I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2645 
To address the needs of workers in industries likely to be impacted by 
rapidly evolving technologies. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 19, 2021 
Mrs. BUSTOS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To address the needs of workers in industries likely to be 
impacted by rapidly evolving technologies. 
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 ‘‘Investing in Tomor-
row’s Workforce Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) In 2014, the United States spent just 0.1 
percent of the Nation’s Gross Domestic Product on 
labor market policies, less than half of what the 
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United States spent on labor market policies 30 
years ago. 
(2) The number of workers receiving federally 
supported training has declined in the past 3 dec-
ades as advances in technology have simultaneously 
shifted labor market demand over time. 
(3) Job losses from automation are more likely 
to impact women, people of color, and workers mak-
ing less than $40,000 annually. 
(4) The COVID–19 pandemic has accelerated 
trends in automation, with 43 percent of businesses 
in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs sur-
vey indicating they plan to reduce their workforce as 
a result of technology integration. 
(5) Strong Federal investment in expanding 
training services for workers whose jobs may be lost 
due to automation could prepare the United States 
workforce to better adapt to changes in the labor 
market and enter into skilled positions in techno-
logically oriented occupations and industries. 
(6) A focus on preparing the workforce of the 
United States for jobs that utilize advanced tech-
nologies could grow wages, increase economic pro-
ductivity, and boost the competitiveness of the 
United States. 
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SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AUTOMATION.—The term ‘‘automation’’ 
means a device, process, or system that functions 
without continuous input from an operator, includ-
ing— 
(A) advanced technologies, such as— 
(i) data collection, classification proc-
essing, and analytics; and 
(ii) 3–D printing, digital design and 
simulation, and digital manufacturing; 
(B) robotics, including collaborative robot-
ics, and worker augmentation technology; 
(C) autonomous vehicle technology; or 
(D) autonomous machinery technology. 
(2) DISLOCATED
WORKER.—The term ‘‘dis-
located worker’’ has the meaning given the term in 
section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor-
tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 
(3) IN-DEMAND INDUSTRY SECTOR OR OCCUPA-
TION.—The term ‘‘in-demand industry sector or oc-
cupation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
3 of that Act. 
(4) INTEGRATED EDUCATION AND TRAINING.— 
The term ‘‘integrated education and training’’ has 
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the meaning given the term in section 203 of that 
Act (29 U.S.C. 3272). 
(5) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘eligi-
ble partnership’’ means an industry or sector part-
nership, as defined in section 3 of that Act, except 
that— 
(A) for purposes of applying paragraph 
(26)(A)(iii) of that section, the term ‘‘institu-
tion of higher education’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 101 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and 
(B) the partnership shall include, in addi-
tion to the representatives described in clauses 
(i) through (iii) of paragraph (26)(A) of that 
section, representatives of— 
(i) a State workforce development 
board or a local workforce development 
board; and 
(ii) an economic development organi-
zation. 
(6) GAO STUDY ON AUTOMATION.—The term 
‘‘GAO study on automation’’ means the study on au-
tomation conducted by the Comptroller General of 
the United States, as directed in House Report 116– 
450 (incorporated in the explanatory statement re-
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garding the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 
(Public Law 116–260) in accordance with section 4 
of such Act). 
(7) LOCAL AND STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOP-
MENT BOARDS.—The terms ‘‘local workforce devel-
opment board’’ and ‘‘State workforce development 
board’’ have the meanings given the terms ‘‘local 
board’’ and ‘‘State board’’, respectively, in section 3 
of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
(29 U.S.C. 3102). 
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Labor. 
(9) TRAINING SERVICES.—The term ‘‘training 
services’’ means training services described in sec-
tion 
134(c)(3)(D) 
of 
that 
Act 
(29 
U.S.C. 
3174(c)(3)(D)). 
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO IMPROVE TRAINING FOR WORKERS IM-
PACTED BY AUTOMATION. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appro-
priated under subsection (g) and beginning after the 
earlier of the date of submission of the GAO study 
on automation or October 1, 2022, the Secretary of 
Labor shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to 
eligible partnerships to support demonstration and 
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pilot projects relating to the training needs of work-
ers who are, or are likely to become, dislocated work-
ers as a result of automation. 
(2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 
section shall be for a period not to exceed 4 years. 
(3) USE OF REPORT.—The Secretary shall use 
the GAO study on automation to inform the grant 
program carried out under this section. 
(b) APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section, an eligible partnership shall 
submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary shall reasonably require. 
(2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall include a description of 
the demonstration or pilot project to be completed 
with the grant funds, which description shall in-
clude— 
(A) a description of the members of the el-
igible partnership who will be involved in the 
demonstration or pilot program and the services 
each member will provide; 
(B) a description of the training services 
that will be available to individuals participating 
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in the demonstration or pilot project, which 
may include— 
(i) a plan to train dislocated workers 
from industries likely to be impacted by 
automation and transition the workers into 
regionally in-demand industry sectors or 
occupations; and 
(ii) a plan to partner with local busi-
nesses to retrain, upskill, and re-deploy 
workers within an industry as an alter-
native to layoffs; 
(C) a plan to provide workers with tech-
nology-based skills training, which may include 
training to provide skills related to coding, sys-
tems engineering, or information technology se-
curity, in addition to other skills; and 
(D) a description of the goals that the eli-
gible partnership intends to achieve to upskill 
workers and prepare them for in-demand indus-
try sectors or occupations. 
(c) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to— 
(1) eligible partnerships that are located in an 
area with a high concentration of— 
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(A) industries with a higher likelihood of 
being impacted by automation; or 
(B) industries included in in-demand in-
dustry sectors, as determined under subpara-
graphs (A)(i) and (B) of section 3(23) of the 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
U.S.C. 3102(23)); 
(2) eligible partnerships— 
(A) with a plan to provide incumbent 
worker training— 
(i) to assist workers in obtaining the 
skills necessary to retain employment or 
avert layoffs; or 
(ii) that allows a worker working for 
an employer to acquire new skills that 
allow the worker to obtain a higher-skilled 
or higher-paid position with such employer; 
and 
(B) that partner with local employers that 
intend to backfill the pre-training positions of 
the incumbent workers by hiring new workers 
to fill those positions; 
(3) eligible partnerships that will provide work-
ers with a transportation stipend, paid sick leave, 
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