II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2261

To encourage the formation of industry-led training consortia, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 21, 2000

Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Mr. ROBB, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. BAYH, and Mr.

LIEBERMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To encourage the formation of industry-led training

consortia, 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 ‘‘Industry Training

5 Consortia Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

7 In this Act:

8 (1) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ includes

9 a business.
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1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of Commerce.

3 TITLE I—SKILL GRANTS

4 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, in

6 consultation and coordination with the Secretary of Labor

7 and the Administrator of the Small Business Administra8 tion, shall provide grants to eligible entities described in

9 subsection (b). The Secretary shall provide the grants to

10 encourage employers to form consortia to share the cost

11 of providing, and reduce the risk of investing in, employer12 led education and training programs for employees that

13 meet employer needs and market demand in specific occu14 pations, for purposes of strengthening United States com15 petitiveness.

16 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity described

18 in this subsection is a consortium that—

19 (A) shall consist of representatives from

20 not fewer than 10 employers (or nonprofit orga21 nizations that represent employers) who are in

22 a common industry or who have common skill

23 needs; and

24 (B) may consist of representatives from 1

25 or more of the following:
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1 (i) Labor organizations.

2 (ii) State and local government agen3 cies.

4 (iii) Education organizations.

5 (2) MAJORITY OF REPRESENTATIVES.—A ma6 jority of the representatives comprising the consor7 tium shall be representatives described in paragraph

8 (1)(A).

9 (c) PRIORITY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.—In pro10 viding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall

11 give priority to an eligible entity if a majority of represent12 atives forming the entity represent small-business con13 cerns, as described in section 3(a) of the Small Business

14 Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)).

15 (d) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of

16 a grant provided to an eligible entity under subsection (a)

17 may not exceed $1,000,000 for any fiscal year.

18 SEC. 102. APPLICATION.

19 To be eligible to receive a grant under section 101,

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

22 information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

23 SEC. 103. USE OF AMOUNTS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not provide a

25 grant under section 101 to an eligible entity unless such
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1 entity agrees to use amounts received from such grant to

2 develop an employer-led education and training program

3 (which may be focused on developing skills related to com4 puter technology, computer-based manufacturing tech5 nology, telecommunications, and other information tech6 nologies) necessary to meet employer needs and market

7 demand in specific occupations.

8 (b) CONDUCT OF PROGRAM.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program

10 described in subsection (a), the eligible entity may

11 provide for—

12 (A) an assessment of training and job skill

13 needs for industry and other employers;

14 (B) development of a sequence of skill

15 standards that are correlated with advanced in16 dustry or occupational practices;

17 (C) development of curriculum and train18 ing methods;

19 (D) purchase or receipt of donations of

20 training equipment;

21 (E) identification of education and training

22 providers;

23 (F) development of apprenticeship pro24 grams;
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1 (G) development of education and training

2 programs for incumbent and dislocated workers

3 and new workers;

4 (H) development of the membership of the

5 entity;

6 (I) development of internship, field, and

7 technical project experiences; and

8 (J) provision of assistance to member em9 ployers in their human resource development

10 planning.

11 (2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—In carrying

12 out the program described in subsection (a), the eli13 gible entity shall—

14 (A) provide for development and tracking

15 of performance outcome measures for the pro16 gram and the education and training providers

17 involved in the program; and

18 (B) prepare and submit to the Secretary

19 such reports as the Secretary may require on

20 best practices developed by the entity through

21 the education and training program.

22 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The eligible entity

23 may use not more than 10 percent of the amount of such

24 a grant to pay for administrative costs associated with the

25 program described in subsection (a).
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1 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENT OF MATCHING FUNDS.

2 The Secretary may not provide a grant under section

3 101 to an eligible entity unless such entity agrees that—

4 (1) the entity will make available non-Federal

5 contributions toward the costs of carrying out activi6 ties under section 103 in an amount that is not less

7 than $2 for each $1 of Federal funds provided under

8 a grant under section 101; and

9 (2) of such non-Federal contributions, not less

10 than $1 of each such $2 shall be from employers

11 with representatives serving on the eligible entity.

12 SEC. 105. LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.

13 The Secretary may use not more than 5 percent of

14 the funds made available to carry out this title—

15 (1) to pay for Federal administrative costs as16 sociated with making grants under this title, includ17 ing carrying out activities described in section 106;

18 and

19 (2) to develop and maintain an electronic clear20 inghouse of information on industry-led training

21 consortia programs.

22 SEC. 106. INFORMATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

23 The Secretary shall distribute information and pro24 vide technical assistance to eligible entities on best prac25 tices developed through the education and training pro26 grams.
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1 SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

3 this title $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2001,

4 2002, and 2003.

5 TITLE II—PLANNING GRANTS

6 SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, in

8 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall provide

9 grants to States to enable the States to assist employers,

10 organizations, and agencies described in section 101(b) in

11 conducting planning to form consortia described in such

12 section.

13 (b) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of

14 a grant provided to a State under subsection (a) may not

15 exceed $500,000 for any fiscal year.

16 SEC. 202. APPLICATION.

17 To be eligible to receive a grant under section 201,

18 a State shall submit an application to the Secretary at

19 such time, in such manner, and containing such informa20 tion as the Secretary may reasonably require.

21 SEC. 203. REQUIREMENT OF MATCHING FUNDS.

22 The Secretary may not provide a grant under section

23 201 to a State unless such State agrees that the State

24 will make available non-Federal contributions toward the

25 costs of carrying out activities under this title in an
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1 amount that is not less than $1 for each $1 of Federal

2 funds provided under a grant under section 201.

3 SEC. 204. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

5 this title $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.

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