II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2907 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a comprehensive 

program to improve education and training for energy-related jobs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 

Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry 

out a comprehensive program to improve education and 

training for energy-related jobs. 

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 ‘‘21st Century Energy 

5 Workforce Development Jobs Initiative Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) there are, as of the date of enactment of 

9 this Act and for well into the future, significant opVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Oct 02, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2907.IS S2907

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1 portunities for African-Americans and Hispanic2 Americans throughout the energy industry at each 

3 level of education and training, but raising the edu4 cational achievement for large segments of the up5 coming generation is resource-intensive and will take 

6 decades to achieve, although the payoff of an in7 creased skilled labor pool would be enormous to soci8 ety in general and United States industry in par9 ticular; 

10 (2) African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans 

11 represent an important talent pool to help meet the 

12 demands of the projected growth in the energy in13 dustry, and workforce training and education in 

14 business, finance, science, technology, engineering, 

15 and mathematics will prove vital in achieving that 

16 growth, as noted by the American Petroleum Insti17 tute; 

18 (3) improving minority preparation in science-, 

19 technology-, engineering-, and mathematics-related 

20 disciplines at the primary and secondary school lev21 els is crucial to increasing the share of minority 

22 science-based degree attainment in 4-year and 2- 

23 year programs of higher education, as well as for in24 creasing attainment of vocational certificates; 


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1 (4) the rates at which African-Americans and 

2 Hispanic-Americans attain employment in the en3 ergy industry is in part related to the choice of the 

4 field of study for college degrees (4-year or 2-year) 

5 and vocational certificates; 

6 (5) data from the National Center for Edu7 cation Statistics suggest that, over the 2001 through 

8 2010 period, African-American and Hispanic-Amer9 ican students chose and completed 4-year college de10 grees applicable to employment in the oil and natural gas industry at rates 1⁄5 and 1 11 ⁄2, respectively, 

12 the rates of the total student population; 

13 (6) with respect to 2-year associate degrees and 

14 certificates, data from the National Center for Edu15 cation Statistics suggest that over the same time pe16 riod, African-American and Hispanic-American stu17 dents chose and completed programs of study or 

18 training applicable to employment in the oil and natural gas industry at rates roughly 1⁄10 above and 1 19 ⁄3

20 below, respectively, the rates of the total student 

21 population; 

22 (7) the American Petroleum Institute projects 

23 525,000 new job opportunities in the oil and natural 

24 gas industry by 2020, with 166,000, or 31 percent 

25 of the jobs, expected to be held by African-American 


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1 and Hispanic-American workers, and, with forward2 looking policies, that number could increase to a 

3 projected 811,000 new job opportunities, with more 

4 than 285,000, or 35 percent, of the jobs being filled 

5 by minorities, by 2030; 

6 (8) the American Petroleum Institute projects 

7 that more than 50 percent of all jobs created in the 

8 oil and natural gas industry by 2020 would be high9 paying skilled and semiskilled blue collar jobs, with 

10 a significant range of opportunities at the scientific 

11 or managerial level requiring a college degree; 

12 (9) the American Petroleum Institute projects 

that over 1 13 ⁄2 of the future potential job growth in the 

14 oil and natural gas industry, approximately 417,000 

15 jobs, is expected in the Gulf region, with the East 

16 region expected to contribute nearly 140,000 job op17 portunities, the Rockies region nearly 116,000 job 

18 opportunities, and the West, Alaska, and Central re19 gions expected to contribute approximately 138,000 

20 job opportunities combined; 

21 (10) the National Mining Association reports 

22 that the coal mining industry supported a total of 

23 805,680 jobs in 2011, including 204,580 direct jobs, 

24 including mine workers (143,520), support activities 

25 (7,280), and transportation (53,780); 


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1 (11) broad occupational categories of potential 

2 job creation in the upstream oil and gas industry in3 clude— 

4 (A) management, business, and financial 

5 jobs; 

6 (B) professional and related jobs; 

7 (C) service jobs; 

8 (D) sales and related jobs; 

9 (E) office and administrative support jobs; 

10 (F) skilled blue collar jobs; 

11 (G) semiskilled blue collar jobs; and 

12 (H) unskilled blue collar jobs; 

13 (12) potential job creation in the upstream oil 

14 and gas industry by selected detailed occupational 

15 category include— 

16 (A) derrick, rotary drill, and service unit 

17 operators; 

18 (B) oil and gas roustabouts; 

19 (C) operating engineers and other con20 struction workers; 

21 (D) equipment operators; 

22 (E) construction laborers; 

23 (F) first-line supervisors or managers of 

24 construction and extraction workers; 

25 (G) heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers; 


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1 (H) pump operators and wellhead pump2 ers; 

