I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3199 

To establish a competitive grant program at the U.S. Department of Education to support the development, production, and distribution of public 

media programming designed to prepare Americans for in-demand occupations that address the needs of State and local economies. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2021 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI (for himself and Mr. MEUSER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To establish a competitive grant program at the U.S. Department of Education to support the development, production, and distribution of public media programming designed to prepare Americans for in-demand occupations 

that address the needs of State and local economies. 

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 ‘‘Partnerships for Amer5 ican Jobs Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3199 IH

1 (1) The terms ‘‘career pathway’’, ‘‘State 

2 board’’, and ‘‘local board’’ have the meanings given 

3 the terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 

4 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

5 (2) The term ‘‘digital media programming’’ 

6 means video and audio programming that may be 

7 delivered through a variety of media platforms, in8 cluding broadcast television and radio, the internet, 

9 mobile devices, and other platforms. 

10 (3) The term ‘‘in-demand industry sector or oc11 cupation’’ has the meaning given in section 3 of the 

12 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

13 U.S.C. 3102). 

14 (4) The term ‘‘institutions of higher education’’ 

15 has the meaning given in section 102 of the Higher 

16 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

17 (5) The terms ‘‘local educational agency’’ and 

18 ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the meanings given 

19 such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 

20 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

21 (6) The terms ‘‘public broadcast station’’ and 

22 ‘‘public telecommunications entity’’ have the mean23 ings given such terms in section 397 of the Commu24 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 397). 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3199 IH

1 (7) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

2 of Education. 

3 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

4 The purpose of this Act is to support the development 

5 and distribution of digital media programming that— 

6 (1) promotes middle school, high school, and 

7 postsecondary student entrance into in-demand occu8 pations; 

9 (2) promotes student entrance into career path10 way programs that provide such preparation; and 

11 (3) assists in meeting the needs of State and 

12 local economies through increased workers in in-de13 mand industry sectors or occupations. 

14 SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, in 

16 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, may award com17 petitive grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 

18 agreements with, eligible entities described in subsection 

19 (c) to enable such entities— 

20 (1) to develop, produce, and distribute edu21 cational and promotional digital media programming 

22 that is designed— 

23 (A) to illustrate the value of career path24 ways in in-demand industry sectors and occupa25 tions; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3199 IH

1 (B) to encourage secondary and postsec2 ondary graduation and demonstrate successful 

3 student outcomes; 

4 (C) to inform young Americans, particu5 larly those who live in communities not cur6 rently served by career pathway programs, of a 

7 full range of secondary or postsecondary edu8 cation options which align with the skill needs 

9 of industries in the economy of the State or a 

10 locality as specified in subparagraph (D); and 

11 (D) to address the economic needs of a 

12 State as specified in the unified State plan that 

13 such State established under section 102 of the 

14 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

15 U.S.C. 3112) or locality as specified in a local 

16 plan established under section 108 of such Act 

17 (29 U.S.C. 3123) through encouragement of 

18 students and workers to enter professions and 

19 occupations related to in-demand industries or 

20 occupations; 

21 (2) to facilitate the development, directly or 

22 through contracts with producers of educational tele23 vision and audio programming, of educational pro24 gramming for middle school, high school, and post25 secondary learners, and accompanying support mateVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3199.IH H3199

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3199 IH

1 rials and services that promote the effective use of 

2 such programming; 

3 (3) to facilitate the development of program4 ming, digital content, and support materials, for 

5 parents, educators, specialized instructional support 

6 personnel, and employers, that is designed for dis7 tribution over the broadcast channels of television 

8 and radio public broadcast stations and the internet; 

9 and 

10 (4) to contract with entities (such as public 

11 telecommunications entities) to disseminate and dis12 tribute programming developed under this Act to the 

13 widest possible audience through the most appro14 priate distribution technologies, including broadcast 

15 and online platforms. 

16 (b) AVAILABILITY.—In awarding grants, contracts, 

17 or cooperative agreements under this section, the Sec18 retary shall ensure that eligible entities make program19 ming widely available, with support materials as appro20 priate, to local educational agencies, institutions of higher 

21 education, workforce development systems, and employers 

22 in relevant industries. 

23 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 

24 grant, contract or cooperative agreement under this secVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3199.IH H3199

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3199 IH

1 tion an entity shall be a public telecommunications entity 

2 that is able to demonstrate each of the following: 

3 (1) A capacity to contract for the development 

4 and national distribution of educational and pro5 motional video, audio, and other media programming 

6 that is accessible by middle school, high school, and 

7 postsecondary learners. 

8 (2) A capacity to distribute programming, dig9 ital content, and support materials, for parents, edu10 cators, specialized instructional support personnel, 

11 and employers, that is designed for distribution over 

12 the broadcast channels of television and radio public 

13 broadcast stations and the internet. 

