I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7053 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to expand and improve transit 
training programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 24, 2008 
Mr. NADLER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to expand and 
improve transit training programs. 
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 ‘‘Transportation Job 
Corps Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) There are millions of young people ages 16 
through 24 who are neither in school nor in the 
labor force. 
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(2) According to a report issued by the Commu-
nity Service Society in June 2008, entitled ‘‘Out of 
Focus: A Snapshot of Public Funding to Reconnect 
Youth to Education and Employment’’, the young 
people described in paragraph (1), often referred to 
as disconnected youth, are largely youth of color 
from poor communities and at risk of becoming per-
manently disengaged from the labor market which 
threatens their ability to break out of the cycle of 
poverty and contribute to our economy and commu-
nities. 
(3) When our young people lack the skills that 
local industries need and are unable to support 
themselves, we all bear the financial costs. 
(4) In the coming years, the combination of 
public transportation industry growth and an aging 
workforce will produce sizeable new openings in the 
transit sector. 
(5) There is no pipeline of replacements on the 
horizon, and the transit industry has been limited in 
its ability to attract, recruit, and retain employees. 
(6) For the existing workforce, new technology 
is rapidly changing the way transit agencies func-
tion, affecting every sector of the workforce, includ-
ing executive directors, mid-level managers, bus op-
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erators, and mechanics, yet relatively few programs 
exist to provide training to workers so that they can 
perform their jobs adequately, move up the career 
ladder, and help the Nation’s transit agencies oper-
ate at maximum efficiency. 
SEC. 3. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. 
(a) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.—Title 
49, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking section 5322; and 
(2) by inserting the following: 
‘‘SEC. 5322. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) JOINT
WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT
COUN-
CILS.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of the Transportation 
Job Corps Act of 2008, the Administrator of the 
Federal Transit Administration shall establish a 
workforce development council in each of its 10 re-
gions. 
‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The management of each 
public transit agency and the labor organization rep-
resenting the majority of employees at each such 
transit agency in a region shall select one represent-
ative for the council established under paragraph 
(1). The selected individuals from each transit agen-
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cy shall elect, by majority vote from among members 
of such council, a governing board for such region, 
including a co-chairperson from among the rep-
resentatives from labor and a co-chairperson from 
among the representatives from management. 
‘‘(b) REGIONAL GOVERNING BOARDS.— 
‘‘(1) COMPOSITION OF GOVERNING BOARDS.— 
The governing board for each region shall be com-
posed of not more than 10 members elected by the 
Council pursuant to subsection (a)(2). 
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The governing board for each 
region shall— 
‘‘(A) identify skills gaps in transit agency 
maintenance departments and develop programs 
to train maintenance employees and fixed route 
and paratransit operators on a regional basis; 
‘‘(B) develop programs to address the re-
cruitment and retention of managerial and non-
managerial employees; 
‘‘(C) initiate relationships with nontrans-
portation sector industries, associations, and 
groups in the public and private sector to de-
velop best practices in training and skills devel-
opment and determine appropriate ways to col-
laborate on behalf of disconnected youth; 
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‘‘(D) conduct research on transit workforce 
development issues and develop best practices 
for recruitment, training, and retention of em-
ployees; 
‘‘(E) conduct research on the extent of 
labor market disconnection among disconnected 
youth and assess the provision of employment 
services for such youth; 
‘‘(F) make recommendations to the Sec-
retary and to public transit agencies regarding 
how to expand current employment training 
programs, outreach programs to increase mi-
nority and female employment in public trans-
portation activities, and apprenticeship pro-
grams; and 
‘‘(G) develop programs and make rec-
ommendations to public transit agencies to ad-
dress issues related to workplace quality of life 
issues, including absenteeism, scheduling, child 
care, and other issues that may be necessary to 
improve recruitment and retention of employ-
ees. 
‘‘(3) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.— 
‘‘(A) POSSIBLE APPOINTMENTS.—The Ad-
ministrator may appoint non-voting ex officio 
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members to each regional governing board from 
among representatives of nonprofit organiza-
tions, research organizations, and any other 
group or individual the Administrator believes 
would contribute to the board. 
‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL 
TRANSPORTATION LEARNING CENTER AND FED-
ERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATORS.—The Admin-
istrator shall appoint as a non-voting ex-officio 
member to the regional governing board of the 
respective region— 
‘‘(i) one or more representatives of the 
International 
Transportation 
Learning 
Center which administers the transit ca-
reer ladder training program authorized by 
section 3046 of the Safe, Accountable, 
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 
Act: A Legacy for Users (Public Law 109– 
59); 
‘‘(ii) the Federal Transit Administra-
tors of each of the 10 regions; and 
‘‘(iii) an individual who has expertise 
in youth development programs. 
‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAMS.— 
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