II 

Calendar No. 352 

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, Mr. CRAPO, and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the 

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

DECEMBER 17, 2019 

Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, without amendment 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Energy 

3 National Labs Jobs ACCESS Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. NATIONAL LABORATORY JOBS ACCESS PROGRAM. 

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

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

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

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

9 shall award, on a competitive basis, 5-year grants to eligi10 ble entities described in subsection (c) for the Federal 

11 share of the costs of technical, skills-based 

12 preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that pro13 vide employer-driven or recognized postsecondary creden14 tials during the grant period. 

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

16 awarded under this section shall develop and deliver cus17 tomized and competency-based training that— 

18 (1) leads to recognized postsecondary creden19 tials for secondary school and postsecondary stu20 dents; 

21 (2) is focused on skills and qualifications need22 ed to meet the immediate and on-going needs of tra23 ditional and emerging technician positions (including 

24 machinists and cyber security technicians) at the 

25 National Laboratories and covered facilities of the 

26 National Nuclear Security Administration; 


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1 (3) creates an apprenticeship or 

2 preapprenticeship partnership with a National Lab3 oratory or covered facility of the National Nuclear 

4 Security Administration; and 

5 (4) creates an apprenticeship or 

6 preapprenticeship program with the Secretary of 

7 Labor or a State department of labor. 

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

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

10 intermediary or an eligible sponsor of a preapprenticeship 

11 or an apprenticeship program that— 

12 (1) demonstrates experience in implementing 

13 and providing career planning and career pathways 

14 towards technical, skills-based apprenticeship or 

15 preapprenticeship training programs; 

16 (2)(A) has a relationship with a National Lab17 oratory or covered facility of the National Nuclear 

18 Security Administration; 

19 (B) has knowledge of technician workforce 

20 needs of such laboratory or facility and the associ21 ated security requirements of such laboratory or fa22 cility; and 

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

24 such laboratory or facility that would be paid for in 


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1 part or entirely from grant funds received under this 

2 section; 

3 (3) demonstrates the ability to recruit and sup4 port individuals who plan to work in relevant techni5 cian positions upon the successful completion of such 

6 programs; 

7 (4) provides students who complete such pro8 grams with a recognized postsecondary credential, 

9 such as a journeyman craft license or an industry10 recognized certification; 

11 (5) uses a customized training curriculum that 

12 is specifically aligned with employers, utilizing work13 place learning advisors and on-the-job training to 

14 the greatest extent possible; and 

15 (6) demonstrates successful outcomes con16 necting graduates of such programs to careers rel17 evant to such programs. 

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

19 grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an 

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

21 such information as the Secretary may require. 

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

23 grants under this section, the Secretary shall prioritize an 

24 eligible entity that— 


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1 (1) is a member of an industry or sector part2 nership; 

3 (2) provides the training described in subsection 

4 (b)— 

5 (A) at an institution of higher education 

6 (such as a community college) that includes 

7 basic science, technology, and mathematics edu8 cation in the curriculum; 

9 (B) through an apprenticeship program 

10 that was registered with the Department of 

11 Labor or a State before the date on which the 

12 eligible entity applies for the grant under sub13 section (d); or 

14 (C) with respect to a preapprenticeship 

15 program, at a local educational agency, a sec16 ondary school, an area career and technical 

17 education school, or an appropriate community 

18 facility; 

19 (3) works with the Secretary of Defense or vet20 erans organizations to transition members of the 

21 Armed Forces and veterans to apprenticeship or 

22 preapprenticeship programs in a relevant sector; 

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

24 training described in subsection (b) with an entity 


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1 that receives State funding or is operated by a State 

2 agency; and 

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

4 training described in subsection (b) for— 

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

6 or 

7 (B) individuals with barriers to employ8 ment. 

9 (f) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.—In making grants 

10 under this section, the Secretary shall consider regional 

11 diversity. 

12 (g) LIMITATION ON APPLICATIONS.—An eligible enti13 ty may not submit, either individually or as part of a joint 

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

15 section during any 1 fiscal year. 

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

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

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

19 $500,000. 

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

21 of the cost of a customized training program carried out 

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

23 25 percent of the total cost of the program. 

24 (j) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

25 provide technical assistance to eligible entities described 


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

2 education programs of the Department of Labor and other 

3 relevant programs at appropriate Federal agencies. 

4 (k) REPORT.— 

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

6 years, the Secretary of Labor shall submit to Con7 gress, and make publicly available on the website of 

8 the Department of Labor, a report on the program 

9 established under this section, including— 

10 (A) a description of— 

11 (i) any entity that receives a grant 

12 under this section; 

13 (ii) any activity carried out using the 

14 grants under this section; and 

15 (iii) best practices used to leverage the 

16 investment of the Federal Government 

17 under this section; and 

18 (B) an assessment of the results achieved 

19 by the program established under this section, 

20 including the rate of employment for partici21 pants after completing a job training and edu22 cation program carried out using a grant under 

23 this section. 

24 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec25 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. 


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Calendar No. 352 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1739 

A BILL 

To enable projects that will aid in the development 

Administration, and for other purposes. tain facilities of the National Nuclear Security workforce at the National Laboratories and certhat are focused on serving the skilled technical apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs and delivery of related instruction associated with 

DECEMBER 17, 2019 

Reported without amendment 


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