II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1517 

To require the Secretary of Labor to award grants for promoting industry 

or sector partnerships to encourage industry growth and competitiveness 

and to improve worker training, retention, and advancement as part 

of an infrastructure investment. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 16, 2019 

Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Labor to award grants for promoting industry or sector partnerships to encourage industry growth and competitiveness and to improve worker training, retention, and advancement as part of an 

infrastructure investment. 

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 ‘‘Building U.S. Infra5 structure by Leveraging Demands for Skills’’ or the 

6 ‘‘BUILDS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to promote industry or 

3 sector partnerships that engage in collaborative planning, 

4 resource alignment, and training efforts across multiple 

5 businesses, for a range of workers employed or potentially 

6 employed by infrastructure industries, in order to encour7 age industry growth and competitiveness and to improve 

8 worker training, retention, and advancement. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION; CA12 REER GUIDANCE AND ACADEMIC COUNSELING.—The 

13 terms ‘‘career and technical education’’ and ‘‘career 

14 guidance and academic counseling’’ have the mean15 ings given such terms in section 3 of the Carl D. 

16 Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

17 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 

18 (2) CAREER PATHWAY.—The term ‘‘career 

19 pathway’’ has the meaning given such term in sec20 tion 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

21 Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

22 (3) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘eligi23 ble partnership’’ means a partnership that is an in24 dustry or sector partnership, or (with respect to an 

25 implementation grant) a partnership that is in the 


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1 process of establishing an industry or sector partner2 ship. 

3 (4) INDIVIDUAL WITH A BARRIER TO EMPLOY4 MENT; INDUSTRY OR SECTOR PARTNERSHIP; LOCAL

5 BOARD; RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN6 TIAL.—The terms ‘‘individual with a barrier to em7 ployment’’, ‘‘industry or sector partnership’’, ‘‘local 

8 board’’, and ‘‘recognized postsecondary credential’’ 

9 have the meanings given such terms in section 3 of 

10 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 

11 (5) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

12 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ has 

13 the meaning given such term in section 171 of such 

14 Act (29 U.S.C. 3226). 

15 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Labor. 

17 (7) STATE; STATE BOARD.—The terms ‘‘State’’ 

18 and ‘‘State board’’ have the meanings given such 

19 terms in section 3 of such Act. 

20 (8) TARGETED INFRASTRUCTURE INDUSTRY.— 

21 The term ‘‘targeted infrastructure industry’’ means 

22 an industry, including transportation (including sur23 face, transit, maritime, aviation, or railway transpor24 tation), construction, energy, information technology, 

25 or utilities industries, that the eligible partnership 


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1 identifies in accordance with section 5(c) to be 

2 served by a grant under this Act. 

3 (9) WORK-BASED LEARNING PROGRAM.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘work-based 

5 learning program’’ means a program (which 

6 may be a registered apprenticeship program) 

7 that provides workers with paid work experience 

8 and corresponding approved classroom instruc9 tion, delivered in an employment relationship 

10 that both the employer and worker intend to 

11 lead to continuing employment after the pro12 gram ends. 

13 (B) PAID WORK EXPERIENCE.—In sub14 paragraph (A), the term ‘‘paid work experi15 ence’’ includes training by an employer that is 

16 provided to a paid employee while engaged in 

17 productive work in a job that provides knowl18 edge or skills essential to the full and adequate 

19 performance of the job. 

20 SEC. 4. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

22 with the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of En23 ergy, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Edu24 cation, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

25 Agency, and the Chief of Engineers and Commanding 


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1 General of the Army Corps of Engineers, shall award, on 

2 a competitive basis, grants to eligible entities to plan and 

3 implement activities to achieve the strategic objectives de4 scribed in section 5(d) with respect to a targeted infra5 structure industry. 

6 (b) GRANTS.— 

7 (1) TYPES OF GRANTS.—A grant awarded 

8 under this Act may be in the form of— 

9 (A) an implementation grant, for entities 

10 seeking an initial grant under this Act; or 

11 (B) a renewal grant for entities that have 

12 already received an implementation grant under 

13 this Act. 

14 (2) DURATION.—Each grant awarded under 

15 this Act shall be for a period not to exceed 3 years. 

16 (3) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant awarded 

17 under this Act may not exceed— 

18 (A) for an implementation grant, 

19 $2,500,000; and 

20 (B) for a renewal grant, $1,500,000. 

21 (c) AWARD BASIS.— 

22 (1) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—The Secretary 

23 shall award grants under this Act in a manner that 

24 ensures geographic diversity in the areas in which 

25 activities will be carried out under the grants. 