3 (I) helpers and other extraction workers; 

4 (J) petroleum engineers; and 

5 (K) secretaries; 

6 (13) the National Petroleum Council estimates 

7 that over the decade beginning on the date of enact8 ment of this Act 30,000 miles of new long-distance 

9 natural gas pipelines will be needed to manage the 

10 new sources of shale natural gas supply, while a 

11 2007 Survey of Business Owners of the Census Bu12 reau estimated that a very small percentage of pipe13 lines were owned by minority-owned and woman14 owned firms compared to the total owned by non15 minority males; 

16 (14) in 2013, the Energy Information Adminis17 tration estimated that relatively low natural gas 

18 prices, maintained by growing shale natural gas pro19 duction, will spur increased use of natural gas in the 

20 industrial and electric power sectors by 16 percent, 

21 from 6,800,000,000 cubic feet per year in 2011 to 

22 7,800,000,000,000 cubic feet per year in 2025, while 

23 total consumption of natural gas in the United 

24 States will continue to grow in the electric power 

25 sector from 16 percent of generation in 2000 to 30 


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1 percent in 2040, which will lead to a significant 

2 number of new jobs in the natural gas sector; 

3 (15) the Energy Information Administration es4 timates natural gas production in the United States 

5 will increase annually, outpacing domestic consump6 tion and making the United States a net exporter of 

7 natural gas by 2019, while continued low levels of 

8 liquefied natural gas imports, combined with in9 creased United States exports of domestically 

10 sourced liquefied natural gas, position the United 

11 States as a net exporter of liquefied natural gas by 

12 2016, creating an abundance of new jobs and invest13 ment opportunities; 

14 (16) the Energy Information Administration es15 timates that coal-fired electricity generation will re16 main a dominant resource in the total generation 

17 portfolio of the United States, representing 34 per18 cent of United States baseload electricity in 2035; 

19 (17) in 2013, a report by the Bloomberg New 

20 Energy Finance research team estimated that clean 

21 energy investment is most likely to grow by 230 per22 cent to a projected $630,000,000,000 annually in 

23 2030, driven by further improvements in the cost24 competitiveness of wind and solar technologies and 

25 an increase in the roll-out of nonintermittent clean 


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1 energy sources (including hydropower, geothermal, 

2 and biomass) requiring additional investment in 

3 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 

4 education; 

5 (18) a 2013 report by the Bloomberg New En6 ergy Finance research team estimated that renew7 able energy projects (including wind, solar, hydro8 power, and biomass) will account for 70 percent of 

9 new power generation capacity between 2012 and 

10 2030, and, by 2030, renewable energy will account 

for 1 11 ⁄2 of the generation capacity worldwide, up from 

12 28 percent in 2012, requiring additional investment 

13 in supporting infrastructure, including long distance 

14 transmission systems, smart grids, storage, and de15 mand response; and 

16 (19) the Energy Information Administration 

17 found that since 2005 renewable energy has gar18 nered more than $1,300,000,000,000 worth of in19 vestment and the Energy Information Administra20 tion estimates that global energy consumption will 

21 increase by 47 percent between 2010 and 2035, with 

clean energy providing more than 1 22 ⁄2 of that new ca23 pacity and attracting up to $5,900,000,000,000 

24 worth of investment, leading to new employment and 

25 investment opportunities. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

5 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

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

7 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

8 the comprehensive program to improve education 

9 and training for energy-related jobs established 

10 under section 4. 

11 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Energy. 

13 (4) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ means science, 

14 technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

15 SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM FOR ENERGY-RELATED 

16 JOBS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 

18 carry out a comprehensive program to improve education 

19 and training for energy-related jobs to increase the num20 ber of skilled minorities and women trained to work in 

21 energy-related jobs, including by— 

22 (1) encouraging minority and women students 

23 to enter into the energy STEM fields; 

24 (2) ensuring that the educational system of the 

25 United States is equipping students with the skills, 

26 training, and technical expertise necessary to fill the 


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1 employment opportunities vital to managing and op2 erating the energy industry of the United States; 

3 and 

4 (3) providing students and other candidates 

5 with the necessary skills and certifications for 

6 skilled, semiskilled, and highly skilled energy-related 

7 jobs. 

8 (b) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall make educating 

9 and training minorities and other workers for energy-re10 lated jobs a national priority under the program. 

11 (c) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out the pro12 gram, the Secretary shall provide direct assistance (includ13 ing grants, technical expertise, mentorships, and partner14 ships) to community colleges, workforce development orga15 nizations, and minority-serving institutions. 

