II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1739 

To enable projects that will aid in the development and delivery of related 

instruction associated with apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs that are focused on serving the skilled technical workforce at 

the National Laboratories and certain facilities of the National Nuclear 

Security Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 5, 2019 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself and Mr. CRAPO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To enable projects that will aid in the development and 

delivery of related instruction associated with apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs that are focused 

on serving the skilled technical workforce at the National 

Laboratories and certain facilities of the National Nuclear Security Administration, 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 ‘‘Department of Energy 

5 National Labs Jobs ACCESS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL LABORATORY JOBS ACCESS PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish 

4 a program known as the ‘‘Department of Energy National 

5 Lab Jobs ACCESS Program’’, under which the Secretary 

6 shall award, on a competitive basis, 5-year grants to eligi7 ble entities described in subsection (c) for the Federal 

8 share of the costs of technical, skills-based 

9 preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that pro10 vide employer-driven or recognized postsecondary creden11 tials during the grant period. 

12 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—A program funded by a grant 

13 awarded under this section shall develop and deliver cus14 tomized and competency-based training that— 

15 (1) leads to recognized postsecondary creden16 tials for secondary school and postsecondary stu17 dents; 

18 (2) is focused on skills and qualifications need19 ed to meet the immediate and on-going needs of tra20 ditional and emerging technician positions (including 

21 machinists and cyber security technicians) at the 

22 National Laboratories and covered facilities of the 

23 National Nuclear Security Administration; 

24 (3) creates an apprenticeship or 

25 preapprenticeship partnership with a National LabVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jun 10, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1739.IS S1739

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1 oratory or covered facility of the National Nuclear 

2 Security Administration; and 

3 (4) creates an apprenticeship or 

4 preapprenticeship program with the Secretary of 

5 Labor or a State department of labor. 

6 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity that is eligible 

7 to receive a grant under this section shall be a workforce 

8 intermediary or an eligible sponsor of a preapprenticeship 

9 or an apprenticeship program that— 

10 (1) demonstrates experience in implementing 

11 and providing career planning and career pathways 

12 towards technical, skills-based apprenticeship or 

13 preapprenticeship training programs; 

14 (2)(A) has a relationship with a National Lab15 oratory or covered facility of the National Nuclear 

16 Security Administration; 

17 (B) has knowledge of technician workforce 

18 needs of such laboratory or facility and the associ19 ated security requirements of such laboratory or fa20 cility; and 

21 (C) is eligible to enter into an agreement with 

22 such laboratory or facility that would be paid for in 

23 part or entirely from grant funds received under this 

24 section; 


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1 (3) demonstrates the ability to recruit and sup2 port individuals who plan to work in relevant techni3 cian positions upon the successful completion of such 

4 programs; 

5 (4) provides students who complete such pro6 grams with a recognized postsecondary credential, 

7 such as a journeyman craft license or an industry8 recognized certification; 

9 (5) uses a customized training curriculum that 

10 is specifically aligned with employers, utilizing work11 place learning advisors and on-the-job training to 

12 the greatest extent possible; and 

13 (6) demonstrates successful outcomes con14 necting graduates of such programs to careers rel15 evant to such programs. 

16 (d) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity seeking a 

17 grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an 

18 application at such time, in such manner, and containing 

19 such information as the Secretary may require. 

20 (e) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to receive 

21 grants under this section, the Secretary shall prioritize an 

22 eligible entity that— 

23 (1) is a member of an industry or sector part24 nership; 


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1 (2) provides the training described in subsection 

2 (b)— 

3 (A) at an institution of higher education 

4 (such as a community college) that includes 

5 basic science, technology, and mathematics edu6 cation in the curriculum; 

7 (B) through an apprenticeship program 

8 that was registered with the Department of 

9 Labor or a State before the date on which the 

10 eligible entity applies for the grant under sub11 section (d); or 

12 (C) with respect to a preapprenticeship 

13 program, at a local educational agency, a sec14 ondary school, an area career and technical 

15 education school, or an appropriate community 

16 facility; 

17 (3) works with the Secretary of Defense or vet18 erans organizations to transition members of the 

19 Armed Forces and veterans to apprenticeship or 

20 preapprenticeship programs in a relevant sector; 

21 (4) plans to use the grant to carry out the 

22 training described in subsection (b) with an entity 

23 that receives State funding or is operated by a State 

24 agency; and 


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1 (5) plans to use the grant to carry out the 

2 training described in subsection (b) for— 

3 (A) young adults ages 17 to 29, inclusive; 

4 or 

5 (B) individuals with barriers to employ6 ment. 

7 (f) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.—In making grants 

8 under this section, the Secretary shall consider regional 

9 diversity. 

10 (g) LIMITATION ON APPLICATIONS.—An eligible enti11 ty may not submit, either individually or as part of a joint 

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

13 section during any 1 fiscal year. 

14 (h) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The 

15 amount of a grant provided under this section for any 24- 

16 month period of the 5-year grant period shall not exceed 

17 $500,000. 

18 (i) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal share 

19 of the cost of a customized training program carried out 

20 using a grant under this section shall be not less than 

21 25 percent of the total cost of the program. 

22 (j) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

23 provide technical assistance to eligible entities described 

24 in subsection (c) to leverage the existing job training and 


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1 education programs of the Department of Labor and other 

2 relevant programs at appropriate Federal agencies. 

