Workforce Investment Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1356
Sponsor: Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]
Introduced: 2013-07-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Adult education and literacy
Advisory bodies
Alaska Natives and Hawaiians
Congressional oversight
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Labor
Disability and paralysis
Disability assistance
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Employee hiring
Employment and training programs
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Hearing, speech, and vision care
Higher education
Immigrant health and welfare
Indian social and development programs
Judicial review and appeals
Labor standards
Migrant, seasonal, agricultural labor
Minority employment
Performance measurement
Public-private cooperation
State and local government operations
Unemployment
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Vocational and technical education
Wages and earnings
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2013-07-24
text: 
Workforce Investment Act of 2013 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) to revise requirements and reauthorize appropriations for: (1) WIA title I (title II under this Act), workforce investment systems for job training and employment services; and (2) WIA title II (title III under this Act), adult education and family literacy education programs. Establishes a new WIA title I, system alignment and innovation.
 
Defines &quot;core programs&quot; to mean: (1) youth workforce investment activities and adult and dislocated worker employment and training activities, (2) adult education and literacy activities, (3) employment services, and (4) vocational rehabilitation services.
 
Revises member composition of state and local workforce development boards to require at least 20% of a board be composed of representatives of the workforce within the state.
 
Requires states to have approved unified state plans with a four-year strategy for the core programs.
 
Allows a state to develop for approval a combined state plan for the core programs and one or more of the programs and activities from a specified list.
 
Revises requirements for local workforce development (currently, investment) areas, boards, and plans. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop guidelines for qualifications of directors of state and local workforce development (currently, investment) boards.
 
Establishes state and local performance accountability measures for the core programs.
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education to make competitive awards of: (1) workforce innovation and replication grants to state partnerships or regional entities for innovative strategies and activities to improve the education and employment outcomes for adults and youth and services provided to employers in the workforce system, and (2) youth innovation and replication grants to states or local boards and other specified entities for innovative new strategies and activities to improve education and employment outcomes for eligible youth.
 
Revises requirements for: (1) one-stop delivery systems; (2) the allotment of federal funds among states for youth (including disadvantaged youth) workforce investment activities and statewide workforce investment activities; (3) within state allocations of funds; and (4) the use of funds for state and local employment and training activities, including statewide rapid response.
 
Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for: (1) the youth workforce investment and the adult and dislocated worker employment and training programs; (2) the Job Corps program; (3) the Native American, migrant and seasonal farm worker, veterans' workforce investment programs; and (4) the Youthbuild program. 
 
Converts the national emergency grants program into a national dislocated worker grants program. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to award national dislocated worker grants for workers dislocated due to the economy or emergency or disaster, Department of Defense (DOD) or Department of Energy (DOE) employees employed at military installations that are being closed or realigned, DOE individuals employed in nonmanagerial positions at risk for termination due to reductions in defense funding, or active duty members of the Armed Forces or full-time duty members of the National Guard (or members recently separated from such duties) who are in need of employment and training assistance.
 
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to state agencies for adult education and literacy programs, including corrections education and education for other institutionalized individuals, as well as grants for integrated English literacy and civics education.
 
Prescribes requirements for state administration, plans, and activities, as well as distribution of local funds.
 
Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a program of national leadership activities to enhance the quality and outcomes of adult education and literacy activities and programs nationwide. 
Amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to authorize use of a state's allotment of public employment services funds to provide unemployment insurance claimants and other unemployed individuals with referrals to, and application assistance for, training and education resources and programs, including student assistance under Federal Pell Grants of the Higher Education Act of 1965, educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance, state student higher education assistance, and training and education programs under WIA titles II and III, and title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a pilot program of competitive grants to state employment agencies to carry out pilot projects that enhance the professional development and the provision of public employment services by agency staff. 
 
Replaces the nationwide employment statistics system, which the Secretary of Labor is required to oversee, with a nationwide workforce and labor market information system. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a Workforce Information Advisory Council. 
 
Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to establish a Disability Employment Services and Supports Administration (DESSA) within the Office of Disability Employment Policy, Services, and Supports of the Department of Labor. 
 
Requires DESSA to be the principal agency to administer vocational rehabilitation services programs under titles I, III, and VI of that Act. (Currently, these are administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration [RSA] of the Department of Education.)
 
Reauthorizes appropriations for vocational rehabilitation service grants to states for individuals with disabilities.
 
Revises requirements for: (1) state plans for vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities, (2) eligibility for vocational rehabilitation assistance and individualized plans for employment for disabled individuals, (3) monitoring and review of vocational rehabilitation programs, and (4) state allotments for such programs.
 
Requires: (1) states to make certain funds available to designated state units for pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities who are transitioning to employment from education or training, and (2) each local office of a state unit to designate staff to act as Local Pre-Employment Transition Coordinators for student with disabilities.
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education to each designate a National Pre-Employment Transition Coordinator for Students with Disabilities. 
 
Revises American Indian vocational rehabilitation services grant program eligibility requirements to permit grants to be renewed for an additional 5-years, provided certain conditions are met.
 
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study the interaction of vocational rehabilitation programs carried out under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 with the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program, including its impact on beneficiaries, community rehabilitation programs, and designated state agencies. 
 
Renames: (1) the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR); and (2) the Rehabilitation Research Advisory Council the Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Advisory Council (DILRRAC).
 
Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for the NIDILRR and DILRRAC.
 
Establishes the NIDILRR within the Administration for Community Living of HHS (effectively transferring it to HHS from the Department of Education). 
Requires the NIDILRR Director to be responsible for: (1) coordinating all federal programs and policies for research on disability, independent living, and rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities; and (2) identifying independent living and rehabilitation programs and policies that promote the independence of such individuals and achievement of long-term independent living and employment goals.
 
Requires competitive grants for youths with significant disabilities to transition from education to employment, particularly to competitive integrated employment. 
 
Establishes an annual Commissioner's Scholar Program to recognize individuals with significant disabilities who are successfully completing a postgraduate degree in specified curriculums.
 
Directs the RSA Commissioner to award grants to eligible entities for training and technical centers to promote high-quality employment outcomes for individuals receiving vocational rehabilitation services from designated agencies and American Indian vocational rehabilitation service (AIVRS) grantees.
 
Reauthorizes appropriations for: (1) vocational rehabilitation services grants to individuals with disabilities who are migrant or seasonal farmworkers, (2) recreational programs for individuals with disabilities, (3) the National Council on Disability, (4) the Access Board, and (5) employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
 
Prohibits an entity (including a contractor or subcontractor) from employing an individual with a disability at a wage less than the federal minimum wage (subminimum wage), unless the entity complies with certain Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 wage requirements for handicapped workers and specified other conditions are met.
 
Authorizes appropriations to assist states in developing collaborative programs to provide supported employment services for individuals (including youth) with the most significant disabilities to enable them to achieve supported employment in competitive integrated employment.
 
Establishes within the HHS Administration for Community Living an Independent Living Administration (ILA).
 
Revises requirements for a state plan for state independent living services for individuals with significant disabilities, including through establishment of additional centers for independent living or focused outreach to serve underserved populations.
 
Directs the ILA Director (currently, the RSA Commissioner) to make allotments to states for independent living services to individuals with significant disabilities.
 
Revises the composition and functions of State Independent Living Councils. 
 
Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for: (1) the centers for independent living grant program, and (2) independent living services for older individuals who are blind grant program.
 
Establishes within the Department of Labor an Office of Disability Employment Policy, Services, and Supports.
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish an Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities. 
Directs the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Labor and in coordination with the Commissioners of DESSA, of Social Security, and of the Internal Revenue Service, as well as the heads of other relevant federal agencies, to carry out campaigns to educate employers and the general public on the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities.
 
Transfers all functions of: (1) the RSA Commissioner (other than title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [RA73]) to DESSA, (2) the RSA Commissioner under title VII [independent living services for individuals with disabilities] of RA73 to the ILA, and (3) the NIDRR Director to NIDILRR.
 
Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit the development of a national database of personally identifiable information on individuals receiving job training and employment services.
 
Prohibits an entity from using funds made available under the Act unless it agrees to comply with Buy American requirements.
 
Repeals: (1) the youth opportunity grants program, (2) the Twenty-First Century Workforce Commission Act, and (3) the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

action_date: 2013-11-12
text: 
Workforce Investment Act of 2013 - 
Title I: System Alignment and Innovation - 
Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) to revise requirements and reauthorize appropriations for: (1) WIA title I (title II under this Act), workforce investment systems for job training and employment services; and (2) WIA title II (title III under this Act), adult education and family literacy education programs. Establishes a new WIA title I, system alignment and innovation.
 
(Sec. 101) Defines &quot;core programs&quot; to mean: (1) youth workforce investment activities and adult and dislocated worker employment and training activities, (2) adult education and literacy activities, (3) employment services, and (4) vocational rehabilitation services. 
 

Subtitle A: Workforce Boards and Plans - 

Chapter 1: State Provisions - 
(Sec. 111) Revises member composition of state workforce development boards (currently state workforce investment boards) to require at least 20% of a board to be composed of representatives of the workforce within the state. 
 
Requires a state board to assist the state governor in: (1) the review of statewide policies and programs and development of recommendations on actions to be taken to align core programs and other programs that support a comprehensive statewide workforce development system, and (2) the development of a statewide workforce and labor market information system. 
 
(Sec. 112) Requires states to have approved unified state plans with a four-year strategy for the core programs. 
 
Requires unified state plans to include: (1) a strategy, based on certain analyses, for aligning the core programs, as well as other state resources, to achieve the state's vision and goals for preparing an educated and skilled workforce (including youth and individuals with barriers to employment) and meeting the skilled workforce needs of employers; (2) a description of state operating systems and policies for supporting that strategy; and (3) certain requirements and state assurances with respect to statewide and local workforce investment system and adult education and family literacy education programs.
 
(Sec. 113) Allows a state to develop for approval a combined state plan for the core programs and one or more of the programs and activities from a specified list.
 

Chapter 2: Local Provisions - 
(Sec. 116) Converts local workforce investment areas into local workforce development areas, and revises requirements for their designation by the state governor.
 
Requires automatic designation of a local area by a state governor, in the second and subsequent full program years, upon the request of any existing local area meeting prescribed criteria.
 
Requires, in cases where a state is designated as a single state local area, that: (1) the state board meet certain member composition requirements, and (2) a local plan be approved as part of the state plan.
 
Requires a state, when developing a state plan, to identify regions composed of one or two or more local areas aligned with them. 
 
Requires local boards in planning regions composed of two or more local areas to participate in a regional planning process for cooperative initiatives and arrangements that result in: (1) the establishment of regional service strategies and activities, including service delivery cooperative arrangements to address the employment and training needs of individuals with barriers to employment; (2) the development and implementation of initiatives involving in-demand industry sectors or occupations; and (3) the collection and analysis of regional labor market data.
 
Requires local boards and officials to collaborate to obtain approval of a single regional plan containing such initiatives and arrangements and incorporating local area plans.
 
Requires states to provide technical assistance and labor market information to assist local boards with regional planning and subsequent service delivery efforts.
 
Directs states to require local boards to: (1) share certain employment and workforce information that would assist in improving the performance of local areas on certain performance accountability measures, and (2) coordinate the provision of workforce investment activities with the activities of the other one-stop partner programs.
 
(Sec. 117) Revises requirements for local workforce development (currently, investment) boards, requiring at least 20% of a board to be composed of representatives of the local area workforce. 
 
Requires a local board to conduct, and regularly update, a workforce research and regional labor market analysis and assist the state governor in developing a statewide workforce and labor market information system.
 
(Sec. 118) Revises requirements for the comprehensive local plan and its contents, contracting its range from five years to four years.
 

Chapter 3: General Provisions -
 (Sec. 121) Directs the Secretary of Labor (Secretary in this title) to develop, and periodically review, guidelines for qualifications of directors of state and local workforce development boards.
 
(Sec. 122) Requires states to use certain allocations of funds for state and local workforce development boards. Authorizes state use of non-federal funds for such boards.
 

Subtitle B: Workforce Development Performance Accountability System -
 (Sec. 131) Establishes state and local performance accountability measures for core programs.
 
Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Education to provide technical assistance for the development of performance improvement plans for states and local areas that fail to meet state and local performance accountability measures.
 

Subtitle C: Workforce Innovation and Replication Grants -
 (Sec. 142) Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Education to make competitive awards of workforce innovation and replication grants to state partnerships or regional entities for innovative strategies and activities to improve the education and employment outcomes for adults and youth as well as services provided to employers in the workforce system.
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018.
 
(Sec. 143) Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Education to make competitive awards of youth innovation and replication grants to states or local boards and other specified entities for innovative new strategies and activities to improve education and employment outcomes for eligible youth.
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018.
 

Title II: Workforce Investment and Related Activities - Subtitle A: Definition - 
(Sec. 201) Defines &quot;Secretary&quot; (in this title) to mean Secretary of Labor.
 

Subtitle B: Workforce Investment Activities and Providers - 

Chapter 1: Workforce Investment Activities Providers - 
(Sec. 221) Revises requirements for the roles and responsibilities of one-stop partners in one-stop delivery systems.
 
Adds to mandatory programs and activities of the one-stop delivery system the grants program for mentoring and other transitional services to reintegrate offenders into the community under the Second Chance Act of 2007, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grant program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) (including the welfare-to-work grants program currently covered). Requires each entity carrying out TANF activities to carry out the required one-stop partner activities, unless the state governor determines that they shall not.
 
Authorizes additional one-stop partners, with the approval of the local board and chief elected official, to carry out specified employment and training programs and other workforce development programs.
 
Revises requirements for a memorandum of understanding between the local board and a one-stop partner. 
 
Revises eligibility requirements for one-stop operators.
 
Prescribes requirements for one-stop delivery systems. Requires the state board to establish objective criteria and procedures for assessing the continuous improvement of one-stop centers and the one-stop delivery system.
 
Prescribes requirements for one-stop infrastructure funding. 
 
(Sec. 222) Revises requirements for identification of eligible providers of training services. 
 
Requires a state governor to establish eligibility criteria and information requirements (as well as procedures required by current law) for providers of training services in local areas of the state, taking into account specified factors.
 
(Sec. 223) Requires local boards to award competitive grants or contracts to providers of youth workforce investment activities identified based on criteria in the state plan, including quality criteria a state governor is herewith required to establish for a training program that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential.
 

Chapter 2: Youth Workforce Investment Activities - 
(Sec. 227) Prescribes requirements for allotment of funds for state and local youth workforce investment activities, including within-state allocations of funds.
 
(Sec. 229) Prescribes youth workforce investment program eligibility requirements.
 

Chapter 3: Adult and Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities - 
(Sec. 232) Prescribes requirements for the allotment of federal funds among states for adult and dislocated worker employment and training, including within-state allocations.
 
(Sec. 234) Prescribes requirements for the use of funds for state and local employment and training activities, including statewide rapid response,incumbent worker training programs, and transitional jobs.
 

Chapter 4: General Workforce Investment Provisions - 
(Sec. 236) Authorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 for the youth workforce investment and the adult and dislocated employment and training programs.
 

Subtitle C: Jobs Corps - 
(Sec. 241) Revises the purposes of the Job Corps to specify assisting eligible youth to connect to the labor force by providing them with intensive social, academic, career and technical education, and service-learning opportunities, in primarily residential centers, to enable them to obtain secondary school diplomas or recognized postsecondary credentials leading to successful careers in in-demand industries or the Armed Forces that will result in economic self-sufficiency and opportunities for advancement, or enrollment in postsecondary education, including an apprenticeship program.
 
(Sec. 244) Revises Job Corps program eligibility requirements.
 
Renames area vocational schools as area career and technical education schools.
 
Prescribes a special rule to make veterans of the Armed Forces eligible for the Job Corps if certain requirements are met.
 
(Sec. 245) Requires standards and procedures for the recruitment, screening, and selection of eligible Job Corps applicants to be arranged, in addition to current types of agencies, through child welfare agencies responsible for children in foster care and children eligible for assistance under the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program under SSA title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance).
 
Adds to the factors the Secretary must analyze in developing and implementing a plan for assigning enrollees to Job Corps centers the performance of the centers based on certain expected performance indicators.
 
Revises the requirement that an enrollee be assigned to the Job Corps center closest to the enrollee's home. Requires the Job Corps center closest to home to offer the type of career and technical education and training selected by that individual.
 
(Sec. 246) Allows an individual to be enrolled in the Job Corps for more than the regular two years if: (1) an individual with a disability would reasonably be expected to meet Job Corps graduate standards if allowed to participate for one additional year; or (2) an individual is participating in national service under a Civilian Conservation Center program, and so would be granted a Job Corps enrollment extension equal to the period of national service.
 
(Sec. 247) Revises factors the Secretary must consider in selecting an entity (including Civilian Conservation Centers) to operate a Job Corps center.
 
Authorizes Job Corps enrollees in Civilian Conservation Centers to provide assistance during natural disasters.
 
Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to designate a Job Corps National Liaison.
 
(Sec. 248) Revises activities provided by a Job Corps center to enrollees to include English language acquisition programs, career and technical education and training, work-based learning, driver's education, and counseling, which may include information about financial literacy.
 
Makes enrolling and completing suitable career and technical education and training programs and apprenticeship programs one of the purposes of targeted Job Corps activities.
 
Eliminates the requirement that the total amount of benefits for which an enrollee shall be eligible be reduced by the amount of any scholarship or other educational grant assistance received for advanced career training.
 
Specifies that the continued services provided graduates for up to 12 months after graduation shall be job placement and support services.
 
(Sec. 250) Replaces readjustment allowances for Job Corps graduates and former enrollees with transition allowances for graduates only. Requires the transition allowance to be incentive-based to reflect a graduate's completion of academic, career and technical education or training, and attainment of a recognized post-secondary credential.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to arrange for three months of employment services to former Job Corps enrollees.
 
(Sec. 252) Expands the reasons for dismissal of Job Corps enrollees who have violated Job Corps standards of conduct to include that retention of an enrollee will threaten the safety of the staff, students, or the local community.
 
(Sec. 253) Revises requirements for Job Corps center participation in the community. Eliminates the requirement that each center have a Business and Community Liaison. Requires instead that the director of each Job Corps center ensure the establishment and development of the business and community relationships and networks in order to enhance center effectiveness.
 
(Sec. 254) Revises composition requirements for the industry council, appointed by the center director, for each Job Corps center. 
 
Requires councils to include employers from outside the local area who are likely to hire a significant number of enrollees from the center. Prescribes a special rule for single state local areas to require the council to include a representative of the state board.
 
(Sec. 256) Revises experimental, research, and demonstration projects requirements.
 
Authorizes the waiver of any provisions of this subtitle that would prevent the Secretary from carrying out such projects, subject to written notice to Congress at least 90 days before issuing the waiver.
 
(Sec. 259) Revises performance indicators for Job Corps centers, the Job Corps program, and recruitment service providers serving the Job Corps program. Requires such indicators to measure the number of enrollees who remain committed to the program for 90 days after enrollment.
 
Authorizes the Secretary, with respect to a Civilian Conservation Center that fails to meet expected performance levels relating to specified primary performance indicators, to select, competitively, an entity to operate that Center in accordance with specified requirements.
 
Directs the Secretary to require that an entity that has contracted to provide work-based learning activities for any Job Corps enrollee to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, or, as appropriate, corresponding state Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requirements.
 
(Sec. 261) Directs the Inspector General of the Department of Labor to report to Congress on the recent administrative changes made to the Job Corps program.
 
Directs the Secretary to submit periodically to Congress financial reports on the Job Corps program.
 
Directs the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training of the Department of Labor to report to Congress a response to the May 31, 2013, report of the Office of the Inspector General entitled &quot;The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration Needs to Strengthen Controls over Job Corps Funds.&quot;
 
Directs the Secretary to provide for a third-party review of the Job Corps program every five years.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish written criteria that shall be used in closing a Job Corps center.
 
(Sec. 262) Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 for the Job Corps program.
 

 Subtitle D: National Programs - 
(Sec. 266) Revises the principal purpose of Native American programs to add equipping Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian individuals with entrepreneurial skills necessary to obtain employment.
 
Requires the award of competitive grants to, or contracts or cooperative agreements with, Indian tribes tribal organizations, Alaska Native entities, Indian-controlled organizations serving Indians, or Native Hawaiian organizations for certain workforce development activities and supplemental services to be made quadrennially instead of biennially.
 
Revises program plan requirements, requiring a four-year, instead of a two-year, strategy.
 
Requires the Secretary to develop a set of performance indicators and standards applicable to the Native American programs in addition to the primary indicators of performance for core programs.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Incorporated, and the University of Hawaii at Maui, Hawaii, for the unique populations who reside in Alaska or Hawaii to improve job training and workforce investment activities.
 
Repeals the Secretary's current authority to provide assistance to American Samoans who reside in Hawaii for the co-location of federally funded and state-funded workforce investment activities.
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018.
 
(Sec. 267) Revises requirements for migrant and seasonal farmworker programs.
 
Requires competitive grants to, or contracts with, eligible entities for workforce investment activities (including youth workforce investment activities) and related assistance for eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers to be made quadrennially instead of biennially.
 
Revises program plan requirements, requiring a four-year, instead of a two-year, strategy.
 
Requires the Secretary and an eligible entity, for incorporation in the program plan, to reach agreement on the levels of performance for each of the primary indicators of performance, taking into account economic conditions, characteristics of the individuals served, and other appropriate factors, using a specified statistical adjustment model. 
Requires the Secretary to reserve at least 1% of program funds for discretionary purposes, such as providing technical assistance to eligible entities.
 
(Sec. 268) Revises requirements for veterans' workforce investment programs.
 
Directs the Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training to include among program performance accountability measures for each grant or contract providing education, training, or employment services to veterans the primary indicators of performance for core programs and any adjusted levels of performance for each such indicator that are agreed to by the Assistant Secretary and the recipient of the grant or contract.
 
(Sec. 269) Revises requirements for technical assistance for states and recipients of financial assistance under the Native American, migrant and seasonal farmworker, and veterans' workforce investment programs.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a system through which states may share information regarding promising and proven practices with regard to the operation of workforce investment activities.
 
(Sec. 270) Revises requirements for demonstration, pilot, multiservice, research, and multistate workforce investment projects and the evaluation of workforce investment programs (effectively consolidating them).
 
Directs the Secretary to publish biennially in the Federal Register a five-year plan for the Department of Labor's research, studies, and multistate project priorities for employment and training.
 
Authorizes studies on:
 
 
the net impact and best practices of programs, services, and activities carried out under this Act,
 
resources available to assist disconnected youth,
 
the effectiveness of the workforce development system in meeting business needs,
 
the number and percentage of individuals who receive employment and training activities and who enter nontraditional occupations,
 
performance indicators,
 
job training for recipients of public housing assistance,
 
improvement of the employment prospects for older individuals, and
 
prior learning.
 
 
Directs the Secretary to use up to 10% of certain funds for any adult and dislocated worker employment and training program year to carry out demonstration and pilot projects, multiservice projects, and multistate projects relating to the employment and training needs of dislocated workers.
 
Directs the Secretary to:
 
 
 establish an energy efficiency and renewable energy worker training program for certain targeted populations,
 
award competitive National Energy Training Partnerships Grants to enable eligible entities to carry out training that leads to economic self-sufficiency and develops an energy efficiency and renewable energy industries workforce,
 
award competitive grants to enable states to administer labor market and labor exchange information programs,
 
award competitive grants to enable states to administer renewable energy and energy efficiency workforce development programs, and 
 
award competitive grants to enable eligible entities to carry out Pathways Out of Poverty training for certain low-income individuals that leads to economic self-sufficiency.
 
 
Authorizes appropriations.
 
 Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a national demonstration project for workforce training programs that integrate English language acquisition and occupational or skills training.
 
 Requires the Secretary to make competitive grants to eligible entities for integrated workforce training programs for adults who are English language learners.
 
Authorizes the Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of Education, to establish and implement a national demonstration project of grants to increase employment opportunities for workers in in-demand industry sectors.
 
Directs the Secretary to award competitive grants to a community college, or consortium of community colleges and one or more institutions of higher education, for: (1) developing training and education programs leading to a recognized postsecondary credential and employment in the in-demand industry sector, including programs that are work-based and incorporate other earn-and-learn strategies; and (2) training adults, incumbent workers, dislocated workers, or out-of-school youth in the skills and competencies needed to obtain or upgrade employment in an in-demand industry sector.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to conduct projects that focus on career advancement for nursing care providers or providers of early education and child care, including faculty education and distance education programs.
 
(Sec. 271) Converts the national emergency grants program into a national dislocated worker grants program. 
 
Retains disaster relief employment assistance requirements, but without health insurance coverage assistance currently addressed for individuals employed under national emergency grants.
 
(Sec. 272) Revises requirements, and reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018, for the Youthbuild grants program.
 
(Sec. 273) Reauthorizes appropriations and makes certain reservations of funds for FY2014-FY2018 for the Native American, migrant and seasonal farmworker, and veterans' workforce investment programs.
 
Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 for: (1) technical assistance, and (2) Department of Labor evaluations and research of workforce investment programs.
 

Subtitle E: Administration - 
 (Sec. 281) Revises and applies certain administrative requirements to subtitles A, B, and C of title I of this Act.
 
(Sec. 289) Repeals the requirement that funds obligated for any program year for a demonstration, pilot, multiservice, research, and multistate projects remain available until expended.
 
Allows a contract or arrangement entered for evaluations, research projects, studies and reports, and multistate projects, including a long-term, nonseverable services contract, to be funded on an incremental basis with annual appropriations or other available funds.
 
 Repeals the requirement that the authority provided under waivers granted a state with respect to Department of Labor training and employment services in title I of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997, including a waiver of the related requirements for statewide and local workforce investment systems as well as certain administrative requirements, continue in effect and apply for the duration of the initial waiver.
 
Requires the Secretary, with respect to an approved waiver of statutory or regulatory requirements for a state or local area, to expedite that waiver for another state or local area if the waiver is in accordance with the approved state or local plan.
 
(Sec. 290) Permits a state to request, and the Secretary to approve, a workforce flexibility plan under which the state is authorized to waive specified statutory or regulatory requirements.,
 
(Sec. 291) Declares that nothing in this title shall be interpreted to preclude the enactment of state legislation providing for the implementation of the activities assisted under this title. 
 
Grants the consent of Congress to states to enter into interstate compacts and agreements to facilitate compliance with this title, subject to the Secretary's approval.
 
(Sec. 292) Declares that any federal equity acquired in real property through grants to states for unemployment compensation or with respect to the U.S. Employment Service is transferred to the states that used the grants for the acquisition of such equity.
 
(Sec. 294) Prohibits the use of funds under this title to establish or operate stand-alone fee-for-service enterprises, except one-stop centers, that compete with private sector employment agencies that fully meet the identified need. 
 
Prohibits the use of funds by a recipient or subrecipient to pay the salary and bonuses of an individual (except certain vendors), either as direct costs or indirect costs, at a rate in excess of Level II of the Federal Executive Pay Schedule.
 

Title III: Adult Education and Literacy - 
 Adult Education and Family Literacy Act - Revises the entire Adult Education and Family Literacy Education Act (while retaining most of it as is).
 
 (Sec. 303) Redefines &quot;adult education&quot; to mean academic instruction and education services below the postsecondary level that increase an individual's ability to: (1) read, write, and speak English and perform mathematics necessary for attaining a secondary school diploma or its equivalent; (2) transition to postsecondary education and training; and (3) obtain employment.
 
 Targets individuals who are at least 16 and are not enrolled or required to be enrolled in secondary school under state law and who also: (1) lack basic skills, (2) do not have a secondary school diploma or its equivalent and have not achieved an equivalent level of education, or (3) are English learners.
 
Changes the term &quot;individual of limited English proficiency&quot; to &quot;English learner.&quot;
 
(Sec. 303) Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018.
 
 
Subtitle A: Federal Programs
 - (Sec. 311) Increases the mandatory reservation of funds from 1.5% to 2.0% for national leadership activities and specified additional assistance. Requires the Secretary of Education (Secretary in this title) to reserve 12% of those funds for integrated English literacy and civics education.
 
Removes Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia from the special rule for the award of competitive grants under this title.
 
Directs GAO to study the formula for the distribution of funds and develop recommendations for improving it.
 
(Sec. 312) Subjects these programs and activities to the performance accountability requirements of subtitle B of title I of this Act.
 

Subtitle B: State Provisions
 - (Sec. 321) Revises requirements for state administration, unified or combined plans, state leadership and other activities, including corrections education and education for other institutionalized individuals, as well as distribution of local funds.
 

Subtitle C: Local Provisions
 - Revises requirements for grants and contracts for eligible providers on the local level, as well as grant and contract applications, and local administrative cost limits.
 

Subtitle D: General Provisions
 - (Sec. 342) Revises requirements for the program of national leadership activities the Secretary is required to carry on to enhance the quality and outcomes of adult education and literacy activities and programs nationwide. 
 
(Sec. 343) Directs the Secretary to award grants to states for integrated English literacy and civics education.
 

Title IV: Amendments to the Wagner-Peyser Act - 
(Sec. 401) Amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to rename public employment offices as public employment service offices, and requires such offices to be co-located with one-stop centers.
 
(Sec. 403) Directs the Secretary of Labor (Secretary in this title) to assist the states in the development of national electronic tools that may be used to improve access to workforce information for individuals through one-stop delivery systems established under title I of this Act and other appropriate delivery systems.
 
(Sec. 405) Authorizes use of a state's allotment of public employment services funds to provide unemployment insurance claimants with referrals to, and application assistance for, training and education resources and programs, including student assistance under Federal Pell Grants of the Higher Education Act of 1965, educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance, state student higher education assistance, and training and education programs under WIA titles II and III, and title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 
 
(Sec. 408) Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program of of up to five competitive grants to state employment agencies to carry out pilot projects that enhance the professional development and the provision of public employment services by agency staff.
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018.
 
(Sec. 409) Replaces the nationwide employment statistics system, which the Secretary is required to oversee, with a nationwide workforce and labor market information system.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a Workforce Information Advisory Council. 
 

Title V: Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - Subtitle A: Introductory Provisions
 - (Sec. 503) Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to establish a Disability Employment Services and Supports Administration (DESSA) within the Office of Disability Employment Policy, Services, and Supports of the Department of Labor. 
 
Requires DESSA to be the principal agency to administer vocational rehabilitation services programs under titles I, III, and VI of that Act. (Currently, these are administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration [RSA] of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the Department of Education.)
 

Subtitle B: Vocational Rehabilitation Services
 - (Sec. 511) Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 for vocational rehabilitation service grants to states for individuals with disabilities. 
 
(Sec. 512) Revises requirements for: (1) state plans for vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities, (2) eligibility for this assistance and individualized plans for employment, (3) monitoring and review of vocational rehabilitation programs, and (4) state allotments for them.
 
(Sec. 523) Requires: (1) states to make certain funds available to designated state units for pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities transitioning to employment from education or training, and (2) each local office of a state unit to designate staff to act as Local Pre-Employment Transition Coordinators for student with disabilities. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) each to designate a lead staff person to fulfill the responsibilities of a National Pre-Employment Transition Coordinator for Students with Disabilities. 
 
(Sec. 524) Revises American Indian vocational rehabilitation services grant program eligibility requirements to permit grants to be renewed for an additional five years, provided certain conditions are met. 
 
(Sec. 526) Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study the interaction of vocational rehabilitation programs carried out under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 with the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program, including its impact on beneficiaries, community rehabilitation programs, and designated state agencies. 
 

Subtitle C: Research and Training
 - (Sec. 532) Reauthorizes programs and activities under this subtitle for FY2014-FY2018.
 
(Sec. 533) Renames: (1) the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) as the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR); and (2) the Rehabilitation Research Advisory Council as the Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Advisory Council (DILRRAC). 
 
Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 for the NIDILRR and DILRRAC. 
 
Establishes the NIDILRR within the Administration for Community Living of HHS (effectively transferring it to HHS from the Department of Education).
 
Requires the NIDILRR Director to be responsible for: (1) coordinating all federal programs and policies for research on independent living of individuals with disabilities, and (2) identifying independent living and rehabilitation programs and policies that promote the independence of such individuals and achievement of long-term independent living and employment goals. 
 

Subtitle D: Professional Development and Special Projects and Demonstration - 
(Sec. 542) Requires competitive grants to eligible entities to provide technical assistance, support model demonstration projects, disseminate useful information, and implement activities to facilitate transition of youths with significant disabilities from school to post-secondary education, competitive integrated employment, and independent living.
 
Establishes an annual RSA Commissioner's Scholar Program to recognize individuals with significant disabilities who are successfully completing a postgraduate degree in specified curricula. 
 
