I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4061 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a comprehensive, 

nationwide, energy-related industries jobs program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2019 

Mr. RUSH (for himself, Mr. HUDSON, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. UPTON, and 

Mr. LARSON of Connecticut) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry 

out a comprehensive, nationwide, energy-related industries jobs program, 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 ‘‘Blue Collar and Green 

5 Collar Jobs Development Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ENERGY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap8 propriations for such purpose, the Secretary shall estab9 lish and carry out a comprehensive, nationwide program 


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1 to improve education and training for jobs in energy-re2 lated industries in order to increase the number of skilled 

3 workers trained for such jobs. 

4 (b) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 

6 established under subsection (a), the Secretary may 

7 provide— 

8 (A) financial assistance awards, technical 

9 assistance, and other assistance the Secretary 

10 determines appropriate, to educational institu11 tions and covered organizations and programs, 

12 including those serving unemployed energy 

13 workers; and 

14 (B) internships, fellowships, traineeships, 

15 and apprenticeships at the Department of En16 ergy, including at the Department of Energy 

17 national laboratories. 

18 (2) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to subsection (c), 

19 the Secretary shall distribute assistance described in 

20 paragraph (1) in a manner proportional to the needs 

21 of energy-related industries and demand for jobs in 

22 energy-related industries, consistent with informa23 tion developed under subsection (e). 

24 (c) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the program estab25 lished under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) prioritize the education and training of indi2 viduals from underrepresented communities for jobs 

3 in energy-related industries, including in providing 

4 internships, fellowships, traineeships, apprentice5 ships, and employment at the Department of En6 ergy, including at the Department of Energy na7 tional laboratories; and 

8 (2) in providing research grants and technical 

9 assistance to educational institutions, give priority to 

10 minority-serving institutions. 

11 (d) COLLABORATION AND OUTREACH.—In carrying 

12 out the program established under subsection (a), the Sec13 retary shall— 

14 (1) collaborate with— 

15 (A) to the maximum extent possible, State 

16 workforce development boards, to maximize pro17 gram efficiency; 

18 (B) educational institutions and covered 

19 organizations and programs; 

20 (C) energy-related industries and covered 

21 organizations and programs to increase the op22 portunities for, and enrollment of, students and 

23 other candidates, including students of minor24 ity-serving institutions and unemployed energy 

25 workers, to participate in industry internships, 


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1 fellowships, traineeships, and apprenticeships; 

2 and 

3 (D) Federal-State Regional Commissions, 

4 including the Appalachia Regional Commission, 

5 the Delta Regional Authority, the Denali Com6 mission, the Northern Border Regional Com7 mission, the Northern Great Plains Regional 

8 Commission, and the Southeast Crescent Re9 gional Commission; and 

10 (2) conduct outreach activities to— 

11 (A) encourage individuals from underrep12 resented communities and unemployed energy 

13 workers to enter into the STEM fields; and 

14 (B) encourage and foster collaboration, 

15 mentorships, and partnerships among energy16 related industries, and covered organizations 

17 and programs, that provide effective training 

18 programs for jobs in energy-related industries 

19 and educational institutions that seek to estab20 lish these types of programs in order to share 

21 best practices and approaches that best suit 

22 local, State, and national needs. 

23 (e) CLEARINGHOUSE.— 

24 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In carrying out the pro25 gram established under subsection (a), the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:47 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061

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1 retary, in collaboration with the Commissioner of the 

2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Secretary of Com3 merce, the Director of the Bureau of the Census, 

4 and energy-related industries, shall establish a clear5 inghouse to— 

6 (A) develop, maintain, and update informa7 tion and other resources, by State and by re8 gion, on— 

9 (i) training programs for jobs in en10 ergy-related industries; and 

11 (ii) the current and future workforce 

12 needs of energy-related industries, and job 

13 opportunities in such energy-related indus14 tries, including identification of jobs in en15 ergy-related industries for which there is 

16 the greatest demand; and 

17 (B) act as a resource for educational insti18 tutions and covered organizations and programs 

19 that would like to develop and implement train20 ing programs for such jobs. 

21 (2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually 

22 publish a report on the information and other re23 sources developed, maintained, and updated on the 

24 clearinghouse established under paragraph (1). 


