I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4526 
To require the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry out a comprehensive 
program to improve education and training for energy-related jobs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2014 
Mr. RUSH (for himself, Mr. WHITFIELD, and Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Energy to establish and carry 
out a comprehensive program to improve education and 
training for energy-related jobs. 
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 ‘‘21st Century Energy 
Workforce Development Jobs Initiative Act of 2014’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) There are, currently and for well into the 
future, significant opportunities for African-Ameri-
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cans and Hispanic-Americans throughout the energy 
industry at each level of education and training, but 
raising the educational achievement for large seg-
ments of the upcoming generation is resource inten-
sive and will take decades to achieve, although the 
payoff of an increased skilled labor pool would be 
enormous to society in general and United States in-
dustry in particular. 
(2) African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans 
represent an important talent pool to help meet the 
demands of the projected growth in the energy in-
dustry, and workforce training and education in 
business, finance, science, technology, engineering, 
and mathematics will prove vital in achieving this 
growth, as noted by the American Petroleum Insti-
tute. 
(3) Improving minority preparation in science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics related 
disciplines at the primary and secondary school lev-
els is crucial to increasing the share of minority 
science-based degree attainment in 4-year and 2- 
year programs of higher education, as well as for in-
creasing attainment of vocational certificates. 
(4) The rates at which African-Americans and 
Hispanic-Americans attain employment in the en-
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ergy industry is in part related to the choice of the 
field of study for college degrees (4-year or 2-year) 
and vocational certificates. 
(5) Data from the National Center for Edu-
cation Statistics suggest that, over the 2001 through 
2010 period, African-American and Hispanic-Amer-
ican students chose and completed 4-year college de-
grees applicable to employment in the oil and nat-
ural gas industry at rates one-fifth and one-half, re-
spectively, the rates of the total student population. 
(6) With respect to 2-year associate degrees 
and certificates, data from the National Center for 
Education Statistics suggest that over the same time 
period, African-American and Hispanic-American 
students chose and completed programs of study/ 
training applicable to employment in the oil and nat-
ural gas industry at rates roughly one-tenth above 
and one-third below, respectively, the rates of the 
total student population. 
(7) The American Petroleum Institute projects 
525,000 new job opportunities in the oil and natural 
gas industry by 2020, with 166,000, or 31 percent 
of such jobs, expected to be held by African-Amer-
ican and Hispanic-American workers, and, with for-
ward looking policies, that number could increase to 
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a projected 811,000 new job opportunities, with 
more than 285,000, or 35 percent, of such jobs 
being filled by minorities, by 2030. 
(8) The American Petroleum Institute projects 
that more than 50 percent of all jobs created in the 
oil and natural gas industry by 2020 would be high- 
paying skilled and semiskilled blue collar jobs, with 
a significant range of opportunities at the scientific/ 
managerial level requiring a college degree. 
(9) The American Petroleum Institute projects 
that over half of the future potential job growth in 
the oil and natural gas industry, approximately 
417,000 jobs, is expected in the Gulf region, with 
the East region expected to contribute nearly 
140,000 job opportunities, the Rockies region nearly 
116,000 job opportunities, and the West, Alaska, 
and Central regions expected to contribute approxi-
mately 138,000 job opportunities combined. 
(10) The National Mining Association reports 
that the coal mining industry supported a total of 
805,680 jobs in 2011. That includes 204,580 direct 
jobs, including mine workers (143,520), support ac-
tivities (7,280), and transportation (53,780). 
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(11) Broad occupational categories of potential 
job creation in the upstream oil and gas industry in-
clude— 
(A) management, business, and financial 
jobs; 
(B) professional and related jobs; 
(C) service jobs; 
(D) sales and related jobs; 
(E) office and administrative support jobs; 
(F) skilled blue collar jobs; 
(G) semiskilled blue collar jobs; and 
(H) unskilled blue collar jobs. 
(12) Potential job creation in the upstream oil 
and gas industry by selected detailed occupational 
category include— 
(A) derrick, rotary drill, and service unit 
operators; 
(B) oil and gas roustabouts; 
(C) operating engineers and other con-
struction workers; 
(D) equipment operators; 
(E) construction laborers; 
(F) first-line supervisors/managers of con-
struction and extraction workers; 
(G) heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers; 
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(H) pump operators and wellhead pump-
ers; 
(I) helpers and other extraction workers; 
(J) petroleum engineers; and 
(K) secretaries. 
