I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5111 
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to prioritize 
programs that provide evidence of performance. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2023 
Mrs. HOUCHIN (for herself, Mrs. MCCLAIN, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr. 
BUCSHON, Mr. JAMES, Mr. BEAN of Florida, and Mr. LAWLER) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
to prioritize programs that provide evidence of performance. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prioritizing Evidence 
for Workforce Development Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PRIORITIZING PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE EVI-
DENCE OF PERFORMANCE. 
Section 102 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor-
tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3112) is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (D), by striking 
‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 
(ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(F) a description of how the State plans 
to prioritize the funding of evidence-based pro-
grams for which evidence from a rigorous eval-
uation of the programs shows a positive effect 
on the target population for the programs, with 
highest priority given to programs that are 
high-evidence interventions, next priority given 
to programs that are moderate-evidence inter-
ventions, and next priority given to programs 
that are low-evidence interventions.’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2)(C)— 
(i) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(ii) in clause (viii), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
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(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(ix) how the State will prioritize the 
funding of evidence-based programs for 
which evidence from a rigorous evaluation 
of the programs shows a positive effect on 
the target population for the programs.’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In subsection (b): 
‘‘(1) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evidence- 
based’, used with respect to an activity, strategy, or 
other intervention, means a high-evidence, moderate- 
evidence, or low-evidence intervention. 
‘‘(2) HIGH-EVIDENCE.—The term ‘high-evi-
dence’, used with respect to an intervention, means 
an intervention that is shown to produce a sizable, 
sustained effect on important outcomes, in— 
‘‘(A) two or more well-conducted experi-
mental studies carried out in typical community 
settings and conducted at different implementa-
tion sites; or 
‘‘(B) one large multisite well-conducted ex-
perimental study carried out in such a setting. 
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‘‘(3) LOW-EVIDENCE.—The term ‘low-evidence’, 
used with respect to an intervention, means an inter-
vention that is shown to produce or have the poten-
tial to produce a positive effect on important out-
comes, in a study based on a reasonable hypothesis 
and with credible research findings, such as a cor-
relational study with statistical controls for selection 
bias or descriptive research such as a case study. 
‘‘(4) MODERATE-EVIDENCE.—The term ‘mod-
erate-evidence’, used with respect to an intervention, 
means an intervention that is shown to produce a 
positive effect, that is sizable but not yet conclusive, 
on important outcomes, in at least one well-con-
ducted experimental study, or in a rigorous quasi-ex-
perimental study from which a researcher can draw 
a causal conclusion regarding the intervention’s ef-
fectiveness. 
‘‘(5) 
WELL-CONDUCTED
EXPERIMENTAL 
STUDY.—The term ‘well-conducted experimental 
study’ means an experimental study such as a study 
with randomized controlled trials.’’. 
Æ 
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