14 (3) A capacity, consistent with the entity’s mis15 sion and nonprofit nature, to negotiate the contracts 

16 described in paragraphs (2) and (4) of subsection 

17 (a) in a manner that returns to the entity an appro18 priate share of any ancillary income from sales of 

19 any program-related products. 

20 (4) A capacity to localize programming and ma21 terials to meet specific State and local needs and to 

22 provide educational outreach at the local level. 

23 SEC. 5. COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES. 

24 (a) CONSULTATION WITH THE SECRETARY.—An eli25 gible entity receiving a grant, contract, or cooperative 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3199 IH

1 agreement under this Act shall consult with the Sec2 retary— 

3 (1) to maximize the utilization of educational 

4 programming by secondary and postsecondary learn5 ers, and make such programming widely available to 

6 federally funded programs serving such populations; 

7 and 

8 (2) to coordinate activities with Federal, State, 

9 and local programs that support workforce develop10 ment and career and technical education, including 

11 programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

12 Technical Education Act of 2006 (29 U.S.C. 2301 

13 et seq.), the Elementary and Secondary Education 

14 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Higher 

15 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), 

16 and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

17 (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.). 

18 (b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER ENTITIES.—To the 

19 extent feasible, an eligible entity receiving a grant, con20 tract, or cooperative agreement shall also coordinate its 

21 activity under such award with the activities of one or 

22 more of the following entities: 

23 (1) Employers. 

24 (2) Workforce development professionals and 

25 agencies. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3199 IH

1 (3) Educators. 

2 (4) Labor organizations. 

3 (5) Joint labor-management partnerships. 

4 (6) State educational agencies and local edu5 cational agencies. 

6 (7) State boards and local boards. 

7 (8) Institutions of higher education. 

8 (9) Business councils. 

9 SEC. 6. APPLICATIONS. 

10 An eligible entity desiring to receive a grant, contract, 

11 or cooperative agreement under this Act shall submit to 

12 the Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of Labor 

13 an application at such time, in such manner, and con14 taining such information as the Secretary may reasonably 

15 require. This application must include— 

16 (1) the full scale and content of the program17 ming to be produced; 

18 (2) the population and geographic area to be 

19 targeted by the programming; 

20 (3) the economic need of the State or locality 

21 that the programming is designed to meet through 

22 increased participation in in-demand industries and 

23 occupations; and 

24 (4) the initiatives to be undertaken by the eligi25 ble entity to develop public-private partnerships to 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3199 IH

1 secure non-Federal support for the development, dis2 tribution, and broadcast of the programming. 

3 SEC. 7. REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS. 

4 (a) BIENNIAL REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.—An eli5 gible entity receiving a grant, contract, or cooperative 

6 agreement under this Act shall prepare and submit to the 

7 Secretary a biennial report that contains such information 

8 as the Secretary may require. At a minimum, the report 

9 shall describe the activities undertaken with funds received 

10 under the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, in11 cluding each of the following: 

12 (1) The programming that has been developed, 

13 directly or indirectly, by the eligible entity. 

14 (2) The target population for this program15 ming. 

16 (3) The economic needs of the State or locality 

17 (as identified in the application of the eligible entity 

18 under section 6(3)) that this programming was at19 tempting to meet through the encouragement of new 

20 workers in in-demand sectors and occupations. 

21 (4) The degree to which the number of workers 

22 working in such in-demand sectors and occupations 

23 has increased since the programming was distrib24 uted. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 3199 IH

1 (5) The means by which programming devel2 oped under this section has been distributed, and the 

3 geographic distribution achieved. 

4 (6) The initiatives undertaken by the eligible 

5 entity to develop public-private partnerships to se6 cure non-Federal support for the development, dis7 tribution, and broadcast of educational and pro8 motional programming. 

9 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall pre10 pare and submit to the relevant committees of Congress 

11 a biennial report that includes the following: 

12 (1) A summary of the activities assisted under 

13 this Act. 

14 (2) A description of the educational and pro15 motional materials made available under section 

16 4(a)(4), and the manner in which such materials 

17 have been distributed in accordance with such sec18 tion. 

19 SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS. 

20 An eligible entity that receives a grant, contract, or 

21 cooperative agreement under this Act may use up to 5 per22 cent of the amount received under the grant, contract, or 

23 agreement for the normal and customary expenses of ad24 ministering the grant, contract, or agreement. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 3199 IH

1 SEC. 9. SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 The authority provided by section 4 may be exercised 

3 only to such extent and in such amounts as are provided 

4 in advance in appropriations Acts. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS