Title: Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act
This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior to award offshore wind career training grants to eligible entities (i.e., institutions of higher education or labor organizations) to develop, offer, or improve educational or career training programs that provide skills that are useful for employment in the offshore wind industry.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5291 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5291

 To establish an offshore wind career training grant program, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 14, 2018

Ms. Tsongas (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, and Mr. Keating) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
   Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the 
 Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish an offshore wind career training grant program, 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 ``Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity 
Act''.

SEC. 2. OFFSHORE WIND CAREER TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM.

    The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 33. OFFSHORE WIND CAREER TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Grants Authorized.--Beginning 360 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary may award offshore wind career 
training grants to eligible entities for the purpose of developing, 
offering, or improving educational or career training programs that 
provide individuals in such programs skills that are useful for 
employment in the offshore wind industry.
    ``(b) Allocation of Grants.--
            ``(1) Limitation on grant quantity and size.--An eligible 
        entity may not be awarded--
                    ``(A) more than one grant under this section for 
                which the eligible entity is the lead applicant; or
                    ``(B) a grant under this section in excess of 
                $1,000,000.
            ``(2) Allocation to community colleges.--Not less than 25 
        percent of the total amount awarded under this section for a 
        fiscal year shall be awarded to eligible entities that are 
        community colleges.
    ``(c) Partnerships.--An eligible entity seeking to receive a grant 
under this section may partner with one or more of the following:
            ``(1) Another eligible entity (including an eligible entity 
        that is a community college).
            ``(2) A State or local government.
            ``(3) A nonprofit organization.
    ``(d) Use of Grant.--An eligible entity may use a grant awarded 
under this section for the following activities:
            ``(1) Occupational skills training, including curriculum 
        development, on-the-job training, and classroom training.
            ``(2) Safety and health training.
            ``(3) The provision of basic skills, English as a second 
        language, and job readiness training.
            ``(4) Individual referral and tuition assistance for a 
        community college training program or any training program 
        leading to an industry-recognized certificate.
            ``(5) Internship programs in a field related to offshore 
        wind energy.
            ``(6) Customized training in conjunction with an existing 
        registered apprenticeship program or labor-management 
        partnership.
            ``(7) Incumbent worker and career ladder training and skill 
        upgrading and retraining.
            ``(8) The implementation of transitional jobs strategies.
            ``(9) Curriculum development at the undergraduate and 
        postgraduate levels.
            ``(10) Development and support of offshore wind energy 
        major, minor, or certificate programs.
            ``(11) Such other activities, as determined by the 
        Secretary, to meet the purposes of this section.
    ``(e) Grant Proposals.--
            ``(1) Submission procedure for grant proposals.--An 
        eligible entity seeking to receive a grant under this section 
        shall submit a grant proposal to the Secretary at such time, in 
        such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
        may require.
            ``(2) Content of grant proposals.--A grant proposal 
        submitted to the Secretary under this section shall include a 
        detailed description of--
                    ``(A) the specific project for which the grant 
                proposal is submitted, including the manner in which 
                the grant will be used to develop, offer, or improve an 
                educational or career training program that will 
                provide individuals in such program skills that are 
                useful for employment in the offshore wind industry;
                    ``(B) any previous experience of the eligible 
                entity in providing such educational or career training 
                programs; and
                    ``(C) the extent to which such project will meet 
                the educational or career training needs identified 
                under subsection (i).
    ``(f) Criteria for Award of Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to appropriations, the Secretary 
        shall award grants under this section based on an evaluation 
        of--
                    ``(A) the merits of the grant proposal;
                    ``(B) the likely employment opportunities available 
                to individuals who complete the educational or career 
                training program that the eligible entity proposes to 
                develop, offer, or improve;
                    ``(C) prior demand for such educational or career 
                training programs in the community served by the 
                eligible entity; and
                    ``(D) the availability and capacity of existing 
                educational or career training programs in the 
                community to meet future demand for such programs.
            ``(2) Priority.--Priority in awarding grants under this 
        section shall be given to eligible entities that--