(13) The National Petroleum Council estimates 
that over the next decade 30,000 miles of new long- 
distance natural gas pipelines will be needed to man-
age the new sources of shale natural gas supply, 
while a 2007 Census Bureau’s Survey of Business 
Owners estimated that a very small percentage of 
pipelines were owned by minority-owned and woman- 
owned firms compared to the total owned by non-
minority males. 
(14) In 2013, the Energy Information Adminis-
tration estimated that relatively low natural gas 
prices, maintained by growing shale natural gas pro-
duction, will spur increased use of natural gas in the 
industrial and electric power sectors by 16 percent, 
from 6.8 trillion cubic feet per year in 2011 to 7.8 
trillion cubic feet per year in 2025, while total con-
sumption of natural gas in the United States will 
continue to grow in the electric power sector from 
16 percent of generation in 2000 to 30 percent in 
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2040, which will lead to a significant number of new 
jobs in the natural gas sector. 
(15) The Energy Information Administration 
estimates natural gas production in the United 
States will increase annually, outpacing domestic 
consumption and making the United States a net ex-
porter of natural gas by 2019, while continued low 
levels of liquefied natural gas imports, combined 
with increased United States exports of domestically 
sourced liquefied natural gas, position the United 
States as a net exporter of liquefied natural gas by 
2016, creating an abundance of new jobs and invest-
ment opportunities. 
(16) The Energy Information Administration 
estimates that coal-fired electricity generation will 
remain a dominant resource in the Nation’s total 
generation portfolio, representing 34 percent of 
United States baseload electricity in 2035. 
(17) In 2013, a report by the Bloomberg New 
Energy Finance research team estimated that clean 
energy investment is most likely to grow by 230 per-
cent to a projected $630 billion annually in 2030, 
driven by further improvements in the cost-competi-
tiveness of wind and solar technologies and an in-
crease in the roll-out of non-intermittent clean en-
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ergy sources including hydropower, geothermal, and 
biomass, requiring additional investment in science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics education. 
(18) A 2013 report by the Bloomberg New En-
ergy Finance research team estimated that renew-
able energy projects including wind, solar, hydro-
power, and biomass will account for 70 percent of 
new power generation capacity between 2012 and 
2030, and, by 2030, renewable energy will account 
for half of the generation capacity worldwide, up 
from 28 percent in 2012, requiring additional invest-
ment in supporting infrastructure, including long 
distance transmission systems, smart grids, storage, 
and demand response. 
(19) The Energy Information Administration 
states that since 2005 renewable energy has gar-
nered more than $1.3 trillion worth of investment 
and the Energy Information Administration esti-
mates that global energy consumption will increase 
by 47 percent between 2010 and 2035, with clean 
energy providing more than half of that new capac-
ity and attracting up to $5.9 trillion worth of invest-
ment, leading to new employment and investment 
opportunities. 
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SEC. 3. COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM FOR ENERGY-RELATED 
JOBS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy (in this 
Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish and 
carry out a comprehensive program to improve education 
and training for energy-related jobs in order to increase 
the number of skilled minorities and women trained to 
work in energy-related jobs, including by— 
(1) encouraging minority and women students 
to enter into the energy science, technology, engi-
neering, and mathematics (in this Act referred to as 
‘‘STEM’’) fields; 
(2) ensuring that the Nation’s education system 
is equipping students with the skills, training, and 
technical expertise necessary to fill the employment 
opportunities vital to managing and operating the 
Nation’s energy industry; and 
(3) providing students and other candidates 
with the necessary skills and certifications for 
skilled, semiskilled, and highly skilled energy-related 
jobs. 
(b) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall make educating 
and training minorities and other workers for energy-re-
lated jobs a national priority under the program estab-
lished under subsection (a). 
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(c) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out the pro-
gram established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
provide direct assistance (including grants, technical ex-
pertise, mentorships, and partnerships) to community col-
leges, workforce development organizations, and minority- 
serving institutions. 
(d) CLEARINGHOUSE.—In carrying out the program 
established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall estab-
lish a clearinghouse to— 
(1) maintain and update information and re-
sources on training and workforce development pro-
grams for energy-related jobs; and 
(2) act as a resource, and provide guidance, for 
schools, community colleges, universities, workforce 
development programs, and industry organizations 
that would like to develop and implement energy-re-
lated training programs. 
