II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2404 

To establish an expansive infrastructure program to create local jobs and 

raise the quality of life in every community, to launch middle class 

career pathways in infrastructure, and to invest in high-quality American 

jobs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2019 

Mr. SCHUMER (for Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. 

BOOKER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. HARRIS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, 

and Ms. KLOBUCHAR)) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish an expansive infrastructure program to create 

local jobs and raise the quality of life in every community, to launch middle class career pathways in infrastructure, and to invest in high-quality American jobs, 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Build Local, Hire Local Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—CREATING JOBS AND RAISING THE QUALITY OF LIFE 

IN EVERY COMMUNITY 

Subtitle A—Creating Local Jobs Across the Country 

Sec. 111. Targeted hiring requirements for construction jobs created by covered 

infrastructure programs. 

Sec. 112. Compliance with court orders. 

Subtitle B—Rebuilding Our Infrastructure With American Business 

Sec. 121. Definitions. 

Sec. 122. Increasing meaningful small business participation. 

Sec. 123. Requiring meaningful participation from targeted businesses. 

Sec. 124. Compliance with court orders. 

Sec. 125. Expansion of Small Business Administration Surety Bond Program. 

Subtitle C—Encouraging the Use of U.S. Employment Plans and Best-Value 

Contracting Analysis 

Sec. 131. Creating a best-value analysis for Federal expenditures on infrastructure, use of U.S. Employment Plans, and preferences for registered apprenticeship programs and neutrality in union organizing. 

Subtitle D—Improving Safety, Connectivity, and Access to Better 

Opportunities 

Sec. 141. Accessibility data program. 

Sec. 142. Establishment of performance measures for transportation accessibility. 

Sec. 143. Technical assistance program. 

Sec. 144. Connect Communities Program. 

TITLE II—LAUNCHING MIDDLE CLASS CAREER PATHWAYS IN 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

Sec. 201. Building American Infrastructure and Careers Program. 

Sec. 202. Infrastructure workforce equity capacity building program. 

Sec. 203. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE III—INVESTING IN HIGH-QUALITY AMERICAN JOBS 

Sec. 301. Wage rate. 

Sec. 302. Raise labor standards, improve working conditions, and strengthen 

workers’ bargaining power. 

Sec. 303. Buy America Bureau. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) infrastructure plays a vital role in the lives 

4 of all people in the United States; 

5 (2) the aging infrastructure of the United 

6 States is in need of a significant investment to re7 pair, rebuild, and modernize, and in the process, the 

8 Federal Government can take necessary steps to ad9 dress economic and racial injustices that have lim10 ited opportunities for far too many people of the 

11 United States; 

12 (3) decades of disinvestment and exclusionary 

13 policies have isolated many people of color, low-in14 come people, and disabled individuals in the United 

15 States from opportunity across the urban centers, 

16 deindustrialized cities, rural regions, and Tribal 

17 areas of the United States, including horribly inad18 equate investment to ensure universal access to 

19 clean air and water, safe and reliable transportation, 

20 affordable housing, quality living wage jobs, high21 speed internet, modernized schools, and parks and 

22 community facilities; 

23 (4) while the construction of the National High24 way System remains one of the most transformative 

25 achievements in the history of the United States, it 

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1 nities as well as minority neighborhoods of all in2 come levels that were destroyed by the construction 

3 and isolated from the broader community and from 

4 economic opportunity; 

5 (5) investing in repairing, rebuilding, and mod6 ernizing the infrastructure of the United States pre7 sents an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of 

8 the past and reimagine how communities can design 

9 and build infrastructure to be more equitable, help10 ing to address structural inequities faced by 

11 marginalized communities nationwide, including a 

12 lack of good paying jobs, affordable, accessible, and 

13 inclusive housing, decaying roads, bridges, and 

14 schools, inadequate access to technology, and expo15 sure to toxic emissions and poisoned water; 

16 (6) accessibility to quality infrastructure, train17 ing, and jobs is an issue across the United States, 

18 spanning from rural and Tribal areas to urban and 

19 suburban areas; 

20 (7) transportation infrastructure has a signifi21 cant impact on access to jobs, education, healthcare, 

22 healthy foods, and other essential services; 

23 (8) accessibility to essential services is defined 

24 not only by speed, but also by ease of access, which 


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1 includes the ability to safely and conveniently access 

2 services by all modes of travel; 

3 (9) with a shortage of construction firms that 

4 are ready and able to take on the large-scale infra5 structure projects the United States demands, the 

6 close to 478,000 specialty trade contractors in small7 er minority, women, and disadvantaged businesses 

8 could be supported to meet this demand; 

9 (10) small businesses and under-represented 

10 contractors, including minority-, women-, veteran11 owned businesses, and businesses owned by disabled 

12 individuals should have the opportunity to rebuild 

13 their communities and employ hardworking people of 

14 the United States along the way; 

(11) as of 2018, about 1 15 ⁄4 of the infrastructure 

16 workforce is projected to retire or permanently leave 

17 their jobs over the next decade, compounding the in18 frastructure crisis in the United States; 

19 (12) as of 2019, the Board of Governors of the 

20 Federal Reserve System finds that skilled trades and 

21 many occupations that do not require a 4-year de22 gree are not considered to be at significant risk of 

23 automation; 

24 (13) infrastructure jobs include a wide range of 

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1 vate sectors, including design, manufacturing, con2 struction, operation, governance, and maintenance of 

3 infrastructure assets in the United States; 

4 (14) more than 1 in 10 jobs in the United 

5 States is a transportation- or infrastructure-related 

6 job; 

7 (15) many infrastructure jobs provide competi8 tive wages with low barriers to entry, many of which 

9 require on-the-job training in lieu of formal 4-year 

10 degree higher education programs; 

11 (16) in spite of rising income inequality, infra12 structure jobs paid approximately 30 percent more 

13 to low income individuals than other occupations in 

14 2018; 

15 (17) women, people of color, and particularly 

16 women of color are underrepresented in construction 

17 jobs; 

18 (18) while women across all occupations cur19 rently make up about 50 percent of the workforce, 

20 women in construction and extraction occupations 

21 has hovered around 3 percent for the last 3 decades; 

22 (19) while Black Americans make up about 12 

23 percent of the overall workforce, Black Americans 

24 only represent 7 percent of construction and extrac25 tion occupations; 


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1 (20) by focusing on improving workforce devel2 opment systems through targeted employment strat3 egies, the Federal Government can improve the qual4 ity of future projects and better ensure that all com5 munities benefit from investments that— 

6 (A) protect workers; 

7 (B) expand opportunities for advancement; 

8 (C) establish strong labor standards; and 

9 (D) redress discriminatory policies that 

10 have unfairly burdened low-income communities 

11 and communities of color with pollution of geo12 graphic isolation; and 

13 (21) the Federal Government should make con14 certed efforts to close the workforce gap, through co15 ordination with States and units of local govern16 ment, workforce development agencies, national and 

17 regional nonprofit intermediaries, labor organiza18 tions, and institutions of higher education and other 

19 educational institutions, including historically Black 

20 colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving insti21 tutions, to recruit, train, and retain the next genera22 tion of infrastructure workers in the United States, 

23 with a focus on— 

24 (A) achieving gender, ethnic, racial, and 

25 ability diversity; and 


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1 (B) recruiting and training individuals 

2 from communities with high unemployment 

3 rates, including African-American communities, 

4 Hispanic communities, Indian Tribes, the dis5 abled community, and the LGBTQ community. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COVERED INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM.— 

9 The term ‘‘covered infrastructure program’’ means 

10 any of the following: 

11 (A) Direct and guaranteed loans and 

12 grants under section 306(a) of the Consolidated 

13 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

14 1926(a)). 

15 (B) Distance learning and telemedicine 

16 grants under section 2333 of the Food, Agri17 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 

18 (7 U.S.C. 950aaa–2). 

19 (C) Broadband loans and loan guarantees 

20 under title IV of the Rural Electrification Act 

21 of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.). 

22 (D) The community connect grant pro23 gram established under title III of the Agri24 culture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 

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1 priations, 2004 (Public Law 108–199; 118 

2 Stat. 29). 

3 (E) Solid waste management grants under 

4 section 310B(b) of the Consolidated Farm and 

5 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(b)). 

6 (F) A program or project carried out 

7 under the Public Works and Economic Develop8 ment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.). 

9 (G) Financial assistance for development, 

10 implementation, or modification of a State en11 ergy conservation plan under section 363 of the 

12 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 6323). 

14 (H) State water pollution control revolving 

15 funds established under title VI of the Federal 

16 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et 

17 seq.). 

18 (I) State drinking water treatment revolv19 ing loan funds established under section 1452 

20 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 300j–12). 

22 (J) Grants for construction of health cen23 ters provided by the Secretary of Health and 

24 Human Services. 


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1 (K) Grants for construction, renovation, or 

2 repair of non-Federal research facilities pro3 vided by the Director of the National Institutes 

4 of Health. 

5 (L) The public transportation security as6 sistance grant program under section 1406 of 

7 the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 

8 Commission Act of 2007 (6 U.S.C. 1135). 

9 (M) Assistance provided under the Public 

10 Housing Capital Fund established under section 

11 9(d) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(d)). 

13 (N) The community development block 

14 grant program under title I of the Housing and 

15 Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

16 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). 

17 (O) The Indian housing block grant pro18 gram under section 101 of the Native American 

19 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 

20 of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4111). 

21 (P) The rural water supply program under 

22 section 103 of the Rural Water Supply Act of 

23 2006 (43 U.S.C. 2402). 


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1 (Q) Financial assistance provided under 

2 the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innova3 tion Act (33 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.). 

4 (R) Assistance provided under title 23, 

5 United States Code. 

6 (S) Assistance provided under chapter 53 

7 of title 49, United States Code. 

8 (T) Programs for civil works projects, in9 cluding water resources projects, under the ju10 risdiction of the Corps of Engineers. 

11 (U) Assistance provided for a freight or 

12 passenger rail project under subtitle V of title 

13 49, United States Code. 

14 (V) Assistance provided for an airport de15 velopment project under chapter 471 of title 49, 

16 United States Code. 

17 (W) Assistance for an environmental clean18 up project under the Comprehensive Environ19 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability 

20 Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). 

21 (X) Assistance provided under section 

22 7007 and 7008 of the Elementary and Sec23 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 7707, 7708). 


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1 (Y) Mutual and self-help housing assist2 ance provided under section 523 of the Housing 

3 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490c). 

4 (Z) Site development loans provided under 

5 section 524 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

6 U.S.C. 1490d). 

7 (AA) Loan guarantees for rural rental 

8 housing provided under section 538 of the 

9 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490p–2). 

10 (BB) Assistance provided by the Commu11 nity Development Financial Institutions Fund 

12 established under section 104(a) of the Riegle 

13 Community Development and Regulatory Im14 provement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703(a)). 

15 (CC) Grants awarded from the Capital 

16 Magnet Fund established under section 1339 of 

17 the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial 

18 Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 

19 4569). 

20 (DD) Assistance provided under the Con21 nect America Fund of the Federal Communica22 tions Commission under subpart D of part 54 

23 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or a 

24 successor regulation). 


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1 (EE) The Connect Communities Program 

2 under section 144. 

3 (FF) Any similar program, as determined 

4 by the Director of the Office of Management 

5 and Budget, in consultation with the heads of 

6 the relevant Federal agencies. 

7 (2) HEAD OF THE RELEVANT FEDERAL AGEN8 CY.—The term ‘‘head of the relevant Federal agen9 cy’’ means the head of a Federal department or 

10 agency that administers or has jurisdiction over a 

11 covered infrastructure program. 

12 (3) LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

13 BOARD.—The term ‘‘local workforce development 

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

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

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

17 (4) STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

18 BOARD.—The term ‘‘State workforce development 

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

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

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


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1 TITLE I—CREATING JOBS AND 

2 RAISING THE QUALITY OF 

3 LIFE IN EVERY COMMUNITY 

4 Subtitle A—Creating Local Jobs 

5 Across the Country 

6 SEC. 111. TARGETED HIRING REQUIREMENTS FOR CON7 STRUCTION JOBS CREATED BY COVERED IN8 FRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) DEFINITION OF LOCAL.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

11 ‘‘local’’, with respect to hiring for a project, means 

12 hiring within the geographical boundaries of the 

13 area in which the project is located, as determined 

14 by the recipient of assistance under a covered infra15 structure program, in coordination with the head of 

16 the relevant Federal agency, subject to the require17 ment that the geographical area shall— 

18 (A) include high-poverty, high-unemploy19 ment zip codes; and 

20 (B) be the size of a county, multi-county, 

21 statewide, or multi-State region. 

22 (2) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in para23 graph (1) prohibits interstate hiring. 

24 (b) REQUIREMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of law and to the maximum extent prac3 ticable, except to the extent that the head of the rel4 evant Federal agency determines otherwise, in the 

5 case of any construction project carried out under a 

6 covered infrastructure program, the head of the rel7 evant Federal agency shall ensure that, of the work8 ers hired for the project (including workers hired for 

9 related maintenance, service, or operations activities 

10 for the project), the applicable percentage described 

11 in paragraph (2) are hired through local hiring, in 

12 partnership with a registered apprenticeship pro13 gram, if applicable, or with a State workforce devel14 opment board or local workforce development board, 

15 if applicable. 

