Title: National Transit Workforce Training Act of 2020
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
National Transit Workforce Training Act of 2020
This bill directs the Department of Transportation to establish a national transit frontline workforce training center (targeted to both rural and urban transit systems) and award grants to a nonprofit organization with a demonstrated capacity to develop and provide transit career ladder programs through labor-management partnerships and apprenticeships on a nationwide basis.
The center must (1) be dedicated to the needs of the frontline transit workforce through standards-based training in the maintenance and operations occupations, and (2) develop and conduct training and educational programs for frontline local transportation employees engaged in government-aid public transportation work.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6575 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6575

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a national transit 
      frontline workforce training center, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 21, 2020

 Mr. Brown of Maryland (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Raskin, Mr. 
Trone, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. 
 McKinley, Mr. Espaillat, and Mr. Bost) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a national transit 
      frontline workforce training center, 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 ``National Transit Workforce Training 
Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL TRANSIT FRONTLINE WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER.

    Section 5314(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read 
as follows:
    ``(b) National Frontline Workforce Training Center.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a 
        national transit frontline workforce training center 
        (hereinafter referred to as the `Center'), targeted to both 
        rural and urban transit systems, and award grants to a 
        nonprofit organization with a demonstrated capacity to develop 
        and provide transit career ladder programs through labor-
        management partnerships and apprenticeships on a nationwide 
        basis to carry out the duties under paragraph (2). The Center 
        shall be dedicated to the needs of the frontline transit 
        workforce through standards-based training in the maintenance 
        and operations occupations.
            ``(2) Duties.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In cooperation with the 
                Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, 
                public transportation authorities, and national 
                entities, the Center shall develop and conduct training 
                and educational programs for frontline local 
                transportation employees engaged in Government-aid 
                public transportation work.
                    ``(B) Training and educational programs.--The 
                training and educational programs developed under 
                subparagraph (A) may include courses in recent 
                developments, techniques, and procedures related to--
                            ``(i) developing consensus national 
                        training standards in partnership with industry 
                        stakeholders for key frontline occupations with 
                        demonstrated skill gaps;
                            ``(ii) developing national systems of 
                        qualification and apprenticeship for transit 
                        maintenance and operations occupations;
                            ``(iii) building local, regional, and 
                        Statewide transit training partnerships to 
                        identify and address workforce skill gaps and 
                        develop skills needed for delivering quality 
                        transit service and supporting employee career 
                        advancement;
                            ``(iv) developing programs for training of 
                        frontline workers, instructors, mentors, and 
                        labor-management partnership representatives, 
                        in the form of classroom, hands-on, on-the-job, 
                        as well as web-based training. Training can be 
                        delivered at a national center regionally, or 
                        at individual transit agencies;
                            ``(v) developing training programs for 
                        skills related to existing and emerging transit 
                        technologies, e.g. for zero-emission buses 
                        (ZEBs);
                            ``(vi) developing improved capacity for 
                        safety, security, and emergency preparedness in 
                        local transit systems and in the industry as a 
                        whole through--
                                    ``(I) developing the role of the 
                                frontline workforce in building and 
                                sustaining safety culture and safety 
                                systems in the industry and in 
                                individual public transportation 
                                systems; and
                                    ``(II) training to address 
                                frontline worker roles in promoting 
                                health and safety for transit workers 
                                and the riding public;
                            ``(vii) developing local transit capacity 
                        for career pathways partnerships with schools 
                        and other community organizations for 
                        recruiting and training under-represented 
                        populations as successful transit employees who 
                        can develop careers in the transit industry; 
                        and
                            ``(viii) in collaboration with the Federal 
                        Transit Administration, conducting and 
                        disseminating research to--
                                    ``(I) provide transit workforce job 
                                projections and identify training needs 
                                and gaps;
                                    ``(II) determine the most cost-
                                effective methods for transit workforce 
                                training and development, including 
                                return on investment analysis;
                                    ``(III) identify the most effective 
                                methods for implementing successful 
                                safety systems and a positive safety 
                                culture; and
                                    ``(IV) promote transit workforce 
                                best practices for achieving cost-
                                effective, quality, safe, and reliable 
                                public transportation services.
            ``(3) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate 
        activities under this section, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, with the National Office of Apprenticeship of the 
        Department of Labor and the Office of Career, Technical, and 
        Adult Education of the Department of Education.
            ``(4) National transit database.--For the purposes of 
        carrying out this section, the Secretary shall require that the 
        National Transit Database collect additional human capital data 
        on an annual basis. Such human capital data shall be collected 
        and defined with industry input.
            ``(5) Availability of amounts.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not more than 0.5 percent of 
                amounts made available to a recipient under sections 
                5307, 5337, and 5339 is available for expenditures by 
                the recipient, with the approval of the Secretary, to 
                pay not more than 80 percent of the cost of eligible 
                activities under this subsection.
                    ``(B) Existing programs.--A recipient may use 
                amounts made available under subparagraph (A) to carry 
                out existing local education and training programs for 
                public transportation employees supported by the 
                Secretary, the Department of Labor, or the Department 
                of Education.
            ``(6) Human capital defined.--In this subsection, the term 
        `human capital' means the knowledge, talents, skills, 
        abilities, experience, intelligence, training, judgment, and 
        wisdom possessed individually and collectively by the frontline 
        transit workforce, including operations, maintenance, and 
        administrative personnel.''.

SEC. 3. DATA REQUIRED TO BE REPORTED IN NATIONAL TRANSIT DATABASE.

    Section 5335 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c) by inserting ``, either human capital 
        or physical capital'' before the period at the end; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Definition of Human Capital.--In this section, the term 
`human capital' has the meaning given the term in section 5314(b).''.
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