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1 (2) PRIORITY FOR RENEWAL GRANTS.—In 

2 awarding renewal grants under this Act, the Sec3 retary shall give priority to eligible entities that— 

4 (A) demonstrate long-term sustainability of 

5 an industry or sector partnership; 

6 (B) demonstrate success in improving ac7 cess and retention in work-based learning pro8 grams for workers with barriers to employment 

9 and those underrepresented in the infrastruc10 ture industry; and 

11 (C) provide a non-Federal share of the cost 

12 of the activities. 

13 SEC. 5. APPLICATION PROCESS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible partnership desiring a 

15 grant under this Act shall submit an application to the 

16 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

17 such information as the Secretary may require, including 

18 the contents described in subsection (b). 

19 (b) CONTENTS.—An application submitted under this 

20 Act shall contain, at a minimum— 

21 (1) a description of the eligible partnership, evi22 dence of the eligible partnership’s capacity to carry 

23 out activities to achieve the strategic objectives de24 scribed in subsection (d), and the expected participaVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:54 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1517.IS S1517

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1 tion and responsibilities of each of the partners in2 cluded in the industry or sector partnership involved; 

3 (2) a description of the targeted infrastructure 

4 industry served by the grant, and a description of 

5 how such industry was identified in accordance with 

6 subsection (c); 

7 (3) a description of the workers that will be tar8 geted or recruited by the partnership, including an 

9 analysis of the existing labor market, a description 

10 of potential barriers to employment for targeted 

11 workers, and a description of strategies that will be 

12 employed to help workers overcome such barriers; 

13 (4) a description of the local, State, or federally 

14 funded infrastructure projects on which the eligible 

15 partnership anticipates engaging partners; 

16 (5) a description of the strategic objectives de17 scribed in subsection (d) that the eligible partnership 

18 intends to achieve concerning the targeted infra19 structure industry; 

20 (6) a description of the credentials that the eli21 gible partnership proposes to use or develop as a 

22 performance measure, to assess the degree to which 

23 the eligible partnership has achieved such strategic 

24 objectives, which credentials— 

25 (A) shall be nationally portable; 


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1 (B) shall be recognized postsecondary cre2 dentials or, if not available for the industry, 

3 other credentials determined by the Secretary 

4 to be appropriate; 

5 (C) shall be related to the targeted infra6 structure industry that the eligible partnership 

7 proposes to support; and 

8 (D) may be credentials for a registered ap9 prenticeship program; 

10 (7) a description of the manner in which the eli11 gible partnership intends to make sustainable 

12 progress towards achieving such strategic objectives; 

13 (8) performance measures for measuring 

14 progress towards achieving such strategic objectives; 

15 (9) a description of the Federal and non-Fed16 eral resources, available under provisions of law 

17 other than this Act, that will be leveraged in support 

18 of the partnerships and activities under this Act; 

19 and 

20 (10) a timeline for progress towards achieving 

21 such strategic objectives. 

22 (c) TARGETED INFRASTRUCTURE INDUSTRY.—Each 

23 grant under this Act shall serve a targeted infrastructure 

24 industry that is identified by the eligible partnership 

25 through working with businesses, industry associations 


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1 and organizations, labor organizations, State boards, local 

2 boards, economic development agencies, and other organi3 zations that the eligible partnership determines necessary. 

4 (d) STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES.—The activities to be 

5 carried out under each grant awarded under this Act shall 

6 be designed to achieve strategic objectives that include the 

7 following: 

8 (1) Recruiting key stakeholders in the targeted 

9 infrastructure industry, such as multiple businesses, 

10 labor organizations, local boards, and education and 

11 training providers, including providers of career and 

12 technical education, and regularly convening the 

13 stakeholders in a collaborative structure that sup14 ports the sharing of information, ideas, and chal15 lenges common to the targeted infrastructure indus16 try. 

17 (2) Supporting the training needs of multiple 

18 businesses in the targeted infrastructure industry, 

19 including needs— 

20 (A) for skills critical to competitiveness 

21 and innovation in the industry; 

22 (B) of the registered apprenticeship pro23 grams or other work-based learning programs 

24 supported by the grant; and 

25 (C) related to integrating career pathways. 


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1 (3) Facilitating actions that lead to economies 

2 of scale by aggregating training and education needs 

3 of multiple businesses. 

4 (4) Helping postsecondary educational institu5 tions, training institutions, sponsors of registered 

6 apprenticeship programs, and all other providers of 

7 career and technical education and training pro8 grams receiving assistance under this Act, align cur9 ricula, entrance requirements, and programs to the 

10 targeted infrastructure industry needs and the cre11 dentials described in subsection (b)(6), particularly 

12 for higher skill, high-priority occupations related to 

13 the targeted infrastructure industry. 