16 (2) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—The applicable 

17 percentage referred to in paragraph (1) is— 

18 (A) for fiscal year 2020, 10 percent; 

19 (B) for fiscal year 2021, 20 percent; 

20 (C) for fiscal year 2022, 30 percent; 

21 (D) for fiscal year 2023, 40 percent; and 

22 (E) for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal 

23 year thereafter, 50 percent. 


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1 (c) PRIORITY.—In carrying out subsection (b), the 

2 head of the relevant Federal agency shall ensure that the 

3 entity carrying out the project gives priority to— 

4 (1) individuals with a barrier to employment (as 

5 defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

6 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)), including ex-of7 fenders and disabled individuals (as defined in sec8 tion 121); 

9 (2) veterans (as defined in section 121); and 

10 (3) individuals that represent populations that 

11 are traditionally underrepresented in the infrastruc12 ture workforce, such as women and racial and ethnic 

13 minorities. 

14 (d) REPORTS AND OVERSIGHT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than an16 nually, the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with 

17 the heads of the relevant Federal agencies, shall— 

18 (A) submit to Congress a report on the im19 plementation of this section; and 

20 (B) make the report under subparagraph 

21 (A), including any related data, publicly avail22 able on the internet. 

23 (2) GAO REVIEW.—Not later than 5 years after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

25 General of the United States shall— 


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1 (A) carry out a review of the implementa2 tion of this section to determine compliance 

3 with this section; and 

4 (B) submit to Congress a report on the re5 sults of the review under subparagraph (A), in6 cluding any suggestions or recommendations for 

7 legislative, regulatory, or other changes to im8 prove the implementation of this section or 

9 compliance with this section. 

10 SEC. 112. COMPLIANCE WITH COURT ORDERS. 

11 Nothing in this subtitle limits the eligibility of an in12 dividual or entity to receive assistance made available 

13 under a covered infrastructure program if the individual 

14 or entity is prevented, in whole or in part, from complying 

15 with section 111(b) because a Federal court issues a final 

16 order in which the court finds that a requirement or the 

17 implementation of that section is unconstitutional. 

18 Subtitle B—Rebuilding Our Infra19 structure With American Busi20 ness 

21 SEC. 121. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this subtitle: 

23 (1) DISABLED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘dis24 abled individual’’ means an individual with a disVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Aug 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2404.IS S2404

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1 ability (as defined in section 3 of the Americans with 

2 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)). 

3 (2) LGBTQ.—The term ‘‘LGBTQ’’ means, 

4 with respect to an individual, a lesbian, gay, bisex5 ual, transgender, or queer individual. 

6 (3) OWNED AND CONTROLLED.—The term 

7 ‘‘owned and controlled’’, with respect to a business, 

8 means— 

9 (A) ownership of at least 51 percent of the 

10 business, or in the case of any publicly owned 

11 business, ownership of at least 51 percent of 

12 the stock; and 

13 (B) control of the management and daily 

14 business operations of the business. 

15 (4) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘small busi17 ness concern’’ means a small business concern 

18 (within the meaning of section 3(a) of the 

19 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a))). 

20 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘small busi21 ness concern’’ does not include any concern or 

22 group of concerns controlled by the same so23 cially and economically disadvantaged individual 

24 or individuals that have average annual gross 

25 receipts during the preceding 3 fiscal years in 


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1 excess of $23,980,000, as adjusted annually by 

2 the head of the relevant Federal agency for in3 flation. 

4 (5) SOCIALLY OR ECONOMICALLY DISADVAN5 TAGED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘socially or eco6 nomically disadvantaged individual’’ means any so7 cially and economically disadvantaged individuals 

8 within the meaning of section 8(d) of the Small 

9 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)) and relevant sub10 contracting regulations issued pursuant to that Act. 

11 (6) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, 

13 United States Code. 

14 SEC. 122. INCREASING MEANINGFUL SMALL BUSINESS PAR15 TICIPATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except to the extent that the head 

17 of the relevant Federal agency determines otherwise— 

18 (1) not less than the percentage described in 

19 subsection (b) for the applicable fiscal year of the 

20 amounts made available for each covered infrastruc21 ture program shall be expended through small busi22 ness concerns; and 

23 (2) not less than the percentage described in 

24 subsection (b) for the applicable fiscal year of the 

25 total number of projects that receive assistance 


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1 under each covered infrastructure program shall be 

2 subcontracted through a small business concern. 

3 (b) PERCENTAGE DESCRIBED.—The percentage re4 ferred to in each of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection 

5 (a) is— 

6 (1) for fiscal year 2020, 6 percent; 

7 (2) for fiscal year 2021, 12 percent; 

8 (3) for fiscal year 2022, 19 percent; 

9 (4) for fiscal year 2023, 26 percent; and 

10 (5) for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year 

11 thereafter, 33 percent. 

12 (c) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once each fis13 cal year, the Administrator of the Small Business Admin14 istration, in consultation with the heads of the relevant 

15 Federal agencies, shall submit to Congress a report on the 

16 implementation of subsection (a). 

17 SEC. 123. REQUIRING MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION FROM 

18 TARGETED BUSINESSES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except to the extent that the head 

20 of the relevant Federal agency determines otherwise, not 

21 less than the percentage described in subsection (b) for 

22 the applicable fiscal year of the amounts made available 

23 for a covered infrastructure program shall be expended 

24 through businesses owned and controlled by— 


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1 (1) socially or economically disadvantaged indi2 viduals; 

3 (2) women; 

4 (3) veterans; 

5 (4) LGBTQ individuals; 

6 (5) disabled individuals; or 

7 (6) ex-offenders. 

8 (b) PERCENTAGE DESCRIBED.—The percentage re9 ferred to in subsection (a) is— 

10 (1) for fiscal year 2020, 6 percent; 

11 (2) for fiscal year 2021, 12 percent; 

12 (3) for fiscal year 2022, 18 percent; 

13 (4) for fiscal year 2023, 24 percent; and 

14 (5) for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year 

15 thereafter, 30 percent. 

16 (c) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once each fis17 cal year, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with 

18 the Administrator of the Small Business Administration 

19 and the heads of the relevant Federal agencies, shall sub20 mit to Congress a report on the implementation of sub21 section (a). 

22 SEC. 124. COMPLIANCE WITH COURT ORDERS. 

23 Nothing in this subtitle limits the eligibility of an in24 dividual or entity to receive assistance made available 

25 under a covered infrastructure program if the individual 


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1 or entity is prevented, in whole or in part, from complying 

2 with section 122(a) or 123(a), as applicable, because a 

3 Federal court issues a final order in which the court finds 

4 that a requirement or the implementation of section 

5 122(a) or 123(a), as applicable, is unconstitutional. 

6 SEC. 125. EXPANSION OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRA7 TION SURETY BOND PROGRAM. 

8 Section 411(a)(1)(A) of the Small Business Invest9 ment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 694b(a)(1)(A)) is amended 

10 by striking ‘‘$6,500,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000’’. 

11 Subtitle C—Encouraging the Use of 

12 U.S. Employment Plans and 

13 Best-Value Contracting Analysis 

14 SEC. 131. CREATING A BEST-VALUE ANALYSIS FOR FED15 ERAL EXPENDITURES ON INFRASTRUCTURE, 

16 USE OF U.S. EMPLOYMENT PLANS, AND PREF17 ERENCES FOR REGISTERED APPRENTICE18 SHIP PROGRAMS AND NEUTRALITY IN UNION 

19 ORGANIZING. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) COMMITMENT TO HIGH-QUALITY CAREER

22 AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES.—The term ‘‘com23 mitment to high-quality career and business oppor24 tunities’’ means participation in a registered appren25 ticeship program (as defined in section 201(a)(2)). 


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1 (2) U.S. EMPLOYMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘U.S. 

2 Employment Plan’’ means a plan under which an 

3 entity receiving Federal assistance for a project 

4 under a covered infrastructure program shall— 

5 (A) include in a request for proposal an 

6 encouragement for bidders to include, with re7 spect to the project— 

8 (i) high-quality wage, benefit, and 

9 training commitments by the bidder and 

10 the supply chain of the bidder for the 

11 project; and 

12 (ii) a commitment to recruit and hire 

13 individuals described in section 111(c) if 

14 the project results in the hiring of employ15 ees not currently or previously employed by 

16 the bidder and the supply chain of the bid17 der for the project; 

18 (B) give preference for the award of the 

19 contract to a bidder that includes the commit20 ments described in clauses (i) and (ii) of sub21 paragraph (A); and 

22 (C) ensure that each bidder that includes 

23 the commitments described in clauses (i) and 

24 (ii) of subparagraph (A) that is awarded a con25 tract complies with those commitments. 


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1 (b) BEST-VALUE FRAMEWORK.—To the maximum 

2 extent practicable, a recipient of assistance under a cov3 ered infrastructure program is encouraged— 

4 (1) to ensure that each dollar invested in infra5 structure uses a best-value contracting framework to 

6 maximize the local value of federally funded con7 tracts by evaluating bids on price and other criteria 

8 prioritized in the bid, such as— 

9 (A) equity; 

10 (B) environmental and climate justice; 

11 (C) impact on greenhouse gas emissions; 

12 (D) resilience; 

13 (E) the results of a 40-year life-cycle anal14 ysis; 

15 (F) safety; 

16 (G) commitment to creating or sustaining 

17 high-quality job opportunities affiliated with 

18 registered apprenticeship programs (as defined 

19 in section 201(a)(2)) for disadvantaged or 

20 underrepresented individuals in infrastructure 

21 industries in the United States; and 

22 (H) access to jobs and essential services by 

23 all modes of travel for all users, including dis24 abled individuals (as defined in section 121); 


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1 (2) in evaluating bids, to give at least equal 

2 weight to the criteria described in paragraph (1) as 

3 to past performance; and 

4 (3) to ensure community engagement, trans5 parency, and accountability in carrying out each 

6 stage of the project. 

7 (c) PREFERENCE FOR REGISTERED APPRENTICE8 SHIP PROGRAMS.—To the maximum extent practicable, a 

9 recipient of assistance under a covered infrastructure pro10 gram, with respect to the project for which the assistance 

11 is received, shall give preference to a bidder that dem12 onstrates a commitment to high-quality job opportunities 

13 affiliated with registered apprenticeship programs (as de14 fined in section 201(a)(2)). 

15 (d) PREFERENCE FOR NEUTRALITY IN UNION ORGA16 NIZING.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

17 head of each relevant Federal agency, in consultation with 

18 the Secretary of Labor, shall give preference in providing 

19 assistance under a covered infrastructure program to an 

20 entity that commits to giving preference in awarding con21 tracts and subcontracts for projects carried out with that 

22 assistance to bidders that have an explicit neutrality policy 

23 on any issue involving the organization of employees for 

24 purposes of collective bargaining. 


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1 (e) USE OF U.S. EMPLOYMENT PLAN.—Notwith2 standing any other provision of law, in carrying out a 

3 project under a covered infrastructure program, each enti4 ty that receives Federal assistance shall use a U.S. Em5 ployment Plan for each contract of $5,000,000 or more 

6 for the purchase of manufactured goods or of services, 

7 based on an independent cost estimate. 

8 (f) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once each fis9 cal year, the heads of the relevant Federal agencies shall 

10 jointly submit to Congress a report describing the imple11 mentation of this section. 

12 (g) INTENT OF CONGRESS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is the intent of Con14 gress— 

15 (A) to encourage recipients of Federal as16 sistance under covered infrastructure programs 

17 to use a best-value contracting framework de18 scribed in subsection (b)(1) for the purchase of 

19 goods and services; 

20 (B) to encourage recipients of Federal as21 sistance under covered infrastructure programs 

22 to use preferences for registered apprenticeship 

23 programs and neutrality in union organizing as 

24 described in subsections (c) and (d) when evalu25 ating bids for projects using that assistance; 


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1 (C) to require that recipients of Federal 

2 assistance under covered infrastructure pro3 grams use the U.S. Employment Plan in car4 rying out the project for which the assistance 

5 was provided; and 

6 (D) that full and open competition under 

7 covered infrastructure programs means a proce8 dural competition that prevents corruption, fa9 voritism, and unfair treatment by recipient 

10 agencies. 

11 (2) INCLUSION.—A best-value contracting 

12 framework described in subsection (b)(1) is a frame13 work that authorizes a recipient of Federal assist14 ance under a covered infrastructure program, in 

15 awarding contracts, to evaluate a range of factors, 

16 including price, the quality of products, the quality 

17 of services, and commitments to the creation of good 

18 jobs for all people in the United States. 

