II 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3433 

To coordinate, manage, and implement the Department of Labor’s evaluation 

and research programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 

Mrs. MURRAY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To coordinate, manage, and implement the Department of 

Labor’s evaluation and research programs, 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 ‘‘Comprehensive Labor 

5 Evaluation and Research Act’’ or the ‘‘CLEAR Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) APPLIED RESEARCH.—The term ‘‘applied 

9 research’’ means research— 


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1 (A) to gain knowledge or understanding 

2 necessary for determining the means by which 

3 a recognized and specific need may be met; and 

4 (B) that is specifically directed to the ad5 vancement of practice concerning the issues and 

6 fields under the jurisdiction of the Department. 

7 (2) BASIC RESEARCH.—The term ‘‘basic re8 search’’ means research— 

9 (A) to gain fundamental knowledge or un10 derstanding of phenomena and observable fac11 tors, without specific application toward proc12 esses or products; and 

13 (B) for the advancement of knowledge con14 cerning the issues and fields under the jurisdic15 tion of the Department. 

16 (3) CHIEF EVALUATION OFFICER.—The term 

17 ‘‘Chief Evaluation Officer’’ means the Chief Evalua18 tion Officer of the Office of Labor Evaluation and 

19 Research. 

20 (4) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

21 means the Department of Labor. 

22 (5) DISSEMINATION.—The term ‘‘dissemina23 tion’’ means the communication and transfer of the 

24 information involved and the results of the scientif25 ically valid evaluations and other research involved, 


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1 in forms that are understandable, are easily acces2 sible, and are usable or adaptable, by practitioners, 

3 researchers, policymakers, and the public, through 

4 (to the extent practicable) technical assistance, pub5 lications, electronic transfer, and other means. 

6 (6) EVIDENCE-BASED RESEARCH STAND7 ARDS.—The term ‘‘evidence-based research stand8 ards’’ means standards for research (including eval9 uations)— 

10 (A) that applies rigorous, systematic, and 

11 objective methodology to obtain reliable and 

12 valid knowledge relevant to programs and ac13 tivities under the jurisdiction of the Depart14 ment; and 

15 (B) for which the findings and claims are 

16 appropriate to and supported by the methods 

17 that have been employed; 

18 (C) that includes, as appropriate to the re19 search being conducted— 

20 (i) employing systematic, empirical 

21 methods that draw on observation or ex22 periment; 

23 (ii) employing data analyses that are 

24 adequate to support the general findings; 


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1 (iii) relying on measurements or ob2 servational methods that provide reliable 

3 data; and 

4 (iv) making claims of causal relation5 ships, if the research has a research design 

6 that substantially eliminates plausible com7 peting explanations for the obtained re8 sults, such as random assignment experi9 ments; and 

10 (D) for which the studies and methods are 

11 presented in sufficient detail and clarity to 

12 allow for replication or, at a minimum, to offer 

13 the opportunity to build systematically on the 

14 findings of the research. 

15 (7) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of16 fice of Labor Evaluation and Research. 

17 (8) RELATED TO LABOR.—The term ‘‘related to 

18 labor’’, used with respect to an issue, means an issue 

19 under the jurisdiction of the Department. 

20 (9) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID EVALUATION.—The 

21 term ‘‘scientifically valid’’, used with respect to an 

22 evaluation, means an evaluation that— 

23 (A) adheres to the highest possible stand24 ards of quality with respect to research design 

25 and statistical analysis; 


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1 (B) provides an adequate description of 

2 what is being evaluated and, to the extent pos3 sible, examines the relationship between imple4 mentation and impacts of the program or ac5 tivities being evaluated; 

6 (C) provides an analysis of the results 

7 achieved by the program or activities with re8 spect to the projected effects for the program or 

9 activities; 

10 (D) employs experimental designs using 

11 random assignment, when feasible and appro12 priate, or other research designs or methodolo13 gies that allow for the strongest possible causal 

14 inferences when random assignment is not fea15 sible or appropriate; and 

16 (E) may study implementation of the pro17 gram or activities through a combination of sci18 entifically valid and reliable methods. 