14 (5) Providing information on the grant activi15 ties to the State agency carrying out the State pro16 gram under the Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 49 

17 et seq.), including staff of the agency that provide 

18 services under such Act, to enable the agency to in19 form recipients of unemployment compensation of 

20 the employment and training opportunities that may 

21 be offered through the grant activities. 

22 (6) Helping partner businesses in industry or 

23 sector partnerships to attract and retain workers 

24 from a diverse jobseeker base, including individuals 

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1 resented in their industry, by identifying any such 

2 barriers through analysis of the labor market and 

3 implementing strategies to help such workers over4 come such barriers. 

5 (7) Expanding the number of individuals with 

6 a barrier to employment who have access to training 

7 and education opportunities that are aligned with 

8 business needs, and providing those workers with 

9 supports necessary to address the barrier to their 

10 employment. 

11 SEC. 6. ACTIVITIES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible partnership receiving 

13 a grant under this Act shall— 

14 (1) designate an entity in the industry or sector 

15 partnership as the fiscal agent for the grant funds; 

16 and 

17 (2) carry out activities described in subsections 

18 (b) (as applicable), (c), and (d) to achieve the stra19 tegic objectives identified in the partnership’s appli20 cation under section 5(b)(5), in a manner that inte21 grates services and funding sources to ensure effec22 tiveness of the activities and that uses the grant 

23 funds efficiently. 

24 (b) PLANNING ACTIVITIES.—An eligible partnership 

25 receiving an implementation grant under this Act shall use 


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1 not more than $250,000 of the grant funds to carry out 

2 planning activities during the first year of the grant pe3 riod. Such activities may include— 

4 (1) establishing the industry or sector partner5 ship; 

6 (2) convening key stakeholders as identified in 

7 the application process; 

8 (3) conducting outreach to local businesses and 

9 business associations; 

10 (4) conducting an evaluation of workforce needs 

11 in the local area; or 

12 (5) recruiting individuals with barriers to em13 ployment. 

14 (c) BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT.—An eligible partner15 ship receiving a grant under this Act shall use the grant 

16 funds to provide services to engage businesses in efforts 

17 to achieve the strategic objectives identified in the partner18 ship’s application under section 5(b)(5). The services may 

19 include assisting businesses— 

20 (1) in navigating the registration process for a 

21 sponsor of a registered apprenticeship program; 

22 (2) by connecting the business with an edu23 cation provider, including a provider of career and 

24 technical education, to develop classroom instruction 

25 to complement on-the-job learning; 


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1 (3) in developing the curriculum design of a 

2 work-based learning program; 

3 (4) in employing workers participating in a 

4 work-based learning program for a transitional pe5 riod before a business hires the worker for full-time 

6 employment of not less than 30 hours a week; 

7 (5) in providing training to managers and 

8 front-line workers to serve as trainers or mentors to 

9 workers participating in a work-based learning pro10 gram; 

11 (6) in providing career awareness activities, 

12 such as career guidance and academic counseling; 

13 and 

14 (7) in recruiting, for participation in a work15 based learning program, individuals eligible to re16 ceive additional workforce or human services, includ17 ing— 

18 (A) individuals participating in programs 

19 under the Workforce Innovation and Oppor20 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), and the 

21 amendments made by such Act, including to the 

22 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 

23 seq.); 

24 (B) recipients of assistance through the 

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1 tablished under the Food and Nutrition Act of 

2 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 

3 (C) recipients of assistance through the 

4 program of block grants to States for tem5 porary assistance for needy families established 

6 under part A of title IV of the Social Security 

7 Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or 

8 (D) any other individuals with a barrier to 

9 employment. 

10 (d) SUPPORT SERVICES.—An eligible partnership re11 ceiving a grant under this Act shall use the grant funds 

12 to provide services to support the success and retention 

13 of individuals described in subsection (c)(7) who are par14 ticipating in a work-based learning program for a period 

15 of not less than 12 months. Such services may include the 

16 following: 

17 (1) PRE-EMPLOYMENT SERVICES.—Services, 

18 provided in a pre-employment stage of the program, 

19 to expand access to a work-based learning program 

20 for individuals described in subsection (c)(7). Such 

21 services may include— 

22 (A) skills training; 

23 (B) career and technical education or adult 

24 basic education; 

25 (C) initial skills assessments; 


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1 (D) providing work attire, necessary tools 

2 for a work site, and other required items nec3 essary to start employment; 

4 (E) wrap-around services, such as child 

5 care and transportation; and 

6 (F) job placement assistance. 