19 Subtitle D—Improving Safety, 

20 Connectivity, and Access to Bet21 ter Opportunities 

22 SEC. 141. ACCESSIBILITY DATA PROGRAM. 

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

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor25 tation (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 


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1 carry out an accessibility data program (referred to in this 

2 section as the ‘‘program’’). 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program is to de4 velop or procure an accessibility data set and make that 

5 data set available to each eligible entity selected to partici6 pate in the program to improve the transportation plan7 ning of those eligible entities by— 

8 (1) measuring the level of access by multiple 

9 transportation modes to important destinations, 

10 which may include— 

11 (A) jobs, including areas with a concentra12 tion of available jobs; 

13 (B) health care facilities; 

14 (C) child care services; 

15 (D) educational and workforce training fa16 cilities; 

17 (E) affordable and accessible housing; 

18 (F) food sources; and 

19 (G) connections between modes, including 

20 connections to— 

21 (i) high-quality transit or rail service; 

22 (ii) safe bicycling corridors; and 

23 (iii) safe sidewalks that achieve com24 pliance with applicable requirements of the 


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1 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

2 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); 

3 (2) disaggregating the level of access by mul4 tiple transportation modes by a variety of population 

5 categories, which may include— 

6 (A) low-income populations; 

7 (B) minority populations; 

8 (C) age; 

9 (D) disability; and 

10 (E) geographical location; and 

11 (3) assessing the change in accessibility that 

12 would result from new transportation investments. 

13 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligible to par14 ticipate in the program is— 

15 (1) a State (as defined in section 101(a) of title 

16 23, United States Code); 

17 (2) a metropolitan planning organization; or 

18 (3) a rural planning organization. 

19 (d) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to participate in 

20 the program, an eligible entity shall submit to the Sec21 retary an application at such time, in such manner, and 

22 containing such information as the Secretary may require, 

23 including information relating to— 


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1 (1) previous experience of the eligible entity 

2 measuring transportation access or other perform3 ance management experience; 

4 (2) the types of important destinations to which 

5 the eligible entity intends to measure access; 

6 (3) the types of data disaggregation the eligible 

7 entity intends to pursue; and 

8 (4) a general description of the methodology the 

9 eligible entity intends to apply. 

10 (e) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall seek to achieve 

11 diversity of participants in the program, including— 

12 (1) by selecting a range of eligible entities that 

13 shall include not less than— 

14 (A) 5 States; 

15 (B) 10 metropolitan planning organiza16 tions, of which— 

17 (i) 5 shall each serve an area with a 

18 population of not more than 200,000 peo19 ple; and 

20 (ii) 5 shall each serve an area with a 

21 population of 200,000 or more people; and 

22 (C) 5 rural planning organizations; and 

23 (2) among the eligible entities selected under 

24 paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) a range of capacity and previous expe2 rience with measuring transportation access; 

3 and 

4 (B) a variety of proposed methodologies 

5 and focus areas for measuring level access. 

6 (f) DUTIES.—For each eligible entity participating in 

7 the program, the Secretary shall— 

8 (1) develop or acquire an accessibility data set 

9 described in subsection (b); and 

10 (2) submit the data set to the eligible entity. 

11 (g) METHODOLOGY.—In calculating the measures for 

12 the data set under the program, the Secretary shall ensure 

13 that methodology is open source. 

14 (h) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make an ac15 cessibility data set under the program available to— 

16 (1) units of local government within the juris17 diction of the eligible entity participating in the pro18 gram; and 

19 (2) researchers. 

20 (i) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the last 

21 date on which the Secretary submits data sets to the eligi22 ble entity under subsection (f), the Secretary shall submit 

23 to Congress a report on the results of the program, includ24 ing the feasibility of developing and providing periodic ac25 cessibility data sets for all States, regions, and localities. 


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1 (j) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—The Secretary 

2 may make publicly available on the internet the data sets 

3 and the report under subsection (i). 

4 (k) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall carry out the 

5 program using amounts made available to the Secretary 

6 for administrative expenses to carry out programs under 

7 the authority of the Secretary. 

8 SEC. 142. ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES 

9 FOR TRANSPORTATION ACCESSIBILITY. 

10 (a) CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESSIBILITY PERFORM11 ANCE MEASURES.—Section 150 of title 23, United States 

12 Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (c)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and in 

15 the case of paragraph (7), not later than 3 

16 years after the date of enactment of the Build 

17 Local, Hire Local Act,’’ after ‘‘MAP–21,’’; and 

18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(7) MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION

20 CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESSIBILITY.— 

21 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF DISADVANTAGED

22 POPULATION.—In this paragraph, the term ‘dis23 advantaged population’ means a low-income 

24 population, a minority population, or people 


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1 with disabilities, as determined by the Sec2 retary. 

3 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

4 issue such regulations as are necessary to es5 tablish performance measures relating to trans6 portation connectivity and accessibility for 

7 States, metropolitan planning organizations, 

8 and units of local government to improve the 

9 connectivity and accessibility of roadways, pub10 lic transportation infrastructure, pedestrian and 

11 bikeway infrastructure, and other transpor12 tation infrastructure. 

13 ‘‘(C) INCLUSIONS.—The performance 

14 measures established pursuant to subparagraph 

15 (B) shall include measures to assess— 

16 ‘‘(i) with respect to the general popu17 lation serviced by a transportation sys18 tem— 

19 ‘‘(I) the change in cumulative ac20 cess to employment opportunities and 

21 other essential services, including edu22 cational and workforce training loca23 tions, health care facilities, rec24 reational assets, and supermarkets 

25 and grocers; 


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1 ‘‘(II) multimodal choice and en2 hanced interconnections among 

3 modes— 

4 ‘‘(aa) to offer variety of 

5 choice between and among 

6 modes; 

7 ‘‘(bb) to provide accessible 

8 and reliable transportation for all 

9 users; and 

10 ‘‘(cc) to encourage travel de11 mand management among local 

12 and statewide employers; and 

13 ‘‘(III) any other issues the Sec14 retary determines to be appropriate; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) with respect to disadvantaged 

17 populations serviced by a transportation 

18 system— 

19 ‘‘(I) transportation accessibility 

20 for disadvantaged populations; 

21 ‘‘(II) change in cumulative acces22 sibility for disadvantaged populations 

23 to employment opportunities and 

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1 tions, health care facilities, rec2 reational assets, and supermarkets 

3 and grocers; and 

4 ‘‘(III) any other issues the Sec5 retary determines to be appropriate.’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘and (6)’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘(6), and (7)’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(f) REPORT ON MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION

10 CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESSIBILITY.—Not less frequently 

11 than annually— 

12 ‘‘(1) each State, metropolitan planning organi13 zation, and unit of local government shall submit to 

14 the Secretary the progress of that entity toward 

15 achieving the performance measures under sub16 section (c)(7); and 

17 ‘‘(2) the Secretary shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) submit to Congress a report that in19 cludes the results of the reporting under para20 graph (1); and 

21 ‘‘(B) make publicly available on the inter22 net the report under subparagraph (A) and any 

23 accompanying data.’’. 


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1 (b) HIGHWAY METROPOLITAN PLANNING COORDINA2 TION.—Section 134(h)(2)(B) of title 23, United States 

3 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(iii) MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION

5 ACCESSIBILITY PERFORMANCE TARGETS.— 

6 Selection of performance targets by a met7 ropolitan planning organization shall be co8 ordinated, to the maximum extent prac9 ticable, with the relevant State, local trans10 portation planning agencies, and providers 

11 of public transportation to ensure consist12 ency with section 150(c)(7).’’. 

13 (c) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION METROPOLITAN

14 PLANNING COORDINATION.—Section 5303(h)(2)(B) of 

15 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

17 ‘‘(iii) MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION

18 ACCESSIBILITY PERFORMANCE TARGETS.— 

19 Selection of performance targets by a met20 ropolitan planning organization shall be co21 ordinated, to the maximum extent prac22 ticable, with the relevant State, local trans23 portation planning agencies, and providers 

24 of public transportation to ensure consist25 ency with section 150(c)(7) of title 23.’’. 


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1 SEC. 143. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

3 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), in coordi4 nation with the Administrator of the Federal Highway Ad5 ministration, the Administrator of the Federal Transit 

6 Administration, the Secretary of Housing and Urban De7 velopment, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish 

8 a program (referred to in this section as the ‘‘program’’) 

9 to provide technical assistance to local communities adja10 cent to planned or existing transportation infrastructure 

11 projects to explore design and policy approaches to create 

12 connected, economically prosperous, and environmentally 

13 and physically healthy communities that— 

14 (1) avoid displacement of the current popu15 lation; and 

16 (2) maximize high-quality jobs in the United 

17 States that pay family-sustaining wages. 

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are— 

19 (1) to identify innovative solutions to infra20 structure challenges, including reconnecting commu21 nities that— 

22 (A) are bifurcated by infrastructure such 

23 as highways or viaducts; 

24 (B) lack safe, reliable, and affordable 

25 transportation choices; or 


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1 (C) have been disconnected due to natural 

2 disasters, in particular, communities in areas 

3 that are being harmed the most by climate 

4 change; and 

5 (2) to inform the transportation planning and 

6 project life cycle by actively encouraging community 

7 input and feedback. 

8 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive technical 

9 assistance under the program, a local community de10 scribed in subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary an 

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

12 such information as the Secretary may require, includ13 ing— 

14 (1) a description of the ‘‘community team’’ that 

15 will participate in the program, which shall consist 

16 of— 

17 (A) elected officials; 

18 (B) senior transportation professionals; 

19 (C) State workforce development boards or 

20 local workforce development boards; and 

21 (D) a cross-section of residents of the local 

22 community; 

23 (2) a description of a neighborhood infrastruc24 ture challenge, including all modes and users of 

25 transportation, in the local community that limits 


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1 access to social or economic centers or other essen2 tial services; 

3 (3) an explanation of the goals the local com4 munity aims to achieve with assistance under the 

5 program; and 

6 (4) letters of support from the applicable State 

7 department of transportation and other entities, 

8 such as community groups, transit agencies, port au9 thorities, metropolitan planning organizations, and 

10 political subdivisions of State and local governments. 

11 (d) PRIORITY.—In selecting local communities to 

12 participate in the program, the Secretary shall give pri13 ority to a local community that is economically disadvan14 taged. 

15 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

16 provide to a local community that is selected to participate 

17 in the program— 

18 (1) technical assistance to inform, prepare, and 

19 enable the local community to better engage in— 

20 (A) Federal transportation planning; 

21 (B) programming and planning to improve 

22 resiliency and environmental sustainability and 

23 reduce greenhouse gas emissions; 


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1 (C) the environmental review process 

2 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

3 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

4 (D) life-cycle analysis of a prospective 

5 project; 

6 (E) Federal assistance programs; and 

7 (F) policies that maximize the creation of 

8 high-quality jobs in the United States; and 

9 (2) technical expertise through representatives 

10 from regional and national design, architecture, en11 gineering, and planning firms and public, private, 

12 and nonprofit land use professionals. 

13 (f) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use not less than 

14 10 percent of the amounts made available to carry out 

15 section 144 for each fiscal year to carry out the program. 

16 SEC. 144. CONNECT COMMUNITIES PROGRAM. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor19 tation (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec20 retary’’), in coordination with the Administrator of 

21 the Federal Highway Administration, the Adminis22 trator of the Federal Transit Administration, the 

23 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the 

24 Secretary of Labor, the Administrator of the Envi25 ronmental Protection Agency, and the Secretary of 


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1 Agriculture shall carry out a competitive grant pro2 gram to be known as the ‘‘Connect Communities 

3 Program’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘pro4 gram’’) to provide grants for projects to create con5 nected, economically prosperous, and environ6 mentally and physically healthy communities in— 

7 (A) areas that are economically disadvan8 taged, including areas that have experienced 

9 levels of poverty of 20 percent or more, high 

10 levels of outmigration, and high levels of 

11 deindustrialization; 

12 (B) areas that currently lack accessible 

13 and affordable transportation options in terms 

14 of— 

15 (i) lack of access to jobs and services; 

16 and 

17 (ii) lack of physical accessibility; 

18 (C) neighborhoods bifurcated by large-scale 

19 infrastructure projects; or 

20 (D) areas that have been negatively im21 pacted by climate change. 

22 (2) GOALS.—The goals of the program are— 

23 (A) to reduce the cost of construction, op24 erations, and maintenance of arterial highways; 


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1 (B) to demonstrate the social, economic, 

2 and environmental benefits that result from re3 placing a grade-separated facility with an at4 grade boulevard; 

5 (C) to improve neighborhood connectivity, 

6 including the re-establishment of through 

7 streets eliminated as a result of the construc8 tion of the grade-separated facility; 

9 (D) to increase the total acreage of land 

10 within the project corridor returned to produc11 tive use, including commercial, residential, rec12 reational, and habitat restoration uses; 

13 (E) to improve the resiliency and reduce 

14 the environmental impact of existing infrastruc15 ture assets; and 

16 (F) to increase the connectivity of dis17 advantaged communities to economic oppor18 tunity. 

