Community-Based Workforce Development Act
Bill: H.R.7748 | Sponsor: Rep. Lee, Susie (D-NV)
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Community-Based Workforce Development Act
This bill provides grants to expand workforce training programs for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors.

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to award grants 
      to States to develop, convene, or expand industry or sector 
                 partnerships, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Community-Based Workforce 
Development Act''.

SEC. 2. SECTORAL EMPLOYMENT THROUGH CAREER TRAINING FOR OCCUPATIONAL 
              READINESS (SECTOR) PROGRAM.

    Subtitle D of title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
Act (29 U.S.C. 3221 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 173. SECTORAL EMPLOYMENT THROUGH CAREER TRAINING FOR 
              OCCUPATIONAL READINESS (SECTOR) PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--From amounts appropriated under subsection 
(e)(1), and not reserved under subsection (e)(2), the Secretary shall--
            ``(1) use not less than 80 percent of such amounts to award 
        grants under subsection (b) to each State to develop, convene, 
        or expand industry or sector partnerships; and
            ``(2) use not less than 20 percent of such amounts to award 
        grants under subsection (c), on a competitive basis, to 
        eligible industry or sector partnerships for the purposes of 
        expanding workforce development and employment opportunities 
        for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or 
        occupations, as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(b) Formula Grants.--
            ``(1) Distribution of funds.--
                    ``(A) State allotment.--From the amount determined 
                by the Secretary under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary 
                shall allot funds to each State on the basis of the 
                relative allotment the State received under section 
                132(b) for such fiscal year, compared to the total 
                amount allotted to all States under section 132(b) for 
                such fiscal year.
                    ``(B) Local area allocations.--The Secretary shall 
                use the amounts allotted under subparagraph (A) to 
                distribute funds in the State to carry out the 
                activities described in paragraph (2) by--
                            ``(i) allocating funds to each local area 
                        of the State on the basis of the relative 
                        allocation the local area received under 
                        section 133(b) for such fiscal year, compared 
                        to the total amount allocated to all local 
                        areas in the State under section 133(b) for 
                        such fiscal year; or
                            ``(ii) allocating funds to local areas of 
                        the State that have the highest rates of 
                        unemployment or poverty, or the highest numbers 
                        of individuals with barriers to employment in 
                        the State.
                    ``(C) Transfer authority.--A local board may 
                transfer, if such a transfer is approved by the 
                Governor, up to and including 100 percent of the funds 
                allocated to the local area under section 133(b), and 
                up to and including 100 percent of the funds allocated 
                to the local area under this subsection for a fiscal 
                year between--
                            ``(i) adult employment and training 
                        activities; and
                            ``(ii) activities under this section.
            ``(2) Use of funds.--The funds awarded under paragraph (1) 
        may be used to--
                    ``(A) regularly convene stakeholders in a 
                collaborative structure to identify, develop, improve, 
                or expand training, employment, and growth 
                opportunities for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand 
                industry sectors or occupations;
                    ``(B) form, expand, and improve training programs, 
                to be managed by eligible industry and sector 
                partnerships that include attainment of industry-
                recognized credentials, the integration of work-based 
                learning activities with training curricula and 
                occupational certification programs, and that address 
                specific workforce issues and needs of groups of 
                workers, with a priority on individuals with a barrier 
                to employment, within regional labor markets in the 
                State;
                    ``(C) strengthen the coordination of eligible 
                industry and sector partnerships and programs with the 
                programs administered under subtitle B of this title 
                and with the one-stop partners described in section 
                121; and
                    ``(D) to directly provide, or arrange for the 
                provision of, services to help individuals with 
                barriers to employment and other participants complete 
                and successfully transition out of training described 
                in subparagraph (B), which services shall include 
                career services, supportive services, or the provision 
                of needs-related payments.
    ``(c) Competitive Grants.--
            ``(1) Grants authorized.--From the amount determined by the 
        Secretary under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall award 
        grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible industry or sector 
        partnerships for the purposes described in subsection (a)(2).
            ``(2) Application.--
                    ``(A) Form and procedure.--To receive a grant under 
                this subsection, the lead applicant on behalf of an 
                eligible industry or sector partnership shall submit to 
                the Secretary an application at such time, in such 
                manner, and containing such information as specified by 
                the Secretary.
                    ``(B) Contents.--An application submitted under 
                paragraph (1) shall contain at a minimum the following:
                            ``(i) Identification of the high-skill, 
                        high-wage, or in-demand industry sector or 
                        occupation on which such partnership is 
                        focused.
                            ``(ii) A description of the activities to 
                        be carried out under the grant.
                            ``(iii) A description of the workers that 
                        will be targeted for recruitment as program 
                        participants, how a priority of service under 
                        the grant will be provided to individuals with 
                        barriers to employment, and how the activities 
                        will be designed to maximize access and 
                        eliminate barriers to entry to training and 
                        other activities for such individuals.
                            ``(iv) A description of other Federal or 
                        non-Federal resources that will be leveraged in 
                        support of the eligible industry or sector 
