I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5291 

To establish an offshore wind career training grant program, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2018 

Ms. TSONGAS (for herself, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. KEATING) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, 

and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish an offshore wind career training grant program, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Offshore Wind Jobs 

5 and Opportunity Act’’. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5291 IH

1 SEC. 2. OFFSHORE WIND CAREER TRAINING GRANT PRO2 GRAM. 

3 The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

4 1331 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 33. OFFSHORE WIND CAREER TRAINING GRANT PRO7 GRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Beginning 360 days 

9 after the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec10 retary may award offshore wind career training grants to 

11 eligible entities for the purpose of developing, offering, or 

12 improving educational or career training programs that 

13 provide individuals in such programs skills that are useful 

14 for employment in the offshore wind industry. 

15 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF GRANTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON GRANT QUANTITY AND

17 SIZE.—An eligible entity may not be awarded— 

18 ‘‘(A) more than one grant under this sec19 tion for which the eligible entity is the lead ap20 plicant; or 

21 ‘‘(B) a grant under this section in excess 

22 of $1,000,000. 

23 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION TO COMMUNITY COLLEGES.— 

24 Not less than 25 percent of the total amount award25 ed under this section for a fiscal year shall be 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5291 IH

1 awarded to eligible entities that are community col2 leges. 

3 ‘‘(c) PARTNERSHIPS.—An eligible entity seeking to 

4 receive a grant under this section may partner with one 

5 or more of the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) Another eligible entity (including an eligi7 ble entity that is a community college). 

8 ‘‘(2) A State or local government. 

9 ‘‘(3) A nonprofit organization. 

10 ‘‘(d) USE OF GRANT.—An eligible entity may use a 

11 grant awarded under this section for the following activi12 ties: 

13 ‘‘(1) Occupational skills training, including cur14 riculum development, on-the-job training, and class15 room training. 

16 ‘‘(2) Safety and health training. 

17 ‘‘(3) The provision of basic skills, English as a 

18 second language, and job readiness training. 

19 ‘‘(4) Individual referral and tuition assistance 

20 for a community college training program or any 

21 training program leading to an industry-recognized 

22 certificate. 

23 ‘‘(5) Internship programs in a field related to 

24 offshore wind energy. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5291 IH

1 ‘‘(6) Customized training in conjunction with 

2 an existing registered apprenticeship program or 

3 labor-management partnership. 

4 ‘‘(7) Incumbent worker and career ladder train5 ing and skill upgrading and retraining. 

6 ‘‘(8) The implementation of transitional jobs 

7 strategies. 

8 ‘‘(9) Curriculum development at the under9 graduate and postgraduate levels. 

10 ‘‘(10) Development and support of offshore 

11 wind energy major, minor, or certificate programs. 

12 ‘‘(11) Such other activities, as determined by 

13 the Secretary, to meet the purposes of this section. 

14 ‘‘(e) GRANT PROPOSALS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION PROCEDURE FOR GRANT PRO16 POSALS.—An eligible entity seeking to receive a 

17 grant under this section shall submit a grant pro18 posal to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

19 and containing such information as the Secretary 

20 may require. 

21 ‘‘(2) CONTENT OF GRANT PROPOSALS.—A 

22 grant proposal submitted to the Secretary under this 

23 section shall include a detailed description of— 

24 ‘‘(A) the specific project for which the 

25 grant proposal is submitted, including the manVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Mar 24, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5291.IH H5291

lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5291 IH

1 ner in which the grant will be used to develop, 

2 offer, or improve an educational or career train3 ing program that will provide individuals in 

4 such program skills that are useful for employ5 ment in the offshore wind industry; 

6 ‘‘(B) any previous experience of the eligible 

7 entity in providing such educational or career 

8 training programs; and 

9 ‘‘(C) the extent to which such project will 

10 meet the educational or career training needs 

11 identified under subsection (i). 

12 ‘‘(f) CRITERIA FOR AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to appropriations, 

14 the Secretary shall award grants under this section 

15 based on an evaluation of— 

16 ‘‘(A) the merits of the grant proposal; 

17 ‘‘(B) the likely employment opportunities 

18 available to individuals who complete the edu19 cational or career training program that the eli20 gible entity proposes to develop, offer, or im21 prove; 

22 ‘‘(C) prior demand for such educational or 

23 career training programs in the community 

24 served by the eligible entity; and 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5291 IH

1 ‘‘(D) the availability and capacity of exist2 ing educational or career training programs in 

3 the community to meet future demand for such 

4 programs. 