16 (d) CLEARINGHOUSE.—In carrying out the program, 

17 the Secretary shall establish a clearinghouse— 

18 (1) to maintain and update information and re19 sources on training and workforce development pro20 grams for energy-related jobs; and 

21 (2) to act as a resource, and provide guidance, 

22 for schools, institutions of higher education, work23 force development programs, and labor organizations 

24 that would like to develop and implement energy-re25 lated training programs. 


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1 (e) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out the program, 

2 the Secretary shall— 

3 (1) collaborate with schools, institutions of 

4 higher education, workforce training organizations, 

5 labor organizations, National Laboratories, State en6 ergy offices, and the energy industry; 

7 (2) encourage and foster collaboration, mentor8 ships, and partnerships among organizations (includ9 ing schools, institutions of higher education, work10 force development organizations, labor organizations, 

11 and industry) that provide effective job training pro12 grams in the energy field and institutions (including 

13 schools, institutions of higher education, and work14 force development programs) that seek to establish 

15 those types of programs to share best practices and 

16 approaches that best suit local, State, and national 

17 needs; and 

18 (3) collaborate with the Energy Information 

19 Administration and the Bureau of the Census to de20 velop a comprehensive and detailed understanding of 

21 the energy workforce needs and opportunities by 

22 State and by region. 

23 (f) GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITU24 TIONS.— 


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

2 the Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of 

3 Education and the Secretary of Labor, shall develop 

4 guidelines for educational institutions of all levels, 

5 including for programs at elementary and secondary 

6 schools and institutions of higher education, to help 

7 provide graduates with the skills necessary to work 

8 in energy-related jobs. 

9 (2) INPUT.—The Secretary shall solicit input 

10 from the oil, gas, coal, renewable, nuclear, utility, 

11 and pipeline industries in developing guidelines 

12 under paragraph (1). 

13 (3) ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION

14 INITIATIVES.—The guidelines developed under para15 graph (1) shall include grade-specific guidelines for 

16 teaching energy efficiency and conservation initia17 tives to educate students and families. 

18 (4) STEM EDUCATION.—The guidelines devel19 oped under paragraph (1) shall promote STEM edu20 cation as STEM education relates to job opportuni21 ties in energy-related fields of study in schools and 

22 institutions of higher education nationally. 

23 (g) OUTREACH TO MSIS.—In carrying out the pro24 gram, the Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) give special consideration to increasing out2 reach to minority serving institutions (including his3 torically black colleges and universities, predomi4 nantly black institutions, Hispanic-serving institu5 tions, and tribal institutions); 

6 (2) make resources available to minority-serving 

7 institutions with the objective of increasing the num8 ber of skilled minorities and women trained to go 

9 into the energy sector; and 

10 (3) encourage industry to improve the opportu11 nities for students of minority-serving institutions to 

12 participate in industry internships and cooperative 

13 work and study programs. 

14 (h) GUIDELINES TO DEVELOP SKILLS FOR AN EN15 ERGY INDUSTRY WORKFORCE.—In carrying out the pro16 gram, the Secretary shall collaborate with representatives 

17 from the energy industry (including the oil, gas, coal, nu18 clear, utility, pipeline, renewable, and nuclear sectors) to 

19 identify the areas of highest need in each sector and to 

20 develop guidelines for the skills necessary to develop a 

21 workforce trained to enter— 

22 (1) the energy efficiency industry, including 

23 work in energy efficiency, conservation, weatheriza24 tion, or retrofitting, or as inspectors or auditors; 


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1 (2) the pipeline industry, including work in 

2 pipeline construction and maintenance or work as 

3 engineers or technical advisors; 

4 (3) the utility industry, including as utility 

5 workers, linemen, electricians, pole workers, or re6 pairmen; 

7 (4) alternative fuels, including work in biofuel 

8 development and production; 

9 (5) the nuclear industry, including work as sci10 entists, engineers, technicians, mathematicians, or 

11 security personnel; 

12 (6) the oil and gas industry, including work as 

13 scientists, engineers, technicians, mathematicians, 

14 petrochemical engineers, or geologists; 

15 (7) the renewable industry, including work in 

16 the development and production of renewable energy 

17 sources (such as solar, hydropower, wind, or geo18 thermal energy); and 

19 (8) the coal industry, including work as coal 

20 miners, engineers, developers, and manufacturers of 

21 state-of-the-art coal facilities, technology vendors, 

22 coal transportation workers and operators, and min23 ing equipment vendors. 

24 (i) ENROLLMENT IN TRAINING AND APPRENTICE25 SHIP PROGRAMS.—In carrying out the program, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Oct 02, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2907.IS S2907

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1 retary shall work with labor and community-based work2 force organizations to help identify students and other 

3 candidates, including from historically underserved com4 munities such as minorities, women, and veterans, to en5 roll into training and apprenticeship programs for energy6 related jobs. 

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