19 (10) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The 

20 term ‘‘scientifically valid’’, used with respect to re21 search, includes applied research and basic research 

22 in which the rationale, design, and interpretation are 

23 soundly developed in accordance with evidence-based 

24 research standards. 


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1 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

2 means the Secretary of Labor. 

3 (12) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The term 

4 ‘‘technical assistance’’ means— 

5 (A) assistance in identifying, selecting, or 

6 designing— 

7 (i) evaluations and other research; or 

8 (ii) solutions based on evaluations and 

9 other research; 

10 (B) assistance in interpreting, analyzing, 

11 and utilizing statistics and evaluations; and 

12 (C) other assistance necessary to applying 

13 techniques supported by scientifically valid re14 search. 

15 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF LABOR EVALUATION AND RESEARCH. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

17 Department an Office of Labor Evaluation and Research, 

18 to be headed by a Chief Evaluation Officer, as described 

19 in subsection (c). 

20 (b) MISSION.—The mission of the Office is to coordi21 nate, manage, and implement the Department’s evaluation 

22 and other research programs. The Office shall collaborate 

23 with agencies in the Department, and other Federal agen24 cies, to ensure that evaluations of issues related to labor 


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1 meet evidence-based research standards and that the re2 sults of the evaluations are widely disseminated. 

3 (c) CHIEF EVALUATION OFFICER.— 

4 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall ap5 point the Chief Evaluation Officer. 

6 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—To be qualified to be 

7 appointed as the Chief Evaluation Officer, an indi8 vidual shall have substantial knowledge relating to 

9 the functions of the Office, including a high level of 

10 expertise in— 

11 (A) evaluations, other research, and policy12 making using evaluations and other research 

13 that meet evidence-based research standards; 

14 and 

15 (B) the management of the activities de16 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

17 (3) EXPERT GUIDANCE AND ASSISTANCE.—The 

18 Chief Evaluation Officer may establish technical and 

19 scientific peer review groups and scientific program 

20 advisory committees, for evaluations and other re21 search, that the Chief Evaluation Officer determines 

22 are necessary to carry out the requirements of this 

23 section. 

24 (d) FUNCTIONS.—The Chief Evaluation Officer 

25 shall— 


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1 (1) coordinate, manage, and implement a De2 partment-wide program of evaluations and other re3 search that meet evidence-based research standards; 

4 (2) provide leadership in expanding the funda5 mental knowledge and understanding of issues re6 lated to labor; 

7 (3) conduct rigorous, scientifically valid evalua8 tions and other research (including basic research 

9 and applied research), that will assist agencies in the 

10 Department to measure the effectiveness of pro11 grams and activities and progress in meeting and ex12 ceeding goals and outcomes; 

13 (4) assist agencies in the Department in meet14 ing statutory requirements for evaluations and re15 ports; 

16 (5) assist agencies in the Department in estab17 lishing and refining structures, resulting from eval18 uations and other research that meet evidence-based 

19 research standards, for programs, activities, and op20 erations; 

21 (6) assist agencies in the Department in using 

22 findings and other results from evaluations and 

23 other research that meet evidence-based research 

24 standards; 


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1 (7) measure the impacts of core programs and 

2 activities, evaluate new programs and activities, and 

3 test the relative effectiveness of alternative practices 

4 for programs and activities; 

5 (8) carry out significant data analytics activities 

6 to strengthen management, evaluations, and other 

7 research, for programs and activities; 

8 (9) conduct and evaluate pilot and demonstra9 tion programs that will assist in identifying effective 

10 approaches in addressing issues related to labor; 

11 (10) establish necessary procedures for tech12 nical and scientific peer review of the evaluations 

13 and other research carried out by the Office; 

14 (11) solicit and consider the recommendations 

15 of stakeholders in order to ensure there is broad and 

16 regular public and professional input in the planning 

17 and carrying out of the activities of the Office; 

18 (12) identify priority topics that may require 

19 long-term evaluation and other research; 

20 (13) coordinate evaluation, other research, and 

21 related activities carried out by the Office with such 

22 evaluation, research, and activities carried out by 

23 other agencies in the Federal Government; and 

24 (14) widely disseminate evaluation and other re25 search results and information through the ClearingVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Oct 04, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3433.IS S3433

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1 house for Labor Evaluation and Research described 

2 in subsection (f) and through other appropriate 

3 means described in section 2(5), in manners that are 

4 accessible to a broad range of stakeholders. 