3 (k) REPORT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than once every 2 

5 years, the Secretary of Labor shall submit to Con6 gress, and make publicly available on the website of 

7 the Department of Labor, a report on the program 

8 established under this section, including— 

9 (A) a description of— 

10 (i) any entity that receives a grant 

11 under this section; 

12 (ii) any activity carried out using the 

13 grants under this section; and 

14 (iii) best practices used to leverage the 

15 investment of the Federal Government 

16 under this section; and 

17 (B) an assessment of the results achieved 

18 by the program established under this section, 

19 including the rate of employment for partici20 pants after completing a job training and edu21 cation program carried out using a grant under 

22 this section. 

23 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec24 retary of Energy shall provide such information as 


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1 necessary to the Secretary of Labor for purposes of 

2 the report under paragraph (1). 

3 (l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘local edu5 cational agency’’ and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the 

6 meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the Ele7 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 7801). 

9 (2) WIOA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘career plan10 ning’’, ‘‘community-based organization’’, ‘‘cus11 tomized training’’, ‘‘economic development agency’’, 

12 ‘‘individual with a barrier to employment’’, ‘‘indus13 try or sector partnership’’, ‘‘on-the-job training’’, 

14 ‘‘recognized postsecondary credential’’, and ‘‘work15 place learning advisor’’ have the meanings given 

16 such terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 

17 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

18 (3) 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 (4) AREA CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

24 SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘area career and technical edu25 cation school’’ has the meaning given the term in 


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1 section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech2 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 

3 (5) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu4 nity college’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘junior 

5 or community college’’ in section 312(f) of the High6 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)). 

7 (6) COVERED FACILITY OF THE NATIONAL NU8 CLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.—The term 

9 ‘‘covered facility of the National Nuclear Security 

10 Administration’’ means a national security labora11 tory or a nuclear weapons production facility as such 

12 terms are defined in section 4002 of the Atomic En13 ergy Defense Act (50 U.S.C. 2501). 

14 (7) ELIGIBLE SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘eligible 

15 sponsor’’ means a public organization or an organi16 zation described in section 501(c) of the Internal 

17 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under 

18 section 501(a) of that Code, that— 

19 (A) with respect to an apprenticeship pro20 gram, administers such program through a 

21 partnership that may include— 

22 (i) a business; 

23 (ii) an employer or industry associa24 tion; 

25 (iii) a labor-management organization; 


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1 (iv) a local workforce development 

2 board or State workforce development 

3 board; 

4 (v) a 2- or 4-year institution of higher 

5 education that offers an educational pro6 gram leading to an associate’s or bach7 elor’s degree in conjunction with a certifi8 cate of completion of apprenticeship; 

9 (vi) the Armed Forces (including the 

10 National Guard and Reserves); 

11 (vii) a community-based organization; 

12 or 

13 (viii) an economic development agen14 cy; and 

15 (B) with respect to a preapprenticeship 

16 program, is a local educational agency, a sec17 ondary school, an area career and technical 

18 education school, a State workforce develop19 ment board, a local workforce development 

20 board, or a community-based organization, that 

21 administers such program with any required co22 ordination and necessary approvals from the 

23 Secretary of Labor or a State department of 

24 labor. 


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1 (8) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

3 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

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

5 (9) LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

6 BOARD.—The term ‘‘local workforce development 

7 board’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘local 

8 board’’ in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

9 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

10 (10) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na11 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 

12 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

13 U.S.C. 15801). 

14 (11) PREAPPRENTICESHIP.—The term 

15 ‘‘preapprenticeship’’, used with respect to a pro16 gram, means an initiative or set of strategies that— 

17 (A) is designed to prepare participants to 

18 enter and succeed in an apprenticeship pro19 gram; 

20 (B) is carried out by an eligible sponsor 

21 that has a documented partnership with one or 

22 more sponsors of apprenticeship programs; and 

23 (C) includes each of the following: 

24 (i) Training (including a curriculum 

25 for the training) aligned with industry 


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1 standards related to apprenticeships and 

2 reviewed and approved annually by spon3 sors of the apprenticeships within the doc4 umented partnership that will prepare par5 ticipants by teaching the skills and com6 petencies needed to enter one or more ap7 prenticeship programs. 

8 (ii) Hands-on training and theoretical 

9 education for participants that— 

10 (I) includes proper observation of 

11 supervision and safety protocols; and 

12 (II) does not displace a paid em13 ployee. 

14 (iii) A formal agreement with a spon15 sor of an apprenticeship program that 

16 would enable participants who successfully 

17 complete the preapprenticeship program— 

18 (I) to enter directly into the ap19 prenticeship program if a place in the 

20 program is available and if the partic21 ipant meets the qualifications of the 

22 apprenticeship program; and 

23 (II) to earn credits towards the 

24 apprenticeship program. 


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1 (12) RELATED INSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘re2 lated instruction’’ means an organized and system3 atic form of instruction designed to provide an ap4 prentice with the knowledge of the theoretical and 

5 technical subjects related to the occupation of the 

6 apprentice or the instruction needed to prepare an 

7 individual to enter and succeed in an apprenticeship 

8 program. 

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

10 means the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with 

11 the Secretary of Labor, except as otherwise specified 

12 in this Act. 

13 (14) STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

14 BOARD.—The term ‘‘State workforce development 

15 board’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘State 

16 board’’ in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

17 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

18 (15) WORKFORCE INTERMEDIARY.—The term 

19 ‘‘workforce intermediary’’— 

20 (A) means an organization that proactively 

21 addresses workforce needs using a dual cus22 tomer approach, which considers the needs of 

23 both employees and employers; and 

24 (B) may include a faith-based and commu25 nity organization, an employer organization, a 


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1 community college, a temporary staffing agen2 cy, a State workforce development board, a 

3 local workforce development board, or a labor 

4 organization. 

5 (m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

7 $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 

8 2024. 

Æ 


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