I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3258 
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to establish a 
scholarship program for dislocated workers or unemployed individuals 
transitioning into manufacturing employment. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 28, 2015 
Mr. NORCROSS (for himself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GARAMENDI, and Mrs. 
BUSTOS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
to establish a scholarship program for dislocated workers 
or unemployed individuals transitioning into manufac-
turing employment. 
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 ‘‘Workers Opportunity 
and Retraining Competitive Grant Program Act of 2015’’ 
or the ‘‘WORC Grant Program Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. MANUFACTURING WORKER TRANSITION SCHOLAR-
SHIP PROGRAM. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle D of title I of the Work-
force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 2916) 
is amended by adding after section 171 the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 
171A. 
MANUFACTURING 
WORKER 
TRANSITION 
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 
manufacturing worker scholarship program to award 
States competitive grants to be used to provide scholar-
ships to dislocated workers or unemployed individuals 
through State and local boards to support worker’s en-
deavors to transition into manufacturing positions. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 
‘‘(1) WORKER ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for 
the scholarship program established under this sec-
tion, dislocated workers or unemployed individuals 
shall be enrolled in a qualifying manufacturing 
training course designed to provide skills for employ-
ment in manufacturing. 
‘‘(2) PROGRAM
ELIGIBILITY.—State or local 
boards participating in the scholarship program es-
tablished under this section shall— 
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‘‘(A) have formal agreements or partner-
ships with qualifying manufacturing training 
course providers; and 
‘‘(B) have commitments from local employ-
ers, community leaders, and State or local eco-
nomic development initiatives to mentor dis-
located workers or unemployed individuals in 
order to aid their transition into manufacturing 
industries. 
‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Activities to be carried out 
under the scholarship program established under 
this section shall be coordinated by State or local 
boards, including transferring scholarship awards to 
qualifying manufacturing training course providers 
on behalf of the dislocated workers or unemployed 
individuals receiving scholarships. 
‘‘(2) STATE AND LOCAL BOARD DISCRETION.— 
For purposes of scholarship awards distributed by a 
State or local board, such board shall define the 
term ‘manufacturing’. 
‘‘(3) REPAYMENT
UPON
ELIGIBILITY
VIOLA-
TIONS.—If a dislocated worker or unemployed indi-
vidual does not complete the qualifying manufac-
turing training course or substitutes non-manufac-
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turing courses for manufacturing courses, the 
amount of the awarded scholarship shall be repaid to 
the State or local board. 
‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) MONETARY
AWARD
LIMIT.—Scholarship 
funding for any dislocated worker or unemployed in-
dividual may not exceed $2,000 per year. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY LIMIT.—Scholarship funding 
for any dislocated worker or unemployed individual 
may not exceed 2 years. 
‘‘(3) SCHOLARSHIP USE LIMIT.—A scholarship 
awarded under this section may only be used for 
payment towards qualifying manufacturing training 
courses. 
‘‘(4) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES LIMIT.—A scholar-
ship awarded under this section may not be used for 
supportive services. 
‘‘(e) 
QUALIFYING
MANUFACTURING
TRAINING 
COURSE DEFINED.—The term ‘qualifying manufacturing 
training course’— 
‘‘(1) means any course or job training activity 
that is offered by a postsecondary educational insti-
tution, area vocational education school, or other eli-
gible provider that— 
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‘‘(A) provides knowledge and skills related 
to manufacturing in emerging industries or in-
dustries where there are jobs available in the 
community, as determined by a State or local 
board; and 
‘‘(B) offers credits or other credentials to 
enrollees for completion of the program; and 
‘‘(2) may include internships or apprenticeships 
that provide credit or other credentials for comple-
tion of the program.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 
of contents in section 1(b) of the Workforce Innovation 
and Opportunity Act is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 171 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 171A. Manufacturing worker transition scholarship program.’’. 
Æ 
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