(e) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out the program 
established under subsection (a), the Secretary— 
(1) shall collaborate with schools, community 
colleges, universities, workforce training organiza-
tions, national laboratories, unions, State energy of-
fices, and the energy industry; 
(2) shall encourage and foster collaboration, 
mentorships, and partnerships among organizations 
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(including unions, industry, schools, community col-
leges, workforce development organizations, and uni-
versities) that currently provide effective job training 
programs in the energy field and institutions (in-
cluding schools, community colleges, workforce devel-
opment programs, and universities) that seek to es-
tablish these types of programs in order to share 
best practices and approaches that best suit local, 
State, and national needs; and 
(3) shall collaborate with the Energy Informa-
tion Administration and the Bureau of the Census 
to develop a comprehensive and detailed under-
standing of the energy workforce needs and opportu-
nities by State and by region. 
(f) 
GUIDELINES
FOR
EDUCATIONAL
INSTITU-
TIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 
established under subsection (a), the Secretary, in 
collaboration with the Secretary of Education and 
the Secretary of Labor, shall develop guidelines for 
educational institutions of all levels, including for el-
ementary and secondary schools and community col-
leges and for undergraduate, graduate, and post-
graduate university programs, to help provide grad-
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uates with the skills necessary to work in energy-re-
lated jobs. 
(2) INPUT.—The Secretary shall solicit input 
from the oil, gas, coal, renewable, nuclear, utility, 
and pipeline industries in developing guidelines 
under paragraph (1). 
(3) ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION 
INITIATIVES.—The guidelines developed under para-
graph (1) shall include grade-specific guidelines for 
teaching energy efficiency and conservation initia-
tives to educate students and families. 
(4) STEM EDUCATION.—The guidelines devel-
oped under paragraph (1) shall promote STEM edu-
cation as it relates to job opportunities in energy-re-
lated fields of study in schools, community colleges, 
and universities nationally. 
(g) OUTREACH TO MSIS.—In carrying out the pro-
gram established under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall— 
(1) give special consideration to increasing out-
reach to minority serving institutions (including his-
torically black colleges and universities, predomi-
nantly black institutions, Hispanic serving institu-
tions, and tribal institutions); 
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(2) make resources available to minority serving 
institutions with the objective of increasing the num-
ber of skilled minorities and women trained to go 
into the energy sector; and 
(3) encourage industry to improve the opportu-
nities for students of minority serving institutions to 
participate in industry internships and cooperative 
work/study programs. 
(h) GUIDELINES TO DEVELOP SKILLS FOR AN EN-
ERGY INDUSTRY WORKFORCE.—In carrying out the pro-
gram established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
collaborate with representatives from the energy industry 
(including the oil, gas, coal, nuclear, utility, pipeline, re-
newable, and nuclear sectors) to identify the areas of high-
est need in each sector and to develop guidelines for the 
skills necessary to develop a workforce trained to go into 
the following sectors of the energy industry: 
(1) Energy efficiency industry, including work 
in energy efficiency, conservation, weatherization, or 
retrofitting, or as inspectors or auditors. 
(2) Pipeline industry, including work in pipeline 
construction and maintenance or work as engineers 
or technical advisors. 
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(3) Utility industry, including as utility work-
ers, linemen, electricians, pole workers, or repair-
men. 
(4) Alternative fuels, including work in biofuel 
development and production. 
(5) Nuclear industry, including work as sci-
entists, engineers, technicians, mathematicians, or 
security personnel. 
(6) Oil and gas industry, including work as sci-
entists, engineers, technicians, mathematicians, pe-
trochemical engineers, or geologists. 
(7) Renewable industry, including work in the 
development and production of renewable energy 
sources (such as solar, hydropower, wind, or geo-
thermal energy). 
(8) Coal industry, including work as coal min-
ers, engineers, developers and manufacturers of 
state-of-the-art coal facilities, technology vendors, 
coal transportation workers and operators, and min-
ing equipment vendors. 
(i) ENROLLMENT IN TRAINING AND APPRENTICE-
SHIP PROGRAMS.—In carrying out the program estab-
lished under subsection (a), the Secretary shall work with 
organized labor and community-based workforce organiza-
tions to help identify students and other candidates, in-
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cluding from historically underserved communities such as 
minorities, women, and veterans, to enroll into training 
and apprenticeship programs for energy-related jobs. 
Æ 
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