To provide for the creation of private-sector-led Community Workforce Partnerships, and for other purposes.

November 25, 2003

Mr. BAYH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

To provide for the creation of private-sector-led Community Workforce Partnerships, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Community Workforce Development and Modernization Partnership Act'.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION.

(a) IN GENERAL- From amounts made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary of Labor (referred to in this Act as the `Secretary'), in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Education, shall award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities described in subsection (b) to assist each entity to--

(1) help workers improve those job skills that are necessary for employment by businesses in the industry with respect to which the entity was established;

(2) help dislocated workers find employment; and

(3) upgrade the operating and competitive capacities of businesses that are members of the entity.

(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES- An eligible entity described in this subsection is a consortium (either established prior to the date of enactment of this Act or established specifically to carry out programs under this Act) that--

(1) shall include--

(A) 2 or more businesses (or nonprofit organizations representing businesses) that are facing similar workforce development or business modernization challenges;

(B) labor organizations, if the businesses described in subparagraph (A) employ workers who are covered by collective bargaining agreements; and

(C) 1 or more businesses (or nonprofit organizations that represent businesses) with resources or expertise that can be brought to bear on the workforce development and business modernization challenges referred to in subparagraph (A); and

(2) may include--

(A) State governments and units of local government;

(B) educational institutions;

(C) labor organizations; or

(D) nonprofit organizations.

(c) COMMON GEOGRAPHIC REGION- To the maximum extent practicable, the organizations that are members of an eligible entity described in subsection (b) shall be located within a single geographic region of the United States.

(d) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION- In awarding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority consideration to--

(1) eligible entities that serve dislocated workers or workers who are threatened with becoming totally or partially separated from employment;

(2) eligible entities that include businesses with fewer than 250 employees; or

(3) eligible entities from a geographic region in the United States that has been adversely impacted by the movement of manufacturing operations or businesses to other regions or countries, due to corporate restructuring, technological advances, Federal law, international trade, or another factor, as determined by the Secretary.

SEC. 3. PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES.

(a) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS- Each eligible entity that receives a grant under section 2 shall use the amount made available through the grant to carry out a program that provides--

(1) workforce development activities to improve the job skills of individuals who have, are seeking, or have been dislocated from, employment with a business that is a member of that eligible entity, or with a business that is in the industry of a business that is a member of that eligible entity;

(2) business modernization activities; or

(3) activities that are--

(A) workforce investment activities (including such activities carried out through one-stop delivery systems) carried out under subtitle B of title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 2811 et seq.); or

(B) activities described in section 25 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k).

(b) ACTIVITIES INCLUDED-

(1) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES- The workforce development activities referred to in subsection (a)(1) may include activities that--

(A) develop skill standards and provide training, including--

(i) assessing the training and job skill needs of the industry involved;

(ii) developing a sequence of skill standards that are benchmarked to advanced industry practices;

(iii) developing curricula and training methods;

(iv) purchasing, leasing, or receiving donations of training equipment;

(v) identifying and developing the skills of training providers;

(vi) developing apprenticeship programs; and

(vii) developing training programs for dislocated workers;

(B) assist workers in finding new employment; or

(C) provide supportive services to workers who--

(i) are participating in a program carried out by the entity under this Act; and

(ii) are unable to obtain the supportive services through another program providing the services.

(2) BUSINESS MODERNIZATION ACTIVITIES- The business modernization activities referred to in subsection (a)(2) may include activities that upgrade technical or organizational capabilities in conjunction with improving the job skills of workers in a business that is a member of that entity.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION.

To be eligible to receive a grant under section 2, an entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

SEC. 5. SEED GRANTS AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.

(a) SEED GRANTS- The Secretary shall provide technical assistance and award financial assistance (not to exceed $150,000 per award) on such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines to be appropriate--

(1) to businesses, nonprofit organizations representing businesses, and labor organizations, for the purpose of establishing an eligible entity; and

(2) to entities described in paragraph (1) and established eligible entities, for the purpose of preparing such application materials as may be required under section 4.

(b) OUTREACH AND PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES- The Secretary may undertake such outreach and promotional activities as the Secretary determines will best carry out the objectives of this Act.

(c) LIMITATIONS ON EXPENDITURES- The Secretary may not use more than 10 percent of the amount authorized to be appropriated under section 8 to carry out this section.

SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS ON FUNDING.

(a) REQUIREMENT OF MATCHING FUNDS- The Secretary may not award a grant under this Act to an eligible entity unless such entity agrees that the entity will make available non-Federal contributions toward the costs of carrying out activities funded by that grant in an amount that is not less than $2 for each $1 of Federal funds made available through the grant.

(b) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS- The Secretary--

(1) shall, in awarding grants under this Act, give priority consideration to those entities whose members offer in-kind contributions; and

(2) may not consider any in-kind contribution in lieu of or as any part of the contributions required under subsection (a).

(c) SENIOR MANAGEMENT TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT- An eligible entity may not use any amount made available through a grant awarded under this Act for training and development activities for senior management, unless that entity certifies to the Secretary that expenditures for the activities are--

(1) an integral part of a comprehensive modernization plan; or

(2) dedicated to team building or employee involvement programs.

(d) PERFORMANCE MEASURES- Each eligible entity shall, in carrying out the activities described in section 3, provide for development of, and tracking of performance according to, performance outcome measures.

(e) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS- Each eligible entity may use not more than 10 percent of the amount made available to that entity through a grant awarded under this Act to pay for administrative costs.

(f) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANT- No eligible entity may receive--

(1) a grant under this Act in an amount of more than $1,000,000 for any fiscal year; or

(2) grants under this Act in any amount for more than 3 fiscal years.

(g) SUPPORT FOR EXISTING OPERATIONS-

(1) IN GENERAL- In making grants under this Act, the Secretary may use a portion equal to not more than 50 percent of the funds appropriated to carry out this Act for a fiscal year, to support the existing training and modernization operations of existing eligible entities.

(2) ENTITIES- The Secretary may award a grant to an existing eligible entity for existing training and modernization operations only if the entity--

(A) currently offers (as of the date of the award of the grant) a combination of training, modernization, and business assistance services; and

(B) has demonstrated success in accomplishing the objectives of activities described in section 3.

(3) APPLICATION- Paragraph (1) shall not apply to support for the expansion of training and modernization operations of existing eligible entities.

(4) DEFINITIONS- In this subsection:

(A) EXISTING TRAINING AND MODERNIZATION ACTIVITY- The term `existing training and modernization activity' means a training and modernization activity carried out prior to the date of enactment of this Act.

(B) EXISTING ELIGIBLE ENTITY- The term `existing eligible entity' means an eligible entity that was established prior to the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE STUDY.

(a) STUDY- Beginning 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study concerning the activities carried out under this Act. In conducting the study, the Comptroller General shall assess the effectiveness of the activities and suggest improvements to the grant program established under this Act, including recommending whether the program should be administered by the Department of Labor or by another agency or an alternative entity.

(b) REPORT- Not later than 3 years and 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall prepare and submit to Congress a report containing the results of the study.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act--

(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

(2) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;

(3) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and

(4) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.

END