II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1690

To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide for integrated 

workforce training programs for adults with limited English proficiency, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 1, 2003

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mr. BOND) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL

To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide 

for integrated workforce training programs for adults 

with limited English proficiency, 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 ‘‘Limited English Pro5 ficiency and Integrated Workforce Training Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 sys9 tem is designed—
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1 (A) to ensure universal access for individ2 uals in need of employment and training sys3 tems; and 

4 (B) to equip workers with those skills that 

5 contribute to lifelong education. 

6 (2) The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 sys7 tem is designed to recognize and reinforce the link 

8 between economic development and workforce devel9 opment to meet the joint demands of employers and 

10 workers. 

11 (3) The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 sys12 tem should address the ongoing shortage of essential 

13 skills in the United States workforce in sectors with 

14 economic growth to ensure the United States re15 mains competitive in the global economy. 

16 (4) Immigrants accounted for over 50 percent 

17 of the growth in the civilian workforce between 1990 

18 and 2001, and assuming today’s levels of immigra19 tion remain constant, immigrants will account for 

20 half of the growth in the working age population be21 tween 2006 and 2015. 

22 (5) The growth of the United States workforce 

23 and the competitiveness of the United States econ24 omy is directly linked to immigrants, some of whom 

25 are limited English proficient. 
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1 (6) The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 sys2 tem may be significantly strengthened by funding 

3 the development of an employer centered integrated 

4 workforce training program for adults with limited 

5 English proficiency, taking into account the needs of 

6 the local and regional economy and the linguistic, so7 cial, and cultural characteristics of the individual. 

8 SEC. 3. INTEGRATED WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS 

9 FOR ADULTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PRO10 FICIENCY. 

11 Section 171 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

12 (29 U.S.C. 2916) is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(e) INTEGRATED WORKFORCE TRAINING PRO15 GRAMS FOR ADULTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PRO16 FICIENCY.—

17 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

18 ‘‘(A) INTEGRATED WORKFORCE TRAIN19 ING.—The term ‘integrated workforce training’ 

20 means training that integrates occupational 

21 skills training with language acquisition. 

22 ‘‘(B) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

23 means the Secretary of Labor in consultation 

24 with the Secretary of Education. 
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1 ‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—In accord2 ance with subsection (b), the Secretary shall estab3 lish and implement a national demonstration project 

4 designed to both analyze and provide data on work5 force training programs that integrate English lan6 guage acquisition and occupational training. 

7 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

9 demonstration project, the Secretary shall make 

10 not less than 10 grants, on a competitive basis, 

11 to eligible entities to provide the integrated 

12 workforce training programs. In awarding 

13 grants under this subsection the Secretary shall 

14 take into consideration awarding grants to eligi15 ble entities from diverse geographic areas, in16 cluding rural areas. 

17 ‘‘(B) PERIODS.—The Secretary shall make 

18 the grants for periods of not less than 24 

19 months and not more than 48 months. 

20 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re22 ceive a grant under this subsection, an eligible 

23 entity shall work in conjunction with a local 

24 board and shall include as a principal partici25 pant one or more of the following: 
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1 ‘‘(i) An employer or employer associa2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(ii) A nonprofit provider of English 

4 language instruction. 

5 ‘‘(iii) A provider of occupational or 

6 skills training. 

7 ‘‘(iv) A community-based organiza8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(v) An educational institution, in10 cluding a 2- or 4-year college, or a tech11 nical or vocational school. 

12 ‘‘(vi) A labor organization. 

13 ‘‘(vii) A local board. 

14 ‘‘(B) EXPERTISE.—To be eligible to re15 ceive a grant under this subsection, an eligible 

16 entity shall have proven expertise in— 

17 ‘‘(i) serving individuals with limited 

18 English proficiency, including individuals 

19 with lower levels of oral and written 

20 English; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) providing workforce programs 

22 with training and English language in23 struction. 

24 ‘‘(5) APPLICATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re2 ceive a grant under this subsection, an eligible 

3 entity shall submit an application to the Sec4 retary at such time, in such manner, and con5 taining such information as the Secretary may 

6 require. 

7 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each application sub8 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall—

9 ‘‘(i) contain information, including ca10 pability statements, that demonstrates that 

11 the eligible entity has the expertise de12 scribed in paragraph (4)(B); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) include an assurance that the 

14 program to be assisted shall—

15 ‘‘(I) establish a generalized adult 

16 bilingual workforce training and edu17 cation model that integrates English 

18 language acquisition and occupational 

19 training, and incorporates the unique 

20 linguistic and cultural factors of the 

21 participants; 

22 ‘‘(II) establish a framework by 

23 which the employer, employee, and 

24 other relevant members of the eligible 

25 entity can create a career development 
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1 and training plan that assists both the 

2 employer and the employee to meet 

3 their long-term needs; 

4 ‘‘(III) ensure that this framework 

5 takes into consideration the knowl6 edge, skills, and abilities of the em7 ployee with respect to both the cur8 rent and economic conditions of the 

9 employer and future labor market 

10 conditions relevant to the local area; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(IV) establish identifiable meas13 ures so that the progress of the em14 ployee and employer and the relative 

15 efficacy of the program can be evalu16 ated and best practices identified. 

17 ‘‘(6) CRITERIA.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

18 establish criteria for awarding grants under this 

19 subsection. 