19 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

20 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligible to 

21 receive a grant under the program is— 

22 (A) a State (as defined in section 101(a) 

23 of title 23, United States Code) or any other 

24 territory or possession of the United States; 

25 (B) an Indian Tribe; 


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1 (C) a unit of local government; 

2 (D) a political subdivision of a State or 

3 local government; 

4 (E) a transit agency; 

5 (F) a metropolitan planning organization; 

6 (G) a nonprofit organization, including a 

7 community mission-based organization; 

8 (H) a community development financial in9 stitution (as defined in section 103 of the Rie10 gle Community Development and Regulatory 

11 Improvement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702)); 

12 (I) a special purpose district or public au13 thority with a transportation function, including 

14 a port authority; 

15 (J) a Federal land management agency 

16 that applies jointly with a State or group of 

17 States; or 

18 (K) a multistate or multijurisdictional 

19 group of entities described in subparagraphs 

20 (A) through (J). 

21 (2) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—A project eligible to 

22 be carried out with funds from a grant provided 

23 under the program is— 


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1 (A) a project for community-based redevel2 opment, rehabilitation, or replacement of infra3 structure, including— 

4 (i) the removal of a limited access 

5 highway, a viaduct or overpass, an Inter6 state route, an interchange, a bridge, or 

7 any other principal arterial facility that 

8 has— 

9 (I) historically had detrimental 

10 effects on minority and low-income 

11 communities; or 

12 (II) created barriers to commu13 nity connectivity due to high speeds, 

14 grade separations or other design fac15 tors; and 

16 (ii) if necessary to achieve the pur17 poses of the program, road realignment or 

18 new construction; 

19 (B) a project to prevent the displacement 

20 of minority or low-income individuals or busi21 nesses during and after redevelopment, rehabili22 tation, or replacement of infrastructure; 

23 (C) a project for transit-oriented develop24 ment in a low-income area or that benefits low25 income individuals that includes 1 or more of— 


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1 (i) transit-supportive, accessible, 

2 mixed-use development (including commer3 cial development, affordable and accessible 

4 housing, and market-rate housing) that is 

5 within 2 miles of and accessible to 1 or 

6 more public transportation facilities that— 

7 (I) achieve compliance with— 

8 (aa) applicable requirements 

9 of the Americans with Disabil10 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

11 12101 et seq.); and 

12 (bb) the most recent public 

13 rights-of-way accessibility guide14 lines developed by the Architec15 tural and Transportation Bar16 riers Compliance Board estab17 lished by section 502(a)(1) of the 

18 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

19 U.S.C. 792(a)(1)); and 

20 (II) are connected with high fre21 quency to job centers; 

22 (ii) the facilitation of multimodal 

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1 force training locations, health care facili2 ties, recreational assets, and supermarkets 

3 and grocers; and 

4 (iii) an increase in access to transit 

5 hubs for pedestrian and bicycle traffic; 

6 (D) a public transportation project eligible 

7 for assistance under chapter 53 of title 49, 

8 United States Code, that will achieve the pur9 poses of the program, including— 

10 (i) an investment in intermodal 

11 projects; and 

12 (ii) a new fixed guideway capital 

13 project or a small start project (as those 

14 terms are defined in section 5309(a) of 

15 title 49, United States Code), if a grant 

16 under the program will expedite the com17 pletion of the project and the entry into 

18 revenue service of the project; 

19 (E) a passenger rail transportation project 

20 that achieves the purpose of the program; 

21 (F) a project to improve the resiliency of 

22 infrastructure against natural disasters; 

23 (G) a project to reduce the environmental 

24 impact of existing infrastructure assets; 


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1 (H) a project to bring a community into 

2 compliance with the performance measures es3 tablished under section 150(c)(7) of title 23, 

4 United States Code; and 

5 (I) any other project that the Secretary de6 termines would achieve the purpose of the pro7 gram. 

8 (3) ELIGIBLE AREAS.—An eligible project 

9 under paragraph (2) shall be carried out in an area 

10 or neighborhood described in subparagraphs (A) 

11 through (D) of subsection (a)(1). 

12 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

14 grant under the program, an eligible entity shall 

15 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 

16 in such manner, and containing such information as 

17 the Secretary may require, including— 

18 (A) a project plan developed with assist19 ance under section 143 or independently, as ap20 plicable; 

21 (B) a description of how the project meets 

22 the criteria described in subsection (d); 

23 (C) a certification that the eligible entity 

24 has solicited public comments on the project 

25 plan that includes— 


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1 (i) a certification that the eligible en2 tity has held 2 or more public hearings, at 

3 least 1 of which was held outside of stand4 ard business hours in a location that was 

5 open and accessible to the community in 

6 which the proposed project is located; 

7 (ii) a description of the process for re8 ceiving public comments, including involve9 ment of residents and stakeholders in the 

10 community in which the project will occur; 

11 (iii) a summary of the comments re12 ceived; and 

13 (iv) such other information as the 

14 Secretary may require; 

15 (D) a description of how the grant would 

16 be used and the current status of project plan17 ning; 

18 (E) a description of how the project will 

19 address the purposes of the program, including 

20 plans to avoid displacement of current residents 

21 in the project area; 

22 (F) a description of how the eligible entity 

23 will prioritize the well-being and advancement 

24 of disadvantaged populations through the 

25 project and as an outcome of the project; 


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1 (G) an assessment of— 

2 (i) the accessibility of employment op3 portunities and other essential services, in4 cluding educational and workforce training 

5 locations, health care facilities, recreational 

6 assets, and supermarkets and grocers, 

7 within the area to public transportation fa8 cilities and nearby affordable housing; and 

9 (ii) how the proposed project will re10 late to identified needs in those areas; 

11 (H) an assessment of transportation op12 tions in the area, including— 

13 (i) public transportation options; 

14 (ii) options for people with low in15 comes, people living in high-poverty areas, 

16 elderly people, and people with disabilities; 

17 and 

18 (iii) any obstacles to providing access 

19 to locations that offer employment oppor20 tunities and other essential services, in21 cluding educational and workforce training 

22 locations, health care facilities, recreational 

23 assets, and supermarkets and grocers; 

24 (I) an assessment of methods for lowering 

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1 tation for families in the region, particularly for 

2 families that utilize workforce housing and for 

3 low-, very low-, and extremely low-income fami4 lies; 

5 (J) an assessment of how the project will 

6 revitalize existing communities, including— 

7 (i) the approximate number of jobs 

8 the project will create; 

9 (ii) the services the project will deliver 

10 to workers and the community; and 

11 (iii) any antidisplacement efforts that 

12 will be included in the project; 

13 (K) a plan for evaluating progress in in14 creasing opportunities for and improvements to 

15 the quality of life for disadvantaged populations 

16 and the broader community in which the project 

17 is completed; and 

18 (L) information about the status of appli19 cable Federal environmental reviews and ap20 provals for the project, including reviews and 

21 approvals under the National Environmental 

22 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

23 (2) MULTIPLE PROJECTS.—An eligible entity 

24 may submit an application for multiple projects in 1 

25 application. 


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1 (3) DEFINITION OF WORKFORCE HOUSING.— 

2 For the purpose of paragraph (1)(I), the term 

3 ‘‘workforce housing’’ means housing, the cost of 

4 which does not exceed 30 percent of— 

5 (A) the amount equal to 120 percent of the 

6 median income in the area, as determined by 

7 the Secretary, with appropriate adjustments for 

8 the size of the family; or 

9 (B) if the Secretary determines that there 

10 are unusually high or low incomes in the area, 

11 another amount, as determined by the Sec12 retary. 

13 (d) SELECTION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select 

15 projects to receive grants under the program based 

16 on— 

17 (A) how the project will contribute to a 

18 state of good repair for infrastructure assets; 

19 (B) how the project would increase eco20 nomic competitiveness, including the effects of 

21 revitalizing communities, neighborhoods, and 

22 commercial centers supported by existing infra23 structure; 

24 (C) how the project will support environ25 mental protection, including resiliency, by inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Aug 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2404.IS S2404

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1 creasing demand for nonmotorized transpor2 tation and public transportation; 

3 (D) how or whether the project will pre4 vent residents in the area from being forcibly or 

5 unwillingly displaced; 

6 (E) the anticipated effects on quality of 

7 life for all residents in the project area; 

8 (F) whether the project uses innovative 

9 strategies, including innovative technologies, in10 novative project delivery, or innovative financ11 ing; 

12 (G) the extent to which the project— 

13 (i) is supported by a broad range of 

14 stakeholders; 

15 (ii) demonstrates collaboration among 

16 neighboring and regional jurisdictions; and 

17 (iii) is coordinated with projects with 

18 similar objectives, such as projects for eco19 nomic development, housing, water and 

20 waste infrastructure, power and electric in21 frastructure, broadband, and land use 

22 plans and policies; 

23 (H) how the project will increase non-Fed24 eral revenue for transportation infrastructure 

25 investment; 


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1 (I) demonstrated project readiness, includ2 ing use of technical assistance under section 

3 143; and 

4 (J) the costs and benefits of the project. 

5 (2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri6 ority to projects that have been developed under the 

7 technical assistance program under section 143. 

8 (e) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In providing grants under 

10 the program, the Secretary shall ensure— 

11 (A) an equitable geographic distribution of 

12 funds; and 

13 (B) an appropriate balance in addressing 

14 the needs of urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal 

15 communities. 

16 (2) LIMITATION.—For each fiscal year, the Sec17 retary shall ensure that the total amount of funds 

18 provided through grants under the program for each 

19 State is not more than $150,000,000. 

20 (f) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2) and subject to subsection (e)(2), a grant 

23 provided under the program shall be in an amount 

24 that is not less than $5,000,000. 


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1 (2) RURAL AND TRIBAL AREAS.—In the case of 

2 a project in a rural area (as defined in section 

3 101(a) of title 23, United States Code), or in a Trib4 al area, a grant provided under the program shall be 

5 in an amount that is not less than $1,000,000. 

6 (g) USE OF FUNDS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), an 

8 eligible entity that receives a grant under the pro9 gram may use the grant funds for— 

10 (A) development phase activities, including 

11 planning, feasibility analysis, revenue fore12 casting, environmental review, permitting, pre13 liminary engineering and design work, and 

14 other preconstruction activities; and 

15 (B) construction, reconstruction, rehabili16 tation, replacement, acquisition of real property 

17 (including land relating to the project and im18 provements to land), environmental mitigation, 

19 construction contingencies, and acquisition of 

20 equipment. 

21 (2) LIMITATION.—Not more than 20 percent of 

22 the amount of the grant may be used for the activi23 ties described in paragraph (1)(A). 

24 (h) FEDERAL SHARE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), the Federal share of the cost of a project 

3 carried out with a grant under the program shall not 

4 exceed 80 percent. 

5 (2) HARDSHIP AREAS.—The Federal share of 

6 the cost of a project carried out with a grant under 

7 the program may be up to 100 percent if the Sec8 retary identifies the area in which the project will be 

9 carried out as a hardship area, as determined by the 

10 Secretary. 

11 (i) TIFIA PROGRAM.—On the request of an eligible 

12 entity, the Secretary may use 5 percent of the grant for 

13 the purpose of paying the subsidy and administrative costs 

14 necessary to provide Federal credit assistance under chap15 ter 6 of title 23, United States Code, for the project. 

16 (j) STANDARDS.—Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, a project carried out with a grant under the 

18 program shall not be subject to the traffic volume require19 ments under section 109(b) of title 23, United States 

20 Code. 

21 (k) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each year until the 

23 project is completed, each eligible entity that re24 ceives a grant under the program shall agree to es25 tablish, in coordination with the Secretary, performVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Aug 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2404.IS S2404

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1 ance measures and reporting requirements in addi2 tion to measures and requirements under this sec3 tion that shall be met at the end of each year in 

4 which the eligible entity receives funds under the 

5 grant program. 

6 (2) VIOLATION OF GRANT AGREEMENT.—If the 

7 Secretary determines that an eligible entity has not 

8 met the performance measures established under 

9 paragraph (1), is not making reasonable progress to10 ward meeting those measures, or is otherwise in vio11 lation of the grant agreement, the Secretary may— 

12 (A) withhold additional financial assistance 

13 until the performance measures are met; or 

14 (B) terminate the grant agreement. 

15 (l) COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each project carried out 

17 with a grant under the program, the eligible entity 

18 shall form a community advisory board. 

19 (2) COMPOSITION.—A community advisory 

20 board shall be composed of representatives of— 

21 (A) the relevant State and units of local 

22 government; 

23 (B) the relevant State workforce develop24 ment board or local workforce development 

25 board; 


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1 (C) relevant metropolitan planning organi2 zations; 

3 (D) labor organizations; 

4 (E) residents or organizational representa5 tion of the area in which the project is occur6 ring; and 

7 (F) any other relevant representatives im8 portant to the implementation of the project, 

9 such as a county board of developmental dis10 abilities, as determined by the eligible entity, in 

11 coordination with the Secretary. 

12 (3) DUTIES.—A community advisory board 

13 shall, with respect to the applicable project— 

14 (A) ensure community engagement, trans15 parency, and accountability in carrying out each 

16 stage of the project; and 

17 (B) track, evaluate, and report progress on 

18 clear and meaningful indicators related to— 

19 (i) targeted hiring commitments; 

20 (ii) quality wage, benefits, and train21 ing commitments; 

22 (iii) goals for participation by small 

23 businesses and businesses in accordance 

24 with section 123(a) in the project; 


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1 (iv) progress made on the objectives of 

2 the program as described in subsection (a); 

3 and 

4 (v) any other relevant areas, as deter5 mined by the eligible entity, in coordina6 tion with the Secretary. 