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1 (f) GUIDELINES TO DEVELOP SKILLS FOR AN EN2 ERGY INDUSTRY WORKFORCE.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 

4 established under subsection (a), the Secretary, in 

5 collaboration with the Secretary of Education, the 

6 Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, and 

7 the National Science Foundation, shall develop vol8 untary guidelines or best practices for educational 

9 institutions to help provide students with the skills 

10 necessary for jobs in energy-related industries, in11 cluding jobs in— 

12 (A) the energy efficiency industry, includ13 ing jobs in energy efficiency (including architec14 ture, design, and construction of new energy ef15 ficient buildings), conservation, weatherization, 

16 retrofitting, inspecting, auditing, and software 

17 development; 

18 (B) the renewable energy industry, includ19 ing jobs in the development, engineering, manu20 facturing, and production of energy from re21 newable energy sources (such as solar, hydro22 power, wind, and geothermal energy); 

23 (C) the community energy resiliency indus24 try, including jobs in the installation of rooftop 


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1 solar, in battery storage, and in microgrid tech2 nologies; 

3 (D) the fuel cell and hydrogen energy in4 dustry; 

5 (E) the advanced automotive technology 

6 industry, including jobs relating to electric vehi7 cle batteries, connectivity and automation, and 

8 advanced combustion engines; 

9 (F) the manufacturing industry, including 

10 jobs as operations technicians, in operations 

11 and design in additive manufacturing, 3-D 

12 printing, and advanced composites and ad13 vanced aluminum and other metal alloys, and in 

14 industrial energy efficiency management sys15 tems, including power electronics, and other in16 novative technologies; 

17 (G) the chemical manufacturing industry, 

18 including jobs in construction (such as welders, 

19 pipefitters, and tool and die makers), as instru20 ment and electrical technicians, machinists, 

21 chemical process operators, engineers, quality 

22 and safety professionals, and reliability engi23 neers; 

24 (H) the utility industry, including jobs in 

25 smart grid technology, cybersecurity manageVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:47 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061

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1 ment, and the generation, transmission, and 

2 distribution of electricity and natural gas, such 

3 as electricians and utility dispatchers, techni4 cians, operators, lineworkers, engineers, sci5 entists, and information technology specialists; 

6 (I) the alternative fuels industry, including 

7 jobs in biofuel and bioproducts development and 

8 production; 

9 (J) the pipeline industry, including jobs in 

10 pipeline construction and maintenance and jobs 

11 as engineers and technical advisors; 

12 (K) the nuclear energy industry, including 

13 jobs as scientists, engineers, technicians, mathe14 maticians, and security personnel; 

15 (L) the oil and gas industry, including jobs 

16 as scientists, engineers, technicians, mathemati17 cians, petrochemical engineers, and geologists; 

18 and 

19 (M) the coal industry, including jobs as 

20 coal miners, engineers, developers and manufac21 turers of state-of-the-art coal facilities, tech22 nology vendors, coal transportation workers and 

23 operators, and mining equipment vendors. 


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1 (2) INPUT.—The Secretary shall solicit input 

2 from energy-related industries in developing guide3 lines or best practices under paragraph (1). 

4 (3) ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION

5 INITIATIVES.—The guidelines or best practices devel6 oped under paragraph (1) shall include grade-spe7 cific guidelines for elementary schools and secondary 

8 schools for teaching energy efficiency technology, ar9 chitecture, design, and construction of new energy10 efficient buildings and building energy retrofits, 

11 manufacturing efficiency technology, community en12 ergy resiliency, and conservation initiatives. 

13 (4) STEM EDUCATION.—The guidelines or best 

14 practices developed under paragraph (1) shall pro15 mote STEM education in educational institutions as 

16 it relates to job opportunities in energy-related in17 dustries listed under such paragraph. 

18 (5) PROHIBITION.—Nothing in this subsection 

19 shall be construed to authorize the Secretary or any 

20 other officer or employee of the Federal Government 

21 to require or coerce a State, local educational agen22 cy, or educational institution to adopt or carry out 

23 the guidelines or best practices developed under 

24 paragraph (1). 


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1 (g) CONSOLIDATION.—To the extent practicable, the 

2 Secretary shall, to avoid duplication of efforts, carry out 

3 the Equity in Energy Initiative of the Department of En4 ergy, the Minority Educational Institution Student Part5 nership Program of the Department of Energy, and any 

6 other program of the Department of Energy that the Sec7 retary determines appropriate, through the program es8 tablished under subsection (a). 

9 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

11 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 

12 SEC. 3. ENERGY WORKFORCE GRANT PROGRAM. 

13 (a) PROGRAM.— 

14 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to the avail15 ability of appropriations for such purpose, the Sec16 retary shall establish and carry out a program to 

17 provide grants to eligible entities to pay the eligible 

18 wages of, or eligible stipends for, individuals during 

19 the time period that such individuals are receiving 

20 training to work for an eligible business. 

21 (2) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 60 days after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 

23 consultation with eligible businesses, shall establish 

24 guidelines that identify— 


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1 (A) criteria for wages and stipends to meet 

2 to be eligible for purposes of the program estab3 lished pursuant to paragraph (1); and 

4 (B) training that is eligible for purposes of 

5 the program established pursuant to paragraph 

6 (1). 