7 (2) EARLY EMPLOYMENT SERVICES.—Services 

8 provided to individuals described in subsection (c)(7) 

9 who are participating in a work-based learning pro10 gram during their first 6 months of employment 

11 through such program, to assure the individuals suc12 ceed in the program. Such services may include— 

13 (A) ongoing case management and support 

14 services, including the services provided in the 

15 pre-employment stage described in paragraph 

16 (1); 

17 (B) continued skills training, including ca18 reer and technical education, conducted in col19 laboration with employers of such individuals; 

20 (C) additional mentorship and retention 

21 supports for such individuals; 

22 (D) targeted training for frontline man23 agers, journey level workers working with such 

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1 source representatives within the business 

2 where such individuals are placed; and 

3 (E) wages and benefits for a period of not 

4 more than 6 months, during which the eligible 

5 entities shall serve as the employers of record of 

6 such individuals. 

7 (3) EMPLOYMENT SERVICES.—Services to en8 sure the individuals described in paragraph (2) 

9 maintain employment in the work-based learning 

10 program for at least 12 months. The services shall 

11 include support necessary to complete the work12 based learning program, such as continuation of 

13 mentoring and support services provided under para14 graph (2). 

15 (e) EVALUATION AND PROGRESS REPORTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

17 receiving a grant under this Act, and annually there18 after, the eligible partnership receiving the grant 

19 shall submit a report to the Secretary and the Gov20 ernor of the State that the eligible partnership 

21 serves, that— 

22 (A) describes the activities funded by the 

23 grant; 

24 (B) evaluates the progress the eligible 

25 partnership has made towards achieving the 


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1 strategic objectives identified under section 

2 5(b)(5); and 

3 (C) evaluates the progress of the eligible 

4 partnership based on each of the following indi5 cators of performance, as disaggregated in ac6 cordance with paragraph (3): 

7 (i) The percentage of individuals par8 ticipating in a work-based learning pro9 gram supported by the grant who are in 

10 unsubsidized employment during the sec11 ond quarter after exit from participating in 

12 such program. 

13 (ii) The percentage of individuals par14 ticipating in a work-based learning pro15 gram supported by the grant who are in 

16 unsubsidized employment during the 

17 fourth quarter after exit from participating 

18 in such program. 

19 (iii) The median earnings of individ20 uals participating in a work-based learning 

21 program supported by the grant who are in 

22 unsubsidized employment during the sec23 ond quarter after exit from participating in 

24 such program. 


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1 (iv) The percentage of individuals par2 ticipating in a work-based learning pro3 gram supported by the grant who obtain a 

4 recognized postsecondary credential, or a 

5 secondary school diploma or its recognized 

6 equivalent (subject to paragraph (2)), dur7 ing such participation in such program or 

8 within 1 year after exit from participating 

9 in such program. 

10 (v) The percentage of individuals par11 ticipating in a work-based learning pro12 gram supported by the grant who, during 

13 a program year, are in an education or 

14 training program that leads to a recog15 nized postsecondary credential or employ16 ment and who are achieving measurable 

17 skill gains toward such a credential or em18 ployment. 

19 (2) INDICATOR RELATING TO CREDENTIAL.— 

20 For purposes of paragraph (1)(C)(iv), individuals 

21 participating in a work-based learning program sup22 ported by the grant who obtain a secondary school 

23 diploma or its recognized equivalent shall be in24 cluded in the percentage counted as meeting the cri25 terion under such paragraph only if such individuals, 


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1 in addition to obtaining such diploma or its recog2 nized equivalent, have obtained or retained employ3 ment or are in an education or training program 

4 leading to a recognized postsecondary credential 

5 within 1 year after exit from participating in the 

6 work-based learning program supported by the 

7 grant. 

8 (3) DISAGGREGATION.—The indicators of per9 formance under paragraph (1)(C) shall be 

10 disaggregated by— 

11 (A) each population specified in subpara12 graphs (A) through (N) of section 3(24) of the 

13 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

14 U.S.C. 3102(24)); and 

15 (B) race, ethnicity, sex, and age. 

16 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—An eligible partnership 

17 may use not more than 5 percent of the funds awarded 

18 through a grant under this Act for administrative ex19 penses in carrying out this section. 

20 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION BY THE SECRETARY. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use not more 

22 than 10 percent of the amount appropriated under section 

23 8 for each fiscal year for administrative expenses to carry 

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1 nical assistance and oversight activities under subsection 

2 (b). 

3 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; OVERSIGHT.—The Sec4 retary shall provide technical assistance and oversight to 

5 assist the eligible entities in applying for and admin6 istering grants awarded under this Act. 

7 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

9 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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