7 (4) STIPEND.—The eligible entity may provide 

8 a stipend to representatives on the community advi9 sory board based on the expressed need of represent10 atives, on approval by the Secretary. 

11 (m) REPORTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

13 once each year, each eligible entity that receives a 

14 grant under the program, in coordination with the 

15 applicable community advisory board under sub16 section (l), shall submit to the Secretary periodic re17 ports on the use of the grant funds. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—A periodic report under para19 graph (1) shall include— 

20 (A) the amount of Federal funds received, 

21 obligated, and expended by the eligible entity 

22 under the program; 

23 (B) the number of projects that have been 

24 put out to bid using the grant funds and the 


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1 amount of Federal funds associated with each 

2 project; 

3 (C) the number of projects for which con4 tracts have been awarded for the project carried 

5 out under the program and the amount of Fed6 eral funds associated with the contracts; 

7 (D) the number of projects for which work 

8 has begun under the contracts referred to in 

9 subparagraph (C) and the amount of Federal 

10 funds associated with the contracts; 

11 (E) the number of projects for which work 

12 has been completed under the contracts referred 

13 to in subparagraph (C) and the amount of Fed14 eral funds associated with the contracts; 

15 (F) the number of direct, on-project jobs 

16 created or sustained by the Federal funds pro17 vided for projects under the program and, to 

18 the extent possible, the estimated indirect jobs 

19 created or sustained in the associated supplying 

20 industries, including— 

21 (i) the number of job-years created 

22 and the total increase in employment in 

23 the project area since the date of enact24 ment of this Act; and 


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1 (ii) information on local hiring, hiring 

2 of economically disadvantaged individuals, 

3 and hiring of individuals with a barrier to 

4 employment (including ex-offenders) and 

5 disabled individuals (as defined in section 

6 121), with respect to the project; 

7 (G) an analysis of the contracts awarded 

8 that indicates participation levels of small busi9 nesses and disadvantaged businesses; 

10 (H) suggestions for improvements in trans11 portation accessibility for disadvantaged popu12 lations, based on criteria developed by the Sec13 retary; and 

14 (I) any other criteria the Secretary deter15 mines to be appropriate. 

16 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Each fiscal year, 

17 the Secretary shall transmit to Congress the reports 

18 received by the Secretary under paragraph (1). 

19 (4) GAO REPORT ON INFRASTRUCTURE REMOV20 ALS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enact21 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

22 United States shall submit to Congress a report on 

23 infrastructure removal, including— 


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1 (A) an identification of examples of 

2 projects to remove infrastructure using assist3 ance from a covered infrastructure program; 

4 (B) an evaluation of the effect of infra5 structure removal projects on the surrounding 

6 area, including impacts to the local economy, 

7 congestion effects, safety outcomes, and impacts 

8 on the movement of freight and people; 

9 (C) an analysis of the costs and benefits of 

10 removing underutilized infrastructure assets 

11 that are nearing the end of the useful life of the 

12 assets compared to replacing or reconstructing 

13 the assets; and 

14 (D) recommendations for integrating the 

15 findings and results under subparagraphs (A) 

16 through (C) into infrastructure planning and 

17 decisionmaking processes. 

18 (n) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro19 priated to carry out the program $5,000,000,000 for each 

20 of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 


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1 TITLE II—LAUNCHING MIDDLE 

2 CLASS CAREER PATHWAYS IN 

3 INFRASTRUCTURE 

4 SEC. 201. BUILDING AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND CA5 REERS PROGRAM. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) WIOA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘career 

8 pathway’’, ‘‘community-based organization’’, ‘‘indi9 vidual with a barrier to employment’’, ‘‘industry or 

10 sector partnership’’, ‘‘integrated education and 

11 training’’, ‘‘postsecondary educational institution’’, 

12 ‘‘recognized postsecondary credential’’, and ‘‘work13 force development system’’ have the meanings given 

14 those terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 

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

16 (2) OTHER DEFINITIONS.— 

17 (A) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDU18 CATION.—The term ‘‘career and technical edu19 cation’’ has the meaning given the term in sec20 tion 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech21 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 

22 (B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

23 entity’’ means— 

24 (i) a local workforce development 

25 board; 


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1 (ii) a State workforce development 

2 board; 

3 (iii) an industry or sector partnership, 

4 which may be led by any member of such 

5 partnership, including— 

6 (I) a community-based organiza7 tion; 

8 (II) a recognized State labor or9 ganization, central labor council, or 

10 another labor representative, as ap11 propriate; or 

12 (III) an education or training 

13 provider; or 

14 (iv) any combination of entities de15 scribed in any of clauses (i) through (iii). 

16 (C) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PRO17 GRAM.—The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship 

18 program’’ means an apprenticeship program 

19 registered with the Department of Labor or a 

20 federally recognized State Apprenticeship Agen21 cy and that complies with the requirements 

22 under parts 29 and 30 of title 29, Code of Fed23 eral Regulations, as in effect on January 1, 

24 2019. 


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1 (D) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

2 means the Secretary of Labor. 

3 (E) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The term 

4 ‘‘supportive services’’ means services such as 

5 transportation, child care, dependent care, 

6 housing, and needs-related payments, that are 

7 necessary to enable an individual to participate 

8 in activities authorized under this Act or under 

9 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

10 (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.). 

11 (F) TARGETED INFRASTRUCTURE INDUS12 TRY.—The term ‘‘targeted infrastructure indus13 try’’ means an infrastructure industry, includ14 ing transportation (including surface, transit, 

15 aviation, or railway transportation), construc16 tion, energy, water, information technology, or 

17 utilities industries, that the eligible entity iden18 tifies in accordance with subsection (c)(2)(A). 

19 (G) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has 

20 the meaning given such term in section 121. 

21 (H) WORK-BASED LEARNING PROGRAM.— 

22 The term ‘‘work-based learning program’’ 

23 means a program that provides workers with 

24 paid work experience and corresponding class25 room instruction, delivered in an employment 


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1 relationship that both the business and worker 

2 intend to be permanent. 

3 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF BUILDING AMERICAN IN4 FRASTRUCTURE AND CAREERS PROGRAM.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Trans8 portation, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of 

9 Commerce, the Secretary of Education, the Adminis10 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and 

11 the Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engi12 neers, shall establish a program, to be known as the 

13 ‘‘Building American Infrastructure and Careers Pro14 gram’’, to provide grants under paragraph (2) to eli15 gible entities for the purposes of— 

16 (A) promoting careers and quality employ17 ment practices in targeted infrastructure indus18 tries among individuals with a barrier to em19 ployment (including ex-offenders), veterans, or 

20 individuals who are traditionally underrep21 resented in the targeted infrastructure indus22 tries; 

23 (B) leveraging the existing capacity of 

24 workforce development systems through dem25 onstrated partnerships to strategically facilitate 


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1 and align quality training, including industry or 

2 sector partnerships, registered apprenticeship 

3 programs, and pre-apprenticeship programs af4 filiated with registered apprenticeship pro5 grams, and hiring that create a pipeline of 

6 qualified workers; and 

7 (C) advancing efficiency and performance 

8 on projects in targeted infrastructure indus9 tries. 

10 (2) GRANTS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con12 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, 

13 the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Com14 merce, the Secretary of Education, the Admin15 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agen16 cy, and the Chief of Engineers of the Army 

17 Corps of Engineers, shall award grants on a 

18 competitive basis to eligible entities that submit 

19 an application meeting the requirements under 

20 subsection (c) for such eligible entities to, sub21 ject to subparagraph (E), carry out a job train22 ing program including the activities described in 

23 subsection (d) for assisting individuals with a 

24 barrier to employment (including ex-offenders), 

25 veterans, or individuals who are traditionally 


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1 underrepresented in the targeted infrastructure 

2 industry, in obtaining and maintaining employ3 ment in a targeted infrastructure industry. 

4 (B) TYPES OF GRANTS.—A grant awarded 

5 under this section may be in the form of— 

6 (i) an implementation grant, for enti7 ties seeking an initial grant under this sec8 tion, in order for such entity to establish 

9 and carry out a job training program de10 scribed in subparagraph (A); or 

11 (ii) a renewal grant for entities that 

12 have already received an implementation 

13 grant under this section for such a job 

14 training program, in order for such entity 

15 to continue carrying out such job training 

16 program. 

17 (C) DURATION.—Each grant awarded 

18 under this section shall be for a period not to 

19 exceed 3 years. 

20 (D) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 

21 awarded under this section may not exceed— 

22 (i) for an implementation grant, 

23 $2,500,000; and 

24 (ii) for a renewal grant, $1,500,000. 


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1 (E) CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.—Notwith2 standing any other provision in this section, if 

3 the targeted infrastructure industry for a grant 

4 awarded under this section is the construction 

5 industry, the grant shall only be available for 

6 the establishment or operation of a pre-appren7 ticeship program affiliated with a registered ap8 prenticeship program. 

9 (3) AWARD BASIS.— 

10 (A) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—The Sec11 retary shall award grants under this section in 

12 a manner that ensures geographic diversity in 

13 the areas in which activities will be carried out 

14 under the grants, including a balance between 

15 rural and tribal areas and urban areas. 

16 (B) PRIORITY FOR TARGETED HIRING OR

17 U.S. EMPLOYMENT PLAN PROJECTS.—In award18 ing grants under this section, the Secretary 

19 shall give priority to eligible entities that— 

20 (i) ensure that not less than 50 per21 cent of the workers hired to participate in 

22 the job training program are hired through 

23 local hiring in accordance with section 111, 

24 including by prioritizing individuals with a 

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1 fenders), disabled individuals as defined in 

2 section 121, veterans, and individuals that 

3 represent populations that are traditionally 

4 underrepresented in the infrastructure 

5 workforce; or 

6 (ii) ensure the commitments described 

7 in clauses (i) and (ii) of section 

8 131(a)(2)(A) with respect to carrying out 

9 the job training program. 

10 (C) PRIORITY FOR RENEWAL GRANTS.—In 

11 awarding renewal grants under this section, the 

12 Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 

13 that demonstrate long-term sustainability of an 

14 industry or sector partnership. 

15 (c) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking a 

17 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec18 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

19 and containing such information as the Secretary 

20 may reasonably require, including the contents de21 scribed in paragraph (2). 

22 (2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

23 under paragraph (1) shall contain, at a minimum— 

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1 ing program supported by a grant under this 

2 section; 

3 (B) a description of the individuals with a 

4 barrier to employment, veterans, or individuals 

5 who are traditionally underrepresented in the 

6 targeted infrastructure industry, that will be 

7 served by such program, including— 

8 (i) an analysis of the labor market in 

9 the targeted infrastructure industry; 

10 (ii) a description of the barriers to 

11 employment that may affect such individ12 uals; and 

13 (iii) a description of strategies that 

14 the program will employ to help such indi15 viduals overcome such barriers; 

16 (C) a description of the credentials that 

17 the program will assist such individuals in ob18 taining, which credentials— 

19 (i) shall be nationally portable; 

20 (ii) shall be recognized postsecondary 

21 credentials or, if not available for the in22 dustry, other credentials determined by the 

23 Secretary to be appropriate; and 

24 (iii) shall be related to the targeted 

25 infrastructure industry; and 


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1 (D) a description of the services described 

2 in subsection (d)(3) that the program will offer 

3 to such individuals. 

4 (d) ACTIVITIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each job training program 

6 supported under this section— 

7 (A) shall include— 

8 (i) activities designed to achieve the 

9 strategic objectives described in paragraph 

10 (2); and 

11 (ii) the services described in para12 graph (3) for individuals with a barrier to 

13 employment (including ex-offenders), vet14 erans, or individuals who are traditionally 

15 underrepresented in the targeted infra16 structure industry; and 

17 (B) may include a partnership between the 

18 eligible entity and an employer to assist such 

19 employer in carrying out a work-based learning 

20 program, including a registered apprenticeship 

21 program or a pre-apprenticeship program affili22 ated with a registered apprenticeship program. 

23 (2) STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES.—The strategic ob24 jectives described in this paragraph are the fol25 lowing: 


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1 (A)(i) Recruiting key stakeholders in the 

2 targeted infrastructure industry, which stake3 holders may include employers, labor organiza4 tions, local workforce development boards, and 

5 education and training providers, including pro6 viders of career and technical education. 

7 (ii) Regularly convening such stakeholders 

8 in a collaborative manner that supports the 

9 sharing of information, ideas, and challenges, 

10 which are common to the targeted infrastruc11 ture industry. 

12 (B) Identifying the training needs of em13 ployers in the targeted infrastructure industry, 

14 including— 

15 (i) needs for skills critical to competi16 tiveness and innovation in such industry; 

17 (ii) needs of registered apprenticeship 

18 programs, pre-apprenticeship programs af19 filiated with registered apprenticeship pro20 grams, or other work-based learning pro21 grams that may be supported by a grant 

22 under this section; and 

23 (iii) needs for the alignment of a job 

24 training program supported under this sec25 tion with career pathways. 