7 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this section: 

8 (1) ELIGIBLE BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘eligible 

9 business’’ means a business that provides services 

10 related to— 

11 (A) renewable electric energy generation, 

12 including solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, 

13 and other renewable electric energy generation 

14 technologies; 

15 (B) energy efficiency, including energy-effi16 cient lighting, heating, ventilation, and air con17 ditioning, air source heat pumps, advanced 

18 building materials, insulation and air sealing, 

19 and other high-efficiency products and services, 

20 including auditing and inspection, architecture, 

21 design, and construction of new energy efficient 

22 buildings and building energy retrofits; 

23 (C) grid modernization or energy storage, 

24 including smart grid, microgrid and other dis25 tributed energy solutions, demand response 


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1 management, and home energy management 

2 technology; 

3 (D) advanced fossil energy technology, in4 cluding— 

5 (i) advanced resource development; 

6 (ii) carbon capture, storage, and use; 

7 (iii) low-carbon power systems; 

8 (iv) efficiency improvements that sub9 stantially reduce emissions; and 

10 (v) direct air capture; 

11 (E) nuclear energy, including research, de12 velopment, demonstration, and commercial ap13 plication relating to nuclear energy; 

14 (F) cybersecurity for the energy sector, in15 cluding infrastructure, emergency planning, co16 ordination, response, and restoration; 

17 (G) alternative fuels, including biofuel and 

18 bioproduct development and production; 

19 (H) advanced automotive technology, in20 cluding electric vehicle batteries, connectivity 

21 and automation, and advanced combustion en22 gines; or 

23 (I) fuel cell and hybrid fuel cell generation. 

24 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti25 ty’’ means— 


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1 (A) an eligible business; or 

2 (B) a labor organization, nonprofit organi3 zation, or qualified youth or conservation corps, 

4 that provides training to individuals to work for 

5 an eligible business, or works on behalf of any 

6 such eligible business. 

7 (3) ELIGIBLE STIPEND.—The term ‘‘eligible sti8 pend’’ means a stipend that meets the criteria iden9 tified pursuant to the guidelines established under 

10 subsection (a)(2). 

11 (4) ELIGIBLE WAGES.—The term ‘‘eligible 

12 wages’’ means wages that meet the criteria identified 

13 pursuant to the guidelines established under sub14 section (a)(2). 

15 (c) USE OF GRANTS.— 

16 (1) ELIGIBLE WAGES.—An eligible business 

17 with— 

18 (A) 20 or fewer employees may use a grant 

19 provided under the program established under 

20 subsection (a) to pay up to— 

21 (i) 45 percent of an employee’s eligi22 ble wages for the duration of the applicable 

23 training for such employee, if the training 

24 is provided by the eligible business; and 


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1 (ii) 90 percent of an employee’s eligi2 ble wages for the duration of the applicable 

3 training for such employee, if the training 

4 is provided by an entity other than the eli5 gible business; 

6 (B) 21 to 99 employees may use a grant 

7 provided under the program established under 

8 subsection (a) to pay up to— 

9 (i) 37.5 percent of an employee’s eligi10 ble wages for the duration of the applicable 

11 training for such employee, if the training 

12 is provided by the eligible business; and 

13 (ii) 75 percent of an employee’s eligi14 ble wages for the duration of the applicable 

15 training for such employee, if the training 

16 is provided by an entity other than the eli17 gible business; and 

18 (C) 100 employees or more may use a 

19 grant provided under the program established 

20 under subsection (a) to pay up to— 

21 (i) 25 percent of an employee’s eligi22 ble wages for the duration of the applicable 

23 training for such employee, if the training 

24 is provided by the eligible business; and 


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1 (ii) 50 percent of an employee’s eligi2 ble wages for the duration of the applicable 

3 training for such employee, if the training 

4 is provided by an entity other than the eli5 gible business. 

6 (2) STIPEND.—An eligible entity may use a 

7 grant provided under the program established under 

8 subsection (a) to pay up to 100 percent of an eligi9 ble stipend for an individual for the duration of the 

10 applicable training for such individual. 

11 (d) PRIORITY FOR TARGETED COMMUNITIES.—In 

12 providing grants under the program established under 

13 subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to an eligi14 ble entity that— 

15 (1) recruits or trains individuals who are— 

16 (A) from the community that the eligible 

17 entity serves; and 

18 (B)(i) from underrepresented communities; 

19 or 

20 (ii) unemployed energy workers; and 

21 (2) will provide individuals receiving training 

22 with the opportunity to obtain or retain employment 

23 at an eligible business. 