20 ‘‘(7) INTEGRATED WORKFORCE TRAINING PRO21 GRAMS.—

22 ‘‘(A) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—

23 ‘‘(i) REQUIRED COMPONENTS.—Each 

24 program that receives funding under this 

25 subsection shall—
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1 ‘‘(I) test an individual’s English 

2 language proficiency levels to assess 

3 oral and literacy gains from the begin4 ning and throughout program enroll5 ment; 

6 ‘‘(II) combine training specific to 

7 a particular occupation or occupa8 tional cluster, with—

9 ‘‘(aa) English language in10 struction, such as instruction 

11 through English as a Second 

12 Language program, or English 

13 for Speakers of Other Lan14 guages; 

15 ‘‘(bb) basic skills instruc16 tion; and 

17 ‘‘(cc) supportive services; 

18 ‘‘(III) effectively integrate public 

19 and private sector entities, including 

20 the local workforce investment system 

21 and its functions, to achieve the goals 

22 of the program; and 

23 ‘‘(IV) require matching or in24 kind resources from private and non25 profit entities. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) PERMISSIBLE COMPONENTS.—

2 The program may offer other services as 

3 necessary to promote successful participa4 tion and completion, including work-based 

5 learning, substance abuse treatment, and 

6 mental health services. 

7 ‘‘(B) GOAL.—Each program that receives 

8 funding under this subsection shall be designed 

9 to prepare limited English proficient adults for 

10 and place such adults in employment in growing 

11 industries with identifiable career ladder paths. 

12 ‘‘(C) PROGRAM TYPES.—In selecting pro13 grams to receive funding under this subsection, 

14 the Secretary shall select programs that meet 1 

15 or more of the following criteria: 

16 ‘‘(i) A program that—

17 ‘‘(I) serves unemployed, limited 

18 English proficient individuals with sig19 nificant work experience or substan20 tial education but persistently low 

21 wages; and 

22 ‘‘(II) aims to prepare such indi23 viduals for and place such individuals 

24 in higher paying employment, defined 

25 for purposes of this subparagraph as
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1 employment that provides at least 75 

2 percent of the median wage in the 

3 local area. 

4 ‘‘(ii) A program that—

5 ‘‘(I) serves limited English pro6 ficient individuals with lower levels of 

7 oral and written fluency, who are 

8 working but at persistently low wages; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(II) aims to prepare such indi11 viduals for and place such individuals 

12 in higher paying employment, through 

13 services provided at the worksite, or 

14 at a location central to several work15 sites, during work hours. 

16 ‘‘(iii) A program that—

17 ‘‘(I) serves unemployed, limited 

18 English proficient individuals with 

19 lower levels of oral and written flu20 ency, who have little or no work expe21 rience; and 

22 ‘‘(II) aims to prepare such indi23 viduals for and place such individuals 

24 in employment through services that 

25 include subsidized employment, in ad-
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1 dition to the components required in 

2 subparagraph (A)(i). 

3 ‘‘(iv) A program that includes funds 

4 from private and nonprofit entities. 

5 ‘‘(D) PROGRAM APPROACHES.—In select6 ing programs to receive funding under this sub7 section, the Secretary shall select programs 

8 with different approaches to integrated work9 force training, in different contexts, in order to 

10 obtain comparative data on multiple approaches 

11 to integrated workforce training and English 

12 language instruction, to ensure programs are 

13 tailored to characteristics of individuals with 

14 varying skill levels and to assess how different 

15 curricula work for limited English proficient 

16 populations. Such approaches may include—

17 ‘‘(i) bilingual programs in which the 

18 workplace language component and the 

19 training are conducted in a combination of 

20 an individual’s native language and 

21 English; 

22 ‘‘(ii) integrated workforce training 

23 programs that combine basic skills, lan24 guage instruction, and job specific skills 

25 training. 
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1 ‘‘(iii) sequential programs that provide 

2 a progression of skills, language, and train3 ing to ensure success upon an individual’s 

4 completion of the program. 

5 ‘‘(8) EVALUATION BY ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—Each 

6 eligible entity that receives a grant under this sub7 section for a program shall carry out a continuous 

8 program evaluation and an evaluation specific to the 

9 last phase of the program operations. 

10 ‘‘(9) EVALUATION BY SECRETARY.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

12 conduct an evaluation of program impacts of 

13 the programs funded under the demonstration 

14 project, with a random assignment, experi15 mental design impact study done at each work16 site at which such a program is carried out. 

17 ‘‘(B) DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.—

18 The Secretary shall collect and analyze the data 

19 from the demonstration project to determine 

20 program effectiveness, including gains in lan21 guage proficiency, acquisition of skills, and job 

22 advancement for program participants. 

23 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—The Secretary shall pre24 pare and submit to the Committee on Health, 

25 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 
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1 and the Committee on Education and the 

2 Workforce of the House of Representatives, and 

3 make available to the public, a report on the 

4 demonstration project, including the results of 

5 the evaluation. 

6 ‘‘(10) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

7 shall provide technical assistance to recipients of 

8 grants under this subsection throughout the grant 

9 periods. 

10 ‘‘(11) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

11 In addition to amounts authorized to be appro12 priated under section 174(b), there are authorized to 

13 be appropriated for fiscal year 2004—

14 ‘‘(A) $10,000,000 to make grants under 

15 paragraph (3); and 

16 ‘‘(B) $1,000,000 to carry out paragraph 

17 (9).’’.

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