Title: GROWTH Act
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Generating Real Opportunities for Workforce Training and Hiring Act or the GROWTH Act
This bill sets forth provisions to promote career and technical education and establish highway construction workforce development initiatives.
Specifically the bill

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2620 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2620

To bolster the domestic workforce by encouraging communication between 
 career and technical education institutions and emphasizing potential 
employment opportunities, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
   treat certain costs relating to career and technical education as 
    qualified higher education expenses for purposes of section 529 
                   programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 17, 2019

  Mr. Inhofe (for himself and Mr. Heinrich) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To bolster the domestic workforce by encouraging communication between 
 career and technical education institutions and emphasizing potential 
employment opportunities, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
   treat certain costs relating to career and technical education as 
    qualified higher education expenses for purposes of section 529 
                   programs, 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 ``Generating Real Opportunities for 
Workforce Training and Hiring Act'' or the ``GROWTH Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION SCHOOLS.

    It is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) consistent communication between institutions providing 
        career and technical education, as defined in section 3 of the 
        Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 
        U.S.C. 2302), and employment entities regarding curriculum and 
        industry need is paramount to producing a truly skilled and 
        viable domestic workforce;
            (2) employment opportunities provided through recognized 
        postsecondary credentials, as defined in section 3 of the 
        Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102), are 
        as important to the advancement of the economy of the United 
        States as any other domestic business sector; and
            (3) elementary schools and secondary schools (as such terms 
        are defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) should highlight 
        enrollment in career and technical professions as desirable and 
        often high-skill, high-wage occupations.

SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF TRANSPORTATION AND STUDENT LOAN EXPENSES OF CAREER 
              AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION STUDENTS.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (3) of section 529(e) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Certain costs of career and technical 
                education students.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In the case of an 
                        individual who is enrolled in (or, for purposes 
                        of subclause (II), who is enrolled in or has 
                        graduated from) career and technical education, 
                        such term shall also include--
                                    ``(I) costs for transportation in 
                                the course of attendance of such 
                                program, and
                                    ``(II) amounts paid by the 
                                individual in repayment of a student 
                                loan incurred to finance the 
                                individual's enrollment in such 
                                program.
                            ``(ii) Career and technical education.--For 
                        purposes of this subparagraph, the term `career 
                        and technical education' means a program of 
                        organized educational activities which offers a 
                        sequence of courses which--
                                    ``(I) provides individuals with 
                                coherent and rigorous content aligned 
                                with challenging academic standards and 
                                relevant technical knowledge and skills 
                                needed to prepare for further education 
                                and careers in current or emerging 
                                professions,
                                    ``(II) provides technical skill 
                                proficiency, an industry-recognized 
                                credential, a certificate, or an 
                                associate degree, and
                                    ``(III) includes competency-based 
                                applied learning which contributes to 
                                the academic knowledge, higher-order 
                                reasoning and problem-solving skills, 
                                work attitudes, general employability 
                                skills, technical skills, occupation-
                                specific skills, and knowledge of all 
                                aspects of an industry, including 
                                entrepreneurship, of an individual.
                        Such program may include prerequisite courses 
                        (other than a remedial course) which meet the 
                        requirements of this clause.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to distributions made after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 4. HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES.

    Section 504 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(i) Highway Construction Workforce Development Initiatives.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall provide grants 
        under this subsection to eligible entities described in 
        paragraph (3) to establish highway construction workforce 
        development initiatives (referred to in this subsection as the 
        `initiatives') to attract, train, and place workers into 
        highway construction careers.
            ``(2) Cooperative efforts.--The initiatives established 
        with a grant under this subsection shall encourage cooperative 
        efforts between--
                    ``(A) the highway construction industry;
                    ``(B) the Federal Highway Administration;
                    ``(C) State departments of transportation;
                    ``(D) State and local workforce development boards;
                    ``(E) community colleges and technical schools; and
                    ``(F) labor organizations.
            ``(3) Eligible entities.--The Secretary may award a grant 
        under this subsection to a public or private entity for use in 
        accordance with this subsection.
            ``(4) Authorized uses.--An eligible entity described in 
        paragraph (3) shall use a grant provided under this subsection 
        to carry out an initiative--
                    ``(A) to promote highway construction worker career 
                opportunities;
                    ``(B) to support relevant outreach and awareness 
                efforts;
                    ``(C) to develop relevant education and training 
                materials;
                    ``(D) to provide life skills training, including 
                rudimentary math and other basis skills; and
                    ``(E) for related support services.''.

SEC. 5. MILITARY SPOUSE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES.

    (a) Extension and Expansion of Reimbursement of Members of the 
Uniformed Services Undergoing a Permanent Change of Station for 
Professional Relicensing Costs of Accompanying Spouses.--
            (1) Extension.--Paragraph (4) of section 476(p) of title 
        37, United States Code, is amended by striking ``December 31, 
        2022'' and inserting ``December 31, 2024''.
            (2) Expansion of qualifying relicensing costs.--Paragraph 
        (5)(A) of that section is amended by striking ``the original 
        duty station'' and inserting ``a previous duty station or home 
        of record''.
    (b) Expansion and Improvement of MyCareer Advancement Account 
Program.--
            (1) Expansion of grades of members whose spouses are 
        eligible.--The grades of members of the Armed Forces whose 
        spouses are eligible for the MyCareer Advancement Account 
        (MyCAA) Program of the Department of Defense shall include 
        members in the additional grades as follows:
                    (A) O-3.
                    (B) E-6.
            (2) Additional benefits.--The benefits available under the 
        MyCareer Advancement Account Program shall include scholarships 
        usable by military spouses to attend or participate in any of 
        the following:
                    (A) Vocational school.
                    (B) Professional licensure classes or tests.
                    (C) Clinical supervision hours in connection with 
                pursuit of a medical or health care degree.

SEC. 6. LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.

    Section 501(d)(3) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 
U.S.C. 695(d)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (L) as 
        subparagraphs (B) through (M), respectively;
            (2) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as redesignated 
        by paragraph (1), the following:
                    ``(A) workforce development through work-based or 
                work-integrated training, which shall be satisfied by 
                demonstrating that a small business concern that is a 
                subject of the project has--
                            ``(i) a documented in-house training 
                        program, the duration of which is not shorter 
                        than 12 weeks; or
                            ``(ii) entered into a contract with an 
                        entity--
                                    ``(I) to provide trained applicants 
                                for any open position of employment at 
                                the small business concern; and
                                    ``(II) that ensures that any 
                                applicant provided to the small 
                                business concern under subclause (I) 
                                has undergone not fewer than 12 weeks 
                                of training that is relevant to the 
                                open position described in that 
                                subclause,''; and
            (3) in the flush text following subparagraph (M), as 
        redesignated by paragraph (1), in the second sentence, by 
        striking ``subparagraphs (J) and (K)'' and inserting 
        ``subparagraphs (K) and (L)''.
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