[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3681 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3681
To direct the Secretary of Labor to award grants to certain entities to
establish workforce training programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 3, 2025
Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. Edwards) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Labor to award grants to certain entities to
establish workforce training programs.
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 ``Leveraging Educational Opportunity
Networks Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) About 60 percent of workers in the United States do not
hold a 4-year college degree. These almost 70,000,000 workers
in the United States without a bachelor's degree have gained
marketable skills through on-the-job training, boot camps,
micro-credentialing programs, community colleges, and many
other types of job training programs. Short-term workforce
training programs have been growing in demand. Polling data
finds that people in the United States are increasingly seeking
education programs that are relevant for work and suited to
their personal needs. Over the past 2 years, even as community
college enrollment has dropped, boot camps, and online training
programs are growing in size and market share.
(2) Federal job training policy should focus on making more
funding available to support high-quality sectoral training
programs, including wraparound supports. Policymakers should
prioritize options that boosts Federal funding for cohort-based
sectoral training programs, including through the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act. Complementary models could
include grant competitions that encourage cross-sector
partnerships and support training investments for high priority
roles (e.g. the Department of Commerce's Good Jobs Challenge).
(3) Further, the working poor are a pool of invisible
talent and the source for a revitalized workforce to fill high-
demand jobs in manufacturing, energy, health, technology, and
science sectors of the economy. More than 32 percent of the
United States labor force, or 51.9 million workers, currently
make less than $15 an hour and 1.1 million workers earn wages
at the prevailing Federal minimum wage ($7.25 an hour, or
$14,137 a year).
(4) Using United States Census Bureau data, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics determined that 6,300,000 workers were living
at or below the official poverty level in 2020, which
represented 4.1 percent of the total workforce (U.S. Department
of Labor, September 2022) and 25 percent of working families
can be considered working poor.
(5) The United States is experiencing a long-term labor
shortage, ``The Demographic Drought''. As the size of the
United States working age population shrinks, the country is
experiencing record-low rates of labor participation, and it
has the lowest birth rates in history.
(6) Economic growth is dependent on a reliable supply of
skilled and ready to work employees. The economy is expected to
add 12,000,000 jobs between 2020 and 2030. Science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (``STEM'') occupations will
experience the highest growth rates. Occupations in the STEM
field are expected to grow 8 percent by 2029, compared with 3.7
percent for all other occupations.
(7) As of April 2023, there were 10,100,000 job openings
and only 5,700,000 people looking for work (U.S. Department of
Labor April 2023 Employment Report).
(8) About 60 percent of workers do not have a bachelor's
degree, and about 45 percent of workers have a bachelor's
degree.
(9) More than 39 million people in the United States have
attended some college but earned no degree.
(10) A 2015 evaluation by the Aspen Institute's Economic
Opportunities Program documented that poor, unemployed, and
under employed students who earned an industry-recognized
credential landed high skill entry level positions and earned
18 percent more in income than a similar group of people who
did not receive this type of training.
(11) African American men face a range of challenges in the
labor market which hinder their employment opportunities.
African American men comprise about 13 percent of the male
population, but 35 percent of those incarcerated. One in 3
African American men born today can expect to be incarcerated
in his lifetime, compared to 1 in 6 Latino men and 1 in 17
White men. African American women are similarly affected where
1 in 18 African American women born in 2001 are likely to be
incarcerated sometime in her life, compared to 1 in 111 white
women. The effect of these realities is devastating and
enduring, formerly incarcerated people are unemployed at a rate
of over 27 percent which is higher than the total United States
unemployment rate during any historical period, including the
Great Depression.
(12) More must be done to break the cycle of generational
poverty and reduce racial, economic, and social disparities in
the United States.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Grants Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Labor shall award grants,
on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to develop and
implement workforce training programs.
(2) Geographic diversity.--To the maximum extent
practicable, the Secretary shall ensure geographical diversity
in selecting eligible entities to receive grants under
subsection (a).
(b) Eligible Entity.--An eligible entity is a consortium of the
following:
(1) An organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3));
(2) A national training organization with dues paying
affiliated members in at least 10 States;
(3) An accredited institution, not including an institution
of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 101)); or
(4) An institution that operates a post-secondary, career
and technical network of accredited, dues paying institutions.