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1 (C) Facilitating actions, through industry 

2 or sector partnerships, registered apprenticeship 

3 programs, or pre-apprenticeship programs affili4 ated with registered apprenticeship programs, 

5 that lead to economies of scale by aggregating 

6 training and education needs of multiple em7 ployers in the targeted infrastructure industry. 

8 (D) Assisting postsecondary educational 

9 institutions, training institutions, sponsors of 

10 registered apprenticeship programs, and all 

11 other providers of career and technical edu12 cation and training programs that may be re13 ceiving assistance under this section, align cur14 ricula, entrance requirements, and programs to 

15 the targeted infrastructure industry needs and 

16 the credentials described in subsection 

17 (c)(2)(C), particularly for high-skill, high-pri18 ority occupations related to the targeted infra19 structure industry. 

20 (E) Providing information on the activities 

21 carried out through the job training program 

22 supported under this section to the State agen23 cy carrying out the State program under the 

24 Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 49 et seq.), in25 cluding staff of the agency that provide services 


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1 under such Act, to enable the agency to inform 

2 recipients of unemployment compensation of the 

3 employment and training opportunities that 

4 may be offered through such job training pro5 gram supported under this section. 

6 (F) Assisting employers in the targeted in7 frastructure industry to attract potential work8 ers from a diverse jobseeker base, including in9 dividuals with a barrier to employment (includ10 ing ex-offenders), veterans, or individuals who 

11 are traditionally underrepresented in the tar12 geted infrastructure industry, by identifying 

13 any such barriers, reasons for such underrep14 resentation, or related issues for veterans 

15 through analysis of the labor market in the tar16 geted infrastructure industry and implementing 

17 strategies to help such individuals overcome 

18 such barriers, reduce such underrepresentation, 

19 and address such issues. 

20 (3) SERVICES.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each job training pro22 gram supported by a grant under this section 

23 shall provide services to individuals with a bar24 rier to employment, veterans, or individuals who 

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1 geted infrastructure industry, which may in2 clude— 

3 (i) pre-employment services as de4 scribed in subparagraph (B); and 

5 (ii) employment services as described 

6 in subparagraph (C). 

7 (B) PRE-EMPLOYMENT SERVICES.—The 

8 pre-employment services described in this sub9 paragraph may include— 

10 (i) skills training, including career 

11 and technical education, and integrated 

12 education and training, with respect to the 

13 targeted infrastructure industry; 

14 (ii) initial assessments of such individ15 uals; 

16 (iii) services to provide work attire 

17 and necessary tools for a work site in the 

18 targeted infrastructure industry; 

19 (iv) supportive services, such as child 

20 care and transportation; 

21 (v) mentoring services; and 

22 (vi) job placement assistance. 

23 (C) EMPLOYMENT SERVICES.—The em24 ployment services described in this subpara25 graph are services provided to individuals with 


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1 a barrier to employment (including ex-offend2 ers), veterans, or individuals who are tradition3 ally underrepresented in the targeted infra4 structure industry, and that are employed in a 

5 work-based learning program in the targeted in6 frastructure industry. A job training program 

7 supported by a grant under this section shall 

8 provide such services to such individuals during 

9 their first 6 months of employment through 

10 such program, to assure the individuals succeed 

11 in the program. Such services may include— 

12 (i) ongoing case management and 

13 services, including the services described in 

14 subparagraph (B); 

15 (ii) continued skills training, including 

16 career and technical education, integrated 

17 education and training, and soft-skills 

18 training such as problem solving and lead19 ership training, conducted in collaboration 

20 with the employers of such individuals; 

21 (iii) additional mentorship and reten22 tion supports for such individuals; and 

23 (iv) targeted training for the employer 

24 participating in the work-based learning 

25 program, including for frontline managers, 


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1 journey level workers (such as mentors) 

2 working with individuals with a barrier to 

3 employment, veterans, or individuals who 

4 are traditionally underrepresented in the 

5 targeted infrastructure industry, and 

6 human resource representatives of the em7 ployer. 

8 (e) EVALUATIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

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

11 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, 

12 the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Com13 merce, the Secretary of Education, the Adminis14 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and 

15 the Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engi16 neers, shall prepare and submit a report to Congress 

17 that evaluates the effectiveness of the grants award18 ed under this section in advancing the strategic ob19 jectives described in subsection (d)(2), and the pur20 poses described in subsection (b)(1). 

21 (2) DATA.—The report required under para22 graph (1) shall provide and analyze each of the fol23 lowing: 

24 (A) The number of participants in job 

25 training programs supported under this section, 


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1 disaggregated by age, race or ethnicity, gender, 

2 status as an individual with a barrier to em3 ployment, and income. 

4 (B) The percentage of such participants 

5 who are in unsubsidized employment prior to 

6 enrolling in such program. 

7 (C) The median earnings of such partici8 pants prior to enrolling in such program. 

9 (D) The percentage of such participants 

10 who are in unsubsidized employment during the 

11 second quarter after exit from such program 

12 and salary statistics of such participants, in13 cluding mean and median earnings. 

14 (E) The percentage of such participants 

15 who are in unsubsidized employment during the 

16 fourth quarter after exit from such program 

17 and the salary statistics of such participants, 

18 including mean and median earnings. 

19 (F) The percentage of such participants 

20 who obtain a recognized postsecondary creden21 tial, or a secondary school diploma or its recog22 nized equivalent, during participation in or 

23 within 1 year after exit from such program. 

24 (G) The percentage of such participants 

25 who, during a program year, are in an eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Aug 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2404.IS S2404

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1 cation or training program that leads to a rec2 ognized postsecondary credential or employment 

3 and who are achieving measurable skill gains 

4 toward such a credential or employment. 

5 SEC. 202. INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE EQUITY CAPAC6 ITY BUILDING PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti9 ty’’ means an entity that— 

10 (A) has an affiliate network or offices in 

11 not less than 3 communities and across not less 

12 than 2 States; 

13 (B) has the programmatic capability to 

14 serve individuals with a barrier to employment 

15 or individuals who are traditionally underrep16 resented in infrastructure industries; 

17 (C) has clearly and convincingly dem18 onstrated that it has the capacity to provide 

19 technical assistance to entities carrying out job 

20 training programs under section 201; and 

21 (D) submits an application in accordance 

22 with subsection (c). 

23 (2) INDIVIDUAL WITH A BARRIER TO EMPLOY24 MENT.—The term ‘‘individual with a barrier to em25 ployment’’ has the meaning given such term in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Aug 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2404.IS S2404

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1 tion 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

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

3 (b) CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

4 shall reserve 10 percent of the amounts appropriated 

5 under section 203 to award grants, contracts, or other 

6 agreements or arrangements as the Secretary determines 

7 appropriate, to eligible entities for the purpose of building 

8 the capacity of entities receiving a grant under section 201 

9 to implement the activities described in subsection (d) of 

10 such section to more effectively serve individuals with a 

11 barrier to employment, including ex-offenders, veterans as 

12 defined in section 121, or individuals who are traditionally 

13 underrepresented in the targeted infrastructure industry 

14 served through the job training program supported under 

15 such section. 

16 (c) APPLICATION.—An entity seeking an award under 

17 this section shall submit to the Secretary an application 

18 at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor19 mation as the Secretary may reasonably require. 

20 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An award made under this sec21 tion may be used to provide technical assistance to entities 

22 receiving a grant under section 201 in order for such enti23 ties to carry out the activities described in subsection (d) 

24 of that section. Such technical assistance may include as25 sistance with— 


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1 (1) the development and training of staff; 

2 (2) the provision of outreach, intake, assess3 ments, and service delivery; 

4 (3) the coordination of services across providers 

5 and programs; and 

6 (4) the development of performance account7 ability measures. 

8 (e) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant awarded under 

9 this section may not exceed $5,000,000. 

10 (f) REPORT.—An eligible entity receiving a grant 

11 under this section shall, not later than 6 months after the 

12 grant is awarded, submit to the Secretary a report that 

13 includes— 

14 (1) the impact of the technical assistance pro15 vided under this section on the outcomes of grants 

16 under section 201; and 

17 (2) such other criteria as determined by the 

18 Secretary. 

19 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

21 this title $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

22 through 2024. 


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1 TITLE III—INVESTING IN HIGH2 QUALITY AMERICAN JOBS 

3 SEC. 301. WAGE RATE. 

4 (a) DAVIS-BACON ACT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

6 provision of law, for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal 

7 year thereafter, all laborers and mechanics employed 

8 by contractors or subcontractors on projects assisted 

9 in whole or in part under a covered infrastructure 

10 program, including projects described in paragraph 

11 (3) assisted in whole or in part under such pro12 grams, without regard to the form or type of Fed13 eral assistance provided under such program, shall 

14 be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing 

15 on projects of a similar character in the locality as 

16 determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance 

17 with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United 

18 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon 

19 Act’’). 

20 (2) AUTHORITY.—With respect to the labor 

21 standards specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary 

22 of Labor shall have the authority and functions set 

23 forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 

24 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of 

25 title 40, United States Code. 


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1 (3) REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS.—A project de2 scribed in this paragraph is a project, in the case of 

3 a covered infrastructure program that capitalizes re4 volving loan funds, that is assisted in whole or in 

5 part with amounts deposited in the revolving loan 

6 fund, including loan repayments and interest earned. 

7 (b) SERVICE EMPLOYEES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of law, for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal 

10 year thereafter, all service employees, including serv11 ice employees that are operations workers or mainte12 nance workers, employed by contractors or sub13 contractors on projects assisted in whole or in part 

14 under a covered infrastructure program, without re15 gard to the form or type of Federal assistance pro16 vided under such program, shall be paid a wage and 

17 fringe benefits that are not less than the minimum 

18 wage and fringe benefits determined in accordance 

19 with paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, of section 

20 6703 of title 41, United States Code, for service em21 ployees engaged in the performance of a contract or 

22 subcontract to which chapter 67 of title 41, United 

23 States Code, applies. 

24 (2) DEFINITION OF SERVICE EMPLOYEE.—In 

25 this subsection, the term ‘‘service employee’’ has the 


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1 meaning given such term in section 6701 of title 41, 

2 United States Code. 

3 SEC. 302. RAISE LABOR STANDARDS, IMPROVE WORKING 

4 CONDITIONS, AND STRENGTHEN WORKERS’ 

5 BARGAINING POWER. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

7 (1) the term ‘‘covered award’’ means an award 

8 of not less than $500,000 made to an entity under 

9 a covered infrastructure program by the head of the 

10 relevant Federal agency; and 

11 (2) the term ‘‘covered subaward’’ means a 

12 subaward of not less than $500,000 made to an en13 tity under a covered infrastructure program by an14 other entity receiving a covered award. 

15 (b) REQUIRED PRE-GRANT, LOAN, OR CONTRACT

16 AWARD ACTIONS.— 

17 (1) DISCLOSURES.—The head of a relevant 

18 Federal agency shall require an entity applying for 

19 a covered award— 

20 (A) to represent, to the best of the entity’s 

21 knowledge and belief, whether there has been 

22 any administrative merits determination, arbi23 tral award or decision, or civil judgment, as de24 fined in guidance issued by the Secretary of 


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1 Labor, rendered against the entity in the pre2 ceding 3 years for violations of— 

3 (i) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

4 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.); 

5 (ii) the Occupational Safety and 

6 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et 

7 seq.); 

8 (iii) the Migrant and Seasonal Agri9 cultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 

10 1801 et seq.); 

11 (iv) the National Labor Relations Act 

12 (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.); 

13 (v) subchapter IV of chapter 31 of 

14 title 40, United States Code (commonly 

15 known as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’); 

16 (vi) chapter 67 of title 41, United 

17 States Code (commonly known as the 

18 ‘‘Service Contract Act’’); 

19 (vii) Executive Order 11246 (42 

20 U.S.C. 2000e note; relating to equal em21 ployment opportunity), including any 

22 amendment to such Executive order; 

23 (viii) section 503 of the Rehabilitation 

24 Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 793); 


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1 (ix) section 4212 of title 38, United 

2 States Code; 

3 (x) the Family and Medical Leave Act 

4 of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); 

5 (xi) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 

6 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.); 

7 (xii) the Americans with Disabilities 

8 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); 

9 (xiii) the Age Discrimination in Em10 ployment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et 

11 seq.); 

12 (xiv) Executive Order 13658 (79 Fed. 

13 Reg. 9851; relating to establishing a min14 imum wage for contractors); 

15 (xv) subsection (h) of this section; or 

16 (xvi) equivalent State laws, as defined 

17 in guidance issued by the Secretary of 

18 Labor; and 

19 (2) to require any applicant for a covered 

20 subaward from the entity— 

21 (A) to represent to the best of the appli22 cant’s knowledge and belief, whether there has 

23 been any administrative merits determination, 

24 arbitral award or decision, or civil judgment, as 

25 defined in guidance issued by the Secretary of 


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1 Labor, rendered against the applicant in the 

2 preceding 3 years for violations of any of the 

3 labor laws listed in paragraph (1); and 

4 (B) to update such information not less 

5 than every 6 months for the duration of the 

6 covered subaward. 

