II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 268 

To provide funding for a Green Job Corps program, YouthBuild Build Green 

Grants, and Green-Collar Youth Opportunity Grants, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 15, 2009 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To provide funding for a Green Job Corps program, 

YouthBuild Build Green Grants, and Green-Collar Youth 

Opportunity Grants, 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 ‘‘Green-Collar Youth 

5 Jobs, Education, and Training Stimulus Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDING. 

7 Congress finds that there is a serious and growing 

8 need for employment opportunities for economically dis9 advantaged youth (including young adults), as demVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:10 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S268.IS S268

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1 onstrated by statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

2 stating that, in December 2008— 

3 (1) the unemployment rate increased to 7.2 per4 cent, as compared to 4.9 percent in December 2007; 

5 (2) the unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year6 olds rose to 20.8 percent, as compared to 16.9 per7 cent in December 2007; and 

8 (3) the unemployment rate for African-Amer9 ican 16- to 19-year-olds increased to 33.7 percent, 

10 as compared to 28 percent in December 2007. 

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

12 The purposes of this Act are— 

13 (1) to increase knowledge of the importance of 

14 building a green economy; 

15 (2) to increase energy efficiency and renewable 

16 energy usage; 

17 (3) to strengthen the protection of the environ18 ment; 

19 (4) to decrease carbon emissions; and 

20 (5) to increase the number of well-trained youth 

21 workers who can obtain well-paying jobs in a range 

22 of green-collar industries and other viable industries. 

23 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) GREEN-COLLAR INDUSTRIES.—In this sec2 tion, the term ‘‘green-collar industries’’ means in3 dustries throughout the economy of the United 

4 States— 

5 (A) that promote energy efficiency, energy 

6 conservation, and environmental protection, in7 cluding promoting renewable energy and clean 

8 technology; 

9 (B) that offer jobs with substantial pay 

10 and benefits; and 

11 (C) that are industries in which there is 

12 likely to be continued demand for workers. 

13 (2) LOCAL BOARD, LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL, 

14 SECRETARY.—The terms ‘‘local board’’, ‘‘low-income 

15 individual’’, and ‘‘Secretary’’ have the meanings 

16 given the terms in section 101 of the Workforce In17 vestment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801). 

18 (3) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

19 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 

20 means an industry skills training program at the 

21 postsecondary level that combines technical and the22 oretical training through structured on-the-job learn23 ing with related instruction (in a classroom or 

24 through distance learning) while an individual is em25 ployed, working under the direction of qualified perVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:10 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S268.IS S268

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1 sonnel or a mentor, and earning incremental wage 

2 increases aligned to enhanced job proficiency, result3 ing in the acquisition of a nationally recognized and 

4 portable certificate, under a plan approved by the 

5 Office of Apprenticeship or a State agency recog6 nized by the Department of Labor. 

7 SEC. 5. GREEN JOB CORPS PROGRAM. 

8 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

9 (1) to encourage youth participating in the Job 

10 Corps to become informed energy- and environ11 mentally-conscious consumers; 

12 (2) to enable the youth to acquire and expand 

13 skills related to green-collar industries; and 

14 (3) to address Job Corps construction needs 

15 and energy costs and to make Job Corps centers 

16 more energy efficient, including retrofitting facilities 

17 and restoring campuses. 

18 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘en19 rollee’’, ‘‘graduate’’, and ‘‘Job Corps Center’’ have the 

20 meanings given the terms in section 142 of the Workforce 

21 Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2882). 

22 (c) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is author23 ized to reserve not more than $500,000,000 of the funds 

24 appropriated under this Act to provide work experiences 

25 and training described in subsection (d) in green-collar inVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:10 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S268.IS S268

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1 dustries. The Secretary shall provide the work experiences 

2 and training, in conjunction with activities described in 

3 section 148 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 

4 U.S.C. 2888), under subtitle C of title I of such Act (29 

5 U.S.C. 2881 et seq.) (except that subsections (c) and (d) 

6 of section 159 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2899) shall not 

7 apply to such experiences and training). 

8 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 (1) SKILL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ACTIVI10 TIES.—The Secretary shall expand Job Corps skill 

11 development program activities by updating occupa12 tional training programs (including making changes 

13 in curriculum and equipment), including develop14 ment of necessary academic skills in green-collar in15 dustries (including construction, facilities mainte16 nance, and advanced manufacturing). 

17 (2) PAID WORK OPPORTUNITIES.—As part of 

18 Job Corps career training, the Secretary shall pro19 vide paid work opportunities, in green-collar indus20 tries, primarily located at Job Corps centers, in 

21 order to address Job Corps construction needs and 

22 make those centers more energy efficient, including 

23 retrofitting facilities and restoring campuses. In car24 rying out this paragraph, the Secretary shall give 

25 priority to projects that help conserve, develop, or 


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1 manage public natural resources or public rec2 reational areas, or support the public interest. 