5 (e) STANDARDS FOR CONDUCT OF EVALUATION AND

6 RESEARCH.—In carrying out the functions under this sec7 tion, the Chief Evaluation Officer shall ensure that the 

8 related activities— 

9 (1) meet evidence-based research standards; 

10 (2) utilize rigorous methods that are appro11 priate and feasible; 

12 (3) promote best practices that are grounded on 

13 scientifically valid evaluation and other research, as 

14 the case may be; 

15 (4) take into account legislative requirements 

16 and reflect the interests and needs of agencies in the 

17 Department and other stakeholders; 

18 (5) are objective, neutral, and free of undue in19 fluence or the appearance of such influence; 

20 (6) are conducted in a transparent and timely 

21 manner, and that the results of the activities are dis22 seminated in a timely manner; and 

23 (7) are conducted in an ethical manner. 

24 (f) CLEARINGHOUSE FOR LABOR EVALUATION AND

25 RESEARCH.—The Chief Evaluation Officer shall maintain 


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1 a Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research 

2 that— 

3 (1) reviews evaluations and other research on 

4 issues related to labor, to determine if the evalua5 tions and other research meet evidence-based re6 search standards; 

7 (2) promotes accessibility and public awareness 

8 of the results of evaluations and other research that 

9 meet the standards among practitioners, researchers, 

10 policymakers, and the public; 

11 (3) encourages the use of reviewed evaluations 

12 and other research that meet the standards to in13 form decisions relating to appropriate policies and 

14 programs and activities; 

15 (4) assesses the quality of evaluations and other 

16 research that examine the effectiveness of particular 

17 policies and programs and activities; and 

18 (5) synthesizes evaluations and other research 

19 within a topic area, highlights gaps in the literature, 

20 and identifies areas in which further evaluations and 

21 other research may be needed. 

22 (g) PERFORMANCE OF FUNCTIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the func24 tions of the Office under this section, the Chief 

25 Evaluation Officer may— 


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1 (A) award grants and enter into contracts 

2 and cooperative agreements to carry out activi3 ties described in this section, through— 

4 (i) a process that complies with re5 quirements for full and open competition 

6 under chapter 33 of title 41, United States 

7 Code; and 

8 (ii) a peer review process, when prac9 ticable; and 

10 (B) provide technical assistance to— 

11 (i) support agencies in the Depart12 ment to conduct scientifically valid evalua13 tions and other research; 

14 (ii) coordinate activities, as necessary, 

15 with other Departments that gather data; 

16 and 

17 (iii) assist, as appropriate, other enti18 ties conducting evaluations and other re19 search. 

20 (2) SUBGRANTS.—The Chief Evaluation Officer 

21 may authorize entities receiving grants or contracts 

22 under this section to award subgrants or sub23 contracts to carry out activities described in this sec24 tion. 


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1 (h) REPORT.—The Chief Evaluation Officer shall, 

2 not less often than once every 2 years, prepare and pub3 licly release, including to the Secretary, the Committee on 

4 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, 

5 and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of 

6 the House of Representatives, a report that contains— 

7 (1) a description of the activities carried out by 

8 the Office, including activities carried out through 

9 grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements fund10 ed by the Office, during the fiscal years prior to the 

11 release of the report; 

12 (2) the activities undertaken to widely dissemi13 nate evaluation and other research results and infor14 mation in a manner that is accessible to a broad 

15 range of stakeholders; and 

16 (3) a description of how the activities of the Of17 fice are consistent with the principles of scientifically 

18 valid research and the priorities and mission of the 

19 Office. 

20 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

23 2017 through 2021. 

Æ 


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