Directs the RSA Commissioner to award grants to eligible entities for training and technical assistance centers to promote high-quality employment outcomes for individuals receiving vocational rehabilitation services from designated agencies and American Indian vocational rehabilitation service (AIVRS) grantees. 
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018.
 
(Sec. 543) Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 for: (1) vocational rehabilitation services grants to individuals with disabilities who are migrant or seasonal farmworkers, and (2) recreational programs for individuals with disabilities.
 

Subtitle E: National Council on Disability
 - (Sec. 551) Reduces from 15 to 9 the number of members on the National Council on Disability.
 
(Sec. 553) Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018.
 

Subtitle F: Rights and Advocacy
 - (Sec. 556) Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 for: (1) the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board), and (2) grants to support state systems to protect the legal and human rights of certain individuals with disabilities.
 
(Sec. 558) Prohibits an entity (including a contractor or subcontractor) from employing an individual with a disability at a wage less than the federal minimum wage (subminimum wage), unless the entity complies with certain Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 wage requirements for handicapped workers and specified other conditions are met.
 

Subtitle G: Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities
 - (Sec. 561) Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 for grants for Projects With Industry to create and expand job and career opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
 
(Sec. 563) Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 to assist states in developing collaborative programs to provide supported employment services for individuals (including youth) with the most significant disabilities to enable them to achieve supported employment in competitive integrated employment. 
 

Subtitle H: Independent Living Services and Centers for Independent Living - Chapter 1: Individuals With Significant Disabilities - Subchapter A: General Provisions - 
(Sec. 572) Establishes within the HHS Administration for Community Living an Independent Living Administration (ILA).
 
(Sec. 573) Specifies that a center for independent living is an agency for individuals with significant disabilities (regardless of age or income).
 
(Sec. 574) Revises requirements for a state plan for independent living services in the state for individuals with significant disabilities, including establishment of additional centers for independent living, expanded catchment areas, or focused outreach to serve underserved populations.
 
(Sec. 575) Revises the composition and functions of State Independent Living Councils (SILCs). 
 
(Sec. 575A) Transfers to the ILA Director the responsibilities of the RSA Commissioner to make allotments to states for independent living services to individuals with significant disabilities. 
 

Subchapter B: Independent Living Services
 - (Sec. 576) Directs the ILA Director to make specified fund allocations for grants and contracts with certain entities to provide training and technical assistance for developing, conducting, administering, and evaluating SILCs.
 
Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018.
 

Subchapter C: Centers for Independent Living
 - (Sec. 581) Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 for the centers for independent living grant program.
 

Subchapter D: Independent Living Services for Older Individuals Who Are Blind - 
(Sec. 586) Directs the RSA Commissioner to make specified fund allocations for grants and contracts with certain entities to provide training and technical assistance for developing, conducting, administering, and evaluating independent living service programs for older individuals who are blind.
 
(Sec. 588) Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018.
 

Subtitle I: Increasing Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities - 
(Sec. 591) Establishes within the Department of Labor an Office of Disability Employment Policy, Services, and Supports, headed by an Assistant Secretary, to: (1) help develop and support national policies and practices that will increase employment and economic advancement opportunities for all individuals with disabilities, and (2) ensure that such individuals are fully integrated into the 21st Century workforce.
 
Authorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish an Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Assistant Secretary and in coordination with the Commissioners of DESSA, of Social Security, and the heads of other relevant federal agencies, to carry out campaigns to educate employers and the general public on the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities. 
 

Subtitle J: General Provisions - 
(Sec. 596) Transfers all functions of: (1) the RSA Commissioner (other than title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [RA73]) to DESSA, (2) the RSA Commissioner under title VII [independent living services for individuals with disabilities] of RA73 to the ILA, and (3) the NIDRR Director to NIDILRR. 
 

Title VI: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Workforce Investment - 
(Sec. 601) Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) supersede specified privacy protections afforded parents and students under the General Education Provisions Act, or (2) permit development of a national database of personally identifiable information on individuals receiving job training and employment services. 
 
(Sec. 602) Prohibits an entity from using funds made available under the Act unless it agrees to comply with Buy American requirements. 
 

Subtitle B: Amendments to Other Laws
 - (Sec. 611) Repeals: (1) the youth opportunity grants program, (2) the Twenty-First Century Workforce Commission Act, and (3) the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S9086)
action_date: 2013-12-18
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S8920)
action_date: 2013-12-17
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S8870)
action_date: 2013-12-16
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S8823-8824)
action_date: 2013-12-11
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S8608)
action_date: 2013-12-10
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S8581)
action_date: 2013-12-09
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S8539)
action_date: 2013-11-21
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S8413-8418; text: CR S8413)
action_date: 2013-11-12
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 243.
action_date: 2013-11-12
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Harkin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2013-11-12
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Harkin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2013-07-31
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2013-07-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-07-24
text: Introduced in Senate