3 (3) CONSUMER AND LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES.— 

4 As part of the Job Corps life skills program, the 

5 Secretary shall offer consumer and leadership activi6 ties, to create a corps of intelligent and informed 

7 energy- and environmentally-conscious consumers, 

8 including activities that educate Job Corps members 

9 about how they can contribute to minimize the ef10 fects of climate change and become future leaders in 

11 their local communities who preserve and strengthen 

12 energy- and environmentally-conscious practices. 

13 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

14 (1) INDICATOR.—For purposes of the Green 

15 Job Corps program carried out under this section, 

16 the indicators of performance shall be— 

17 (A) entry of graduates who participated in 

18 work experiences described in subsection (d)(2) 

19 into unsubsidized employment in a green-collar 

20 industry; 

21 (B) average wages received by such grad22 uates upon entry into such employment; and 

23 (C) number of such graduates who obtain 

24 an occupational or education-related credential. 


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1 (2) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary shall prepare 

2 an assessment of the Green Job Corps program 

3 that— 

4 (A) describes the use of funds made avail5 able under this section to carry out the pro6 gram and the progress achieved through that 

7 program; and 

8 (B) provides information on the perform9 ance of the program on the indicators of per10 formance. 

11 (3) REPORT.—The Secretary shall include the 

12 assessment described in paragraph (2) in the cor13 responding annual report described in subsection (c) 

14 of section 159 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2899), in lieu 

15 of submitting any of the information described in 

16 subsection (c) or (d) of that section 159 with respect 

17 to the Green Job Corps program. 

18 SEC. 6. YOUTHBUILD BUILD GREEN GRANTS. 

19 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is author20 ized to reserve $300,000,000 of the funds appropriated 

21 under this Act to provide to eligible youth education, work 

22 experiences (including service), and training, in green-col23 lar industries, especially concerning the weatherization 

24 and energy retrofitting of homes of low-income individuals. 

25 The Secretary shall provide the services described in this 


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1 subsection in conjunction with activities described in sec2 tion 173A(c) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

3 (29 U.S.C. 2918a(c)), under the YouthBuild program set 

4 forth in section 173A of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2918a) (ex5 cept that paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of subsection (c), 

6 and subsection (d), of such section shall not apply to such 

7 services). 

8 (b) GRANTS.—The Secretary is authorized to award 

9 from the reserved funds, on a competitive basis, 

10 YouthBuild Build Green grants to entities that are recipi11 ents of YouthBuild grants under section 173A of such Act. 

12 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

13 under this section, an entity shall submit an application 

14 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con15 taining such information as the Secretary may require. 

16 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec17 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to entities who— 

18 (1) demonstrate the ability to leverage addi19 tional resources, which may include materials, per20 sonnel, and supplies, from other public and private 

21 sources; and 

22 (2) demonstrate the ability to build a founda23 tion of public-private partnerships in a green-collar 

24 industry, related to construction, for future projects 

25 carried out by the entities. 


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1 (e) ELIGIBLE YOUTH.—To be eligible to participate 

2 in the program carried out under this section, a youth 

3 shall meet the requirements of section 173A(e)(1) of the 

4 Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 

5 2918a(e)(1)). 

6 (f) USE OF FUNDS.— 

7 (1) SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING.—An 

8 entity that receives a grant under this section shall 

9 use not less than 90 percent of the funds made 

10 available through the grant to provide to partici11 pants in the program carried out under this section 

12 a combination of classroom education and job skills 

13 development, through onsite training and work expe14 riences (including construction or rehabilitation of 

15 facilities) in a construction trade that makes effi16 cient use of green technologies. Such education and 

17 skills development shall be designed to prepare the 

18 participants for jobs in green-collar industries in 

19 their communities and States. 

20 (2) SUPERVISION AND TRAINING.—The entity 

21 may use not more than 10 percent of the grant 

22 funds for supervision and training costs related to 

23 the activities described in paragraph (1). 

24 (g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 


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1 (1) INDICATORS.—For purposes of the program 

2 carried out under this section, the indicators of per3 formance shall be— 

4 (A) entry of individuals who completed 

5 their participation in the program and who par6 ticipated in activities described in subsection 

7 (f)(1) into registered apprenticeship programs 

8 in a construction trade in a green-collar indus9 try or a related trade; and 

10 (B) entry of such individuals, who partici11 pated in such activities, into unsubsidized em12 ployment in a green-collar industry. 

13 (2) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary shall prepare 

14 an assessment of the program that— 

15 (A) describes the use of funds made avail16 able under this section to carry out the pro17 gram and the progress achieved through that 

18 program; and 

19 (B) provides information on the perform20 ance of the program on the indicators of per21 formance. 