(c) Uses of Funds.--
(1) In general.--An eligible entity that receives a grant
under this Act shall use such grant to--
(A) develop and implement a career and technical
education program as described in subsection (d);
(B) offer a program to enrollees prior to the
participation of such enrollees in a workforce training
program that supports the enrollees in transitioning to
a learning environment, which shall include--
(i) opportunities to foster camaraderie
among enrollees;
(ii) prepare enrollees for training
success;
(iii) tutoring and employment readiness
coaching; and
(iv) cognitive behavioral techniques to
support a change in the perception and thinking
of enrollees;
(C) provide--
(i) need-based stipends to enrollees in a
workforce training program to assist enrollees
in completing training programs;
(ii) conflict resolution services and
regular check-ins on a monthly basis to an
employer that employs an enrollee who has
completed a workforce training program offered
by the eligible entity; and
(iii) supportive services to enrollees;
(D) partner with an employer that--
(i) pays a living wage;
(ii) provides avenues for career growth and
professional development to enrollees who
complete a program of an eligible entity that
the employer partnered with; and
(iii) engages in the career training
process, including--
(I) serving on an industry advisory
group;
(II) assisting the eligible entity
with establishing a career and
technical education program as
described in subsection (d);
(III) sponsoring internships; and
(IV) participating in mock
interview hiring sessions and hiring
fairs;
(E) determine the qualifications and credentials
required for employment by the employers identified in
paragraph (4);
(F) assess and understand the demand of employers
for employees in the local areas in which;
(G) identify employers that pay a living wage in
the local areas in which an eligible entity operates a
career and technical education program;
(H) identify employers and industry sectors in
which job growth is expected to occur;
(I) produce--
(i) an analysis of existing and emerging
in-demand industry sectors and occupations and
the employment needs of employers in such
industry sectors; and
(ii) an analysis of the knowledge and
skills needed to meet the employment needs of
the employers in the States in which the entity
operates a career and technical education
program; and
(J) implement strategies to recruit individuals
into the workforce training program and assess
prospective enrollees.
(2) Required allocation of funds.--An eligible entity that
receives a grant under this Act shall use at least 70 percent
of such grant for the uses of funds described in subparagraphs
(A) and (C)(i).
(d) Career and Technical Education Program.--A career and technical
education program developed and implemented under this Act shall--
(1) be developed to meet the in-demand needs of employers
in the local area in which such program is being implemented;
(2) pay enrollees a living wage;
(3) be at least 12 weeks in duration;
(4) upon an enrollee completing such a program, result in
the enrollee earning a recognized post-secondary credential;
(5) operate in at least 10 States;
(6) prioritize enrollees who read at no higher than the 6th
grade reading level; and
(7) ensure that at least 50 percent of the individuals
enrolled the program are--
(A) offenders (as defined in section 3(38) of the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C.
3102(3)(38)));
(B) low-income and economically isolated
individuals (including individuals who are from rural,
urban, and historically disadvantaged communities); and
(C) from populations that have been underserved or
adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.
(e) Application.--
(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this Act, an eligible entity shall submit an application at
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as
the Secretary may require.
(2) Priority.--The Secretary shall prioritize eligible
entities that propose to carry out a workforce training program
in the following industries:
(A) Construction.
(B) Disaster relief and recovery services.
(C) Industrial manufacturing.
(D) Food manufacturing.
(E) Supply chain management and services.
(F) Information technology.
(G) Financial services.
(H) Ship building and other defense-related
industries.
(I) Health care.
(f) Report.--Not later than 1 year after and eligible entity
receives a grant under this Act, and on an annual basis thereafter,
each eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary of Labor a report on
the following:
(1) The earnings of each enrollee--
(A) prior to entering into a career and technical
education program operated by such eligible entity; and
(B) 6 months after completing such program.
(2) The percentage of program participants who are in
unsubsidized employment--
(A) after 30 days and prior to 90 days after exit
from such program; and
(B) after 280 days and prior to 365 days after exit
from such program;
(3) The starting wages of the program participants
described in paragraph (2)(A); and
(4) The percentage of program participants who obtain a
recognized postsecondary credential during participation in, or
within 1 year after exit from, the program.
(g) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Career and technical education.--The term ``career and
technical education'' has the meaning given the term in section
3(5) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act
of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302).
(2) Living wage.--The term ``living wage'' means a wage
that one full-time worker earns that covers the cost of the
minimum basic needs of the worker and the family of the worker
for the area in which such worker lives.
(3) Supportive services.--The term ``supportive services''
means services such as transportation, child care, dependent
care, housing, and needs-related payments, that are necessary
to enable an individual to participate in a career and
technical education program carried out under this Act.
(4) WIOA terms.--The terms ``local area'' and ``recognized
postsecondary credential'' have the meanings given the terms in
section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29
U.S.C. 3102).
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
To carry out this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated
$30,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2026 through 2029.
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