7 (c) PRE-AWARD CORRECTIVE MEASURES.—The head 

8 of a relevant Federal agency shall, prior to awarding a 

9 covered award, provide an entity that makes a disclosure 

10 under subsection (b)(1) an opportunity to report any steps 

11 taken to correct a violation of or improve compliance with 

12 the labor laws listed in subsection (b)(1), including any 

13 agreements entered into by the entity with an enforcement 

14 agency. 

15 (d) DISCLOSURE OF VIOLATIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary of Labor shall establish a website that— 

19 (A) is available to the public at no cost; 

20 (B) indicates each violation disclosed under 

21 subsection (b) or (e)(1) with respect to an enti22 ty applying for, or receiving, a covered award or 

23 covered subaward until such violation is cor24 rected and the entity is in compliance with all 

25 labor laws listed in subsection (b)(1); and 


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1 (C) is designed to enable interested parties 

2 to easily identify entities applying for, or receiv3 ing, covered awards or covered subawards that 

4 are in violation of any labor laws listed in sub5 section (b)(1) and steps taken by such entities 

6 to correct the violations or improve compliance 

7 with such laws. 

8 (2) FULFILLING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 The Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Di10 rector of the Office of Management and Budget and 

11 the heads of the relevant Federal agencies, shall in12 clude on the website established under paragraph (1) 

13 the ability for all entities that apply for or receive 

14 covered awards or covered subawards to fulfill re15 porting requirements under this section. 

16 (3) AGENCY COOPERATION.—The heads of the 

17 relevant Federal agencies shall provide the Secretary 

18 of Labor with the data necessary to maintain the 

19 website established under paragraph (1). 

20 (e) POST-AWARD GRANT, LOAN, OR CONTRACT AC21 TIONS.— 

22 (1) INFORMATION UPDATES.—The head of a 

23 relevant Federal agency shall require each entity re24 ceiving a covered award or covered subaward to, not 

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1 tion provided under paragraph (1) or (2), as applica2 ble, of subsection (b). 

3 (2) CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.— 

4 (A) ENTITY AWARDED ASSISTANCE.—The 

5 head of a relevant Federal agency, in consulta6 tion with the Labor Compliance Advisor des7 ignated by such head under subsection (f) and 

8 in coordination with the heads of the other rel9 evant Federal agencies as applicable, shall de10 termine whether any information provided 

11 under paragraph (1) by an entity receiving a 

12 covered award warrants corrective action. Such 

13 action— 

14 (i) may include— 

15 (I) an agreement requiring ap16 propriate remedial measures; 

17 (II) compliance assistance; 

18 (III) resolving issues to avoid 

19 further violations; 

20 (IV) the decision not to exercise 

21 an option on assistance awarded or to 

22 terminate the assistance awarded; or 

23 (V) in coordination with the 

24 heads of the other relevant Federal 

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1 pend the entity from future participa2 tion in any of the covered infrastruc3 ture programs; and 

4 (ii) shall include disclosure on the 

5 website established under subsection (d). 

6 (B) SUBAWARDS.—An entity that receives 

7 a covered award, in consultation with head of 

8 the relevant Federal agency and the Labor 

9 Compliance Advisor designated by such head 

10 under subsection (f), shall determine whether 

11 any information provided under subsection 

12 (b)(2) by a recipient of a covered subaward 

13 warrants corrective action, including remedial 

14 measures, compliance assistance, and resolving 

15 issues to avoid further violations. 

16 (3) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR INVESTIGA17 TIONS.—The Secretary of Labor shall, as appro18 priate, inform the heads of the relevant Federal 

19 agencies of investigations by the Secretary of entities 

20 receiving covered awards or covered subawards for 

21 purposes of determining the appropriateness of ac22 tions described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

23 paragraph (2). 

24 (f) LABOR COMPLIANCE ADVISORS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each head of a relevant 

2 Federal agency shall designate a senior official to 

3 serve as the Labor Compliance Advisor for the agen4 cy. 

5 (2) DUTIES.—The Labor Compliance Advisor 

6 shall— 

7 (A) meet quarterly with the Deputy Sec8 retary, Deputy Administrator, or equivalent of9 ficial of the agency with regard to matters cov10 ered under this section; 

11 (B) work with officials of the agency to 

12 promote greater awareness and understanding 

13 of— 

14 (i) the labor laws listed in subsection 

15 (b)(1), including recordkeeping, reporting, 

16 and notice requirements under such laws; 

17 and 

18 (ii) best practices for compliance with 

19 such laws; 

20 (C) advise the head of the relevant Federal 

21 agency whether agreements are in place or are 

22 otherwise needed to address appropriate reme23 dial measures, compliance assistance, steps to 

24 resolve issues to avoid violations of the labor 

25 laws listed in subsection (b)(1), or other related 


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1 matters concerning entities applying for or re2 ceiving covered awards or covered subawards; 

3 (D) coordinate assistance for entities that 

4 apply for or receive covered awards or covered 

5 subawards that are seeking help in addressing 

6 and preventing violations of such labor laws; 

7 (E) in consultation with the Secretary of 

8 Labor or other relevant enforcement agencies, 

9 provide assistance to the head of the relevant 

10 Federal agency regarding appropriate actions to 

11 be taken in response to violations, by entities 

12 applying for or receiving covered awards or cov13 ered subawards, of the labor laws listed in sub14 section (b)(1) identified prior to or after receipt 

15 of such awards, and to address complaints in a 

16 timely manner, by— 

17 (i) providing assistance to officials of 

18 the agency in reviewing the information 

19 provided under subsections (b) and (e)(1), 

20 or other information indicating a violation 

21 of such a labor law, in order to assess the 

22 serious, repeated, willful, or pervasive na23 ture of such violation and evaluate steps 

24 entities applying for or receiving covered 

25 awards or covered subawards have taken to 


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1 correct violations of or improve compliance 

2 with such laws; 

3 (ii) helping officials of the agency de4 termine the appropriate response to ad5 dress violations of the labor laws listed in 

6 subsection (b)(1), or other information in7 dicating such violations, particularly seri8 ous, repeated, willful, or pervasive viola9 tions, including agreements requiring ap10 propriate remedial measures, decisions not 

11 to award assistance or exercise an option 

12 on an award of assistance, termination of 

13 an award of assistance, or referral of de14 tails to be posted on the website estab15 lished under subsection (d); 

16 (iii) providing assistance to officials of 

17 the agency in receiving and responding to, 

18 or making referrals of, complaints alleging 

19 violations of the labor laws listed in sub20 section (b)(1) by entities applying for or 

21 receiving covered awards or covered sub22 awards; 

23 (iv) supporting officials of the agency 

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1 ant to this section to ensure agency-wide 

2 consistency, to the extent practicable; and 

3 (v) as appropriate, sending informa4 tion to agency suspension and debarment 

5 officials in accordance with agency proce6 dures; 

7 (F) consult with the head of the relevant 

8 Federal agency, and the Secretary of Labor as 

9 necessary, in the development of regulations, 

10 policies, and guidance addressing compliance 

11 with the labor laws listed in subsection (b)(1) 

12 by entities applying for or receiving covered 

13 awards or covered subawards; 

14 (G) make recommendations to the head of 

15 the relevant Federal agency to strengthen agen16 cy management of compliance with such labor 

17 laws by entities applying for or receiving cov18 ered awards or covered subawards; 

19 (H) publicly report, on an annual basis, a 

20 summary of actions taken by the head of the 

21 relevant Federal agency to promote greater 

22 compliance with the labor laws listed in sub23 section (b)(1), including the head’s response to 

24 serious, repeated, willful, or pervasive violations 

25 of such labor laws; and 


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1 (I) participate in the interagency meetings 

2 regularly convened by the Secretary of Labor 

3 under subsection (g)(2). 

4 (g) MEASURES TO ENSURE GOVERNMENT-WIDE

5 CONSISTENCY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

6 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall— 

7 (1) develop a process— 

8 (A) for the Labor Compliance Advisors 

9 designated under subsection (f) to consult with 

10 the Secretary of Labor in carrying out the re11 sponsibilities of such Advisors under subsection 

12 (f)(2)(E); and 

13 (B) by which the head of the relevant Fed14 eral agencies and Labor Compliance Advisors 

15 may give appropriate consideration to deter16 minations and agreements made by the Sec17 retary of Labor and such heads; 

18 (2) regularly convene interagency meetings of 

19 Labor Compliance Advisors to share and promote 

20 best practices for improving compliance with the 

21 labor laws listed in subsection (b)(1); and 

22 (3) designate an appropriate contact within the 

23 Department of Labor with whom the heads of the 

24 relevant Federal agencies may consult with respect 

25 to requirements and activities under this section. 


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1 (h) WORKFORCE DIVERSITY PROGRAMS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of a relevant Fed3 eral agency, in coordination with the Secretary of 

4 Labor, shall require each entity that has not less 

5 than 50 employees and receives a covered award or 

6 covered subaward to develop and maintain a work7 force diversity program in accordance with this sub8 section to ensure equal employment opportunity 

9 through the recruitment, selection, and advancement 

10 of individuals who are qualified for the applicable 

11 position and who are individuals with a barrier to 

12 employment (including ex-offenders), racial or ethnic 

13 minorities, women, disabled individuals, or veterans. 

14 (2) STRUCTURE OF WORKFORCE DIVERSITY

15 PROGRAMS.—A workforce diversity program required 

16 under paragraph (1) of an entity described in such 

17 paragraph shall include programs, policies, practices, 

18 and procedures that fulfill the purposes of this sub19 section. Such programs, policies, practices, and pro20 cedures shall— 

21 (A) contain a diagnostic component that 

22 includes more than 1 quantitative analysis de23 signed to evaluate the composition of the work24 force of the entity and compare such composiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Aug 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00096 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2404.IS S2404

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1 tion to the composition of other relevant 

2 workforces; 

3 (B) include action-oriented programs, such 

4 as programs for training and outreach; 

5 (C) include internal auditing and reporting 

6 systems as a means of— 

7 (i) measuring the entity’s progress to8 ward achieving a diverse workforce; and 

9 (ii) monitoring and examining employ10 ment decisions and compensation systems 

11 to evaluate the impact of those systems on 

12 diverse applicants and employees; 

13 (D) be incorporated into the entity’s per14 sonnel policies, practices, and procedures; 

15 (E) be updated annually for the duration 

16 of the project assisted by the covered award or 

17 covered subaward; and 

18 (F) be readily available for reporting to the 

19 Secretary for the purposes of compliance re20 view. 

21 (3) DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBILITY.—An en22 tity described in paragraph (1) shall provide for the 

23 implementation of the workforce diversity program 

24 required under such paragraph by— 


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1 (A) assigning responsibility and account2 ability to an official of the entity; and 

3 (B) providing the assigned official with the 

4 authority, resources, and support of and access 

5 to top management of the entity to ensure the 

6 effective implementation of such program. 

7 (4) IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEM AREAS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—An entity described in 

9 paragraph (1) shall perform an in-depth anal10 ysis of the employment process of the entity to 

11 determine— 

12 (i) whether impediments to equal em13 ployment opportunity exist in such process; 

14 and 

15 (ii) if such impediments exist, the as16 pects of such process in which such im17 pediments exist. 

18 (B) EVALUATIONS.—An analysis under 

19 subparagraph (A) shall include an analysis of— 

20 (i) whether, across different positions 

21 of the entity, there are problems of utiliza22 tion or distribution of individuals who are 

23 qualified for such positions and are individ24 uals with a barrier to employment (includ25 ing ex-offenders), racial or ethnic minoriVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Aug 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2404.IS S2404

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1 ties, women, disabled individuals, or vet2 erans; 

3 (ii) personnel activity to determine 

4 whether there are selection disparities, 

5 which such analysis may include an anal6 ysis of the number of applications and 

7 interviews, hires, terminations, promotions, 

8 and other personnel actions of the entity; 

9 (iii) compensation systems to deter10 mine whether there are disparities in com11 pensation; 

12 (iv) selection, recruitment, referral, 

13 and other personnel procedures to deter14 mine whether such procedures result in 

15 disparities in the employment or advance16 ment of individuals who are qualified for 

17 the applicable position and are individuals 

18 with a barrier to employment (including 

19 ex-offenders), racial or ethnic minorities, 

20 women, disabled individuals, or veterans; 

21 and 

22 (v) any other issue that may impact 

23 the success of the workforce diversity pro24 gram required of the entity under para25 graph (1). 


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1 (5) ACTION-ORIENTED PROGRAMS.—An entity 

2 described in paragraph (1) shall develop and execute 

3 action-oriented programs designed to— 

4 (A) correct any problem areas identified 

5 under this subsection; and 

6 (B) attain established goals and objectives 

7 that— 

8 (i) require the entity to follow dif9 ferent procedures than those procedures 

10 that may have previously produced inad11 equate results; and 

12 (ii) demonstrate the entity has made 

13 good faith efforts to remove identified bar14 riers to workforce diversity, expand em15 ployment opportunities, and produce meas16 urable results to achieve improved work17 force diversity. 

