I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8957 
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to establish a grant program 
for training wind technicians, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 14, 2020 
Ms. FINKENAUER (for herself, Mrs. AXNE, Mr. BACON, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, 
and Mr. COLE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee 
on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to establish a 
grant program for training wind technicians, and for 
other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Wind Workforce Mod-
ernization and Training Act of 2020’’. 
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‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish a program under which the Secretary shall award 
grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to pur-
chase large pieces of wind turbine component equipment 
(such as nacelles, towers, and blades) for use in training 
wind technician students. 
‘‘(c) REPORTING.—Not later than 1 year after the 
final participation date, an eligible entity receiving a grant 
under this section shall submit to the Secretary, with re-
spect to the covered participants, a report containing a 
description of the levels of performance achieved with re-
spect to each of the primary indicators of performance de-
scribed in subclauses (I) through (VI) of section 
116(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor-
tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141(b)(2)(A)(i)). 
‘‘(d) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available to 
the Secretary for administrative expenses to carry out 
other programs under the authority of the Secretary, the 
Secretary shall use to carry out this section $2,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 
119 Stat. 601) is amended by inserting after the item re-
lating to section 1106 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 1107. Wind technician training grant program.’’. 
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SEC. 3. VETERANS IN WIND ENERGY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title XI of the Energy Policy Act 
of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16411 et seq.) (as amended by section 
2(a)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 1108. VETERANS IN WIND ENERGY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 
with the eligible entities defined in section 1107(a)(2), in-
cluding joint labor-management organizations and post-
secondary vocational institutions, shall design, establish, 
and administer a program to prepare veterans for careers 
in the wind energy industry by providing classroom in-
struction and work-based learning. 
‘‘(b) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available to 
the Secretary for administrative expenses to carry out 
other programs under the authority of the Secretary, the 
Secretary shall use to carry out this section $2,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 
119 Stat. 601) (as amended by section 2(b)) is further 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1107 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 1108. Veterans in wind energy.’’. 
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SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT ON WIND TECHNICIAN WORK-
FORCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy (referred 
to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall convene a task 
force comprised of 1 or more representatives of each of 
the stakeholders described in subsection (b) that shall— 
(1) conduct a study to assess the training needs 
of technicians working in the wind energy industry; 
(2) create a comprehensive list that— 
(A) lists each type of wind energy industry 
technician position available in the United 
States; and 
(B) describes the skill sets required for 
each type of position listed under subparagraph 
(A); and 
(3) not later than 1 year after the date of en-
actment of this Act, make publicly available and 
submit to Congress a report that— 
(A) describes the results of that study; 
(B) includes the comprehensive list de-
scribed in paragraph (2); and 
(C) provides recommendations— 
(i) for creating a credentialing pro-
gram for wind energy industry technicians 
that may be administered by eligible enti-
ties (as defined in section 1107(a)(2) of 
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the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as added 
by section 2(a) of this Act); and 
(ii) that reflect best practices for 
training programs for technicians in the 
wind energy industry, as identified by rep-
resentatives of the wind energy industry. 
(b) STAKEHOLDERS DESCRIBED.—The stakeholders 
referred to in subsection (a) are— 
(1) the Department of Defense; 
(2) the Department of Education; 
(3) the Department of Energy; 
(4) the Department of Labor; 
(5) the Department of Veterans Affairs; 
(6) eligible entities (as defined in section 
1107(a)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as 
added by section 2(a) of this Act), including joint- 
labor management organizations and postsecondary 
vocational institutions; and 
(7) the wind energy industry. 
(c) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available to the 
Secretary for administrative expenses to carry out other 
programs under the authority of the Secretary, the Sec-
retary shall use to carry out this section $500,000. 
Æ 
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