                    ``(A) are located in an economically distressed 
                area;
                    ``(B) focus on individuals who are--
                            ``(i) displaced workers (particularly 
                        workers displaced from the offshore oil and 
                        gas, onshore fossil fuel, nuclear energy, or 
                        fishing industries);
                            ``(ii) veterans, members of the reserve 
                        components of the Armed Forces, or former 
                        members of such reserve components;
                            ``(iii) unemployed;
                            ``(iv) seeking employment pathways out of 
                        poverty and into economic self-sufficiency;
                            ``(v) at-risk youth; or
                            ``(vi) formerly incarcerated, adjudicated, 
                        nonviolent offenders; or
                    ``(C) with respect to eligible entities that are 
                institutions of higher education, have a high 
                percentage of low-income or minority students.
            ``(3) Geographic distribution.--The Secretary shall, to the 
        extent practicable, award grants under this section in a manner 
        that provides for a reasonable geographic distribution, except 
        that the Secretary shall not be required to award grants 
        equally among different regions of the United States.
    ``(g) Matching Requirements.--A grant awarded under this section 
may not be used to satisfy any non-Federal funds matching requirement 
under any other provision of law.
    ``(h) Grantee Data Collection.--
            ``(1) In general.--A grantee, with respect to the 
        educational or career training program for which the grantee 
        received a grant under this section, shall collect and report 
        to the Secretary on an annual basis the following:
                    ``(A) The number of participants in the educational 
                or career training program.
                    ``(B) The services received by such participants, 
                including a description of training, education, and 
                supportive services.
                    ``(C) The amount spent by the grantee per 
                participant.
                    ``(D) The rate of job placement of participants in 
                the offshore wind industry or related fields.
                    ``(E) The rate of employment retention--
                            ``(i) if the eligible entity is not an 
                        institution of higher education, 1 year after 
                        completion of the educational or career 
                        training program; or
                            ``(ii) if the eligible entity is an 
                        institution of higher education, 1 year after 
                        completion of the educational or career 
                        training program or 1 year after the 
                        participant is no longer enrolled in such 
                        institution of higher education, whichever is 
                        later.
            ``(2) Assistance from secretary.--The Secretary shall 
        assist grantees in the collection of data under this subsection 
        by making available, where practicable, low-cost means of 
        tracking the labor market outcomes of participants and by 
        providing standardized reporting forms, where appropriate.
    ``(i) Identification of Educational and Career Training Needs.--Not 
later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Secretary, in consultation with the offshore wind industry, 
eligible entities, including eligible entities that are community 
colleges, State and local governments, labor organizations, and 
nonprofit organizations, shall identify the educational and career 
training needs of such industry, including needs related to 
manufacturing, operation, and maintenance activities relevant to the 
offshore wind industry.
    ``(j) Guidelines.--Not later than 240 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall--
            ``(1) promulgate guidelines for the submission of grant 
        proposals under this section, including a list of the 
        educational and career training needs identified under 
        subsection (i); and
            ``(2) publish and maintain such guidelines on a public 
        website of the Secretary.
    ``(k) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of this section, and every 2 years thereafter, 
the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Natural 
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources of the Senate on the grant program established by 
this section. The report shall include a description of the grantees 
and the activities for which grantees used a grant awarded under this 
section.
    ``(l) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated for purposes of this section $25,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2018 through 2021.
    ``(m) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Community college.--The term `community college' has 
        the meaning given the term `junior or community college' in 
        section 312(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1058(f)).
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means an 
        entity that is--
                    ``(A) an institution of higher education, as such 
                term is defined in section 102 of the Higher Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)); or
                    ``(B) a labor organization.
            ``(3) Grantee.--The term `grantee' means an eligible entity 
        that has received a grant under this section.
            ``(4) Lead applicant.--The term `lead applicant' means the 
        eligible entity that is primarily responsible for the 
        preparation, conduct, and administration of the project for 
        which the grant was awarded.
            ``(5) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, 
        the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary of Labor.''.
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