18 (6) INTERNAL AUDIT AND REPORTING SYS19 TEM.—An entity described in paragraph (1) shall 

20 develop and implement an auditing system that peri21 odically measures the effectiveness of the workforce 

22 diversity program developed and maintained by the 

23 entity under such paragraph. Such system shall in24 clude requirements for the entity to— 


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1 (A) monitor records of all personnel activ2 ity, including referrals, placements, transfers, 

3 promotions, terminations, and compensation, at 

4 all levels of employment with the entity to en5 sure the workforce diversity program is carried 

6 out in accordance with the purposes of this sub7 section; 

8 (B) require internal reporting on a sched9 uled basis as to the degree to which equal em10 ployment opportunity and organizational objec11 tives are attained; 

12 (C) review the results of reports required 

13 under this subsection with all levels of manage14 ment of the entity; and 

15 (D) advise top management of the entity 

16 of the effectiveness of the program and submit 

17 recommendations to improve unsatisfactory per18 formance with respect to the program. 

19 (7) COMPLIANCE STATUS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—In determining whether 

21 an entity described in paragraph (1) has com22 plied with the requirements for the workforce 

23 diversity program under this subsection, the 

24 head of the relevant Federal agency, in coordi25 nation with the Secretary of Labor, shall— 


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1 (i) review the nature and extent of the 

2 entity’s good faith in carrying out activities 

3 under paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), and 

4 the appropriateness of those activities to 

5 identify equal employment opportunity 

6 problems; and 

7 (ii) analyze statistical data and other 

8 non-statistical information to indicate 

9 whether employees and applicants of the 

10 entity are being treated without regard to 

11 their race, color, religion, sex, sexual ori12 entation, gender identity, national origin, 

13 or disability status. 

14 (B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The head 

15 of the relevant Federal agency, in coordination 

16 with the Secretary of Labor, may provide tech17 nical assistance to an entity described in para18 graph (1) to assist such entity in achieving 

19 compliance with the requirements under this 

20 subsection, which may include an agreement be21 tween the head of the relevant Federal agency 

22 and the entity requiring appropriate remedial 

23 measures. 

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1 ance with the requirements under this sub2 section following technical assistance under sub3 paragraph (B), the head of the relevant Federal 

4 agency, in coordination with the Secretary of 

5 Labor and the heads of the other relevant Fed6 eral agencies as applicable, may take corrective 

7 action against the entity. Such action may in8 clude— 

9 (i) the decision not to exercise an op10 tion on assistance awarded or to terminate 

11 the assistance awarded; or 

12 (ii) in coordination with the heads of 

13 the other relevant Federal agencies, the de14 cision to debar or suspend the entity from 

15 future participation in any of the covered 

16 infrastructure programs. 

17 (i) PAYCHECK TRANSPARENCY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (3), each head of a relevant Federal agency 

20 shall require entities receiving a covered award or a 

21 covered subaward to provide each individual de22 scribed in paragraph (2) with a document for each 

23 pay period containing information concerning, with 

24 respect to such individual for such pay period— 


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1 (A) hours worked, including overtime 

2 hours worked; 

3 (B) pay, including any additions made to 

4 or deductions made from pay; and 

5 (C) job classification. 

6 (2) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An individual 

7 described in this paragraph is any individual per8 forming work on a project for an entity, receiving a 

9 covered award or covered subaward, that is required 

10 to maintain wage records with respect to such indi11 vidual under— 

12 (A) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

13 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.); 

14 (B) subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 

15 40, United States Code (commonly referred to 

16 as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’); 

17 (C) chapter 67 of title 41, United States 

18 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Service Con19 tract Act’’); or 

20 (D) any applicable State law. 

21 (3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

22 (A) EMPLOYEES EXEMPT FROM OVERTIME

23 REQUIREMENTS.—A document provided under 

24 paragraph (1) to an individual who is exempt 

25 under section 13 of the Fair Labor Standards 


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1 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213) from the overtime 

2 compensation requirements under section 7 of 

3 such Act (29 U.S.C. 207) shall not be required 

4 to include a record of the hours worked by the 

5 individual if the entity receiving the covered 

6 award or covered subaward informs the indi7 vidual of the status of such individual as ex8 empt from such overtime compensation require9 ments. 

10 (B) SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR STATE

11 LAWS.—The requirements under this subsection 

12 shall be deemed to be satisfied if the entity re13 ceiving the covered award or covered subaward 

14 complies with State or local requirements that 

15 the Secretary of Labor has determined are sub16 stantially similar to the requirements under this 

17 subsection. 

18 (4) INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS.—If an entity 

19 receiving a covered award or covered subaward 

20 treats an individual performing work on a project 

21 assisted by such award or subaward as an inde22 pendent contractor, and not as an employee, of the 

23 entity, the entity shall provide the individual a docu24 ment informing the individual of the status of the 

25 individual as an independent contractor. 


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1 (j) NOTICE OF HIRE.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each head of a relevant 

3 Federal agency shall require entities receiving a cov4 ered award or a covered subaward to provide each 

5 individual described in subsection (i)(2), at the time 

6 of hiring, a written notice containing each of the fol7 lowing: 

8 (A) The name of the entity, including any 

9 name used by the entity in conducting business. 

10 (B) The physical address of the entity’s 

11 main office or principal place of business, and 

12 a mailing address, if different from such phys13 ical address. 

14 (C) The telephone number of the entity. 

15 (D) The date on which the individual will 

16 regularly receive a paycheck from the entity. 

17 (E) The individual’s rate of pay, and the 

18 basis of that rate, including (as applicable)— 

19 (i) by the hour, shift, day, week, sal20 ary, piece, or commission; 

21 (ii) any allowances claimed as part of 

22 the minimum wage, including tips and 

23 meal or lodging allowances; and 

24 (iii) overtime rate of pay, including 

25 any exemptions from overtime pay. 


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1 (F) The individual’s job classification, and 

2 the prevailing wage for the corresponding class 

3 of laborers and mechanics employed on projects 

4 of a similar character in the locality in which 

5 the work is to be performed. 

6 (2) ENFORCEMENT.— 

7 (A) FINE.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The head of a rel9 evant Federal agency may assess a civil 

10 fine, subject to clause (ii), of $500 against 

11 an entity that knowingly violates para12 graph (1) for each individual to whom the 

13 entity failed to notify in violation of such 

14 paragraph. 

15 (ii) INFLATION.—The head of a rel16 evant Federal agency shall, for each year 

17 beginning 1 year after the date of enact18 ment of this Act, adjust the amount under 

19 clause (i) for inflation. 

20 (B) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—The 

21 failure to provide a notice in compliance with 

22 paragraph (1) shall be a rebuttable presumption 

23 that an entity required to provide such notice 

24 knowingly violated such paragraph. 

25 (k) NEUTRALITY.— 


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1 (1) ALLOWABLE COSTS.—Except as provided in 

2 paragraph (2), an entity receiving a covered award 

3 or covered subaward may use the assistance of such 

4 award or subaward for costs incurred in maintaining 

5 satisfactory relations between the entity and employ6 ees of the entity on a project assisted by the award 

7 or subaward, including costs of shop stewards, labor 

8 management committees, employee publications, and 

9 other related activities. 

10 (2) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—No Federal assistance 

12 made available under a covered award or cov13 ered subaward may be used for costs incurred 

14 in— 

15 (i) activities undertaken to persuade 

16 employees of any entity to exercise or not 

17 to exercise, or concerning the manner of 

18 such employees in exercising or not exer19 cising, the right to organize and bargain 

20 collectively through representatives of the 

21 employees’ own choosing; or 

22 (ii) any other activities that are sub23 ject to the requirements under section 

24 203(b) of the Labor-Management ReportVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Aug 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00108 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2404.IS S2404

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1 ing and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 

2 433(b)). 

3 (B) EXAMPLES.—Examples of costs pro4 hibited under subparagraph (A) include the 

5 costs of— 

6 (i) preparing and distributing mate7 rials for a purpose described in subpara8 graph (A); 

9 (ii) hiring or consulting legal counsel 

10 or consultants for such purpose; 

11 (iii) meetings held for such purpose 

12 (including paying the salaries of the 

13 attendees at such meetings); and 

14 (iv) planning or conducting activities 

15 for such purpose during work hours by 

16 managers, supervisors, or labor organiza17 tion representatives. 

18 (l) COMPLAINT AND DISPUTE TRANSPARENCY.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

20 (A) AWARDS.—Each head of a relevant 

21 Federal agency shall require entities receiving a 

22 covered award to agree that any decision to ar23 bitrate the claim of an employee or independent 

24 contractor performing work for a project as25 sisted by the award that arises under title VII 


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1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

2 2000e et seq.) or any tort related to or arising 

3 out of sexual assault or sexual harassment may 

4 only be made with the voluntary consent of the 

5 employee or independent contractor after the 

6 dispute arises. 

7 (B) SUBAWARDS.—Each head of a relevant 

8 Federal agency shall require that an entity cov9 ered under subparagraph (A) incorporate the 

10 requirement under such subparagraph into each 

11 subaward made for a project assisted by the 

12 award at any tier under the award. 

13 (2) EXCEPTION FOR EMPLOYEES AND INDE14 PENDENTS CONTRACTORS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The requirements 

16 under paragraph (1) shall not apply with re17 spect to an employee or independent contractor 

18 who— 

19 (i) is covered by a collective bar20 gaining agreement negotiated between the 

21 entity receiving an award or subaward and 

22 a labor organization representing the em23 ployee or independent contractor; or 

24 (ii) except as provided in subpara25 graph (B), entered into a valid agreement 


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1 to arbitrate claims described in such para2 graph before the entity received the award 

3 or subaward described in such paragraph. 

4 (B) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements 

5 under paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to 

6 an employee or independent contractor of an 

7 entity receiving a covered award or covered 

8 subaward— 

9 (i) if the entity receiving the award or 

10 subaward is permitted to change the terms 

11 of the agreement described in subpara12 graph (A)(ii) with the employee or inde13 pendent contractor; or 

14 (ii) in the event such agreement is re15 negotiated or replaced after the entity re16 ceives the award or subaward. 

17 (m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) DISABLED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘dis19 abled individual’’ has the meaning given such term 

20 in section 121. 

21 (2) INDIVIDUAL WITH A BARRIER TO EMPLOY22 MENT.—The term ‘‘individual with a barrier to em23 ployment’’ has the meaning given such term in sec24 tion 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

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


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1 (3) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 

2 meaning given such term in section 121. 

3 SEC. 303. BUY AMERICA BUREAU. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) BUY AMERICA LAW.—The term ‘‘Buy Amer6 ica law’’ means— 

7 (A) section 313 of title 23, United States 

8 Code; 

9 (B) section 5323(j) of title 49, United 

10 States Code; 

11 (C) section 22905(a) of title 49, United 

12 States Code; 

13 (D) section 50101(a) of title 49, United 

14 States Code; 

15 (E) section 608 of the Federal Water Pol16 lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1388); and 

17 (F) section 1452(a)(4) of the Safe Drink18 ing Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12(a)(4)). 

19 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

20 the Director of the Buy America Bureau established 

21 by subsection (b). 

22 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

23 Department of Commerce an office, to be known as the 

24 ‘‘Buy America Bureau’’. 


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1 (c) LEADERSHIP.—The Buy America Bureau shall be 

2 headed by a Director, who shall— 

3 (1) be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce; 

4 and 

5 (2) report to the Secretary of Commerce. 

6 (d) DUTIES.—The Director shall— 

7 (1) establish a program to certify and conduct 

8 oversight of third-party auditors that work with enti9 ties that receive assistance under a covered infra10 structure program to ensure compliance with Buy 

11 America laws; 

12 (2) establish guidelines for ensuring trans13 parency in the Buy America auditing process under 

14 paragraph (1), including— 

15 (A) the use of and fulfillment of requests 

16 pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United 

17 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom 

18 of Information Act’’); and 

19 (B) the disclosure of information relating 

20 to a Buy America audit by third-party auditors 

21 under paragraph (1); 

22 (3) establish guidelines to support the establish23 ment, strengthening, and oversight of compliance 

24 with Buy America laws, taking into consideration 


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1 and seeking to maximize the direct and indirect do2 mestic jobs benefitted or created; 

3 (4) establish a clearinghouse website to make 

4 publicly available information on— 

5 (A) Buy America audits conducted by 

6 third-party auditors under paragraph (1); 

7 (B) third-party auditors that have received 

8 a certification from the Director under para9 graph (1); and 

10 (C) requested waivers of Buy America laws 

11 under covered infrastructure programs; and 

12 (5) submit to Congress an annual report on— 

13 (A) waivers from a Buy America law that 

14 have been requested; 

15 (B) waivers from a Buy America law that 

16 have been granted; and 

17 (C) any supply chain gaps in the United 

18 States that may need to be addressed to im19 prove compliance with Buy America laws with20 out a waiver. 

Æ 


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