                        partnership (including cash or in-kind 
                        contributions from private-sector partners).
            ``(3) Uses of funds.--An eligible industry or sector 
        partnership awarded a grant under this subsection shall use 
        such grant funds--
                    ``(A) to engage and regularly convene stakeholders 
                in a collaborative structure to identify, develop, 
                improve, or expand training, employment, and growth 
                opportunities for the high-skill, high-wage, or in-
                demand industry sector or occupation on which such 
                partnership is focused;
                    ``(B) to directly provide, or arrange for the 
                provision of, high-quality, evidence-based training for 
                high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or 
                occupations on which such partnership is focused, which 
                shall include training that leads to the attainment of 
                nationally or regionally portable and stackable 
                recognized postsecondary credentials for the industry 
                sector or occupations described in paragraph (A), 
                including--
                            ``(i) training provided through 
                        apprenticeship programs, or pre-apprenticeship 
                        programs that articulate to apprenticeship 
                        programs, labor organizations, or joint labor-
                        management partnerships;
                            ``(ii) on-the-job training, customized 
                        training, and paid internships and work 
                        experience;
                            ``(iii) incumbent worker training to 
                        support lower wage workers in upgrading skills 
                        and advancing along a career pathway; and
                            ``(iv) training services, in addition to 
                        those described in clauses (i) through (iii), 
                        that are authorized under section 134(c)(3)(D), 
                        including occupational skills training; and
                    ``(C) to directly provide, or arrange for the 
                provision of, services to help individuals with 
                barriers to employment and other participants complete 
                and successfully transition out of training described 
                in subparagraph (B), which services shall include 
                career services, supportive services, or the provision 
                of needs-related payments authorized under subsections 
                (c)(2), (c)(4), and (d)(3) of section 134.
            ``(4) Priority in selection of grants.--The Secretary shall 
        give priority consideration in applications that demonstrate 
        the ability to serve eligible individuals in targeted economic 
        regions that are experiencing high poverty, have traditionally 
        been underserved by regional economic development and sector 
        partnership activities (including rural areas), or is facing or 
        at risk of facing significant worker dislocation due to a 
        disruption or change in the regional or State economy or labor 
        market.
    ``(d) Program Accountability and Evaluation.--
            ``(1) In general.--The grants awarded under this section 
        are subject to--
                    ``(A) the primary indicators of performance under 
                section 116(b)(2)(A) and expected levels of performance 
                relating to such indicators; and
                    ``(B) such additional measures as the Secretary 
                deems appropriate, which may include skills attainment, 
                wage or career progression, training-related 
                employment, and additional job quality measures.
            ``(2) Evaluation.--Not later than 5 years after the first 
        award of funds under this section is made the Secretary (acting 
        through the chief evaluation officer) shall design and conduct 
        an evaluation to evaluate the effectiveness of the program 
        carried out this section.
            ``(3) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish the 
        outcomes of grantees under the indicators and measures 
        described in paragraph (1) and the evaluation described in 
        paragraph (2) on a publicly accessible website, and submit the 
        evaluation findings to the Committee on Education and Labor of 
        the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 
        Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations; Reservations.--
            ``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section--
                    ``(A) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2023;
                    ``(B) $1,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
                    ``(C) $1,210,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
                    ``(D) $1,331,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
                    ``(E) $1,464,100,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
                    ``(F) $1,610,510,000 for fiscal year 2028.
            ``(2) Reservation of funds.--Of the funds appropriated 
        under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary may 
        reserve not more than 5 percent which--
                    ``(A) may be used for administration of the program 
                described in this section, in addition to any other 
                funds available for these activities, including 
                providing comprehensive technical assistance, targeted 
                outreach to eligible partnerships serving local areas 
                with high unemployment rates or high percentages of 
                low-income individuals or individuals with barriers to 
                employment; and oversight to support eligible 
                partnerships; and
                    ``(B) shall be used to conduct an evaluation of the 
                activities carried out under this section and for 
                reporting on the performance and impact of programs 
                funded under this section.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Eligible industry or sector partnership.--The term 
        `eligible industry or sector partnership' means--
                    ``(A) an industry or sector partnership, which 
                shall include multiple representatives described in 
                each of clauses (i) through (iii) of paragraph (26)(A) 
                of section 3; or
                    ``(B) a partnership of multiple entities described 
                in section 3(26) and a State board or local board, that 
                is in the process of establishing an industry or sector 
                partnership.
            ``(2) Lead applicant.--The term `lead applicant' means an 
        applicant for a grant under this section that is a State board, 
        local board, institution of higher education, labor-management 
        partnership, labor organization, industry association, or other 
        State and regional nonprofit organizations with experience in 
        designing, convening, and expanding industry or sector 
        partnerships.''.

SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    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 172, the following:

``Sec. 173. Sectoral employment through career training for 
                            occupational readiness (sector) program.''.
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