22 (3) REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually 

23 submit to Congress a report containing the assess24 ment described in paragraph (2). 


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1 SEC. 7. GREEN-COLLAR YOUTH OPPORTUNITY GRANTS. 

2 (a) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘community college’’ 

3 means a 2-year institution of higher education, as defined 

4 in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

5 U.S.C. 1001). 

6 (b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is author7 ized to reserve $200,000,000 of the funds appropriated 

8 under this Act for work experiences and training in green9 collar industries for eligible youth. The Secretary shall 

10 provide the work experiences and training in conjunction 

11 with activities described in section 169(b) of the Work12 force Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2914(b)), under 

13 the Youth Opportunity Grants program described in sec14 tion 169 of that Act (29 U.S.C. 2914) (except that sub15 sections (a)(3), (b)(2), (d), (e)(2), (f), and (g) of such sec16 tion shall not apply to such work experiences and train17 ing). 

18 (c) GRANTS.—The Secretary is authorized to award 

19 from the reserved funds, on a competitive basis, Green20 Collar Youth Opportunity Grants to eligible organizations. 

21 (d) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.— 

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

23 grant under this section, an organization shall be a 

24 local board described in section 169(c) of the Work25 force Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2914(c)) 

26 an entity described in section 169(d) of such Act (29 


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1 U.S.C. 2914(d)), or an entity acting of behalf of an 

2 eligible strategic partnership. 

3 (2) ELIGIBLE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

5 subsection, an eligible strategic partnership 

6 shall be composed of at least 1 representative of 

7 a local board serving a community, and of each 

8 of the 8 types of organizations described in sub9 paragraph (B). 

10 (B) TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS.—The 

11 types of organizations referred to in subpara12 graph (A) are businesses, unions, labor-manage13 ment partnerships, schools (including commu14 nity colleges), public agencies including law en15 forcement, nonprofit community organizations, 

16 economic development entities, and philan17 thropic organizations, that are actively engaged 

18 in providing learning, mentoring, and work op19 portunities to eligible youth. 

20 (3) FISCAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT.—The 

21 strategic partnership shall designate an entity, which 

22 shall be a member of the partnership, as the stra23 tegic partnership’s fiscal and administrative entity 

24 for the implementation of activities under the grant. 


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1 (e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

2 under this section, an organization shall submit an appli3 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

4 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 

5 (f) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this section, 

6 the Secretary shall give priority to organizations located 

7 in communities described in subsection (c) or (d)(2) of sec8 tion 169 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 

9 U.S.C. 2914). 

10 (g) ELIGIBLE YOUTH.—To be eligible to participate 

11 in a program carried out under this section, a youth 

12 shall— 

13 (1) be not less than age 14 and not more than 

14 age 24; 

15 (2) reside in a community described in sub16 section (c) or (d)(2) of section 169 of such Act; and 

17 (3) have multiple barriers to education and ca18 reer success, as specified by the Secretary. 

19 (h) USE OF FUNDS.—An organization that receives 

20 a grant under this section may use the funds made avail21 able through the grant to provide programs of work expe22 riences and training in green-collar industries that include 

23 education and paid work experiences. The work experi24 ences shall involve retrofitting buildings (including facili25 ties of small businesses) to achieve energy savings, or enVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:10 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S268.IS S268

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1 hancing, creating, or preserving public space, within the 

2 communities served. In providing the programs, the orga3 nization may provide any of the activities described in sub4 section (b)(1) of that section 169. 

5 (i) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

6 (1) INDICATORS.—For purposes of the program 

7 carried out under this section, the indicators of per8 formance shall be— 

9 (A) acquisition of a high school diploma or 

10 its generally recognized equivalent by individ11 uals who completed their participation in the 

12 program and who participated in training de13 scribed in subsection (b); 

14 (B) entry of such individuals, who partici15 pated in work experiences described in sub16 section (b), into postsecondary education linked 

17 to the green economy, including registered ap18 prenticeship programs in a green-collar indus19 try; and 

20 (C) entry of such individuals, who partici21 pated in work experiences described in sub22 section (b), into unsubsidized employment in a 

23 green-collar industry. 

24 (2) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary shall prepare 

25 an assessment of the program that— 


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1 (A) describes the use of funds made avail2 able under this section to carry out the pro3 gram and the progress achieved through that 

4 program; and 

5 (B) provides information on the perform6 ance of the program, including on the indicators 

7 of performance. 

8 (3) REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually 

9 submit to Congress a report containing the assess10 ment described in paragraph (2). 

11 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec13 retary for activities described in this Act $1,000,000,000, 

14 which shall be available for the period of January 1, 2009 

15 through December 31, 2010. 

Æ 


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