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1 (e) LIMIT.—An eligible entity may not receive more 

2 than $100,000 under the program established under sub3 section (a) per fiscal year. 

4 (f) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to Con5 gress, annually for each year the program established 

6 under subsection (a) is carried out, a report on such pro7 gram, including— 

8 (1) an assessment of such program for the pre9 vious year, including the number of jobs filled by in10 dividuals trained pursuant to such program; and 

11 (2) recommendations on how to improve such 

12 program. 

13 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 

16 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) APPRENTICESHIP.—The term ‘‘apprentice19 ship’’ means an apprenticeship registered under the 

20 Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the 

21 ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chap22 ter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 

23 (2) COVERED ORGANIZATIONS AND PRO24 GRAMS.—The term ‘‘covered organizations and pro25 grams’’ means local workforce development boards, 


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1 State workforce development boards, nonprofit orga2 nizations, qualified youth or conservation corps, 

3 labor organizations, pre-apprenticeship programs, 

4 and apprenticeship programs. 

5 (3) EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.—The term 

6 ‘‘educational institution’’ means an elementary 

7 school, secondary school, or institution of higher 

8 education. 

9 (4) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND SECONDARY

10 SCHOOL.—The terms ‘‘elementary school’’ and ‘‘sec11 ondary school’’ have the meanings given such terms 

12 in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

14 (5) ENERGY-RELATED INDUSTRY.—The term 

15 ‘‘energy-related industry’’ includes the energy effi16 ciency industry, renewable energy industry, commu17 nity energy resiliency industry, fuel cell and hydro18 gen energy industry, advanced automotive tech19 nology industry, chemical manufacturing industry, 

20 electric utility industry, gas utility industry, alter21 native fuels industry, pipeline industry, nuclear en22 ergy industry, oil and gas industry, and coal indus23 try. 

24 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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


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1 meaning given such term in section 102 of the High2 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002), except 

3 that such term does not include institutions de4 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (C) of subsection 

5 (a)(1) of such section 102. 

6 (7) JOBS IN ENERGY-RELATED INDUSTRIES.— 

7 The term ‘‘jobs in energy-related industries’’ in8 cludes manufacturing, engineering, construction, and 

9 retrofitting jobs in energy-related industries. 

10 (8) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 

11 organization’’ has the meaning given such term in 

12 section 2 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 

13 U.S.C. 152). 

14 (9) LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

15 BOARD.—The term ‘‘local workforce development 

16 board’’ means a local board, as defined in section 3 

17 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

18 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

19 (10) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

20 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an insti21 tution of higher education that is of one of the fol22 lowing: 

23 (A) A Hispanic-serving institution (as de24 fined in section 502(a) of the Higher Education 

25 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a))). 


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1 (B) A Tribal College or University (as de2 fined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education 

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

4 (C) An Alaska Native-serving institution 

5 (as defined in section 317(b) of the Higher 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b))). 

7 (D) A Native Hawaiian-serving institution 

8 (as defined in section 317(b) of the Higher 

9 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b))). 

10 (E) A Predominantly Black Institution (as 

11 defined in section 318(b) of the Higher Edu12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059e(b))). 

13 (F) A Native American-serving nontribal 

14 institution (as defined in section 319(b) of the 

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

16 1059f(b))). 

17 (G) An Asian American and Native Amer18 ican Pacific Islander-serving institution (as de19 fined in section 320(b) of the Higher Education 

20 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059g(b))). 

21 (H) A part B institution (as defined in 

22 section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 

23 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061)). 

24 (11) PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.—The 

25 term ‘‘pre-apprenticeship program’’— 


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1 (A) means a program or set of strategies 

2 that is designed to prepare individuals to enter 

3 and succeed in an apprenticeship program; and 

4 (B) includes training and training cur5 riculum aligned with apprenticeship and indus6 try standards to teach participants necessary 

7 industry-related skills and competencies. 

8 (12) QUALIFIED YOUTH OR CONSERVATION

9 CORPS.—The term ‘‘qualified youth or conservation 

10 corps’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

11 203(11) of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 

12 U.S.C. 1722(11)). 

13 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

14 means the Secretary of Energy. 

15 (14) STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

16 BOARD.—The term ‘‘State workforce development 

17 board’’ means a State board, as defined in section 

18 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

19 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

20 (15) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means 

21 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

22 (16) UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES.— 

23 The term ‘‘underrepresented communities’’ includes 

24 religious and ethnic minorities, women, veterans, in25 dividuals with disabilities, individuals who are 


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1 socioeconomically disadvantaged, individuals who are 

2 or were foster children, and formerly incarcerated 

3 individuals. 

Æ 


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