I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2696 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to designate certain consortia 

as Community and Technical College Centers of Excellence in Transportation Workforce Training, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 20, 2021 

Mr. LANGEVIN (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to designate certain consortia as Community and Technical College Centers of Excellence in Transportation Workforce Training, 

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 ‘‘Transportation Work5 force Centers of Excellence Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN TRANSPORTATION 

2 WORKFORCE TRAINING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Trans5 portation, in consultation with the Secretary of Education 

6 and the Secretary of Labor, shall designate in accordance 

7 with subsection (b) certain consortia of 2-year institutions 

8 of higher education as Community and Technical College 

9 Centers of Excellence in Transportation Workforce Train10 ing (in this section referred to as ‘‘Centers of Excel11 lence’’). 

12 (b) CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION.—The Secretary of 

13 Transportation shall designate as a Center of Excellence 

14 under subsection (a) a consortium the Secretary deter15 mines has a demonstrated ability to— 

16 (1) address education and training related to 

17 careers in transportation sectors; and 

18 (2) carry out the following activities: 

19 (A) Developing and implementing career 

20 pathways and programs of study that lead to 

21 recognized postsecondary credentials in trans22 portation sectors. 

23 (B) Providing on-the-job training or work24 based learning opportunities in transportation 

25 sectors. 


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1 (C) Developing dual or concurrent enroll2 ment programs to provide education and train3 ing opportunities to secondary school students. 

4 (D) Providing education and training re5 lated to emerging technologies in transportation 

6 sectors. 

7 (E) Partnering with employers, labor orga8 nizations, local workforce development boards, 

9 State workforce development boards, State edu10 cational agencies, and eligible agencies to ad11 dress education and training related to careers 

12 in transportation sectors. 

13 (F) Providing outreach and career coun14 seling to increase participation in transpor15 tation sectors. 

16 (c) COLLABORATION.—To address education and 

17 training related to careers in transportation sectors, Cen18 ters of Excellence may seek to collaborate with institutions 

19 receiving grants under section 5505 of title 49, United 

20 States Code. 

21 (d) GRANTS TO CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

23 a program (in this subsection referred to as the 

24 ‘‘Program’’) to award grants on a competitive basis, 

25 as determined by the Secretary, to Centers of ExcelVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2696.IH H2696

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1 lence to address education and training related to 

2 careers in transportation sectors. 

3 (2) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—Grant funds award4 ed under the Program may only be used for a 

5 project that facilitates an activity specified in sub6 section (b). 

7 (3) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a grant 

8 under the Program, a Center of Excellence des9 ignated under subsection (a) shall submit to the Sec10 retary an application in such form, at such time, 

11 and containing such information as the Secretary 

12 determines appropriate. 

13 (4) LIMITATIONS ON GRANTS.— 

14 (A) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—The 

15 amount of a grant under the Program may not 

16 exceed $2,000,000. 

17 (B) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL SHARE.— 

18 The Federal share of the cost of a project car19 ried out by a grant under the Program may not 

20 exceed 50 percent. 

21 (5) REPORT.—Each recipient of a grant under 

22 the Program shall submit to the Secretary a report 

23 in such form, at such time, and containing such in24 formation as the Secretary determines appropriate 

25 to evaluate the grant, including the following: 


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1 (A) Information relating to the use of 

2 grant funds awarded to the recipient under the 

3 Program. 

4 (B) An evaluation of each project carried 

5 out with such grant funds, including the fol6 lowing: 

7 (i) The percentage, and median earn8 ings, of individuals participating in or ben9 efitting from the project (in this section re10 ferred to as ‘‘participants’’) who are in un11 subsidized employment 90 days after exit 

12 from the project. 

13 (ii) The percentage of participants 

14 who are in unsubsidized employment 180 

15 days after exit from the project. 

16 (iii) The percentage of participants 

17 who obtain a recognized postsecondary cre18 dential, or a secondary school diploma or 

19 recognized equivalent, during the project or 

20 within 1 year after exit from the project. 

21 (iv) The percentage of participants 

22 who, during the project— 

23 (I) enrolled in an education or 

24 training program that leads to a recVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2696.IH H2696

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1 ognized postsecondary credential or 

2 employment; or 

3 (II) developed skills necessary to 

4 receive such credential or employment. 

5 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

7 this subsection $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

8 2022 through 2026. 

9 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) CAREER PATHWAY.—The term ‘‘career 

11 pathway’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

12 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

13 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

14 (2) DUAL OR CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT PRO15 GRAM.—The term ‘‘dual or concurrent enrollment 

16 program’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

17 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

18 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

19 (3) ELIGIBLE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

20 agency’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

21 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu22 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 

23 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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


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1 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

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

3 (5) LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

4 BOARD.—The term ‘‘local workforce development 

5 board’’ means a local workforce development board 

6 established under section 107 of the Workforce In7 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3122). 

8 (6) ON-THE-JOB TRAINING.—The term ‘‘on-the9 job training’’ has the meaning given the term in sec10 tion 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

11 Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

12 (7) PROGRAM OF STUDY.—The term ‘‘program 

13 of study’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

14 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu15 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 

16 (8) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN17 TIAL.—The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden18 tial’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 

19 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

20 U.S.C. 3102). 

21 (9) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

22 ‘‘State educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

23 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec24 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


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1 (10) STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

2 BOARD.—The term ‘‘State workforce development 

3 board’’ means a State workforce development board 

4 established under section 101 of the Workforce In5 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111). 

6 (11) TRANSPORTATION SECTOR.—The term 

7 ‘‘transportation sector’’ means an industry sector 

8 that is involved in the manufacturing, operation, in9 spection, logistics, design, or engineering of equip10 ment, materials, technologies, or infrastructure re11 lated to transportation (including surface, transit, 

12 railway, aviation, and maritime transportation). 

13 (12) WORK-BASED LEARNING.—The term 

14 ‘‘work-based learning’’ has the meaning given the 

15 term in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

16 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 

Æ 


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