5 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—Priority in awarding grants 

6 under this section shall be given to eligible entities 

7 that— 

8 ‘‘(A) are located in an economically dis9 tressed area; 

10 ‘‘(B) focus on individuals who are— 

11 ‘‘(i) displaced workers (particularly 

12 workers displaced from the offshore oil and 

13 gas, onshore fossil fuel, nuclear energy, or 

14 fishing industries); 

15 ‘‘(ii) veterans, members of the reserve 

16 components of the Armed Forces, or 

17 former members of such reserve compo18 nents; 

19 ‘‘(iii) unemployed; 

20 ‘‘(iv) seeking employment pathways 

21 out of poverty and into economic self-suffi22 ciency; 

23 ‘‘(v) at-risk youth; or 

24 ‘‘(vi) formerly incarcerated, adjudica25 ted, nonviolent offenders; or 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5291 IH

1 ‘‘(C) with respect to eligible entities that 

2 are institutions of higher education, have a high 

3 percentage of low-income or minority students. 

4 ‘‘(3) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec5 retary shall, to the extent practicable, award grants 

6 under this section in a manner that provides for a 

7 reasonable geographic distribution, except that the 

8 Secretary shall not be required to award grants 

9 equally among different regions of the United 

10 States. 

11 ‘‘(g) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—A grant awarded 

12 under this section may not be used to satisfy any non13 Federal funds matching requirement under any other pro14 vision of law. 

15 ‘‘(h) GRANTEE DATA COLLECTION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grantee, with respect to 

17 the educational or career training program for which 

18 the grantee received a grant under this section, shall 

19 collect and report to the Secretary on an annual 

20 basis the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) The number of participants in the 

22 educational or career training program. 

23 ‘‘(B) The services received by such partici24 pants, including a description of training, edu25 cation, and supportive services. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5291 IH

1 ‘‘(C) The amount spent by the grantee per 

2 participant. 

3 ‘‘(D) The rate of job placement of partici4 pants in the offshore wind industry or related 

5 fields. 

6 ‘‘(E) The rate of employment retention— 

7 ‘‘(i) if the eligible entity is not an in8 stitution of higher education, 1 year after 

9 completion of the educational or career 

10 training program; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) if the eligible entity is an institu12 tion of higher education, 1 year after com13 pletion of the educational or career train14 ing program or 1 year after the participant 

15 is no longer enrolled in such institution of 

16 higher education, whichever is later. 

17 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE FROM SECRETARY.—The Sec18 retary shall assist grantees in the collection of data 

19 under this subsection by making available, where 

20 practicable, low-cost means of tracking the labor 

21 market outcomes of participants and by providing 

22 standardized reporting forms, where appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(i) IDENTIFICATION OF EDUCATIONAL AND CAREER

24 TRAINING NEEDS.—Not later than 120 days after the 

25 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, in 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5291 IH

1 consultation with the offshore wind industry, eligible enti2 ties, including eligible entities that are community col3 leges, State and local governments, labor organizations, 

4 and nonprofit organizations, shall identify the educational 

5 and career training needs of such industry, including 

6 needs related to manufacturing, operation, and mainte7 nance activities relevant to the offshore wind industry. 

8 ‘‘(j) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 240 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) promulgate guidelines for the submission 

11 of grant proposals under this section, including a list 

12 of the educational and career training needs identi13 fied under subsection (i); and 

14 ‘‘(2) publish and maintain such guidelines on a 

15 public website of the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(k) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 18 

17 months after the date of the enactment of this section, 

18 and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 

19 a report to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

20 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

21 and Natural Resources of the Senate on the grant pro22 gram established by this section. The report shall include 

23 a description of the grantees and the activities for which 

24 grantees used a grant awarded under this section. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5291 IH

1 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated for purposes of this sec3 tion $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 

4 2021. 

5 ‘‘(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com7 munity college’ has the meaning given the term ‘jun8 ior or community college’ in section 312(f) of the 

9 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)). 

10 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en11 tity’ means an entity that is— 

12 ‘‘(A) an institution of higher education, as 

13 such term is defined in section 102 of the High14 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)); or 

15 ‘‘(B) a labor organization. 

16 ‘‘(3) GRANTEE.—The term ‘grantee’ means an 

17 eligible entity that has received a grant under this 

18 section. 

19 ‘‘(4) LEAD APPLICANT.—The term ‘lead appli20 cant’ means the eligible entity that is primarily re21 sponsible for the preparation, conduct, and adminis22 tration of the project for which the grant was award23 ed. 

24 ‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

25 the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5291 IH

1 the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Education, 

2 and the Secretary of Labor.’’. 

Æ 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS