not reg16 istered with the Department of Labor as of the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, but that the Sec18 retary determines should be eligible for a grant 

19 under section 5. 

20 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na21 tional Center of Excellence for the 21st Century 

22 Workforce Advisory Board established under section 

23 4(a). 

24 (3) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu25 nity college’’ means a junior or community college 


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1 (as defined in section 312(f) of the Higher Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f))). 

3 (4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

4 the pilot program established under section 5(a). 

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

6 the Secretary of Energy. 

7 (6) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION.—The 

8 term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ means an orga9 nization recognized by the Secretary of Veterans Af10 fairs for the representation of veterans under section 

11 5902 of title 38, United States Code. 

12 SEC. 4. NATIONAL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE 21ST 

13 CENTURY WORKFORCE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

15 nationwide advisory board, to be known as the ‘‘National 

16 Center of Excellence for the 21st Century Workforce Advi17 sory Board’’, to foster strategic vision, guidance, and net18 works for the energy industry. 

19 (b) REPRESENTATIVES.—The members of the Board 

20 shall consist of energy sector stakeholders, including— 

21 (1) representatives of relevant industries; 

22 (2) experts in labor, economics, and workforce 

23 development; 

24 (3) representatives of States and units of local 

25 government; 


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1 (4) representatives of elementary and secondary 

2 education and postsecondary education; and 

3 (5) representatives of labor organizations. 

4 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Board are— 

5 (1) to support and develop training and science 

6 education programs that— 

7 (A) meet the industry and labor needs of 

8 the energy sector; and 

9 (B) provide opportunities for students to 

10 become qualified for placement in traditional 

11 and clean energy sector jobs; 

12 (2) to align apprenticeship programs and indus13 try certifications to further develop succession plan14 ning in the energy sector; 

15 (3) to integrate educational standards to de16 velop foundational skills for elementary and sec17 ondary education and postsecondary education to 

18 create a pipeline between education and career; and 

19 (4) to support the replication of existing model 

20 energy curricula. 

21 SEC. 5. ENERGY WORKFORCE PILOT GRANT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta24 tion with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of 

25 Education, shall establish a pilot program to award grants 


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1 on a competitive basis to eligible entities for job training 

2 to obtain an industry-recognized credential. 

3 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

4 under this section, an entity shall be a public or nonprofit 

5 organization that— 

6 (1) includes an advisory board of proportional 

7 participation, as determined by the Secretary, of rel8 evant organizations, including— 

9 (A) relevant energy industry organizations, 

10 including public and private employers; 

11 (B) labor organizations; and 

12 (C) elementary and secondary education 

13 and postsecondary education organizations; 

14 (2) demonstrates experience in implementing 

15 and operating job training and education programs; 

16 (3) demonstrates the ability to recruit and sup17 port individuals who plan to work in the energy in18 dustry in the successful completion of relevant job 

19 training and education programs; and 

20 (4) provides students who complete the job 

21 training and education program with an industry22 recognized credential. 

23 (c) APPLICATIONS.—Eligible entities desiring a grant 

24 under this section shall submit to the Secretary an appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:18 Jan 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H398.IH H398

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1 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

2 information as the Secretary may require. 

3 (d) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to receive 

4 grants under this section, the Secretary shall prioritize ap5 plicants that— 

6 (1) house the job training and education pro7 grams in— 

8 (A) a community college or institution of 

9 higher education that includes basic science and 

10 math education in the curriculum of the com11 munity college, institution of higher education; 

12 or 

13 (B) an apprenticeship program, and with 

14 respect to such apprenticeship programs de15 scribed in section 3(1)(B), the Secretary shall 

16 further prioritize such programs that can dem17 onstrate to the Secretary a completion rate for 

18 participants of not less than 60 percent; 

19 (2) work with the Secretary of Defense or vet20 erans organizations to transition members of the 

21 Armed Forces and veterans to careers in the energy 

22 sector; 

23 (3) apply as a State or regional consortia to le24 verage best practices already available in the State 


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1 or region in which the community college or institu2 tion of higher education is located; 

3 (4) have a State-supported entity included in 

4 the application; 

5 (5) include an apprenticeship program as part 

6 of the job training and education program; 

7 (6) develop a mentorship program for energy 

8 professionals and elementary and secondary edu9 cation students; 

10 (7) provide support services and career coach11 ing; 

12 (8) provide introductory energy workforce devel13 opment training; or 

14 (9) provide industry-affiliated pre-apprentice15 ship programs, including intensive skill-building pro16 grams and intensive short-term programs. 

17 (e) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.—In making 

18 grants under this section, the Secretary shall consider re19 gional diversity. 

20 (f) LIMITATION ON APPLICATIONS.—An eligible enti21 ty may not submit, either individually or as part of a joint 

22 application, more than 1 application for a grant under this 

23 section during any 1 fiscal year. 


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1 (g) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The 

2 amount of a grant for any 1 year shall not exceed 

3 $1,000,000. 

4 (h) COSTS.— 

5 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

6 the cost of a job training and education program 

7 carried out using a grant under this section shall be 

8 not greater than 65 percent. 

9 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The non-Federal share 

11 of the cost of a job training and education pro12 gram carried out using a grant under this sec13 tion shall consist of not less than 50 percent 

14 cash. 

15 (B) LIMITATION.—Not greater than 50 

16 percent of the non-Federal contribution of the 

17 total cost of a job training and education pro18 gram carried out using a grant under this sec19 tion shall be in the form of in-kind contribu20 tions of goods or services fairly valued. 

21 (i) REDUCTION OF DUPLICATION.—Prior to submit22 ting an application for a grant under this section, each 

23 applicant shall consult with the applicable agencies of the 

24 Federal Government and coordinate the proposed activiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:18 Jan 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H398.IH H398

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1 ties of the applicant with existing State and local pro2 grams. 

3 (j) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

4 provide technical assistance and capacity building to na5 tional and State energy partnerships, including the enti6 ties described in subsection (b)(1), to leverage the existing 

7 job training and education programs of the Department 

8 of Energy. 

9 (k) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to Con10 gress and make publicly available on the website of the 

11 Department of Energy an annual report on the program 

12 established under this section, including a description of— 

13 (1) the entities receiving grants; 

14 (2) the activities carried out using the grants; 

15 (3) best practices used to leverage the invest16 ment of the Federal Government; 

17 (4) the rate of employment for participants 

18 after completing a job training and education pro19 gram carried out using a grant; and 

20 (5) an assessment of the results achieved by the 

21 program. 

22 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 

Æ 


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